How Useful Are Job-Related Personality Tests? Not Very, Say Psychologists

Historically, many business organizations relied upon the data from personality tests as a predictor of job success. The number of firms using personality tests has increased. Some companies base all hiring or promotion decisions on the outcomes of these tests. Are personality tests really that reliable in predicting success?

In a recent press release, researchers said that businesses should de-emphasize their use of personality tests. While they can give some insight into a person, personality tests actually have very little relationship between test performance and job performance.

Frederick P. Morgeson, a Valade Research Scholar and Professor of Management at Michigan State University recently announced the results of a study conducted by a collaboration of four universities. Their research shows that the personality tests are not a reliable indicator of job success.

They suggest that job applicants be engaged in more in-depth interviews, leading to a more open process that encourages applicants to trust the interviewer enough to disclose personality traits that are both beneficial, and harmful, to the particular job being discussed.

Indeed, rather than showing a direct correlation between satisfactory job performance and testing outcomes, researchers have determined that personality tests have limitations that most people aren't even aware of.

As an example, researchers state that many job seekers can report a fake answer to a question on the personality test. When someone wants a job, or promotion, it is in their best interest to represent themselves the best way that they can, and no one knows if they fake their answers or answer truthfully.

Even though research has tried to find ways to 'out' these fake answers, to date nothing has been established as a satisfactory way to root out and discover fraudulent answers on personality tests.

Researchers suggest that the tests be altered so that people can provide more information when a question is ambiguous. For example, many personality tests ask a 'yes/no' question, "Have you ever stolen anything?"

How is a job seeker supposed to answer this? Maybe they stole a candy bar when they were a child, maybe they stole a few thousand dollars from their last employer. The problem is that both answers would carry the same weight, without allowing for the difference in circumstances that are clearly evident.

The universities that participated in this research include Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, and the University of Central Florida.

Their research study has been published in Personnel Psychology.

Source:
http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/536085/