Assessment and Selection PSYC4725

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Assessment and Selection PSYC4725 Week 1
Elizabeth Allworth PhDSharon Wilkenfeld
MPsychol(Org)Allworth Juniper Organisational
Psychologists
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Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate an understanding of the type of tests
  used in personnel selection, development and
  coaching.
• Understand relevant theories and debates that
  underpin the development and content of a range
  of psychometric tests
• Comprehend the principles of psychometrics and
  apply these to evaluate tests
• Demonstrate an awareness of best practise in the
  use and administration of test instruments

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Learning Outcomes (cont)

• Appreciate the benefits and pitfalls of
  psychometric testing in selection, development
  planning and coaching
• Be aware of the ethics and principles of
  reporting and giving feedback on test results
• Use this knowledge to integrate testing into the
  design of a coaching plan

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Reading Pack

• Program
• Assessments
• Readings

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What is a Psychometric Test?

• A standardised measure of a construct or
  personal attribute e.g.
• Cognitive ability/aptitude
• Personality
• Attitudes
• Values
• Motivational needs etc.

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Features of a Psychometric Test

• Norms
• Test items administered to a large sample
• Items analysed statistically
• Best items retained
• Raw scores normally distributed and converted to
  standard scores (e.g. percentiles) to enable
  comparisons with a relevant population
• Psychometric tests should be differentiated from
  behavioural observations non-standardised
  rating scales.
• Psychological measurement is based on the
  assumption that individuals differ.

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Scales

• Measurement is undertaken with the use of some
  kind of scaling procedure.
• 1. Normative scale
• e.g. I am always polite to my colleagues
• 1 Strongly disagree
• 2 Disagree
• 3 Unsure
• 4 Agree
• 5 Strongly agree
• Enable between person comparisons
• May also be true/false format

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Scales (cont)

• 2. Ipsative scale
• e.g. Which of the following 4 statements is most
  like you and which is least like you
• 1 I am always polite to strangers
• 2 I hate being late for appointments
• 3 I enjoy spending time with friends
• 4 I am easily upset if someone is critical of
  me
• Enable within-person comparisons

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Scales (cont)

• Typically, more than one question/item is used to
  measure the attribute and the scores are
  aggregated.
• This may be done by a simple averaging of the
  scores or by a more complex algorithm

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Why Use Assessment?

• For Employee Selection
• To help decision-making on an individuals
  suitability for a job
• To identify strengths and areas for development
  against job competencies
• To highlight questions for reference checking
• To provide guidance on how to promote candidates
  success on the job

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Why Use Assessment? Cont

• For Career Development and Coaching
• To build a development plan by
• Identifying personal attributes, capabilities and
  motivational needs and/or vocational interests
• Linking these to current role or future job
  opportunities
• Determining goals, development strategies,
  interventions and actions, required resources,
  criteria for successful change, and time frames
  for action

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Types of Tests

• Cognitive Ability Tests
• Assess thinking, problem-solving, decision-making
  and learning abilities
• Usually timed, although not necessarily
• Give an indication of the individuals ability to
  manage the intellectual requirements of a role
• Can be biased by educational and cultural
  background

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Types of Tests continued

• Personality Questionnaires
• Assess personal attributes, style and
  preferences
• Interpersonal confidence
• Assertiveness
• Organisation and planning
• Resilience
• Emotional stability
• Flexibility/adaptability
• Self-report using a scale response (e.g.
  disagree-agree true-false etc

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Types of Tests

• Personality tests (cont)
• Usually untimed administration
• Less reliable measurement than cognitive tests
  (e.g. preferences can change with time
• Can be faked
• Can show cultural bias

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Types of Tests

• Values/Motivational Needs
• Assess what is important to the person e.g.
• Money
• Autonomy
• Comfortable work environment
• Harmonious team
• Power and authority etc
• Self-report using a scale response (e.g.
  unimportant-very important)

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Types of Tests

• Values/Motivational Needs (cont)
• Usually untimed administration
• Less reliable measurement than cognitive tests
  (e.g. needs can change with time)
• Can be faked
• Can show cultural biases

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Types of Tests

• Career interests
• Assess occupational and work preferences e.g.
• Artistic occupations
• Helping professions
• Academia
• Business management
• Self-report using a scale response (e.g. not at
  all interested very interested)
• Usually untimed administration
• Less reliable measurement than cognitive tests
  (e.g. occupational preferences can change with
  time)
• Can be faked

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Types of Tests

• Special purpose scales
• Tests that measure specific skills, preferences,
  competencies or styles e.g.
• Leadership
• Customer service
• Sales orientation
• Safety awareness
• Team style

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The Test Process

• Testing for Employee Selection
• Introduction
• Overview of process feedback to client and
  candidate reporting
• Privacy - sign authority to release information
• Check candidate is well if wears glasses past
  learning difficulties language background
• Brief interview targeting behaviours, interest
  in role/company

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The Test Process

• Testing for Employee Selection (cont)
• Testing
• Cognitive tests - abstract, numerical, verbal
  reasoning specific abilities
• Personality
• Motivation, values
• Specific competencies e.g. leadership, sales,
  customer service
• Feedback to client
• Report preparation competency based
• Feedback to candidate

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The Test Process

• Testing for Career Development/Coaching
• Source of referral will define process
• Third party referral, e.g., employer
• Career path planning of valued employee
• Establish causes of under-performance
• Outplacement
• Determine promotional potential
• Self-referred
• Need a change but just dont know what to do
• Have an idea of what I want to do but need
  confirmation that Im on the right track

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The Test Process

• Testing for Career Development/Coaching (cont)
• Greater emphasis on interview
• Ensure agreement on purpose of assessment, goals,
  confidentiality, reporting etc.
• Focus on relevant history and current
  circumstances
• Testing tailored to individual circumstances and
  purpose of referral. May include
• cognitive tests
• personality assessment
• motivation and values
• career interests
• job satisfaction

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The Test Process

• Testing for Career Development/Coaching (cont)
• Feedback consultation with individual
  development planning
• If third party involved, three way discussion of
  workplace options, development opportunities etc

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Ethics of Test Use

• Assessment process needs to be transparent. That
  is, candidates/clients must be made aware of, and
  agree to
• Nature and purpose of assessment
• Who receives feedback/reports
• Where and how reports are stored

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Ethics of Test Use

• Assessments chosen, administered and interpreted
  appropriately
• Assessments can be shown to be psychometrically
  sound
• Those involved in test administration and
  interpretation should be appropriately qualified
• Results should be used for the purposes for which
  they were intended only
• Test results have a use by date
• Person undertaking assessment is entitled to
  feedback
• Test content should not be disclosed to others
  who are unauthorized to receive such information

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Why Statistics?

• Psychological testing and measurement is the
  process of assigning numbers (e.g. test scores)
  to persons in such a way that some attributes of
  the persons being measured are faithfully
  reflected by some properties of the numbers
  (Murphy Davidshofer, 1998).
• Statistics help us interpret those numbers

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Why Statistics?

• Raw scores

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Distribution of scores

• Range difference between highest and lowest
  scores
• 1 3 4 5 8 10 12 range 1-12
• Mode the most common score
• 1 3 4 4 4 5 8 8 8 8 8 10 12 12 12
  mode 8
• Median value that lies in the middle of the
  distribution when all the scores are arranged in
  numerical order
• 3 5 7 8 15 median 7
• 3 5 7 8 14 15 median 7.5

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Distribution of Scores

• Mean the average. The sum of all the scores
  divided by the number of scores.
• Example 5 peoples scores on a test out of 20
• 15, 16, 17, 18, 18 mean 16.8
• 1, 16, 17, 18, 18 mean 14

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Distribution of Test Scores

• Standard Deviation measure of the variability of
  the scores.
• Example
• 1 2 2 3 17 18 18 19 mean 10
• 7 8 9 10 10 11 12 13 mean 10
• The standard deviation measures the average
  amount that each individual score differs from
  the mean
• Distribution of scores can be shown graphically
• Y axis number of times the score occurs
• X axis the test score

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Distribution of Test Scores
The normal distribution
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Distribution of Test Scores
Negatively skewed distribution
Positively skewed distribution
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Positive and Negative Skew

• Negative skew
• test too easy cognitive ability test
• most endorse the upper end of the scale
  self-report measure
• Positive skew
• test too difficult cognitive ability test
• most endorse the lower end of the scale
  self-report measure

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Transformation of Test Scores

• Raw score the actual number the person received
  on the test
• Standard score
• Z score number of standard deviations above or
  below the mean
• Percentile ranking, T scores, sten scores or
  stanine scores

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Transformation of Test Scores
Example Cognitive ability test out of 40. Mean
20, SD 5
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Transformation of Test Scores
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Correlations

• A simple measure of the correlation relationship
  between 2 variables (r)
• A correlation of 1 ( or -) indicates that the
  two variables are perfectly related.
• Correlation coefficients vary in direction,
  either ve or ve.
• Correlation coefficients vary in strength,
  ranging from -1 to 1.
• A correlation of .64 is stronger than a
  correlation of .23.
• A correlation of -.64 is also stronger than a
  correlation of .23

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Correlations

• How one set of scores relate to another set.
• Positive correlation

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Correlations

• Negative correlation