It seems that the media has had a lot to say recently about going “green.”  Undoubtedly, the current administration appears dedicated to improving the current legal standards governing environmental safety.  Many scientists also argue that we must take action now in order to avoid the nasty consequences of global climate change.

A recent article in the New York Times focuses on a potentially positive effect of our nation’s increasing “greenness” – the creation of new industries and jobs. It’s true that “green” jobs are likely to increase as we seek to lower emissions, gain energy independence, and clean up our water, earth, and air. However, some experts say it is unlikely that these jobs will be enough to replace those that we will lose from more traditional industries. For instance, if we enact carbon and energy restrictions, we risk losing jobs in the coal and oil industries as well as in manufacturing. In addition, “green” industries may well face the same foreign competition for jobs and other challenges as their predecessors.

Despite the new economic and industrial waters we are charting, our challenges remain the same. We must create jobs that benefit the individual – our economy, our culture – as well as the whole – the global economy, the environment, and the well-being of all people inside and outside our borders. Although it is interesting to consider how industries and jobs will change in relation to the threat of global warming, it is more important to keep our eyes on the prize of stabilizing the U.S. economy, creating jobs to lower unemployment, and pulling out of the current recession.

Jocelyn Courtney-Hays

While it had been brewing in the professional literature for the past three years or so, the dispute between the authors of the MMPI has become public. (The MMPI is the pre-eminent clinical assessment that has been used for over 70 years. While sometimes discussed mistakenly in relation to pre-employment testing, it is almost never used to select employees because it is a clinical, not a work-related, assessment. About the only times that it is used to hire employees is in occupations where it is critical to rule out significant psychopathology such as police or nuclear plant operators.)

The issue at hand has to do with a “reformulated” version of MMPI-2, the MMPI-2-RF. The “RF” version, which has just been published, is shorter and described as easier to interpret that its predecessor. However, James Butcher, the lead author of the earlier MMPI-2 is highly critical of this revision. The issue has become personal because the authors of the “RF” version (Auke Tellegen and Yossef Ben-Porath) had been long-time colleagues and collaborators with Butcher. The result has been charges of conflict of interest and mismanagement on the part of the University of Minnesota press which owns the MMPI.

Reid Klion

Coping with stressful situations in the workplace can be a challenge for us all. While the role of exercise in managing stress are well understood, I was intrigued by a recent study by the Center for Creative Leadership that identified an additional benefit of exercise—leadership effectiveness. In a rather unique approach, researchers took a sample of 360º multi-rater feedback data and compared the results of those leaders who exercise and those who don’t. They found that the exercisers were rated higher than non-exercisers on their overall level of leadership effectiveness. Those who exercised also scored higher on behaviors including inspiring commitment, credibility, leading others by example, energy, calmness and resilience. While starting a workout program won’t necessarily lead to a direct improvement in leadership skills, the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and increasing overall effectiveness at work can’t be minimized.

Reid Klion

One topic that has been controversial in the assessment literature is non-proctored assessment—that is, having job candidates complete tests without supervision. I blogged  about it previously and a seeming plethora of conference presentations and articles have addressed the topic. A consensus seems to be emerging that unsupervised testing may be appropriate in a particular situation based upon a careful risk-benefit-analysis that involves consideration of a variety of factors including overall business strategy, type of test, how the results will be used, and the candidate population.

A similar sort of cost-benefit analysis seems to have taken place in the federal prison system when transferring inmates from facility to facility. Since the early 1990s, prisoners who are considered low risk are apparently given a one-way bus tickets and sent on their way without supervision. Nearly 90,000 prisoners have been transferred in this fashion since 2006, and fewer than 1 in 500 have failed to make it to their intended destination. Given the expense that would be associated with escorting the prisoners, and the fact that a large proportion of these felons are on their way to a halfway house where they will have substantial freedom to move about the community, federal prison officials seemed pleased with the system. Others, including Greyhound officials and local law enforcement authorities where these prisoners have absconded, take a somewhat differing position.

Reid Klion

With its original version dating back to 1925, the Watson Glaser is a well-known critical thinking exam. Critical thinking exams are designed to measure an individual’s ability to evaluate the evidence in support of an assertion, to engage in abstract thinking, and to come to logically accurate conclusions.

As might be expected, scores on the Watson Glaser are highly correlated with other assessments of verbal, non-verbal, and numerical reasoning. The Watson Glaser also predicts job performance and leadership ability since critical thinking is closely associated with success in higher level positions.

The Watson Glaser is often used as part of a pre-employment testing process because of its ability to predict work performance in positions which require decision making. However, with the advent of the Watson Glaser II (which will soon be available on pan), there is now a developmental report which will broaden the Watson Glaser’s  use beyond pre-employment testing to coaching, training, and other related domains.

An uproar has been brewing because the images used for the Rorschach inkblot test been posted on Wikipedia along some of the more common responses to each. . As might be expected, some psychologists are concerned that this may impact the validity of the test, especially in cases where the assessment is used within a legal context (for example, in a child custody evaluation or pre-trial assessment of a sex offender) as opposed to a counseling situation. In contrast, others have pointed out that the Rorschach is almost never used in isolation but in combination with a number of other clinical assessment tools to make decisions and that this same information about the Rorschach is available in training texts on the test as well as from other sources.

However, this event does highlight an important issue about test security and the Internet. While these images have been available to the public previously, their posting on Wikipedia does make  them easily and broadly accessible. And even if we accept the argument that posting this information will have little impact upon the Rorschach’s validity, it should be noted that real harm can be done when test security is compromised. Not only is copyright law often being violated and the validity of a test compromised that may have taken years to develop, but the public may be placed at harm. For example, how many of us would be concerned we found out that our child’s pediatrician only passed a licensing exam because he or she had knowledge of the test content before taking the licensing exam?

As it turns out, the individual who posted the images actually is an emergency room doctor from Saskatchewan. When questioned, he sees little harm in what he has done and goes on to state that his elderly father passed a driver’s license eye exam by looking it up on the Internet. I guess our only hope is that his dad can actually see well enough to drive to keep both himself and the rest of us safe.

Reid Klion

The need to identify individuals who will be successful in a sales role is one of the most frequent problems that employers face. One assessment in the pan catalog that is designed specifically for this purpose is the Sales Achievement Predictor. Published by WPS, the Sales Achievement Predictor was specifically developed to measure traits that are associated with success in a sales-related position. This assessment helps a potential employer to understand a candidate’s relative strengths and weaknesses. The Sales Achievement Predictor also looks at factors such as self-confidence, willingness to make “cold calls,” motivation, and assertiveness.

pan also offers a number of other sales personality tests in addition to the Sales Achievement Predictor to include the Hogrefe PASAT 2000 and the Troutwine Career Automotive Retailing Scale. While also looking at personality factors related to a role in sales, the gNeil Sales Potential Inventory  is a bit closer to being a sales skills test because it also looks at behaviors related to the sales role.

This week, I had the opportunity to work with a coworker on two different projects. The first was within her area of expertise, and I needed her help to complete my responsibilities. The second was in my area of expertise, and she came to me for assistance.  It occurred to me that in my job, I rarely accomplish goals by myself. I nearly always rely on others to help me get the job done, even if it is just bouncing ideas off of my boss before implementing a solution for a client.

In a previous posting, I wrote about the importance of developing employees to help make them productive team members. However, it is also important to look at an individual’s propensity for teamwork during the selection process. Assuming the job for which you are hiring does, in fact, require teamwork, you may benefit from using selection assessments and behavioral interview questions to identify job candidates’ tendencies towards collaboration and cooperation. Job candidates whose assessment results or interview performance indicate high levels of traits, such as extroversion and agreeableness may be more effective on the job-- simply because they are more likely to work with others to accomplish organizational goals.

Jocelyn Courtney-Hays

While personality and cognitive tests are often used for hiring and selection, another set of tests focus on an individual’s aptitude, or ability, to learn a set of tasks. Rather than assessing an individual’s knowledge, mechanical aptitude tests predict an individual’s ability to learn a job. Mechanical aptitude tests are most typically used in the hiring selection process to identity the most suitable candidates for training programs or entry level positions.

Probably the best known mechanical aptitude test is Pearson’s Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test. Here, the applicant is presented with pictures that represent mechanical principles in everyday situations. For example, one question may show a lever and ask where it should be placed to make moving a heavy object easiest. The intent of the items is to assess mechanical reasoning, not specific knowledge. Other similar tests are the Hogrefe PPM for Mechanical Understanding,Pearson DAT for PCA Mechanical Reasoning, and the Ramsay Mechanical Aptitude Test. 

Mechanical aptitude tests are powerful tools when used for applicant screening into positions that require these skills. They have been used successfully for decades and are well-suited for hiring selection decisions for jobs that require mechanical ability or will involve training in these skills.

The American Psychological Association will be holding its annual convention next week in Toronto on August 5-9. Both Nate Studebaker and I were fortunate enough to be invited to speak. Nate will be chairing a symposium on the implementation of 360º feedback programs in decentralized organizations while I will be chairing a panel discussion on the ethical issues surrounding the management of assessment data. Two panelists in my session work for long-time pan content partners: Ryan Ross of Hogan and Julie Carswell of Sigma Assessments.

If you will be at APA, Nate and I would certainly be pleased to get together to either discuss business, socialize, or both. Please drop a note to either Nate or me so that we can sort out the logistics. We hope to see you in Toronto!

Reid Klion