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The Fallibility of Psychological Testing
Psychological Testing has become rampant across industries, more so inthe case of Information Technology, BPOs and ITES companies. Thesetests are used to 'throw up' personality profiles and competencydescriptions that would help companies recruit the 'right' candidate.The Human Resources department in most organizations is responsible forthe administering of Psychometric tests. The International body that sets guidelines for testing is theInternational Test Commission ( ITC ) which stipulates guidelines foradaptation and usage of tests. ITC has issued guidelines to cover thefollowing - Professional and ethical standards in testing Rights of the test candidate and other parties involved in the testingprocess Choice and evaluation of alternative tests Test administration, scoring and interpretation Report writing and feedback. ITC has defined competence in test usage as, " A Competent test userwill use tests appropriately, professionally and in an ethical manner,paying due regard to the needs and rights of those involved in thetesting process, the reasons for testing, and the broader context inwhich the testing takes place." There are many reasons why a test can be fallible - 1. Inappropriate usage of Tests The norms for which the tests have been designed have to be consideredcarefully. They cannot be administered to a population that isdifferent from the norm population ( Norm Population for example couldbe, adolescents, Senior Executives; norms could be based on age,occupation, gender, economic status etc. ). That is, a test designedfor adolescents cannot be administered on Senior Executives and viceversa because the results of such administration would be faulty. 2. Culture Fair Testing Another common flaw is in the usage of tests which are not culture fair.Many psychological tests have been designed for the western populationand can be used appropriately only in that culture. Unfortunately manyof these tests are used on the Indian population giving rise to faultyconclusions. 3. Design of Test The psychological test can only be designed by professionals qualifiedin psychometrics. Many a time lay people design tests using the help ofinformation accessed through the internet or sometimes even from theirown common sense. Such tests are not valid. 4. Validation of tests Every test that has been designed has to be validated. The process ofvalidation would involve administering the test on a large populationover a period of time before it is certified as 'ready for use'. Thiscannot be done from tests that are fabricated overnight. 5. Downloaded Tests Often tests are downloaded from the Internet and are used for purposesother than for which they have been designed. For example, apersonality test being used to test the Emotional Intelligence or TeamSkills of a person. 6. Wrong Customization Sometimes the items of a test are changed to suit the user. In suchinstances the test cannot give valid results. For example an item ( aquestion / statement in the test ) would state - " Do you usually date on weekends ?" , could be changed to " Do you socialize on weekends? " to fit the Indian scenario. The results of the test with such changed'items'will not be not valid. 7. Test Administration The test administration should be systematically standardized, i.e., thetest should be administered under exactly the same conditions to allusers. This means that the actual test environment, the instructions,the timing and the materials are the same on every test occasion.Before administering the test the user must consider the followingguidelines - ? What is the purpose of testing? ? What outcomes will be achieved through testing? ? Why are these specific tests being used? ? Why are these tests relevant to the outcomes being sought? ? What evidence is there that these tests are appropriate for the peoplewho are to be assessed? 8. Confidentiality of Test Results All results of tests must be maintained by the administrator in strictconfidence. Revealing the results could lead to unfair discriminationin the workplace. This happens when a test used for selection isdisadvantageous to certain 'groups' within the organization. In the US,the use of IQ tests in employee selection has been prohibited. This wasdue to the lack of confidentiality maintained by the administratorswhich resulted in employees being unfairly discriminated. At presentany psychometric test has to be administered with utmost care and afterthe requisite permissions is obtained. To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should beconsidered: 1. Ensure that test materials are kept securely 2. Ensure secure storage of and control access to test materials. 3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist with respect to atest including any prohibitions on the copying or transmission ofmaterials in electronic or other forms to other people, whetherqualified or otherwise. 4. Protect the integrity of the test by not coaching individuals onactual test materials or other practice materials that might unfairlyinfluence their test performance. 5. Ensure that test techniques are not described publicly in such a waythat their usefulness is impaired. 9. Competence of Test Administrator and Interpreter The personnel administering the tests have to be strict in following theinstructions stipulated by the test designers. The interpretations toohave to be done by qualified personnel who are psychologists. 10. Limitation of tests The tests are 'limited' for the purposes for which they have beendesigned. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it is requiredthat the test results are supplemented by information from interviewsand group discussions. In addition the test results are not valid aftereighteen months of its administration. 11. Test Copyrights It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can onlybe used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers.Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization inTest conditions and poor control of materials. 12. Test feedback Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users.The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelinesfor written and oral feedback: ? Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports areappropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients. ? Make clear that the test data represent just one source of informationand should always be considered in conjunction with other information. ? Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted inrelation to other information about the people being assessed. ? Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to thecontext of the assessment. ? When appropriate, provide third parties with information on howresults may be used to inform their decisions. ? Explain and support the use of test results used to classify peopleinto categories (e.g. for diagnostic purposes or for job selection). ? Include within written reports a clear summary, and when relevant,specific recommendations. ? Present oral feedback to test takers in a constructive and supportivemanner.
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Givaudan Givaudan Meet Native American Veterans where they live with a VA career VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers | Career Opportunities West Virginia University I moved to Alaska after college for a job. I lost all my friends because I put my career first. Business Insider Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University 15 Companies Offering Health Insurance to Part-Time Workers U.S News & World Report Money Careers at FEMA FEMA Physicians are the nation’s top earners – a slideshow Medical Economics Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News City of Tampa Careers City of Tampa Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Nursing jobs VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Career Opportunities UMHB Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report US Department of Labor Careers at Union | Human Resources Union College Careers Washington State University Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs Financial Times US employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls The Associated Press Working for ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom October 2024 jobs report: How two major hurricanes, labor strike might affect the numbers - NBC News UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Job Search Results UnitedHealth Group UN COMMON CAREERS VCU Health Work With Us National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Careers Medline Reservists (On-Call) FEMA Jobs and internships Bureau of Transportation Statistics Job Opportunities Bellevue School District How to Apply FEMA Careers Micron Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Jobs report on eve of election will be among the most muddled in years The Associated Press Careers KPMG Join our team FHI 360 Internship Opportunities | Careers Boston Consulting Group What Trump's election victory means for job seekers Business Insider Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Careers in A&O Shearman Work At Chess.com Chess.com Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase Career Paths FEMA Careers at Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota The secret to career success may well be off to the side The Economist The 16 Best Jobs for Creative & Restless ADHD Brains ADDitude magazine Mental health at work World Health Organization The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024 The Australian Financial Review Benefits for the whole you Accenture Why Employees Quit HBR.org Daily JobFeed NSW Department of Education Two unis walking the career path alongside graduates The Australian Financial Review How to realize the potential of rising digital jobs World Economic Forum Careers Turner & Townsend Current opportunities Turner & Townsend AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let’s Make Sure It Benefits Humanity. International Monetary Fund Careers City of Norfolk (.gov) 9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2024 and Beyond HBR.org Daily 8 global issues shaping and driving job creation World Economic Forum Jobs Energy.gov Careers at King County King County More and more jobs can be done from anywhere. What does that mean for workers? World Economic Forum > Careers > Job-listings National Reconnaissance Office Employment Opportunities Unity Health Toronto Jobs Dublin City University Careers City of Somerville Careers UTSA Today Careers at USI University of Southern Indiana Careers with the City of London City of London, Ontario Apply for a Job - The City of Vancouver, WA |
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