Psychometrics is a scientific parameter concerned with the question of how psychological theories (e.g., intelligence, neuroticism, or depression) can be optimally associated with observables “(e.g., outcomes of psychological tests, genetic profiles, neuroscientific information)” (Bollen,2002). This problem is most frequently move toward through the construction of measurement models, in which the construct of interest is signified as a latent variable that acts as a common element of a set of visible variables (Bollen,2002). Psychometric means ‘mental measurement’ (Armstrong’s 2006).
Psychometric
tests mainly can be divided into two, which are Personality Test and Ability
Test (Carless, 2007) However, ability test-use to examine employees’ skills,
verbal skills, numerical skill, problem-solving, decision making (Ryan and
Sackett,1987).
According
to Armstrong (2014), Selection tests are helping to provide a valid and
reliable indication of the level of abilities, intelligence, personality, aptitude, and attainments. Hence, they are using systematics and standardize procedures
to measure different individual characteristics (Amstrong,2014). This will help
to a better understanding of each individual candidate to help in predicting the extent
to which they will be successful in a job (Amstrong,2014).
TYPES OF PSYCHOMETRIC
TEST
Source (HWWW Channel,2019)
This
video shows types of psychometric tests, mainly describe Aptitude tests and
personality tests. The further video explains about the numerical reasoning test,
abstract reasoning tests, verbal reasoning test, situational judgment, and the
psychometric personality test, personality questionnaires. (HWWW Channel,2019)
Armstrong (2010),
describes the main types of the test as below
vIntelligence Tests
v Personality
Tests
vAbility Tests
vAptitude Tests
vAttainment Tests
vIntelligence
tests
Intelligence
tests measure a range of mental abilities that enable an individual to succeed
at a variety of intellectual tasks using the talent of abstract thinking and cognitive
(Armstrong, 2014). They are concerned with general intelligence and are
sometimes called ‘general mental ability’ (GMA) tests (Armstrong, 2014). Hence
that if an individual is good at solving a certain kind of problem, they will
be able to solve other types of problems (Andrew Jenkins,2001).
The meta-analysis conducted by Schmidt and Hunter (1998) showed that intelligence
tests had high predictive validity(Amstrong,2014).
These tests may measure verbal and numerical cognitive, critical cognitive, or
the ability to follow a series of logical steps at an abstract level (Andrew
Jenkins,2001).
According
to Dawkins et al., (2013) many companies in the engineering sector, use
psychological tests’ as part of their process of recruitment to evaluate the
intelligence and general abilities, personal characteristics/ attributes of
potential employees or candidates applying for jobs.
vPersonality tests
Personality
test-use to examine the employee’s behavior at the workplace, teamwork,
interpersonal skills, leadership (Arthur, Woehr, and Graziana, 2001). According
to the Armstrong (2014) tests attempt to assess the personality of candidates
in order to make predictions about their expected behavior in a role. There are
many different theories of personality test and, therefore, many different
types of personality tests, including self-report personality questionnaires
and other questionnaires that measure interests, values or work performance
(Amstrong,2014). Personality tests can be provided interesting additional
information about each candidate that is free from the biased reactions that often
occur in face-to-face interviews, but they have to be used with great care (Amstrong,2014).
The tests need to be developed by a reputable psychologist or test agency on
the basis of extensive research and field testing, and they must meet the
specific of the user requirements (Amstrong,2014)
“One
of the most generally accepted ways of classifying personality is the
five-factor model. As summarized by McCrae and Costa (1989), this model defines
the key personality characteristics. These ‘big five’, as Roberts (1997) calls
they are:
●
extraversion/introversion – gregarious, outgoing, assertive, talkative and
active (extraversion); or reserved, inward-looking, diffident, quiet,
restrained (introversion);
●
openness to experience – curious, imaginative, willingness to learn,
broad-minded; or blinkered, unimaginative, complacent, narrow-minded.” (Armstrong
2010)
The Big 5 OCEAN Traits Explained -
Personality Quizzes
The
above video describes big five Personality characteristics, and how those
characteristics linked with each and work inside a person (Practical Psychology, 2019).
The Company I work in is a leading Cement Manufacture and the company is conducting the psychometric test for managers. According to the HR manager, they are conducting
intelligence tests, personality tests, and aptitude tests online when the
recruit to the managerial position (HR Manager UTCL,2020).
Reference List
Andrew Jenkins (2001) Companies’ Use of
Psychometric Testing and the Changing Demand for Skills: A Review of the
Literature, Centre for the Economics of EducationLondon
School of Economics and Political Science. London WC2A 2A
Arthur, W., Woehr, D, and Graziano, W.
(2001)Personality Testing in Employment Settings, Problems, and Issues in the
Application of Typical Selection Practices, Personnel Review,
30,pp.657–676.
Armstrong’s (2010) A Handbook of Human
Resource Management Practice 10th ed PP464-465
Armstrong’s (2014) A handbook of human
resource management practice.13th ed p.196-465
Carless, S. (2007)Graduate Recruitment
and Selection in Australia, International Journal of Selection and Assessment,
15, pp. 153–166·
Dawkins, S., Martin, A., Scott, J. and
Sanderson, K., (2013). Building on the positives: A psychometric review and
critical analysis of the construct of psychological capital. Journal of
Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 86(3), pp.348-370
Ability test-use to examine to employees’
skills, verbal skills, numerical skill, problem-solving, decision making (Ryan
and Sackett,1987). according to Armstrong (2014), ability tests create too
check what people are capable to do or what kind of knowledge they are having to
do the job.
“They
measure the capacity for:
●
verbal reasoning – the ability to comprehend, interpret and draw conclusions
from oral or written language;
●
numerical reasoning – the ability to comprehend, interpret and draw conclusions
from numerical information;
●
spatial reasoning – the ability to understand and interpret spatial relations
between objects;
●
mechanical reasoning – understanding of everyday physical laws such as force
and leverage.”
(Amstrong,2014).”
According
to the Andrew Jenkins, (2001) most of the test companies offer ability tests
which assesses the specific tasks required in particular jobs. Further Andrew
Jenkins, (2001) points out as an example, there are tests for clerical jobs
which assess verbal and numerical checking skills, comprehension of office
vocabulary, and the ability to plan and organize (Andrew Jenkins,2001).Similarly, there are tests for technical jobs
such as technical checking and faultfinding, knowledge of electronics, and the
ability to comprehend diagrams and other job-specific tests exist for call center
staff, computer programmers, sales staff, and managers(Andrew Jenkins,2001).
Ability Test (Numerical, Mechanical,
Verbal Ability and General Reasoning Questions & Answers)
Video
explain about numeric reasoning, Mechanical Comprehension, Verbal Ability and
General reasoning and sample questions that can be tested in the Ability test.
(CareerVidz,2019)
vAptitude
tests
Robert
Edenborough (2005) argues that the terms ‘aptitude’ and ‘ability’ are not
always exactly separated. Many tests in these categories are used to look at
behavior, frequently of an intellectual or cognitive nature, with greater or
lesser degrees of specificity. Accordingly, there are tests of general
intelligence, which can be observed as mental horsepower or the general ability
to process information and more expert tests of a particular ability,
(Edenborough, 2005).
According
to the Armstrong (2014) Aptitude tests are job-related tests that assess the
extent to which people can do the work. They typically take the form of work
sample tests, which duplicate a significant aspect of the actual work the
candidate will have to do, such as using a keyboard or carrying out a skilled
task such as repair work sample tests can be used only with applicants who are
already familiar with the task through experience or training. (Amstrong,2014).
“The
term ‘aptitude’ is usually reserved for those tests directed at predicting
whether skill in a particular area can be acquired. Examples are the Computer
Operator Aptitude Battery (COAB) and clerical aptitude batteries such as that
in SHL’s Personnel Test Battery.” (Edenborough, 2005)
Aptitude test Questions
and Answers
Source (CareerVidz,2020)
Above video explain about
what are aptitude tests, types of aptitude test and sample aptitude test
questions(CareerVidz,2020).
vAttainment
tests
Attainment
tests commonly used to measure capabilities or skills that have already been learned
by training or experience (Armstrong, 2010). A typing test is the most typical
example. It is easy to find out how many words a minute a typist can type and
compare that with the standard required for the job. ( Armstrong, 2010)
According
to Edenborough (2005) this test often referred to as achievement tests,
these are commonly used in relation to educational assessment than in
occupational settings. They denote standard ways of measuring the amount of
skill currently reached or accomplished in a particular area. (Edenborough,2005)
‘For
example, the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA), which was published by the
Psychological Corporation (1988), is designed to measure attainment in numeracy
and literacy skills in adults. This battery of four tests is organized at three
levels of difficulty for each and with a short initial screening test. The
latter means that the appropriate level of difficulty can be chosen for
detailed investigation and so the actual level of attainment assessed with some
precision” (Edenborough, 2005).
Above video shows example 38 number of attainment
test(The Art of Service,2017).
Reference List.
Andrew Jenkins (2001) Companies’ Use of
Psychometric Testing and the Changing Demand for Skills: A Review of the
Literature, Centre for the Economics of EducationLondon
School of Economics and Political Science. London WC2A 2A.
Armstrong’s (2010) A Handbook of Human
Resource Management Practice 10th ed PP464-465.
Armstrong’s (2014) A handbook of human
resource management practice.13th ed p.196-465.
The validity of psychometrics has been discussed for a long time. Arthur (2011)
notes that the predictive ability of an assessment helps measure its success,
and analytical ability helps in explaining the degree in which a score on a the psychometric assessment predicts how well a candidate will perform in the given
position or in the given role. According to Arthur,(2011).
The validity of the
assessment tests can be measured in quantitative terms by using 0 to 1
measurement scale, where the correlation of 0 will represent no prediction or no
relation while the correlation of 1 stands for perfect prediction and the
correlation above 0.3 is considered to be strong. The validity of an unstructured interview has
only measure to 0.2. On the other hand, a selection process that unites a
general reasoning test, a personality questionnaire, a job simulation exercise,
and a structured interview has predicted a validity of 0.7 to 0.8, which further
on provides the tester with confidence in hiring the best candidate (Arthur,
2011).
Fletcher,(2006)
says that in order to make psychometrics valid, an organization is required to
make changes in its assessment criteria every time in order to keep the balance
of skills and personalities required at that time. For example, if an organization needs a person with good communication skills for a role, a tester
will craft assessment that will help in assessing candidates on the basis of
their communication skills or if they need people with more emotional stability
than communication skills for another project, an assessment will be changed
accordingly(Fletcher,2006).
Source:
The Psychometric World,(2015).
Above video explain the concept of psychometric
properties and learn about 3 main psychometric properties viz. reliability,
validity and norms (The Psychometric World,2015).
However
due to the complexity involved in designing such questionnaires and trials and
testing of the questionnaire on a sample group of people within a company set
up keeping the purpose behind the whole exercise confidential can be difficult
companies can take the help of consultants for the purpose(Sayantany
Paul,2013).
“At its essence, validity means that the information yielded by a test is
appropriate, meaningful, and useful for decision making – the purpose of mental
measurement” (Osterlind, 2010)
There
are five types of validity:
Source:
Edenborough,-(2005)The different types of validity.
Armstrong’s (2010) further elaborate above different types of validity as below.
Predictive validity
the extent to which the test correctly predicts future behavior. To establish
predictive validity, it is necessary to conduct extensive research over a
period of time. It is also necessary to have accurate measures of performance
so that the prediction can be compared with actual behavior.
Concurrent validity
the extent to which a test score differentiates individuals in relation to a
criterion or standard of performance external to the test. This means comparing
the test scores of high and low performances as indicated by the criteria and
establishing the degree to which the test indicates whoshould fit into the
high or low-performance groups.
Content validity
the extent to which the test is clearly related to the characteristics
of the job or role for which it is being used as a measuring instrument.
Face
validity
the extent to which it is felt that the test ‘looks’ right, ie is
measuring what it is supposed to measure.
Construct validity
the extent to which the test measures a particular construct or
characteristic.
Aamodt
(2015) argues that for the organization also knowing what tests are most commonly
used but there is also need to know what is the best evidence what does a good
test, Outside the simple logic there are technical criteria used by
professionals when evaluating to estimate the strength of psychometric
instruments. Validity refers to whether a test measures what it is supposed to measure
(Edenborough,2005).
“There
is plenty of evidence of the validity of tests and assessment centers. Work in this area has been dominated by
studies of US origin using US datasets and it would be valuable if more
validation studies were available which used datasets from European and other
non-American countries. However, the evidence available does point quite strongly to the conclusion that
psychometric tests are able to make valid predictions about job performance, across
a broad range of different jobs” (Andrew Jenkins,2001).
Reference List
Andrew Jenkins (2001) Companies’ Use of
Psychometric Testing and the Changing Demand for Skills: A Review of the
Literature, Centre for the Economics of Education London School of Economics
and Political Science. London WC2A 2A .
Arthur,(2011). The validity of
psychometric testing: What is the most effective way of selecting the right
candidate for the job.Accessed on May 20, 2020, from hfi.com: http://www.hfi.com/images/GrapevineArticles/psychometric%20testing%20grapevine%20mar%2011.pdf
Fletcher, S. (2006,). Feature: Does Psychometric Testing Work? . May
20, 2020, from trainingzone.co.uk.
Sayantany Paul,(2013),Use
of Psychometric tests in recruitment.International
Journal of Research in Management, ISSN
2249-5908, Issue 3, Vol. 2 Available online on at<http://www.rspublication.com/ijrm/ijrm_index.htm>.
Armstrong’s (2010) A Handbook of Human
Resource Management Practice 10th ed PP463-464.
·Aamodt, M., 2015.
Industrial/organisational psychology: An applied approach. Nelson
Education.
Robert Edenborough, (2005).Assessment
methods in recruitment, selection, and performance.
Kogan Page,London and Sterling, VA.
