Educational attainment as a proxy for cognitive ability in selection: Effects on levels of cognitive ability and adverse impact.

The authors examined the differences in mean level of cognitive ability and adverse impact that can be expected when selecting employees solely on educational attainment as a proxy for cognitive ability versus selecting employees directly on cognitive ability. Selection using cognitive ability worked as a more efficient cognitive screen. Imposing an educational attainment standard of at least 1 year of college, though, did result in noticeably higher levels of cognitive ability in potential applicant pools than did random selection, meaning that educational attainment does work as a cognitive screen. These results held not only in a nationally representative sample but also within and across 6 different occupational groups. Finally, adverse impact is examined for selection using educational attainment, compared with selection on the basis of cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between personality structure, structure of word meaning, and cognitive ability: A study of cultural mechanisms of personality.

Native-born Estonian men (N=912), 17-68 years old, participated in a study on relationships between personality characteristics, dominant structure of word meaning ("everyday concepts" thinking or "scientific concepts" thinking), and level of cognitive ability. Individuals who primarily used everyday concepts thinking or who possessed relatively low levels of cognitive ability did not reveal a coherent Big Five personality structure, whereas individuals who primarily used scientific concepts thinking or possessed high levels of cognitive ability did. Thus, personality may be shaped by a cultural factor--word meaning structure. Earlier studies, which seem to support the idea that Big Five personality structure is a biologically determined human universal, suffer from serious sampling problems and insufficient data analyses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying and profiling scholastic cheaters: Their personality, cognitive ability, and motivation.

Despite much research, skepticism remains over the possibility of profiling scholastic cheaters. However, several relevant predictor variables and newer diagnostic tools have been overlooked. We remedy this deficit with a series of three studies. Study 1 was a large-scale survey of a broad range of personality predictors of self-reported cheating. Significant predictors included the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) as well as low agreeableness and low conscientiousness. Only psychopathy remained significant in a multiple regression. Study 2 replicated this pattern using a naturalistic, behavioral indicator of cheating, namely, plagiarism as indexed by the Internet service Turn-It-In. Poor verbal ability was also an independent predictor. Study 3 examined possible motivational mediators of the association between psychopathy and cheating. Unrestrained achievement and moral inhibition were successful mediators whereas fear of punishment was not. Practical implications for researchers and educators are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combining predictors to achieve optimal trade-offs between selection quality and adverse impact.

The authors propose a procedure to determine (a) predictor composites that result in a Pareto-optimal trade-off between the often competing goals in personnel selection of quality and adverse impact and (b) the relative importance of the quality and impact objectives that correspond to each of these trade-offs. They also investigated whether the obtained Pareto-optimal composites continue to perform well under variability of the selection parameters that characterize the intended selection decision. The results of this investigation indicate that this is indeed the case. The authors suggest that the procedure be used as one of a number of potential strategies for addressing the quality-adverse impact problem in settings where estimates of the selection parameters (e.g., validity estimates, predictor intercorrelations, subgroup mean differences on the predictors and criteria) are available from either a local validation study or meta-analytic research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Get smarty pants: Cognitive ability, personality, and victimization.

Drawing on the victim precipitation model, this study provides an empirical investigation of the relationship between cognitive ability and victimization at work. We propose that people high in cognitive ability are more prone to victimization. In this study, we also examine the direct and moderating effects of victims' personality traits, specifically the 2 interpersonally oriented personality dimensions of agency and communion. Results support the direct positive relationship of cognitive ability and victimization. The positive relationship between high cognitive ability and victimization is moderated by the victims' personality traits; agency personality traits strengthen the relationship of cognitive ability and victimization, whereas communion personality traits weaken this relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retesting in selection: A meta-analysis of coaching and practice effects for tests of cognitive ability.

Previous studies have indicated that as many as 25% to 50% of applicants in organizational and educational settings are retested with measures of cognitive ability. Researchers have shown that practice effects are found across measurement occasions such that scores improve when these applicants retest. In this study, the authors used meta-analysis to summarize the results of 50 studies of practice effects for tests of cognitive ability. Results from 107 samples and 134,436 participants revealed an adjusted overall effect size of .26. Moderator analyses indicated that effects were larger when practice was accompanied by test coaching and when identical forms were used. Additional research is needed to understand the impact of retesting on the validity inferences drawn from test scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voice and cooperative behavior as contrasting forms of contextual performance: Evidence of differential relationships with Big Five personality characteristics and cognitive ability.

The results of a laboratory study of 276 individuals replicate past findings for cooperative behavior as a form of contextual performance and extend past research by providing evidence that voice (constructive change-oriented communication) may be another form of contextual performance. Conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness related more strongly to voice behavior and cooperative behavior than to task performance. Cognitive ability related more strongly to task performance than to voice behavior or cooperative behavior. Results also demonstrate contrasting relationships for agreeableness (positive with cooperative behavior and negative with voice behavior). This supports recent research suggesting the possibility of bidirectional relationships with personality characteristics across different dimensions of job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting adverse impact and mean criterion performance in multistage selection.

The authors present an analytical method to assess the average criterion performance of the selected candidates as well as the adverse impact and the cost of general multistage selection decisions. The method extends previous work on the analytical estimation of multistage selection outcomes to the case in which the applicant pool is a mixture of applicant populations that differ in their average performance on the selection predictors. Next, the method was used to conduct 3 studies of important issues practitioners and researchers have with multistage selection processes. Finally, the authors indicate how the method can be integrated into a broader analytical framework to design multistage selection decisions that achieve intended levels of selection cost, workforce quality, and workforce diversity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multistage selection strategies: Simulating the effects on adverse impact and expected performance for various predictor combinations.

Examination of the trade-off between mean performance and adverse impact has received empirical attention for single-stage selection strategies; however, research for multistage selection strategies is almost nonexistent. The authors used Monte Carlo simulation to explore the trade-off between expected mean performance and minority hiring in multistage selection strategies and to identify those strategies most effective in balancing the trade-off. In total, 43 different multistage selection strategies were modeled; they reflected combinations of predictors with a wide range of validity, subgroup differences, and predictor intercorrelations. These selection models were examined across a variety of net and stage-specific selection ratios. Though it was still the case that an increase in minority hiring was associated with a decrease in predicted performance for many scenarios, the current results revealed that certain multistage strategies are much more effective than others for managing the performance and adverse impact trade-offs. The current study identified several multistage strategies that are clearly more desirable than those strategies previously suggested in the literature for practitioners who seek a practical selection system that will yield a high-performing and highly representative workforce. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prefrontal cognitive ability, intelligence, Big Five personality, and the prediction of advanced academic and workplace performance.

Studies 1 and 2 assessed performance on a battery of dorsolateral prefrontal cognitive ability (D-PFCA) tests, personality, psychometric intelligence, and academic performance (AP) in 2 undergraduate samples. In Studies 1 and 2, AP was correlated with D-PFCA (r=.37, pg) and personality. Studies 3 and 4 assessed D-PFCA, personality, and workplace performance among (a) managerial-administrative workers and (b) factory floor workers at a manufacturing company. Prefrontal cognitive ability correlated with supervisor ratings of manager performance at values of r ranging from .42 to .57 (ps     

Designing pareto-optimal selection systems: Formalizing the decisions required for selection system development.

The article presents an analytic method for designing Pareto-optimal selection systems where the applicants belong to a mixture of candidate populations. The method is useful in both applied and research settings. In an applied context, the present method is the first to assist the selection practitioner when deciding on 6 major selection design issues: (1) the predictor subset, (2) the selection rule, (3) the selection staging, (4) the predictor sequencing, (5) the predictor weighting, and (6) the stage retention decision issue. From a research perspective, the method offers a unique opportunity for studying the impact and relative importance of different strategies for reducing adverse impact. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing for adverse impact when sample size is small.

Adverse impact evaluations often call for evidence that the disparity between groups in selection rates is statistically significant, and practitioners must choose which test statistic to apply in this situation. To identify the most effective testing procedure, the authors compared several alternate test statistics in terms of Type I error rates and power, focusing on situations with small samples. Significance testing was found to be of limited value because of low power for all tests. Among the alternate test statistics, the widely-used Z-test on the difference between two proportions performed reasonably well, except when sample size was extremely small. A test suggested by G. J. G. Upton (1982) provided slightly better control of Type I error under some conditions but generally produced results similar to the Z-test. Use of the Fisher Exact Test and Yates's continuity-corrected chi-square test are not recommended because of overly conservative Type I error rates and substantially lower power than the Z-test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Faking and personality assessment in personnel selection: Advancing models of faking.

Personality testing is a particularly valuable preemployment assessment tool when one matches personality traits to job requirements. The authors explain that, unlike most other common personnel selection methods, the unique value of personality assessment in personnel selection stems from its tendency to predict the choice to perform, or “will-do” aspects of job performance. The effect of faking on the value of personality testing is discussed, and the authors suggest that personality testing’s contribution to personnel selection could be leveraged if more were known about the psychological process underlying applicant faking behaviour. To this end, the authors present an improved general model of the applicant faking process as well as a new “faking decision tree.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling the behavior of the 4/5ths rule for determining adverse impact: Reasons for caution.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's 4/5ths rule has been used for over 20 years in applied psychology and employment law. The rule signals that there is adverse impact when the protected group selection ratio is less than 80% of the highest scoring group's selection ratio. We conducted several simulations and found, consistent with some previous management science literature, that the 4/5ths rule often resulted in false-positive readings of adverse impact even when there were no underlying (population) standardized group differences between subgroups. We then incorporated tests of statistical significance and found that adding such tests to the 4/5ths rule eliminated many false-positive indications of adverse impact. We also examined simulated selection systems based on meta-analytic values from the selection literature. The frequency of adverse impact signals from the 4/5ths rule increased markedly relative to simulations with no subgroup population differences. Adding statistical tests mitigated the number of indications of adverse impact to some extent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental change and intraindividual variability: Relating cognitive aging to cognitive plasticity, cardiovascular lability, and emotional diversity.

Repeated assessments obtained over years can be used to measure individuals' developmental change, whereas repeated assessments obtained over a few weeks can be used to measure individuals' dynamic characteristics. Using data from a burst of measurement embedded in the Berlin Aging Study (BASE; Baltes & Mayer, 1999), we illustrate and examine how long-term changes in cognitive ability are related to short-term changes in cognitive performance, cardiovascular function, and emotional experience. Our findings suggest that “better” cognitive aging over approximately 13 years was associated with greater cognitive plasticity, less cardiovascular lability, and less emotional diversity over approximately 2 weeks at age 90 years. The study highlights the potential benefits of multi-time scale longitudinal designs for the study of individual function and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality measurement, faking, and detection: An assessment method for use in personnel selection.

Usual methods for personality assessment have been found unsuitable for use in personnel selection contexts. An alternative method of item construction and of scoring key and detection scale development for personality inventories is proposed. Results of a double cross-validation study based on 456 male Ss using 3 newly developed forced-choice inventories indicate that (a) over 90% of the test performance can be correctly identified as self-report or faked, (b) mean score profiles under the 2 conditions for the 5 personality variables under study are virtually congruent and variances under the faking condition are uniformly smaller, (c) validities against peer-nomination criteria are in the moderate range for all 5 variables and (d) Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 reliabilities between .83 and .92 were obtained. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of psychometric bias due to retesting on cognitive ability tests in selection settings.

Using a latent variable approach, the authors examined whether retesting on a cognitive ability measure resulted in measurement and predictive bias. A sample of 941 candidates completed a cognitive ability test in a high-stakes context. Results of both the within-group between-occasions comparison and the between-groups within-occasion comparison indicated that no measurement bias existed during the initial testing but that retesting induced both measurement and predictive bias. Specifically, the results suggest that the factor underlying the retest scores was less saturated with g and more associated with memory than the latent factor underlying initial test scores and that these changes eliminated the test's criterion-related validity. This study's implications for retesting theory, practice, and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A conceptual and empirical analysis of the cognitive ability–voluntary turnover relationship.

Despite much research into cognitive ability as a selection tool and a separate large literature on the causes of voluntary turnover, little theoretical or empirical work connects the two. We propose that voluntary turnover is also a potentially key outcome of cognitive ability. Incorporating ideas from the person–environment fit literature and those regarding push and pull influences on turnover, we posit a theoretical connection between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover that addresses both why and how voluntary turnover is related to cognitive ability. Integrating data from 3 different sources, our empirical analyses support the theoretical perspective that the relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover depends on the cognitive demands of the job. When the cognitive demands of a job are high, our findings support the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover, such that employees of higher and lower cognitive ability are more likely than medium cognitive ability employees to leave voluntarily. With regard to jobs with low cognitive demands, our data are more consistent with a negative linear relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover, such that higher cognitive ability employees are less likely to leave voluntarily. We also examine the role of job satisfaction, finding that job satisfaction is more strongly linked to voluntary turnover in jobs with high cognitive demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recurrence of MDD: A prospective study of personality pathology and cognitive distortions.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a high risk of recurrence, especially among individuals whose initial episode occurs during adolescence. Identifying predictors of recurrence of MDD among young samples is therefore of paramount clinical importance. Survival analytic models were used to evaluate the effects of dysfunctional cognitions and Axis II personality pathology on MDD recurrence in a sample of 130 previously, but not currently, depressed young adults. Participants were initially assessed for depression, dysfunctional attitudes, and personality pathology during their first semester in college and then reevaluated via the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation interview every 6 months for 18 months. Baseline level of depressive symptoms significantly (HR-1.07, p = .002) predicted recurrence of MDD. In the survival analyses with baseline level of depression serving as a current mood state covariate, overall personality pathology (HR-1.04, p DSM–IV personality disorder cluster scores uniquely predicted recurrence. We discussed the theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of these findings, and we noted the limitations of the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)