9 February 2009

Researchers aim to make psychometric testing even more accurate

Researchers at the University of Toronto (UT) are making fresh breakthroughs in adapting psychometric testing to real world situations.

Psychological testing is increasingly being used to predict success in academic and creative domains as well as in the corporate world to determine if an individual has skill sets to match a particular job requirement.

However, the Canadian researchers believe they have discovered a way to further improve the accuracy of results by developing a new personality inventory. This personality inventory can appropriately predict future performance even when respondents are trying hard to fake their answers.

Research findings demonstrate that traditional personality inventories sometimes fail to predict performance outcomes when respondents have strong incentive to fake their scores.

The new measure, by contrast, retained its ability to predict success, even when respondents were consciously trying to make themselves look good.

Jacob Hirsh, lead author of the paper and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto explained that personality remains an important factor in predicting performance.

Trait conscientiousness has consistently emerged as a major predictor of academic success and workplace performance, while trait openness is a good predictor of creative achievement, he said.

Using formulas derived by leading academics, the authors of the study were able to estimate a potential productivity gain of 23% by using the new measure in a workplace setting.

 

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