Psychological testing and assessment
Cohen, R. J. & Swerdlik, M. E. (2018)
Chapter 15
Assessment, careers, and business
A whole world of tests is available to help in various phases of career choice.
Historically, one variable considered closely related to occupational fulfilment and success is personal interest.
Measures of interest
Interest measure: an instrument designed to evaluate testtakers’ likes, dislikes, leisure activities, curiosities, and involvements in various pursuits for the purpose of comparison with groups of members of various occupations and professions.
The strong interest inventory
One of the first measures of interest.
Test items prove personal preferences in a variety of areas such as occupations, school subjects, and activities.
One a five-point continuum.
Measures of ability and aptitude
Achievement, ability, and aptitude tests all measure prior learning to some degree, although they differ in the uses to which the test data will be put.
Aptitude test may tap a greater amount of informal learning than achievement tests.
Achievement tests may be more limited and focused than aptitude tests.
Ability and aptitude measures vary widely in topics covered, specificity of coverage, and other variables.
- The Woderlic Personnel tests
Measures mental ability in a general sense - The Bennet mechanical comprehension test
Measure of a testtaker’s ability to understand the relationship between physical forces and various tools as well as other common objects
The general aptitude test battery
General aptitiude test battery (GATB)
A tool used to identify aptitudes for occupations.
Just about anyone of working age can take this test.
Measures of personality
The use of personality measures in employment settings is a topic that has generated a fair amount of debate in the scholarly literature.
- Concerns about attempts by employees or prospective employees to ‘fake good’
- But personality measures are not necessarily fakable and the collected data is still viable even when attempts at faking occur
Although there are many personality tests, some will be more appropriate for the task at hand than others.
Today two of the most widely used personality test in the workplace are
- NEO PI-R
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Measuring personality traits
Personality assessment in the context of employment-related research might begin with the administration of a test designed to measure Costa and McCrae’s Big Five or other number of traits or types to a particular conceptualization of personality.
Costa and McCrea
NEO PI-R, most used today.
Integrity test: a test specifically designed to predict employees theft, honesty, adherence to established procedures, and/or
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