PENGETESAN PSIKOLOGI Pertemuan 5 & 6

PENGETESAN PSIKOLOGIPertemuan 5 & 6

Matakuliah : L0064 / Psikologi Industri & Organisasi 1Tahun : 2007 / 2008

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After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Explain the principles of psychological testing

2. Describe the implications of fair employment practices

3. Present an overview of a sample testing program

4. Describe the administrative implications of the different types of psychological tests used in the workplace

5. Identify seven types of psychological tests used in the workplace

6. Understand the limitations of psychological testing

Learning Objectives

3

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• Standardization

• Objectivity

• Test norms

• Reliability

• Validity

• Validity generalization

Principles of Psychological Testing

4

Standardization

• Standardization refers to the consistency or uniformity of the conditions and procedures for administering a psychological test

• Maintaining standardized conditions is the responsibility of the people administering the test

• Computer technology is helping ensure that people taking a test receive the same instructions in the same format

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Objectivity

• Objectivity refers to the scoring of the test results

• Objective tests have a scoring process that is free of personal judgment or bias

• Subjective tests contain items such as essay questions and can be influenced by the personal characteristics and attitudes of the scorer

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Test Norms

• Test norms refers to the distribution of scores of a large number of people similar to the job applicants being tested

• Standardization sample refers to the scores of the group of subjects used to establish test norms.

• Standardization sample scores serve as the point of comparison for determining the relative standing of the persons being tested

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Reliability• Reliability refers to the consistency or stability

of a response on a psychological test– Test-retest method is a way to determine

reliability by administering a new test twice to the same subjects and correlating the two sets of scores

– Equivalent-forms method uses a test-retest approach, but uses a different but similar test (disadvantage is the difficulty and expense of developing two separate forms)

– Split-halves method is determined by dividing the items of a test into two groups and correlating the two sets of scores

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Validity

• Validity is the most important test requirement and refers to whether a test measures what it’s intended to measure– Criterion-related validity

• Predictive• Concurrent

– Rational validity• Content• Construct

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Criterion-Related Validity

• Criterion-related validity is concerned with the relationship between test scores and subsequent job performance– Predictive validity involves administering the

test to all job applicants and correlating test scores with later performance

– Concurrent validity involves testing current employees and correlating the results with job performance (but there are problems of pre-selection and differing motivation levels)

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Rational and Face Validity

• Rational validity relates to the nature, properties, and content of a test, independent of job performance measures– Content validity assesses test items to ensure

that they adequately sample the skills the test is designed to measure

– Construct validity attempts to determine the psychological characteristics measured by a test

• Face validity is not a statistical measure; it is a subjective impression of how well test items seem to be related to the requirements of the job

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Validity Generalization

• Validity generalization is based on meta-analysis and refers to the principle that tests valid in one situation may also be valid in another situation

• Replaced concepts of situational specificity and differential validity

• Endorsed by SIOP, the National Academy of Science and included in Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing of the APA

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Fair Employment Practices

• Fair employment legislation increased validity research to document whether a test discriminates against any particular group of job applicants

• Studies indicate cognitive ability tests not biased against Blacks– Differences reflect societal discrimination

• Criterion-related validation procedures are required, when feasible, by EEOC guidelines

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Fair Employment Practices

• Empirical demonstration of test validity does not guarantee that a test will not be declared to be discriminatory– GATB (cognitive test)showed similar validities

for whites and minorities, but minority scores were lower on average

– To avoid adverse impact, U.S. Employment Service adopted race norming, adjusting minority scores upward to equalize hiring rates

– The Civil Rights Act of 1991 prohibits race norming

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Fair Employment Practices

• When race norming was declared unlawful, banding was suggested

• Banding is a controversial practice of grouping test scores for minority applicants to equalize hiring rates (order of selection within a band might not be by the highest test score)

• Many tests have been modified for disabled persons and are supported by empirical validation studies

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Overview of a Testing Program

• Investigate the nature of the job for which testing will be used

• Choose or develop appropriate tests related to job success– Mental measurements Yearbook (1998) offers

information on reliability, validity, and norms– Consider cost, time

• Validate the test and the items within (conduct an item analysis)

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Overview of a Testing Program

• Ensure the items are not too easy or too difficult

• Once the validity and reliability are established, a cutoff score must be determined

• Cutoff scores must consider the probability that a minimally competent person would answer each test item correctly

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Administering Psychological Tests

• Psychological tests can be categorized in two ways– The manner in which they are administered

– The abilities they are designed to measure

• Individual and group tests

• Computerized adaptive tests

• Speed and power tests

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Individual and Group Tests

• Group tests are designed to be administered to a large number of people at the same time

• Individual tests are designed to be administered to one person at a time

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Computerized Adaptive Testing

• Computerized adaptive testing is a way of administering tests to groups of people in which an applicant’s response to one item determines the level of difficulty of succeeding items

• Requires a larger initial investment but is more cost effective in the long run than paper and pencil tests

• Little difference in scores between paper and pencil tests and computerized tests, although time limits may be a factor

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Speed Tests and Power Tests

• Speed tests

– Have a fixed time limit, at which everyone taking the test must stop

– Large-scale testing easier as tests can all be collected at same time

• Power tests

– Have no time limit

– Items generally more difficult than speed test

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Types of Psychological Tests

• Cognitive abilities

• Interests

• Aptitudes

• Motor skills

• Personality – Big Five

• Integrity tests

• Situational judgment tests

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Cognitive Ability Tests

• Widely used for employee selection because they are highly effective in predicting success in the workplace

• A meta-analysis indicated that CA tests had highest validity for predicting success in job training and performance (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998)

• Another study (Kuncel, Hezlett, & Ones, 2004) indicated that cognitive ability required for success in college was not significantly different from that required for jobs with moderate to high levels of complexity in business world

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Examples of Cognitive Ability Tests

• Otis Self-Administering Tests of Mental Ability for lower level, non-managerial jobs

• Wonderlic Personnel Test is a 50 item test of general mental ability (12 minute limit) and correlates with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

• Revised Beta Examination (Beta-III), a nonverbal measure of cognitive ability for those who can’t read

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), individually administered (11 subtests)

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Interest Tests

• Assess a person’s interests and preferences– Try to match applicant’s interests to jobs where

successful incumbents hold similar interests

• They are used primarily for career counseling– Easy to fake, therefore of little use for selection

• Interest does not guarantee success• Examples:

– Strong Interest Inventory– Kuder Occupational Interest Survey

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Aptitude Tests• Measure specific abilities, such as mechanical

or clerical skills• Examples:

– Minnesota Clerical Test measures perceptual speed and accuracy required for clerical duties

– Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board Test measures mechanical ability & artistic orientation

– Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test has questions about principles of mechanical operation

– Computer Competence Tests assesses knowledge of basic computer terminology and application

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Motor Skills Tests

• Measure muscle coordination, finger dexterity, and eye-hand coordination

• Examples– Purdue Pegboard simulates assembly-line

conditions and measures coordination needed for factory work

– O’Connor Finger Dexterity Test & O’Connor Tweezer Test both measure finger dexterity for occupations requiring precise manipulative skills

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Personality Tests

• Assess personal traits and feelings• Two approaches

– Self-report inventories include questions dealing with situations, symptoms, and feelings; may have problems with honesty of responses

– Projective techniques present an ambiguous stimulus, such as an inkblot, to test-takers who project their thoughts, wishes, and feelings in an effort to give it meaning; there are problems with subjectivity

• Rorschach Inkblot Test• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

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Examples of Self-Report Inventories

• Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey yields scores on 10 traits

• Minnesota Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), first published in 1943, is the most frequently used personality test for employee selection and clinical work– Especially useful for jobs requiring a high level

of psychological adjustment– Repeated administrations result in less

extreme scores

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Examples of Self-Report Inventories

• California Psychological Inventory provides scores on 17 personality dimensions– Used to predict success in teaching and health care– Has scales to identify leadership and management

potential, creative potential, and social maturity

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Big Five Personality Factors• The “Big Five”

– Extraversion– Agreeableness– Conscientiousness– Neuroticism– Openness to experience

• Conscientiousness and extraversion are effective in predicting job performance, particularly for jobs requiring autonomy

• Agreeableness and conscientiousness are important for teamwork

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Integrity Tests

• Used to predict and detect employee dishonesty• Two types

– Overt integrity tests which directly assess attitudes toward theft and other dishonest behaviors

– Personality-oriented integrity tests which measure counter-productive behaviors such as general delinquency, impulse control, and conscientiousness

• Women tend to score higher than men on overt integrity tests

• The concept probably measures conscientiousness which would explain why integrity tests are valid predictors of performance

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Situational Judgment Tests

• A series of job-related situations designed to test judgment in the workplace

• Applicants choose best and worst alternatives to solve problem

• Example is the Supervisory Practices Test• Meta-analysis indicates high predictive validity for

wide range of jobs

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Limitations of Psychological Testing

• Uncritical Use – need to appraise test’s norms, reliabilities and validities for the purpose at hand

• Rejection of qualified applicants

• Faking

• Retaking – scores improve with practice

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APA Ethics Code for Use of Psychological Tests

• Test users – administrators and evaluators should be aware of the principles of tests, measurement, and validation

• Test security - tests should only be sold to professionals who will safeguard their use

• Test interpretation - scores should only be given to those qualified to interpret them; the test taker has the right to know the test score and what it means

• Test publication - tests shouldn’t be released without background research to support the developer’s claims

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Privacy Issues

• Some tests may be criticized for the use of questions about personal and intimate issues

• Questions must be related to performance of the job for which the person is applying

• Personal questions about sex, religion, political beliefs, and health have been successfully challenged in court as unwarranted invasions of privacy– See “Newsbreak” on pg. 124

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Key Terms• Aptitude tests• Banding• Computerized

adaptive tests• Criterion-related

validity• Group tests• Individual tests• Interest tests• Objective tests• Personality tests• Power tests

• Projective techniques• Race norming• Rational validity• Reliability• Self-report personality

inventories• Speed tests• Standardization• Subjective tests• Validity• Validity generalization

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