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The use of unproctored Internet-based testing (IBT) for personality assessment is increasingly popular, especially in personnel selection. Previous studies on its equivalence to traditional proctored paper-and-pencil testing (PPT) have used between-subjects designs, which makes it difficult to separate intergroup effects from format effects, and have shown mixed results. The aim of the present study was to assess the quantitative, qualitative, and auxiliary equivalence of unproctored IBT and proctored PPT of personality, using a within-sample design. Undergraduate students (n = 407) completed both an Internet and a paper-and-pencil version of a measure of the Big Five, with a 1 to 3 week interval. The proctored paper-and-pencil assessment was completed in class and the unproctored Internet assessment was completed at the time and place chosen by the participants. Results showed effect sizes for mean differences to vary from null to small. Skewness and kurtosis indices, reliability coefficients, intercorrelations magnitudes, as well as factor solutions, were highly similar across formats. Respondents did not prefer IBT over PPT on a series of statement about their perceptions and reactions to IBT. In conclusion, results suggest that IBT and PPT of the Big Five personality traits are equivalent, and that the data obtained are comparable across formats.

The application form currently used in police officer recruitment neither measures competencies necessary ‘on the job’, nor screens out inappropriate applicants. To improve this situation, a competency-based application form was developed and trialled in three police forces. Results were compared with those obtained via the assessment centre acting as the first competency screening stage of the current selection process. A high level of correspondence was found between the two sets of results raising a query as to whether the application form could be a valid replacement for the assessment centre. A future validation study, in which the performance of recruited police officers is compared with application form results, will better answer this question. In the meantime, it is proposed that the competency-based application form questions are incorporated into the current form to reduce the number of inappropriate applicants reaching expensive, labour-intensive stages of the selection process.

Despite being an effective predictor of job performance, empirically keyed biodata assessments have been criticized as black box empiricism unlikely to generalize to new contexts. This paper introduces a model that challenges this perspective, explicating how biodata content, job demands, and criterion variables collectively influence the construct validity, and generalizability of empirically scored biodata. Across two field studies, expected changes in scale correlations with external measures were found that coincided with changes in the contextual similarity between calibration and holdout contexts, the criteria used, and the content validity of biodata items. Collectively, this paper offers a framework that helps understand and optimize empirical biodata keying in practice, furthering confidence for their use in applied settings.

This paper investigates how organizations' response to a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic affects their employer attractiveness. Based on signaling theory, we argue that a COVID-19 response can signal an organization's employer brand personality, positively affecting applicant attraction. We conducted two experimental studies with employed and unemployed UK participants through Prolific Academic. Both studies indicate that a warm COVID-19 response leads to the highest employer attractiveness and job pursuit intentions, although a competent response was still more attractive than no response. Moreover, applicants use the warm and competent responses as signals of organizational warmth and competence respectively, building higher organizational trust. Limited support for the moderating role of applicants' personality was found. Implications during and beyond COVID-19 are discussed.

This study investigated ethnic majority and minority applicants' fairness perceptions (N = 445) of video resumes, compared with paper resumes. Additionally, the moderating effect of minorities' ethnic identity and language proficiency on fairness perceptions of video/paper resumes was studied. Despite discriminatory concerns, ethnic minority applicants perceived the fairness of video resumes equally or more positively when compared with ethnic majority applicants, and when compared with paper resumes. Minorities' ethnic identity was positively related to fairness perceptions of resumes. Furthermore, language proficiency was a significant moderator: Higher proficiency was related to higher fairness perceptions of paper resumes. The implication is suggested that ethnic minority applicants may prefer a more personalized way of applying (video resume), instead of less personalized ways.

This paper develops and proposes the novel concept of perceived job discrimination (PJD) and a conceptual model of applicant propensity to case initiation (APCI) in employee selection. Distinguishing PJD from actual job discrimination (AJD) as traditionally viewed in selection, this paper puts forward a definition of PJD that emphasizes perceived unfair treatment and violations of the (pre-)employment psychological contract. Differences between AJD and PJD are highlighted and a number of crucial situational features and measurement imperatives noted for PJD to be deemed to have occurred. Extending this construct, a detailed model of APCI is proposed specifying the key inputs, processes, and outcomes of applicant complaint and case initiation for unfair discrimination. Both concepts are argued to be relevant regardless of country-specific legal requirements governing AJD. Future directions for research and selection practices in both PJD and APCI are noted throughout the paper.

This paper examines the new concept of perceived job discrimination (PJD) and an associated model relating to applicant propensity to case initiation (APCI) in selection. The construct is explored and related concepts and avenues for future research are suggested. In particular we propose potential avenues for further theoretical development including the use of attribution theory and self-serving bias, the theory of relational demography and we introduce the concept of ‘political validity’ to be considered when evaluating selection practices. We suggest a variety of research design approaches to consider in investigating the PJD construct and associated APCI further. his paper provides a commentary on a new concept of perceived job discrimination (PJD) and an associated model relating to applicant propensity to case initiation (APCI) in selection. Anderson introduces the broad construct of PJD, identified as distinct from actual job discrimination, and presents a comprehensive working model of how PJD leads to APCI, depicting the antecedents, process, and outcomes. We aim to explore the construct of PJD by suggesting related concepts and avenues for further research. This review is not intended to be exhaustive, but to encourage further comment and debate in the scientific community. First, PJD as a construct is explored. Second, potential theoretical developments are offered with an aim to extend the arguments presented in Anderson’s model of PJD. Thirdly, various approaches to research design are considered to investigate PJD and to test the model of APCI further.

This comment responds to the major issues raised by the papers of Anseel (2011) and Patterson and Zibarras (2011) as discussant commentaries to my keynote paper on perceived job discrimination (PJD) and applicant propensity to case initiation in employee selection. I respond first to the two main themes noted by these authors – (i) theoretical explanations for PJD, and, (ii) methodological and research design imperatives. In conclusion, this brief paper extends these issues to propose that applicant reactions research needs to develop from being a science of mean reactions to becoming a paradigm that can account for pragmatically important outlier reactions and responses as well.

Pearlman, Schmidt, and Hunter (1980) published a seminal paper on the validity of various measures for predicting performance in clerical jobs. They concluded that for both job and training performance criteria, 10 types of tests (e.g., perceptual speed, clerical aptitude, verbal ability) predicted performance across 5 clerical job families. This paper describes a psychometric meta-analysis of validity studies using similar measures for clerical jobs conducted since 1980 to examine the stability of Pearlman and colleagues' validity estimates. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the long-term stability of validity generalization estimates over a period of several decades. Clerical jobs provide a compelling case study because these jobs have changed considerably due to the increased use of computers and technology in the office environment. Results showed that the mean population estimates in the present study were consistent with, or higher than, those obtained by Pearlman and colleagues, thus demonstrating the long-term stability of meta-analytic estimates of validity. The relative stability of the validity estimates also supports the robustness of g as a predictor, even as jobs change over time.

In the present special issue new theoretical and empirical insights on applicant perceptions of selection procedures are provided. In this introductory editorial we address four primary goals. First, we introduce the reader to the topic of applicant perceptions and highlight key theoretical perspectives and past empirical findings. Second, we review the state of the literature and argue that research on applicant reactions has been prospering in the last two decades. Third, we summarize the six papers that have been assembled in this special issue and that are reviewed in the final paper as a discussants' commentary. We close with acknowledging and thanking all of those who have contributed to the publication of this special issue.

With the increasing use of personality, several measurement issues have been raised. The papers included in the special section of this journal, across three issues, address some of these concerns. In this post-script, we summarize some of the major themes and conclusions that appear across papers published in the special issue. Questions around the magnitudes of validity coefficients associated with personality measures, the efforts to enhance the usefulness of personality assessments, the strategies on administering, scoring and analyzing personality tests, etc., are addressed. Promising directions for future research are delineated. With the increasing use of personality, several measurement issues have been raised. The papers included in the special section of this journal, across three issues, address some of these concerns. In this post-script, we summarize some of the major themes and conclusions that appear across papers published in the special issue. Questions around the magnitudes of validity coefficients associated with personality measures, the efforts to enhance the usefulness of personality assessments, the strategies on administering, scoring and analyzing personality tests, etc., are addressed. Promising directions for future research are delineated.

Two quasi-experimental studies were conducted to examine the equivalence of an online unsupervised test battery (ICES ability, interests and personality tests) in relation to supervised paper administration and to test whether differences were because of the lack of supervision, the test being online as opposed to on a PC, or the computerization of the test. In the first study, data from a sample of 86 employed individuals suggested a lack of equivalence on ability scales between online unsupervised and paper supervised testing modes. Effect sizes ranged from .04 to .49 and corrected coefficients of equivalence and stability from .65 to .81. Study two used a more controlled design as well as obtaining data on personality and interest scales. Data from 118 college and university students were collected, with 64 students replicating the design in study 1 and 54 tested in supervised paper and supervised PC modes. For the ability scales, a similar pattern to study 1 was seen between supervised paper and unsupervised online testing as well as between supervised paper and supervised PC testing. Data for interest and personality scales were more positive showing lower effect sizes and higher coefficient values across testing modes. When ability test data from the online testing group were compared with data from the PC group, results showed that the scales were affected by the computerization process rather than the lack of supervision or because they were in online as opposed to PC mode.

One of the most curious and enduring features of personnel selection research was until recently the voluminous range of studies into recruiter decision making on one side and the near-absence of research into applicant reactions and decision making on the other. In the last few years, however, this balance of research attention by industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychologists active in employee selection has begun to shift. And to shift perceptibly and on the basis of simultaneously emergent, international research efforts. Applicant reactions and decision making studies in several countries have begun to shed light on hitherto shrouded features of the applicant’s ‘side’ of selection processes, hence my choice of the title of ‘The dark side of the moon’ for this introductory editorial to this double special issue of IJSA. Firstly, however, let me extend a sincere and warm welcome to all readers of this special issue dedicated entirely to applicant reactions and decision making research. If IJSA has just landed on your desk full of other workload and tasks to be cleared, I can only suggest that it willprovemorethanworthwhiletofirstscan-readallofthe contributions which go to comprise this double issue of the journal – they are exceptionally strong. Researchers and practitioners alike should find much of importance, relevance, and interest amongst the fifteen papers published in this special issue. Contributing authors originate from the USA, Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, andSingapore. They includesome of themost eminent scholars in employee selection globally. For the firsttimetomyknowledgeinthehistoryofIJSAthisissueis divided roughly equally between papers that present theoretical advances and reports on empirical studies. Two of the latter describe entirely new and innovative psychometrically-based measures of applicant reactions. Across the seven theoretical papers published here, authors describe and assert a truly ground-breaking range of perspectives and models for applicant reactions and decision making research. Hopefully, this short precis has bynowatleaststimulatedyourinterest:Iwouldsimplyand rather humbly suggest that the contributions in this special issue warrant careful reading, not merely scan-reading, by any researcher or practitioner with serious professional interests in employee selection. They all, without exception, represent novel and thought-provoking contributions to the newly emergent field of applicant perceptions research in personnel psychology. I would rather less humbly suggest that, combined, the fifteen papers comprising this issue represent a genuine ‘coming of age’ and landmark publication for applicant perspective research internationally. This is down to the insight, visionary perspectives, and unswerving professionalism of the 35 authors whose work is presented herein. In this introductory editorial I address three main points. First, I will attempt to provide an overview and context for the decision to embark upon this special issue into applicant perspectives in selection. I coin the term ‘negative psychological effects ’o rNPEs to encompass the range of situations where exposure to a selection process has demonstrably negative effects upon applicant psychological well-being or mental health. Second, I review and summarize the fifteen papers sub-divided into two sections (Theoretical Advances and Empirical Studies) accepted for publication in this special issue. Finally, I express my gratitude and make acknowledgements to a number of colleagueswithoutwhosekindsupportthisissuewouldnot have been possible.

The nature of work has changed over the years (Viswesvaran, Sinangil, Ones, & Anderson, 2001). One of the major determinants of this change is the technology employed in organizations. Economic and business models have changed over centuries as technological changes are introduced. In fact, from agricultural societies to industrial and post-industrial societies, technological changes (some may call it advances) have played a role in how we live and make meaning in our lives. The science and practice of industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychology, as with any other profession, has been influenced by technological changes. Technological advances have profoundly influenced different areas of our science and practice (cf. Howard, 1996), the least of which is the science and practice of staffing and assessment. The people make the place (Schneider, 1987), and as such staffing is a critical activity for organizations. Assessments for staffing and for related developmental activities (e.g., designing training programs, performance appraisal) play a critical role in our science and practice. Thus, investigating the role of technological advances in the future of staffing and assessment is an important endeavor. Further, given the rapid changes in technology in the recent years, a special issue on this topic is timely. Technological advances have given us several new avenues for assessment and to tailor assessments to specific needs (e.g., web-based assessments, computer adaptive testing, work simulations, accommodating individuals with disabilities). All aspects of staffing and assessment, including recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, etc., have been influenced by technological advances. Furthermore, increasingly, technological trends reverberate globally. The wide spread influence of technological advances is accentuated by its ever increasing power as well as easy accessibility and user-friendliness. All types of organizations (different industries/occupations, small or large organizations) are affected by these technological advances. Of the technological advances, perhaps the introduction of computers and related technology has had the most profound impact on the science and practice of personnel staffing and selection. Whether it is job analysis or recruitment or selection or performance appraisal or needs assessment, science and practice in IWO psychology is changing. Consider some examples. In many settings, job analysis is being automated and large-scale databases are starting to link job characteristics and knowledge, skill, ability and psychological requirements of jobs. Recruitment has seen a tectonic change with the use of web sites and otherweb-based searchmechanisms either replacing or seriously rivaling the use of traditional sources of recruitment. While voluminous research has focused on traditional recruitment sources, research efforts are needed to assess the potential of web-based recruitment. Computerized and adaptive testing have sprouted over the past few years. Investigations of measurement equivalence and psychometric properties of new testing media are increasingly being addressed. Technological impact on performance evaluation systems, needs assessment, and training design are yet largely unexplored. The promise of optimal aptitude by instruction interactions can at last be realized with the new technologies. The impact and implications of technology on assessment of attitudes, surveys, and privacy issues are all areas ripe for investigation. In light of these developments, the International Journal of Selection and Assessment is proud to present this special issue featuring the cutting edge research on the role of technology in staffing and assessment. In this introduction, I will first provide a summary overview of the fifteen papers that comprise this special issue. In the second section, I discuss six themes that pervade the papers included here. Finally, I end with special thanks and acknowledgements to several individuals who made this issue possible.

This paper presents a narrative review of recent research into applicant and recruiter reactions to new technology in employee selection. Different aspects of the use of new technology are noted including computer-based testing, Internet-based recruitment and candidate assessment, telephone-based and video-based interviews, video-based situational judgment tests, and virtual reality scenarios. It is argued that an appropriate way to conceptualize these advances is as ‘technical innovations’ as defined in the creativity and innovation research in Industrial, Work, and Organizational (IWO) psychology. Applicant reactions research is reviewed thematically, and studies into three main themes are discussed: Applicant preferences and reactions, equivalence, and adverse impact. Following Bartram (2001), an amphibian-monarchistic analogy is employed at several stages in the review. Four major criticisms of the extant applicant reactions research base are noted: its atheoretical orientation, a short-termist concentration upon reactions level outcomes, an over-reliance on students as surrogates, and a patchiness of coverage of crucial research questions. The second part of this paper explores neglected issues of recruiter adoption of new technology for employee selection. Again drawing from advances in the innovation and creativity literatures, this section explores likely antecedent factors at the individual and organizational levels of analysis. A general model of recruiter adoption of new technology is posited as a framework for future research in this area. For both applicant and recruiter reactions further research is called for and implications for practice are noted throughout.

Employees can engage in a wide spectrum of counterproductive, disruptive, antisocial, and deviant behaviors at work. Counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) include, but are not limited to, theft, white collar crime, absenteeism, tardiness, drug and alcohol abuse, disciplinary problems, accidents, sabotage, sexual harassment, and violence. Such counterproductivity costs employers billions of dollars annually worldwide. Additional resources are spent on attempts to forecast such undesirable on-the-job behaviors at the time of hire, sometimes using questionable methods. The objective in this special issue of the International Journal of Selection and Assessment (IJSA) was to publish papers that explore the prevalence, causes and consequences of CWB in organizations. To this end, papers that enhance our understanding of CWB and meaningfully contribute to personnel selection and assessment practices in organizations were sought. Papers that focused on the determinants of and co-variation among various CWB so that effective selection and assessment techniques can be developed and utilized were particularly welcome. The Call for Papers included further specification of the domain. It stated `Specific topics for the special issue may include: theories of workplace deviance, theft at work, white collar crime, absenteeism and tardiness as dysfunctional behaviors, substance abuse at work, workplace violence, sexual harassment, the role of individual differences in disruptive behaviors at work, integrity testing in organizations, and the role of stress in counterproductivity at work. Papers on legal and ethical dimensions of counterproductivity and applicant and other stakeholder reactions to organizational use of selection systems to curb counterproductivity are also invited. Submission of theoretical work that synthesizes and expands the existing literature as well as manuscripts that provide empirical investigations on measurement and prediction are desired. Consistent with the major aim of IJSA to promote international and cross-cultural research of excellence on personnel selection, we especially welcome papers that explore cultural influences on workplace counterproductivity.' It is quite unfortunate that much of the literature on CWB is quite fragmented. There are a multitude of behaviors that are considered counterproductive. These include workplace deviance, theft at work, white collar crime, corruption, bullying, absenteeism and tardiness, substance abuse, workplace violence, and sexual harassment. Researchers tend to specialize in a particular counterproductive behavior. The consequence of such specialization is theory building that is specific to specific counterproductive behaviors, often ignoring relevant developments from other areas. The area also suffers from perhaps too much armchair hypothesizing and too little basic, empirical work. Indeed, many books on CWB suffer from too much qualitative review and unsubstantiated hypotheses and too few primary studies to fuel theory building efforts. For the special issue, I was sensitive to these special needs in the literature, and therefore aimed to accept a broad spectrum of high quality papers, including strong empirical and substantiated theoretical contributions as well as papers geared toward practitioners. This special issue includes 9 empirical articles (reporting over two dozen primary studies), 2 meta-analyses, 3 papers presenting theoretical advances based on empirical data from the literature and 2 papers addressing specific issues of concern for practitioners. Twelve of these papers are presented as feature articles, 2 as short notes, and 2 as practitioner forum papers. True to the international nature of this journal, authors represent multiple countries, including Canada, Germany, Spain, and the USA. The empirical research presented also has been carried out in multiple countries: Argentina, Canada, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, and the USA. The call for papers for the special issue received a total of 27 submissions for consideration. Each paper was reviewed by 2±5 external reviewers who were blind to the identity of the authors. In the review process, double

Personnel selection as an applied domain of work and organizational psychology has over one century of scientific history. This paper presents a historical account of the last 100 years of personnel selection by presenting some of the more important landmarks of the discipline. This historical account includes events, theoretical contributions, and methodological advances that have consolidated the discipline as a scientific one. The paper also serves as an introduction to the second part of the special issue devoted to the presentation of the state-of-art of personnel selection at the beginning of the XXIst Century.

Personnel selection as an applied domain of work and organizational psychology has over one century of scientific history. This paper presents a historical account of the last 100 years of personnel selection by presenting some of the more important landmarks of the discipline. This historical account includes events, theoretical contributions, and methodological advances that have consolidated the discipline as a scientific one. The paper also serves as an introduction to the second part of the special issue devoted to the presentation of the state-of-art of personnel selection at the beginning of the XXIst Century.

The Internet has already had a dramatic impact on the way in which recruitment and selection are carried out in North America, and the impact is increasingly being felt in terms of changes in practice in Europe and Asia-Pacific. The paper presents a picture of the current development of the Internet as a medium in general and as a recruitment and selection medium in particular. The new medium has enabled the widespread adoption of computer-based assessment and it is predicted that it will replace paper as the default medium before very long. A range of issues are raised and discussed. These include security, confidentiality, authentication, control of assessment conditions, control over practice and equality of access. It is argued that as the second generation of users takes over from the first generation, so inequality of skill and access are becoming less and less of an issue. Finally, some potential areas of abuse of the system are noted and a call is made for the development of international standards to protect the rights and interests of test providers, test users and test takers.

This paper examines the subject of selecting for diversity. It begins with a brief discussion on what diversity means in this context. An examination is then made of the reasons given by several authors as to why organizations should select for diversity. The paper particularly focuses on (i) gaining greater access to the available talent, and (ii) enhanced team working and effectiveness. Next, the paper discusses an area that is both contentious and controversial in terms of selecting for diversity: that of affirmative action. Here an examination is made of some of the background to affirmative action, the different models and views that people hold of it, and how this fits into a diversity framework.

This paper attempts to integrate concepts of organizational competency across a number of levels of analysis. It provides grounded evidence on existing application and practice, and synthesizes research and development in the area of organizationally derived management competencies. Consideration is given to the underlying theoretical assumptions and definitional issues raised by existing practice. The paper highlights the range of human resource strategies or programmes used to integrate activity and implement strategic changes, and examines the shift in thinking about the importance and nature of management competency. Organization-specific approaches are reviewed and the benefits analysed. A critical review of attempts at integration suggests that application of competency-based approaches within organizations has fallen behind advances in strategic human resource management and that there is a need to shift application towards more future–oriented and strategic contexts. Weaknesses associated with existing approaches to management competency are analysed as is the issue of validity. Finally, the implications of considering competencies as an organizational level resource for human resource strategy are discussed.

The paper reviews and discusses a number of issues relating to the use of computer technology to assist the process of assessing psychologically relevant variables — computer-assisted diagnostics. A definition of computer-assisted diagnostics is given and theoretical developments are discussed. The paper emphasizes the need to consider theoretical issues relating to a number of domains: theory of content, test theory, human—computer interaction, programming theory, instructional theory, normative theory and situation theory. The paper concludes with a view of the current situation and future perspectives, and describes some important ethical issues.

his paper provides practical guidance on T setting test cut scores so as to minimize adverse impact in selection. While fairness in selection involves a host of complex political and psychological issues, the focus of the present paper is on a practical aid for professional test users. How this aid is used is a matter for each person to evaluate based on the instruments being used, the nature of the applicant groups and the selection criteria.

This paper reviews some of the literature on women in management in the UK, with particular emphasis on the biographical data collected in major studies. In view of the small proportions of women in senior management it seeks to identify the potential barriers that assessment procedures create for women wanting to progress to top positions. As organizations are encouraged to increase the‘fairness’and 'sophistication’of these procedures, they may in fact be reinforcing the very nature of the discriminations they are supposedly attempting to reduce. This paper outlines how this may be happening.

Employee recruitment, selection, and assessment have become one of the strongest areas of research and practice in the field of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology. Numerous psychology graduates are employed in human resource management consultancies, human resource management departments, and in specialized work psychology/psychological testing firms; and involved in staffing, recruitment, selection, performance appraisal and training of personnel, and other aspects of applied psychology in countries worldwide. These trends are similarly true within the European Union and so the purpose of the present Special Issue of the International Journal of Selection and Assessment (IJSA) is to showcase and highlight recent advances in employee selection research in Europe. The development of the field is also apparent from the large numbers of scientific articles appearing in both general Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology Journals and specialized outlets, such as the IJSA, which is currently celebrating its 20th volume. Also, a number of influential handbooks have recently been published both in the United States and Europe (e.g. Handbook of Employee Selection, edited by James L. Farr & Nancy T. Tippins; Handbook of Personnel Selection, edited by Arne Evers, Neil Anderson, & Olga Voskuijl), and the number of conference papers and symposia presented in international conferences, such as the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the European Association of Work & Organizational Psychology (EAWOP), the Academy of Management (AoM), and the International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP), dealing with issues related to employee recruitment, selection and assessment, has been steadily increasing during the last few years. Recent research in employee selection has shifted focus from the traditional selection paradigm, that is, the relationship between the predictor and the criterion, toward other important issues as well. For example, there is increased interest in different selection methods (e.g., situational judgment tests), the role of technology and the Internet in recruitment and selection (e.g., video resumes and the effect of social networking websites), the applicant perspective (e.g., trust, fairness, and applicant reactions research), the use of new statistical and methodological approaches (e.g., multilevel analysis and diary studies), ethical issues and adverse impact, high stakes selection, and so forth. These recent developments of the field in Europe has led the guest editors of the current special issue to organize a small scale conference entitled ‘EAWOP Small Group Meeting on Selection & Assessment in Europe’, in Athens, Greece, in June 2011 (http://www.eawopsgm. wordpress.com/), under the auspices and support of the EAWOP and the Athens University of Economics & Business. The meeting was part of the EAWOP Small Group Meetings initiative and attracted a large number of European researchers specializing in the field of recruitment, selection, and assessment. Twenty-four papers were presented during the meeting and the authors were invited to submit a full version of their paper for consideration in the current special issue. Following a full double-blind review process, as is normally the case at IJSA, 12 papers were finally accepted and are included in the current special issue. As editors, we are delighted to be able to publish these papers as showcase articles illustrative of very recent developments across different countries in Europe and covering a notably diverse set of topics in employee selection. The success of the Athens Small Group Meeting, along with the increased interest in recruitment, selection, and assessment in Europe, motivated the participants in Athens to establish the European Network of Selection Researchers (ENESER). The Network’s aim is to advance selection research in Europe, to bring together researchers carrying out applied research in the field of employee recruitment, selection, and assessment, and to

In an effort to bridge the scientist–practitioner gap in the employee selection, some researchers have advocated telling stories to better communicate the value of evidence‐based hiring practices to human resource (HR) professionals. In this paper, we conducted two experiments that examine the efficacy of storytelling for overcoming managers’ resistance to use structured job interviews. In two experiments, we found that participants who read a story regarding the effectiveness of structured interviews, as opposed to receiving evidence‐based advice, reported more favorable attitudes toward structured job interviews. Serial mediation analysis revealed that the observed attitude change was mediated by an increase in narrative transportation and reduction in counterarguing. Implications for using stories in communicating the value of evidence‐based HR practices are discussed.

Innovation has emerged as a key work outcome for modern organizations. The present paper answers recent calls from several researchers for further empirical research on the validity of personality variables for predicting individual innovative performance. More specifically, it is focused on the validity of proactive personality. Using a sample of 170 software engineers and their direct supervisors from a multinational information technology firm, we found that this individual disposition represents a valid and meaningful predictor of individual innovative performance, when assessed through supervisor ratings. Further analyses have also shown that proactive personality remains a significant predictor of this criterion, when the big five factors of personality are taken into account. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are presented and discussed.

In employment selection, general mental ability (GMA) tests predict training and job performance but also lead to subgroup differences which in turn can produce adverse impact against minority groups. Although researchers have explored genetic, developmental, and environmental explanations for ethnic group differences, few studies have explored socio‐cultural factors comparing immigrant and non‐immigrant job applicants. Given that many ethnic job applicants may also be immigrants, understanding these factors can provide insight into GMA test score differences. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of individual and socio‐cultural factors on GMA test scores with immigrant and non‐immigrant bus driver applicants. This is the first study of its kind to our knowledge that has attempted to disentangle the effects of socio‐cultural factors from race/ethnicity in the study of subgroup differences. Incorporating these variables between non‐visible minority and minority groups accounted for considerable variance in GMA test scores across groups. The implications of focusing on socio‐cultural variables to enhance our understanding of subgroup differences are discussed. Our results specifically suggest that practitioners attend to the issue of the intersecting grounds of potential discrimination when using GMA tests in personnel selection.

Whilst all three of these issues are important, they are not the whole story. Computer technology has opened up the possibility of developing instruments that are radically different from those which evolved within the constraints of the paper-and-pencil environment. I t has provided the means of moving from printed item-based tests that are fixed in their item content, item order and duration, to the use of procedures that can generate items or tasks from algorithms, employ types of item or task that are dynamic rather than static in form, and that can adapt themselves to the performance of the candidate. This Special Issue of IISA focuses on these new developments. It also considers some of the theoretical issues which these developments entail. In particular, as Jager ef al. point out, the new technology has required us to take a much more focused look at the relationships between test theory, theories of instruction, assessment ergonomics, programming and test design. Much of the development work on novel forms of test has taken place in a military context especially in relation to pilot selection. The approaches adopted vary from systems which are simple flight simulators and require a number of hours of testing, to more conventional ability and aptitude test batteries. Burke et al. describe a number of systems that were looked at in detail by a NATO Study Group tasked to evaluate computer-based assessment systems for use with military personnel. The systems they examined include three that are described in more detail in this Special Issue: Micropat (Bartram), Taskomat (Boer) and BARB (Collis et a l . ) . Despite differences in approach, these batteries have some overlap in terms of the constructs they are designed to measure. For example, Taskomat (Bohr), and Micropat (Bartram) both include psychomotor coordination tests and assess aspects of spatial ability. Similar mixtures of tests are found in other pilot selection batteries. Burke et al. provide a useful taxonomy for comparing the various systems. Of particular interest is the degree to which systems have used adaptive technology, dynamic tasks (rather than static item) and itemor taskgeneration. For example, the Micropat tests (Bartram) contain no pre-written sets of items. Each test or task contains a set of rules and constraints from which items are generated. The BARB tests also use item-generation procedures and, in their paper, Collis et al . describe the tests and the results of studies exploring their psychometric properties. Whilst the first four papers look at specific batteries which have explored some of the novel features of computer-based testing, Jager et al. provide a broader look at some of the theoretical issues which changes in technology have raised, and argue that any psychological model of ’computer diagnostics’ needs to consider more than just issues of test theory. The papers illustrate the variety of new types of assessment instrument that have been developed by using computer technology to free us from the constraints imposed by more traditional media, and identify some of the difficulties raised by the freedom which this new technology affords us. The major challenge for the future is to develop our psychological models and our understanding of individual differences to enable us to make full , 9 a ” s ~ ~ ~ o ~ ’ , D ~ $ ~ e ~ ~ ~ ~ of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK.

Since the end of the Cold War the Swedish Armed Forces has undergone several changes regarding both task and personnel system. The task of national security does not only entail territorial defense but also international operations worldwide. In addition, the soldiers are no longer conscripts but young men and women who have volunteered to secure and uphold peace and democratic values.The purpose of this thesis was twofold: firstly, to investigate if the current selection system mirrors the recent refocus on international operations and voluntariness; secondly, to see if and how non-cognitive assessments of personality, health, and resilience increment validity to the current selection system in identifying individuals suitable for repeated international deployments. This work was guided by a series of tentative questions regarding both the selection system in particular, but also international deployments in general.The four papers in this thesis suggest that the current selection system need to be adapted to better correspond to repeated international deployments as well as to a voluntary applicant pool; and that non-cognitive assessments of personality, health, and resilience increment validity to the selection system.

Spearman’s Hypothesis holds that the magnitude of mean White–Black differences on cognitive tests covaries with the extent to which a test is saturated with g. This paper evaluates Spearman’s Hypothesis by manipulating the g saturation of cognitive composites. Using a sample of 16,384 people from the General Aptitude Test Battery database, we show that one can decrease mean racial differences in a g test by altering the g saturation of the measure. Consistent with Spearman’s Hypothesis, the g saturation of a test is positively and strongly related to the magnitude of White–Black mean racial differences in test scores. We demonstrate that the reduction in mean racial differences accomplished by reducing the g saturation in a measure is obtained at the cost of lower validity and increased prediction errors. We recommend that g tests varying in mean racial differences be examined to determine if the Spearman’s Hypothesis is a viable explanation for the results.

The Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression (CRT-A) is based on the idea that aggressive individuals use motive-based cognitive biases to see their behavior as reasonable and that those biases can be measured with inductive reasoning tasks. Although the initial validation efforts for the CRT-A in the United States have been reasonably successful, there has been no attempt to determine if the evidence of validity and reliability generalizes to other cultural contexts. In this paper, we describe four studies designed to systematically accumulate validity evidence for the CRT-A using Croatian participants. Our analyses revealed that the Croatian adaptation of the CRT-A yielded psychometric characteristics that were similar to those obtained on the US samples (Study 1). CRT-A scores that predicted counterproductive work behaviors occurrence beyond self-reported personality (Study 2) were independent from general mental ability as measured with an abstract reasoning test (Study 3), and not susceptible to faking (Study 4).

This paper introduces the concept of user validity and provides a new perspective on the validity of interpretations from tests. Test interpretation is based on outputs such as test scores, profiles, reports, spreadsheets of multiple candidates' scores, etc. The user validity perspective focuses on the interpretations a test user makes given the purpose of the test and the information provided in the test output. This innovative perspective focuses on how user validity can be extended to content, criterion, and to some extent construct-related validity. It provides a basis for researching the validity of interpretations and an improved understanding of the appropriateness of different approaches to score interpretation, as well as how to design test outputs and assessments that are pragmatic and optimal.

The use of professionally and nonprofessionally oriented social networking Web sites (SNWs), such as LinkedIn and Facebook, has become widespread from both sides of the Atlantic. The current paper presents and discusses the results of two surveys conducted in Greece exploring the role of SNWs among employees–job seekers and recruiters–human resource professionals. The first study explores how SNWs are used during job search activities and the second how recruiters use them in the attraction recruitment and screening process. Special note is given in the relationship between SNWs and the more established Internet job boards. Our results showed that job seekers still seem to use job boards more extensively than SNWs. It is interesting to note that the association between LinkedIn usage and its effectiveness, on the one hand, and time spent on SNWs and LinkedIn effectiveness, on the other, is stronger for ‘passive’ candidates, demonstrating the important role of SNWs for attracting ‘passive’ candidates. HR professionals are more engaged in LinkedIn than Facebook and were considering the former as more effective than the latter in the recruitment process. The current study sheds more light in the use of SNWs, being one of the first studies conducted in a non-English speaking country.

Sensitivity reviews of test content are commonly advocated techniques for reducing bias and enhancing fairness in employment and educational testing. However, few descriptions or empirical investigations of these techniques exist. The present paper presents a study documenting common sensitivity review practices and the extent to which expert reviewers agree in their judgments of item sensitivity. Results indicated that reviewers do not always receive training or adequate guidance and most frequently encounter subtle forms of insensitive item content. Further, only modest agreement in expert ratings of item sensitivity was found. Implications for improving sensitivity review practices are presented.

This paper examined the moderating role of positive and negative affect in the relationship between distributive justice expectations and applicants' intentions to recommend the organization or to litigate. Specifically, it was suggested and supported in two samples of, respectively, 1,409 and 486 applicants, that the positive relationship between distributive justice expectations and recommendation intentions was stronger for applicants high in positive affect. In the second sample, it was further found that the negative relationship between distributive justice expectations and litigation intentions was stronger among applicants high in negative affect. This research is the first to identify the distinct roles of positive and negative affect in shaping responses to expectations of (un)fairness in the personnel selection literature. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Fairness in promotions is a core issue for organizations as it is directly related to some of the most important organizational outcomes. However, the majority of the existing research about this question has been focused on entry-level selection, and there is a gap in knowledge in the context of promotions. This paper focuses on how workers’ perceptions of promotion systems affect organizational justice and job satisfaction. In the present study, 213 employees and supervisors from 31 different private sector organizations complete a survey regarding procedural justice (PJ), job satisfaction, transparency, promotion systems, and some demographic variables. The results show that participants who perceived organizational promotion methods as transparent reported a high level of perceived PJ, and that the methods they see as fairer are those based on assessment of performance. In addition, transparency is considered as an important antecedent of PJ. Moreover, the interaction between organizational rank and gender moderates the relationship between transparency and promotion systems with PJ. Finally, organizational justice is strongly related with job satisfaction.

This paper reports findings from a survey into applicant reactions of working adults in Saudi Arabia. A sample of 193 participants from four job functions was obtained, with measures of organizational attractiveness, core-self evaluation, and applicant reactions to four popular selection methods in the country – interviews, resumes, work sample tests, and references – being included. Findings indicate a notably similar pattern of preference reactions to previous studies in other (Western) countries, affirming arguments for so-called reaction generalizability. Work sample tests were rated the most favorably followed by interviews, resumes, and references. For specific procedural dimensions, resumes were perceived as the most favorable, followed by work sample tests, interviews, and references. Several significant differences were found across job functions, mostly for interviews and resumes. Significant effects were found between reactions and organizational attractiveness, and between reactions and core-self evaluation, including some interaction effects. Implications for future research and for practice in employee selection are considered in the conclusion.

Employee's self-efficacy has been related with important outcomes for organizations, such as service quality and job performance. Thus, understanding the antecedents of self-efficacy can have important payoffs. Accordingly, this paper investigates how personal values interact with autonomy to affect employee's self-efficacy. The hypotheses are tested with a sample of bank employees. The results reveal that conservation is negatively related to self-efficacy and that both openness to change and self-enhancement values have a positive impact on self-efficacy. Autonomy is also positively associated with self-efficacy. Finally, autonomy mitigates the negative effects of conservation on self-efficacy, and strengthens the positive effects of self-enhancement on self-efficacy.

Previous research has introduced the threat of publication bias to meta-analytic reviews in management and industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology research. However, a comprehensive review of top-tier journals demonstrates that more than two thirds of meta-analytic studies in management and I/O psychology ignore the issue. Of the studies that do empirically evaluate publication bias, almost all use methods that are based on problematic assumptions (e.g., the Failsafe N and subgroup comparisons by source of data).The current paper reviews the issue of publication bias and introduces to management and I/O psychology new methodological techniques to assess this bias.To illustrate the methods, multiple publication bias methods are demonstrated in a meta-analytic review of conditional reasoning tests for aggression.We offer specific recommendations that address both design and analysis issues to mitigate the existence and influence of publication bias.

This paper presents the results of three interrelated studies investigating the occurrence of response distortion on personality questionnaires within selection and the success of applicants in faking situations. In Study 1, comparison of the Big Five personality scores obtained from applicants in a military pilot cadet selection procedure with participants responding honestly, faking good, and faking an ideal candidate revealed that applicants responded more desirable than participants responding honestly but less desirable than respondents under fake instructions. The occurrence of faking within the military pilot selection process was replicated in Study 2 using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and another comparison group. Finally, in Study 3, comparison of personality profiles obtained in selection and ‘fake job’ situations with experts' estimates indicated that participants were partially successful in faking the desirable profile.

The purpose of this paper is to identify predictors of employability of undergraduate engineering students in campus recruitment drives of Indian software services companies. Data with respect to the academic background of 559 engineering graduates from a reputed engineering college in South India along with their performance in various non-technical training were analyzed vis-a-vis their performance in the campus recruitment drives of major Information Technology companies in India. Correlation and multiple regressions were performed to test hypotheses. It was observed in this study that knowledge of engineering (GPA) and proficiency in English language are important predictors of continuous employability1 of engineering graduates in campus interviews of software services companies. It was also found that unlike in other core engineering sectors, female students are better performers than their male counterparts in campus recruitments in software services industry. Outcome of this study would be of greater relevance to college management, Training & Development professionals, recruiters as well as the student fraternity in developing those skills that are required to enhance employability of fresh graduates in software services industry.

The objective of this paper is to address the predictive validity of the workplace Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test. The first aim of this research project was to identify whether financial revenue earned by consultants in an Australian professional recruitment company were related to their levels of emotional intelligence (EI). The second aim was to assess whether EI competencies were more strongly related to revenue performance than measures of IQ and personality. The study consisted of 100 recruitment consultants from a large Australian-based company who had their IQ assessed and completed a questionnaire battery consisting of measures of personality and EI. Revenue accrued by the recruitment consultants was also collected and related to the psychometric measures. Results showed that emotional competencies and personality traits are valuable predictors of job performance as measured by the revenue accrued by recruitment consultants. Further to this, the EI competencies were observed to be more strongly related to this measure of performance, and were able to predict a significant proportion of variance in performance in comparison to IQ and personality.

Several papers showed that a general factor occupies the top of the hierarchical structure of personality, the so-called General Factor of Personality (GFP). The first question is whether the GFP behaves similar to the general factor of mental ability (g), in that GFP scores from different personality questionnaires correlate highly. The second question is whether the GFP is related to real-life outcomes. In six large datasets (total N=21,754) collected in the Netherlands armed forces, the GFPs extracted from six personality questionnaires generally showed high degrees of correlation suggesting they measure the same construct. Moreover, GFP was related to drop-out from military training. This evidence strengthens the view that the GFP is a substantive construct with practical relevance.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize available empirical research on the association between employment interview ratings and various construct measures using a theoretical model developed as part of the study. The model posits 3 main sources of construct-related variance in interview ratings: job-related interview content (e.g., job knowledge), interviewee performance (e.g., impression management tactics), and personal/demographic characteristics (e.g., candidate attractiveness). Results suggest some potentially important findings, including that the mean correlation with interview ratings is twice as large for constructs related to interviewee performance as it is for constructs pertaining to job-related interview content. Directions for future construct research are also identified. For instance, despite being central to the interpersonal make-up of the candidates, research regarding the influence of interests, goals, and values on interview ratings is almost nonexistent.

*PreVisor, 1805 Old Alabama Road, Suite 150 Roswell, GA 30076, USA. tkantrowitz@previsor.com**Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA***Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA****Applied Psychological Techniques, Darien, CT, USAAs the usage of unproctored Internet testing (UIT) increases in selection settings, concernsabout the validity of such practices must be addressed. While recent examinations of theissue have focused primarily on the practicality, ethics, and potential legal ramifications ofUIT, this paper provides an examination of the criterion-related validity of unproctoredassessments. Using a database of validity evidence, we examine the predictive validity ofseveral noncognitive assessments (i.e., personality and biodata) with respect to a number ofsubjective and objective job performance metrics. Results generally indicate that assess-ments administered in proctored and unproctored settings have similar validities. Limita-tions of this research and implications for practice are discussed.

This paper presents the psychometric properties of the job descriptive index (JDI) and job in general (JIG) instruments in a Portuguese sample of health professionals from hospitals and health centers. Demographic and professional correlates of job satisfaction are also investigated. The sample consists of 1,314 health professionals including physicians, nurses, administrators, and diagnostic technicians. The results show high internal consistency coefficients for the scores on the JDI subscales and the JIG scale, ranging from .75 to .90. The data supported the 5-factor structure of the JDI scales. The factor analyses and the correlation coefficients did not support the distinction between an overall job satisfaction measure and the evaluation of the satisfaction with the present work. The results offer empirical support for the Portuguese adaptation of the JDI and JIG scales. Level of education emerged as the most important demographic correlate of job satisfaction facets and global satisfaction, and supervisory role as the most significant professional correlate.

This paper reviews theory and past research concerning nonlinear relationships between personality tests and job performance. We compare linear and nonlinear regression models for each of the 32 Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32i) scales using job performance as the criterion variable. We evaluate linear, quadratic, and cubic relationships between personality and job performance by calculating changes in R (DR) between the linear and nonlinear models. We use 3 decision rules of varying levels for DR and divide a large sample randomly into 2 samples to cross-validate any nonlinear effects found. Few scales exhibited nonlinearity and the magnitude of the departures from linearity were small.

This paper examines whether the main dimensions of staffing services quality have any effect on innovativeness. A resource-based view of human resource management is used as theoretical approach. A questionnaire was sent to the CEOs of an international sample of pharmaceutical companies. A regression analysis was used to test hypotheses about the influence of the staffing services quality dimensions on innovativeness. The main findings are that all but one of the staffing services quality dimensions considered have significant, positive effects on innovativeness. Candidate quality is the dimension that affects innovativeness most, while timeliness has no significant effect.

The paper proposes a procedure for designing Pareto-optimal selection systems considering validity, adverse impact and constraints on the number of predictors from a larger subset that can be included in an operational selection system. The procedure determines Pareto-optimal composites of a given maximum size thereby solving the dual task of identifying the predictors that will be included in the reduced set and determining the weights with which the retained predictors will be combined to the composite predictor. Compared with earlier proposals, the simultaneous consideration of both tasks makes it possible to combine several strategies for reducing adverse impact in a single procedure. In particular, the present approach allows integrating (a) investigating a large number of possible predictors (such as multitest battery of ability tests, or a collection of ability and nonability measures); (b) explicit predictor weighting within feasible test procedures of a given limited size.