Related Experiment Videos
Personality assessment across selection and development contexts: insights into response distortion
Jill E Ellingson1, Paul R Sackett, Brian S Connelly
1Department of Management and Human Resources, Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. ellingson@cob.osu.edu
The Journal of Applied Psychology
|March 21, 2007
Summary
Individuals show limited intentional distortion on personality measures, even when motivated by job selection. Comparing responses in high-stakes selection versus low-stakes development contexts revealed minimal differences in personality assessment results.
Area of Science:
- Psychological assessment
- Organizational psychology
- Personality measurement
Background:
- Intentional response distortion on personality measures is a concern in organizational selection.
- Understanding distortion requires comparing responses across different motivational contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the degree of applicant intentional distortion on personality measures.
- To compare response distortion in high-motivation (selection) versus low-motivation (development) organizational contexts.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a database of California Psychological Inventory (CPI) responses from an assessment firm.
- Analyzed within-subject data from 713 individuals who completed the CPI twice.
- Compared responses from selection contexts with those from development contexts.
Main Results:
- Scale-score analyses indicated a limited degree of response distortion.
- Distortion levels were minimal both within and across selection and development contexts.
Conclusions:
- Applicants exhibit a low propensity for intentional distortion on personality measures, even under selection pressure.
- The distinction between selection and development contexts has a minor impact on personality assessment responses.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Self-Report Tests of Personality
Self-report inventories are objective personality assessments that use multiple-choice items or numbered scales, typically ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). They are often called Likert scales after Rensis Likert. These inventories are widely used due to their ease of administration and cost-effectiveness. One of the most prominent examples is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), initially developed in the 1940s to assess abnormal personality traits.
01:26Cultural Influences on Personality
Individualist and collectivist cultures emphasize different core values, shaping personality in distinct ways. In individualist cultures, such as those in the United States, England, and Australia, people prioritize independence, competition, and personal achievement. These societies tend to promote self-focused traits, with individuals often reporting higher levels of self-esteem. In contrast, collectivist cultures, commonly found in regions like Asia, Africa, and South America, emphasize...
01:23Implicit Personality Theories
Implicit personality theory explains how individuals make assumptions about the relationships between personality traits, behaviors, and character types. When people learn that someone possesses a particular trait, they tend to infer the presence of other related characteristics, forming a cohesive impression. This cognitive shortcut plays a crucial role in social interactions and interpersonal judgments.Central Traits and Their InfluenceSolomon Asch's seminal 1946 study highlighted the power...
01:29Dark Triad and Person Perception
Person perception is influenced by both external behaviors and the observer’s internal characteristics, including personality traits. Individuals with dark personality traits, comprising psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism — collectively known as the dark triad – exhibit manipulative and exploitative tendencies in social contexts. These traits affect how they perceive others and how they are perceived.The Role of Dark Personality Traits in Person PerceptionBlack et al. (2014) explored...
01:15Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory
Correspondent inference theory, proposed by Jones and Davis in 1965, seeks to explain how individuals infer stable personality traits from observed behaviors. It suggests that people attribute actions to underlying dispositions rather than external circumstances, particularly when the behavior appears intentional and socially significant.Voluntary Behavior and Dispositional AttributionAccording to this theory, individuals are more likely to attribute behavior to personal traits when it appears...
01:17Correspondence Bias
Correspondence bias, also referred to as the fundamental attribution error, describes the tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to internal characteristics rather than situational influences. This cognitive bias leads individuals to overlook external factors that may be influencing actions, thereby fostering potentially inaccurate assessments of others’ intentions and dispositions.Empirical Evidence for Correspondence BiasResearch has consistently demonstrated the prevalence of...