MGTO 324 Recruitment and Selections

Measurement: Basic concepts in testing

Kin Fai Ellick Wong Ph.D.Department of Management of Organizations

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

Prologue

• After recruiting, employers have to decide who should be hired

• Selection tests are used to help employers make better decisions

• The decision = a selection = a prediction– What do we want to predict?

• Future job performance

– What is the prediction based on?• Current observable attributes

Prologue

• Measurement = – “assigning numbers to objects to represent quantities of an

attribute of the objects” (textbook, p.305)

Prologue

• More warm-up questions for you…– Why do we measure?– What do we measure?– When do we measure?– How do we measure?

Outline

Measurement:Basic concepts in testing

Part I:Physical vs. Psychological Tests

Part II:History of Testing and Selection

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

Outline

Measurement:Basic concepts in testing

Part I:Physical vs. Psychological Tests

Part II:History of Testing and Selection

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

Part I: Physical vs. Psychological Tests

• Individual differences– Physical

• Age, height, skin color, voice, blood pressure, etc.

– Psychological• Intelligence, personality, attitude, value

– Which one is the major target of selection testing?

Part I: Physical vs. Psychological Tests

• Physical Tests– Measured by appropriate apparatuses

• Straightforward• No obvious problem in terms of validity

– E.g., Thermometer Temperature; Ruler Lengths

• Psychological Tests• Intelligence, personality, attitude, value• Problem in terms of validity

– E.g., Is the so-called IQ test really measuring intelligence?

Part I: Physical vs. Psychological Tests

• See a typical “lay” psychological test from 香蕉網 (banana.com.hk)– 你是怎樣的情人 ? (What types of lovers are you?)– http://banana.com.hk/exp_psych/t3/– PS

• I have never visited this site before preparing this lecture…

Part I: Physical vs. Psychological Tests

• So, how can I know that the test is a “useful” one?

– Reliable and valid– Part II of this course mainly focuses on the issues of

reliability and validity in testing– You are expected to be able to

a. Assess the extent to which a test is reliable and valid

b. Construct and validate a test

c. Use SPSS to achieve (a) & (b)

d. All of the above

Outline

Measurement:Basic concepts in testing

Part I:Physical vs. Psychological Tests

Part II:History of Testing and Selection

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

Part II: History of Testing and Selection

• The evolution of Testing and Selection– Political influences

• Early Antecedents• World War I

– Influences from other science disciplines• Charles Darwin• Experimental Psychology

Part II: History of Testing and Selection

• Trivia ( 冷知識 )– When and where was the idea of using testing for empl

oyee selection first developed?– The answer is….

•China

Part II: History of Testing and Selection

• Political influences: Early Antecedents– Evidence suggests that Chinese had relatively sophisticated civil

service testing program more than 4000 years ago (DuBois, 1970)

• Zhou Dynasty (around 1000 B.C.)– Oral examinations

• Han Dynasty (around 200 B.C.)– Test batteries were used for selection

» 董仲舒 五經博士• Tang Dynasty (around 600 A.D.) to Ming Dynasty (around 1400 A.D.)

– A national multistage testing program

– Local Provincial Capitals Nation’s Capital

» 西廂記 : 張居瑞» 陳世美

Part II: History of Testing and Selection

• Political Influences: Early Antecedents– How about the Western World?

• 1832– English East India Company copied the Chinese system for

employee selection

• 1855 – British government adopted a similar system of testing for its civil

service– French and German governments followed it

• 1883– The US government established the American Civil Service

Commission

Part II: History of Testing and Selection

• Political Influences: World War I– The problems

• Aircrafts lost due to ….

– The demand for military recruits • Quick and effective ways to select people who are suitable to be pilots

– The US government requested assistance from Robert Yerkes (1921), president of American Psychological Association

• Army Alpha– Reading ability

• Army Beta– Intelligence

• Group tests

Part II: History of Testing and Selection

• Influences from science disciplines: – Charles Darwin

• The Origin of Species ( 進化論 )– Variation within species; Mechanism of natural selection

• Francis Galton, Charles’ relative, a psychologist– Applying Darwin’s theory to human beings– Individual differences

» Some people have characteristics that made them more fit than others

» Individual differences exist in human sensory and motion functioning, such as reaction time, visual acuity, and physical strengths

» Strengthening the idea that we need some methods to capture individual differences

Part II: History of Testing and Selection

• Influences from science disciplines: – Experimental Psychology

• Weber & Fechner– Psychophysics– Using scientific methods to study psychological matters (e.g., sensati

on)

• Wundt– Founder of modern psychology– Psychology as a scientific discipline

• Testing = experiment– Need to have control and to be objective

• Strengthening the notion that testing should be scientifically conducted

Outline

Measurement:Basic concepts in testing

Part I:Physical vs. Psychological Tests

Part II:History of Testing and Selection

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

• Scientific elements– Observable– Measurable– Can be replicated

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

• Scientific elements– Observable

• Overt behaviors – Respond time– Answer to a question– Correct rates of a test

• Covert behaviors– Attitude, thoughts– Inferred from overt behaviors

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

• Scientific elements– Measurable

• Can be detected and have quantified expression– Weight: kg; lb;– Lightness: ultraviolet index 紫外線指數– Loudness: dB, 分貝– Intelligence: IQ

» Inferred from overt behaviors found in performance IQ test

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

• Scientific elements– Can be replicated

• Which of the following items means APPLE in French?– PLIE– LIEP– EPIL– ELIP

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

• Scientific elements in testing– Quantified measurement

• Observable and measurable

– Reliability• The measurement is precise• Can be replicated

– Validity• The measurement is valid• It measures what it is supposed to measure

– Ruler length; IQ test Intelligence

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

• Standards for educational and psychological testing from American Psychological Association– You may visit the website

http://www.apa.org/science/standards.html#overview– Part 1: Test construction, Evaluation, and

Documentation• Validity• Reliability and errors of measurement• Test development and revision• Scale, norm, and score comparability• Test administration, scoring, and reporting• Test documents

Part III:Scientific Elements in Testing

• Standards for educational and psychological testing from American Psychological Association– Part 2: Fairness in testing

• Fairness and bias in testing and test use• The rights and responsibility of test takers• Testing people of diverse linguistic backgrounds• Testing individuals with disability

– Part 3: Testing application• Responsibilities of test users• Psychological testing and assessment• Educational testing and assessment• Testing in employment and credentialing • Testing in program evaluation and public policy