Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Learning Module

Selection

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lecture, you should:
 Understand the psychological basis for selection research
 Understand the economic value of selection to an
organization
 Understand how the quality of selection programs may be
assessed
 Understand various methods used in personnel selection
 Understand one suggested process for developing a
selection system
 Appreciate the legal environment within which I/O
psychologists working with organizational selection systems
in the United States operate

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Historical/Psychological Basis
for Selection Research
 Psychological Underpinnings of Selection Research

Individual Differences/Psychophysical Research
- Sir Francis Galton
- Gustav Fechner

Psychometrics and Intelligence Testing
- Alfred Binet, Charles Spearman, L.L. Thurstone

Applied Psychology
- Hugo Munsterberg – “Father of Industrial Psychology”

Military Efforts
- Robert Mearns Yerkes – Army Alpha & Beta

Personality Testing
- Raymond Cattell – 16PF
- Harrison Gough – CPI
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
- Paul Costa & Robert McCrae – NEO-PI-R

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Why Selection Makes Good
Business Sense.
 Improves organizational performance
 Separates applicants who are more likely to
perform successfully from those who are less likely
to perform successfully
 Identifies people who have the skills and abilities
to perform up to expectations and improves “fit”
between personal KSAs and job requirements
 Helps to ensure equal opportunity for employment
decision making

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Development Model
Steps in the Development of a Selection Program
Job Analysis

Identification of Relevant Job

Performance Dimensions

Identification of Knowledge, Skills and

Abilities (KSAs) Necessary for Job

Development of Assessment Devices to

Measure KSAs

Validation of Assessment Devices

1. Content
2. Construct
3. Criterion

Use of Assessment Devices in the

Processing of Applications
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Job Analysis
 Basis for many Human Resources Decisions

Training

Performance

Selection, etc.
 Job Analysis Content

Task and Work Activity Analysis

Tools and Equipment

Work Environment

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other Characteristics
Analysis
 Methods of Job Analysis Data Collection
 Use of Job Analysis in Selection System Design

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Reliability
 Reliability – score consistency

Test-Retest

Alternate-Forms

Internal-Consistency

Inter-Rater

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Validity
 Validity – accuracy of interpretation
 I/O psychologists conduct research on the
quality of measures used for selection
 Validation research strategies:

Criterion-oriented

Content-oriented

Construct-oriented

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Methods Used in Selection

Minimum Qualification Screens
• T&E Ratings
• Weighted Application Blanks
• Biographical Data

Abilities Testing
• Cognitive Abilities Testing
• Job Knowledge Testing

Personality and Interest Inventories
• Personality Measures

Employment Interviews

Assessment Centers
- Work Samples
- Mini-Training and Evaluation
- Simulations

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Typical Selection System
 Multiple methods typically applied
 One model for the selection process:

Applicant submits resume and/or completes application
blank in Human Resources

HR representatives screen application/resume for
disqualifying factors (minimum qualifications)

Applicant is administered one or more tests

Applicant is interviewed by hiring manager or supervisor of
the vacant job

Applicants are ranked based on results of testing and/or
interviews

Final selection is made by hiring manager/supervisor in
conjunction with HR

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Use of Assessment Instruments
in Selection
 Decisions Regarding Use of Assessment
Instruments

Combining different measurements

Establishing cut scores/passing standards

Sequencing of assessments in decision
making

Administration issues

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Legal Environment of Selection
in the United States
 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) law and
regulation
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended in 1991
- Executive Order No. 11246
- Equal Pay Act of 1963
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978)
 Scientific Standards and Principles
- Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection
Procedures Third Edition (1987)
- Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (1999)

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
U.S. Case Law
 Griggs v. Duke Power (1971)
 Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody (1975)
 Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust (1988)
 Wards Cove Packing v. Atonio (1989)

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
How Do I/O Psychologists Help
With Selection?
 Identify the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other
qualities (KSAs) necessary for performance
 Develop or identify measures of those KSAs
 Conduct research on the relationship between
selection measures and job performance
 Evaluate evidence of fair treatment
 Enhance current methods of measuring KSAs to
improve prediction of job success

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Emerging/Recurring Issues
 Ethical Issues

Test User Qualifications

Privacy Issues
 Environmental Issues

Changing Demographics
 Applicant Reactions
 Changing Notions of Jobs

Contextual Performance

Work Team and Organizational Outcomes
 Technology

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Exercise: Developing a
Selection System
 Think about the job of your instructor for this class
 On a blank piece of paper, write down for or five
relevant dimensions of performance in this position.
 Some examples:

Developing lecture material

Delivering lectures

Developing tests or measures of class members’
performance

Assisting class members’ in learning material

Performing class administrative tasks (e.g., recording
grades)

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Exercise: Developing a
selection system
 Next, with a small group of class mates:

Read through each individuals’ dimensions

Devise a final list of performance dimensions

Brainstorm with the group on the KSAs required to
perform those tasks and activities
 Interpersonal Skills,
 Reading Comprehension,
 Speaking and Presentation Skills,
 Content Knowledge,
 Planning and Organizing, etc.
 Using some of the selected methods of measure:
• Identify one or more means of measuring these KSAs
• Document the selection system steps you have devised

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002
Conclusions
 Selection is an important issue both for
organizations and for workers, i.e., the general
population.
 With careful design and appropriate use, selection
systems can increase productivity and help ensure
that selected applicants will be likely to be
successful on the job.
 Industrial-Organizational Psychologists apply their
training in psychological theory and scientific
methodology to help ensure that selection systems
are designed appropriately and help to improve the
quality of selection decisions made.

Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 2002