PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTINGS

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Some organizations may give importance to various tests, while others may emphasize interviews and reference checks (Anwar, 2016). Selection tests can be divided into two broad categories: measures of typical performance such as personality inventories that do not have right or wrong answers. It measures of maximum performance that measure how well people can do things, how much they know and the level of their ability. Also ask questions for which there are right or wrong or good or bad answers. The latter category can focus on (ability & aptitudes tests) what people are capable of doing or what they actually can do (Armstrong, 2009).

  • Introduction

Psychological tests are measuring instruments, which is why they are often considered as psychometric tests. ‘Psychometric’ literally means mental measurement. For selection purposes, the main types of tests are those used for measuring intelligence and ability and those concerned with assessing personality characteristics (Armstrong, 2009).

Psychometric testing is a blend of personality, aptitude, numeric/ reasoning ability and emotional intelligence tests. In the field of HRM, psychometric testing can be employed for measuring a wide spectrum of an individual’s attributes such as motivation, values, working style, response to different situations etc. The use of psychometric tests in the recruitment and selection process could determine the compatibility of a potential candidate to a specific job (Manikeswari & Seetharam, 2017).

Figure 1: Types of Psychometric Tests

Source: (WikiJob Team, 2022)

  • Intelligence tests

Intelligence (IQ) tests are tests of general intellectual abilities. They measure not a single trait but rather a set of abilities. Such as memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency and numerical ability. An adult’s IQ score is a derived score. It reflects the extent to which the person is above or below the average adults’ intelligence score (Dessler, 2013).

Intelligence tests contain questions, problems and tasks. The outcome of a test can be indicated as a score that can be compared with the scores of members of the population as a whole or the population of the whole or part of the organization using the test (norms). When the mental and actual age correspond, the IQ is100. Scores above 100 indicate that the individual’s level of average is above the norm for his or her age, and vice versa. It is usual now for IQs to be directly computed as an IQ test score. It is assumed that intelligence is distributed normally throughout the population. Intelligence tests can be administered to a single individual or to a group. They can also be completed online (Armstrong, 2009).

Figure 2: Frequency distribution of intelligence corresponds with the normal curve

 
                                                            Source: (Armstrong, 2009)

 

  • Ability tests

Ability tests are concerned with skills and abilities already acquired by an individual (Dessler, 2013). Ability tests should able to measure 4 main capacities of candidates. Verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning & mechanical reasoning are needed to cover (Armstrong, 2009).

  • Personality tests

Personality tests measure basic aspects of an applicant s personality, such as introversion, stability, and motivation (Dessler, 2013). There are many different theories of personality and consequently, many different types of personality tests. These include self-report personality questionnaires and other questionnaires that measure interests, values or work behaviour (Armstrong, 2009). Industrial psychologists often focus on the big five personality dimensions. Extraversion, emotional stability/neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience are the big fives (Dessler, 2013).

Figure 3: The Big Five Personality Traits Model

                          Source: (Slidemodel, 2020)

 

References

  • Anwar, K. (2016) Comparison between cost leadership and differentiation strategy in agricultural businesses. Custos E Agronegocio on Line, 12(2), 212-231.
  • Armstrong, M. (2009) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (11th ed). United Kingdom, Kogan Page.
  • Dessler, G. (2013) Human resource management (13th ed), United States of America, Pearson Education.
  • Manikeswari, G.D. & Seetharam, C. (2017) Psychometric testing – future of successful hiring, International Journal of Academic Research, 4(11).

 


Comments

  1. Jeyarajasingam IyngararajDecember 4, 2022 at 5:55 AM

    Hi Kasun,
    Commonly psychological tests are useful tools to identify the best people of the organization. They should be considered in parallel to selection methods such as work samples and structured job interviews to predict a candidate’s future performance. Psychological test is a scientific tool that measures different characteristics of a person: cognitive abilities, aptitudes, personality, motivation ( Armstrong, 2009). Cognitive ability tests have the highest validity in predicting future performance according to some studies (Ryan and Tippins, 2004). This means that cognitive ability tests can predict future performance better than personality or integrity tests.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Miyuru MadushanDecember 10, 2022 at 1:52 AM

      Thanks for the comment Jeyarajasingam. Addition to that, most of the larger companies that can afford to have a more detailed and accurate selection procedure do utilize some form of employment testing. It is the smaller company that frequently does not bother with tests, but places great reliance upon the interview.

      Delete
  2. Tharaka De VisserDecember 6, 2022 at 3:10 AM

    Agreed on the above content Miyuru Madushan, there are two types of Psychometric tests, Personality questionnaires & Aptitude tests. Personality questionnaires evaluate aspects of an individual's personality whereas Aptitude tests evaluate an individual's intellectual and reasoning abilities. (Swain, 2021) The psychometric tests offer a fair and impartial means to evaluate various characteristics, including personality traits, cognitive capacity, soft skills, critical thinking, and behavioral style.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Miyuru MadushanDecember 10, 2022 at 1:57 AM

      Thanks for the comment Tharaka. Psychometrics literally means mental measurement, and psychometric tests or instruments are measurement devices. The measurement is used to gain understanding of an individual so as to be able to predict behaviour and provide a basis for future action (Robert, 2005).

      Delete
  3. Miyuru MadushanDecember 10, 2022 at 1:56 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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