Chapter 6 – Key Terms
16 Personality Factors (16PF) - Provides scores on the factors of the FFM; it is also used to screen applicants for
counterproductive work behavior.
Achievement tests - Attempt to measure the effects of knowledge obtained in a standardized environment.
Agreeableness/likeability - Five Factor Model personality factors that measures friendliness, cooperative vs
dominate.
Assessment Center - A method that enables "standardized evaluation of behavior on multiple inputs. Multiple
trained observers are used.
Banding - Procedure of evaluating scores within a specific range to all be the same score (Like a letter grade of ‘A’
for scores between 90-100%)
Behavioral interviewing - Applicants describe how they would behave in specific situations. Candidates are
asked to describe actual experiences they have had in dealing with specific, job-related issues or challenges.
Superior validity.
Biographical Information Blanks - BIBs are a lot like WABs, except that the items on a BIB tend to be more
personal and experiential .
Clinical or holistic prediction - calls for an overall judgment based on information gathered by experts.
Cognitive ability tests - Measure one's aptitude or mental capacity to acquire knowledge based on the
accumulation of learning from all possible sources. These tests are also known as general mental ability tests.
Conscientiousness - Five Factor Model personality factors that measures dependability, carefulness.
Content validity - Expert assessment of extent to which the content of a selection method is representative of the
content of the job.
Correlation coefficient - Summary index of the degree of relationship between the predictor and the criterion.
Cross-cultural Adaptability Inventory - Useful international selection test focusing on the ability
to adapt to new situations and interact with people different from oneself.
Dimensions - Clusters of behaviors that are specific, observable, and verifiable and can be reliability and
logically classified together.
Discriminatory bias - In terms of interviews, discrimination based on stereotypes of gender, race, age, or
disability.
Discriminatory impact - Interview questions or processes used which could result in adverse impact.
Discriminatory intent - Non-job-related questions in interviews of only one group (protected) and not others.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) - A multidimensional form or subset of social intelligence or a form of social literacy.
EI is a set of abilities that enable individuals to recognize and understand their own emotions and those of others
in order to guide their thinking and behavior to help them cope with the environment.
Empirical or criterion-related validity - involves the statistical relationship between scores on some predictor or
selection method and performance on some criterion measure.
Extraversion/introversion - Five Factor Model personality factors that measures Outgoing/sociable
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) - A federal law that regulates how background check agencies provide
information about consumers.
Five-factor Model of Personality (FFM) Sometimes referred to as the "Big Five" measures:
Introversion/extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness/likeability, conscientiousness, and openness to
experience.
Group/panel interviews - Multiple interviewers independently rate applicant during interview process.
In-basket - Consists of a variety of materials of varying importance and priority that would typically be handled by
an incumbent. It simulates a situation in which the candidate must deal with a number of memos and items
accumulated in their in-basket.
Incremental validity - The degree to which a measure improves the validity of decisions made from one
source of information (e.g., behavioral interviews add incremental validity to predictions from GMA).
Integrity tests - Measure attitudes and experiences related to a person’s honesty, dependability, and
trustworthiness.
Job Compatibility Questionnaire (JCQ) - Developed to determine whether an applicant's preferences for work
characteristics match the characteristics of the job.
Job knowledge tests - Measure bodies of knowledge required by a job.
Leaderless Group Discussion - Small group problem assignments given to three to six people without
appointment of a leader. Observer assesses dimensions such as oral communication, tolerance for stress,
adaptability, leadership, and persuasiveness.
Linear relationship - Higher scores on selection method (e.g., GMA) go with higher performance and lower scores
go with lower performance through entire score continuum.
Negligent hiring - Holds an organization responsible for the behavior of employees when there is little or no
attempt to assess critical characteristics of those who are hired or retained.
Neuroticism - Five Factor Model personality factors that measures emotional stability
Openness to experience - Imaginative, curious, experimenting
Personality - Individual's consistent pattern of behavior.
Performance tests - Measure KASOCs or competencies.
Personnel Selection - The process of gathering and assessing information about job candidates in order to make
decisions about personnel.
Projective tests - Purpose and scoring procedure of test are disguised from the test taker. Examples include
graphology, Rorschach inkblot test, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), and Miner Sentence Completion Scale
(MSCS).
Race/Sex norming - Interpretation of test scores based on the test taker's race, ethnicity or sex.
Rating bias - Applicant attributes, interviewer attributes, and situational attributes that can influence ratings.
Reference checks - Provide information about an applicant’s past performance or measure the accuracy of
applicants’ statements on their resumes.
Reliability - Concerns the consistency of measurement.
Role-Play Exercise - In the context of an assessment center, candidates assume role of incumbent and deal with a
subordinate about a performance problem.
Rorschach Inkblot test - Shows a series of inkblots to respondents who must then record what they see in each
one.
Self-report Personality Inventories - Typically consist of a series of short statements concerning one's behaviors,
thoughts, and emotions, past experiences, preferences, or characteristics. Examples include Gordon PersonalInventory Profile, Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey (GZTS), and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI).
Situational interviews - Applicants given hypothetical situations and asked to describe how they would
respond.
Situational judgment tests - Measure a variety of skills with short scenarios asking test takers what would be
their most likely response.
Stereotyping - Categorizing groups according to general traits then attributing those traits to a member of the
group.
Structured interviews - Same questions to all candidates in the same order.
Unstructured Interviews - Measure a variety of skills using questions that vary from candidate to candidate and
interviewer to interviewer.
Utility - Concerns the economic gains from using particular methods.
Validity - Extent to which various selection methods successfully predict some important criterion such as
performance on the job or employee turnover.
Validity generalization- Extent to which test results can be applied to predicting job performance for other jobs.
Weighted Application Blanks - An application blank that can be scored like a paper-and-pencil tests.
Wonderlic Personnel Test - A 50 question personnel selection test; valid and more practical test.
Work sample - Consists of tasks that represent the type, complexities, and difficulty level of activities that are
actually required on the job.
Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody - Clarified job-relatedness defense, requiring a careful job analysis to
identify the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the job. Also required employer to
use specific criteria on which to evaluate job performance in showing job relatedness.
Connecticut v. Teal - all hurdles of employment selection that result in adverse impact must meet job
relatedness test.
Griggs v. Duke Power - established “disparate impact” theory.
Lewis v. City of Chicago - cutoff score of firefighter’s exam caused adverse impact and found not to be “job
related.”