New Technology in Personnel Selection: The Validity and Acceptability of Multimedia Tests

The advances in technology of the last fifty years, specifically the advent of the computer, its continuous improvements in functionality and capacity, and the growth of the internet, have affected almost every aspect of psychological testing in personnel selection practices. Since the 1960s, traditional psychological tests with paperand- pencil formats are already being converted to computerized formats (Bartram, 1994). Yet, new technology provides more possibilities than simply changing the test medium. For instance, it also provides the opportunity to dynamically select the items to be presented and to use a variety of stimulus materials (Olson-Buchanan & Drasgow, 1999). Recently, researchers and practitioners are using new technology for the delivery of so-called multimedia tests, which include audio and video fragments (Lievens, Van Dam, & Anderson, 2002). The present dissertation presents five empirical studies on multimedia tests and is aimed to address both theoretical and practical questions concerning their validity and acceptability. In this introductory chapter, first, a short overview of the history of computerized testing is given. Second, past research regarding multimedia testing within the domain of personnel selection is discussed. Finally, the research aims of the following five chapters of this dissertation are presented

Comparing domain- and facet-level relations of the HEXACO personality model with workplace deviance:A meta-analysis

Personality research suggests that the prediction of organizational behavior can be improved by examining the criterion-related validity of narrow personality facets. In the current study, we provide meta-analytic effect size estimates (k = 29) for the relations of all HEXACO domains and facets with workplace deviance and re-analyze available data (k = 9) to compare the criterion-related validity of the HEXACO domains with that of their constituent facets. Findings provided evidence for a masking effect among the facets of Honesty-Humility and a cancellation effect among the facets of Openness to Experience. Furthermore, facets generally outperformed domains in predicting workplace deviance. This was most notable for the Fairness facet, which explained almost as much variance in workplace deviance as all six HEXACO domains combined. These results suggest that using a few HEXACO facets to predict workplace deviance can be more efficient than using all six broad domains

Banding together to avoid exploitation:Dominant (but not prestige-based) leaders motivate collective moral opposition from followers

Although dominance is a common strategy for attaining high social rank, it often entails exploitative behavior, bringing leaders into conflict with followers. Anthropological work suggests that a long evolutionary history of such conflict has set the stage for moral systems designed to reduce exploitation from powerful people. Here we establish links between dominance (and prestige) and moral leadership, reporting three studies (total n = 1246) demonstrating that, in response to dominant leaders, followers band together in collective opposition aimed at resisting, and even toppling, incumbent leaders. These studies also identify specific social psychological pathways through which dominant leaders elicit moral opposition-low levels of trust and gossip both mediated effects of leader dominance on collective opposition by followers. While dominance may allow people to rise through the ranks of a social hierarchy, the long-term durability of dominance as a leadership strategy may be undermined by collective moral opposition from followers

A New Scoring Procedure in Assessment Centers: Insights from Interaction Analysis

This paper proposes interaction analysis as an alternative scoring procedure in assessment centers (ACs). Interaction analysis allows for a more fine-grained scoring approach by which candidate behaviors are captured as they actually happen, thus avoiding judgment errors typically associated with traditional scoring procedures. We describe interaction analysis and explain how this procedure can improve the validity of ACs. In a short research example, we showcase how interaction analysis can be implemented in AC settings. Finally, we integrate our arguments in terms of three key propositions which we hope will inspire future research on more dynamic scoring procedures

Development and validation of a HEXACO situational judgment test

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a construct-based situational judgment test of the HEXACO personality dimensions. In four studies, among applicants, employees, and Amazon Mechanical Turk participants (Ns = 72–305), we showed that it is possible to assess the six personality dimensions with a situational judgment test and that the criterion-related validity of the situational judgment test is comparable to the criterion-related validity of traditional self-reports but lower than the criterion-related validity of other-reports of personality. Test–retest coefficients (with a time interval of 2 weeks) varied between.55 and.74. Considering personality is the most commonly assessed construct in employee selection contexts (Ryan et al., 2015), this situational judgment test may provide human resources professionals with an alternative assessment tool

No Evidence for a Relationship Between Hair Testosterone Concentrations and 2D:4D Ratio or Risk Taking

Using a recently developed alternative assay procedure to measure hormone levels from hair samples, we examined the relationships between testosterone, cortisol, 2D:4D ratio, overconfidence and risk taking. A total of 162 (53 male) participants provided a 3 cm sample of hair, a scanned image of their right and left hands from which we determined 2D:4D ratios, and completed measures of overconfidence and behavioral risk taking. While our sample size for males was less than ideal, our results revealed no evidence for a relationship between hair testosterone concentrations, 2D:4D ratios and risk taking. No relationships with overconfidence emerged. Partially consistent with the Dual Hormone Hypothesis, we did find evidence for the interacting effect of testosterone and cortisol on risk taking but only in men. Hair testosterone concentrations were positively related to risk taking when levels of hair cortisol concentrations were low, in men. Our results lend support to the suggestion that endogenous testosterone and 2D:4D ratio are unrelated and might then exert diverging activating vs. organizing effects on behavior. Comparing our results to those reported in the existing literature we speculate that behavioral correlates of testosterone such as direct effects on risk taking may be more sensitive to state-based fluctuations than baseline levels of testosterone

How do idiosyncratic deals contribute to the employability of older workers?

Purpose This study examined the relationships of i-deals with the employability of older workers, and introduces two distinct theoretical processes through which these effects occur. On the one hand, a self-enhancement perspective postulates that i-deals enhance self-efficacy through which older workers become more employable. On the other hand, a lifespan perspective postulates that i-deals enhance older workers? future time perspective through which they become more employable. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered among 244 employees via an online questionnaire that had been sent to employees of 45 years or older at eight companies in the Netherlands. Findings Results showed that task and work responsibilities i-deals are strongly related to older workers? employability, and that this relationship is mediated by future time perspective and self-efficacy. Location flexibility i-deals were positively related to employability. Financial i-deals and schedule flexibility i-deals were unrelated to employability. Practical implications As the percentage of older workers will increase, there is a great need for organizations to focus on the employability of older workers. The present study shows that organizations are able to increase the employability of older workers by individual arrangements. Originality/value Individualization of work arrangements has been theorized to facilitate older workers? employability, but the present study is the first to investigate how i-deals may contribute to greater employability

Playing the trump card:Why we select overconfident leaders and why it matters

Five studies test the relationship between overconfidence and perceived leadership suitability. Study 1, a field study wherein HR consultants assessed candidates for an advertised leadership position, finds that overconfidence positively predicts hiring recommendations. Study 2, in which participants delivered a five-minute job talk to an expert panel, finds that overconfidence buffers social stress, thereby improving participants' job pitches. Study 3, which tested the effect of confidence on leadership selection at different levels of manipulated competence, finds that regardless of competence, confidence increases perceived leadership potential. Study 4, finds that within the context of the 2016 US Primaries, voters were swayed by candidates' confidence, regardless of candidate competence. Study 5, an agent-based simulation, demonstrates that if candidates adjust to voter preferences for confidence, competent candidates become less likely to be elected. These findings suggest that overconfidence manifests behavioral displays that activate people's implicit leadership theories, thereby increasing perceptions of leadership potential

Webcam Testing: Validation of an innovative open-ended multimedia test.

Abstract: A modern test that takes advantage of the opportunities provided by advancements in computer technology is the multimedia test. The purpose of this study was to investigate the criterion-related validity of a specific open-ended multimedia test, namely a webcam test, by means of a concurrent validity study. In a webcam test a number of work-related situations are presented and participants have to respond as if these were real work situations. The responses are recorded with a webcam. The aim of the webcam test which we investigated is to measure the effectiveness of social work behavior. This first field study on a webcam test was conducted in an employment agency in The Netherlands. The sample consisted of 188 consultants who participated in a certification process. For the webcam test, good inter-rater reliabilities and internal consistencies were found. The results showed the webcam test to be significantly correlated with job placement success. The webcam test scores were also found to be related to job knowledge. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that the webcam test has incremental validity up and above job knowledge in predicting job placement success. The webcam test, therefore, seems a promising type of instrument for personnel selection