Deck 8: Validity of Selection Procedures

Question 1

An example of a concurrent validity study for industrial electricians would be to examine the relationship between knowledge of electrical equipment and Purdue Test for Electricians.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Psychological fidelity occurs when the same WRCs required to perform the job successfully are also required on the predictor.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Validation in selection refers to the process of discovering what and how well a se4lection procedure measures.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A validation study provides evidence for determining what inferences can be made from scores on a selection measure.

Question 5

The prime emphasis in content validity is on the validation of an existing measure.

Question 6

A selection measure has content validity when it can be shown that its content representatively samples the content of the job for which the measure will be used.

Question 7

Concurrent validity is sometimes referred to as the present employee method.

Question 8

The degree to which available evidence supports inferences made from scores on selection procedures is known as validity.

Question 9

Large sample sizes, regardless of how representative they are, are essential in order to identify a predictor-criterion relationship.

Question 10

Face validity has been shown to be strongly correlated with a participant's perception of fairness of selection procedures.

Question 11

It has generally been assumed that a concurrent validation design is superior to a predictive one.

Question 12

The tenure of an employee can affect the usefulness of a concurrent validity study.

Question 13

Job content domain consists of job behaviors and WRCs that are necessary for effective job performance.

Question 14

Job incumbents are used as the source of data in a predictive validity study.

Question 15

A statistically significant validity coefficient is one piece of important evidence that helps to assure users that their inferences from scores on a selection procedure are related to job success.

Question 16

In Follow-up - Random Selection validity design, applicants are hired, then subsequently tested and predictor scores are correlated with criteria collected at a later time.

Question 17

Face validity is the same as content validity.

Question 18

Jobs that are in a state of transition are good choices for criterion-related validation studies.

Question 19

The different validation strategies are separate, distinct, and unrelated ways of determining the validity of selection procedures.

Question 20

Positive attitudes toward selection measures may yield positive benefits for an organization.

Question 21

Terms such as intelligence, sociability and clerical ability are constructs.

Question 22

Job component validity incorporates a less detailed examination of the job than validity generalization.

Question 23

It is absolutely essential to have as large a sample size as possible in calculating a validity coefficient.

Question 24

The situation specificity hypothesis holds that the validity of a test is specific to the job situation on which validity of the test has been determined.

Question 25

If the reliability of a test is .81, then its validity is

A)no more than .9
C)exactly .81
B)no less than .9
D)no less than .81

Question 26

Multiple regression assumes that one predictor is being used to predict a criterion.

Question 27

For the small organization, building a database sufficiently large to conduct an empirical validation study is a difficult problem.

Question 28

Which of the following is the symbolic notation for a validity coefficient?

A)r_xx
C)r_xyz
B)r_xy
D)none of the above

Question 29

Which of the following can affect the usefulness of a concurrent validity study?

A)tenure of employees who participate in the study
B)motivation of employees to participate in the study
C)representativeness of present employees to job applicants
D)all of the above

Question 30

Which of the following approaches is undertaken when conducting a criterion-related study?

A)concurrent validity
C)synthetic validity
B)content validity
D)construct validity

Question 31

Physical fidelity concerns the match between how a worker actually behaves on the job and how an applicant for that job is asked to behave on the predictor used in selection.

Question 32

A validity coefficient is an index that summarizes the degree of relationship between a predictor and criterion.

Question 33

The effect of criterion variable contamination is that the magnitude of the validity coefficient may be altered.

Question 34

Validity generalization involves using the results of one study to make predictions about the effectiveness of a predictor in different contexts.

Question 35

Which approach is NOT a classical approach for validating measures in human resource selection?

A)criterion-related validity
C)content validity
B)face validity
D)construct validity

Question 36

Correction for attenuation is a statistical adjustment to see what validity would be if variables had perfect reliability.

Question 37

Utility analysis can be used to translate the results of a validation study into terms that are important to and understandable by managers.

Question 38

Even if a validity coefficient is not statistically significant, the selection measure may still be a valid predictor of a criterion.

Question 39

The less abstract the nature of a job and the WRCs necessary to perform it, the greater the inferential leap required in judging the link between job content and content of a selection measure.

Question 40

What predictive validity design consists of testing and selecting applicants based on whatever selection procedures are currently in use?

A)Follow-up - Present System
C)Hire and then test
B)Select by predictor
D)Follow-up - Random Selection

Question 41

The biggest weakness presented in the predictive validity model is:

A)the lack of motivation of employees to participate in the study.
B)the time interval required to determine the validity of the measure being examined.
C)differences in job tenure of job incumbents being examined.
D)differences in statistical analyses.

Question 42

If the coefficient of determination is .64,

A)it indicates that 64% of the differences in individuals' job performance can be explained by their differences in test scores
B)it indicates that 64% of the differences in individuals' job performance cannot be explained by their differences in test scores
C)the coefficient of determination does not indicate anything about the explanation of the differences in test scores
D)it indicates that 80% of the differences in individuals' job performance can be explained by their differences in test scores

Question 43

As the validity coefficient approaches +1.00, there is _____ between scores on the predictor and the criterion.

A)no relationship
C)a positive relationship
B)an inverse relationship
D)a reciprocal relationship

Question 44

What does it mean that the relationship between a predictor and a criterion is significant at the .05 level?

A)If we conducted our study in the same manner 100 times, in 95 of these we would find a similar relation between our predictor and criterion.
B)If we conducted our study in the same manner 100 times, in 5 of these we would find a similar relation between our predictor and criterion.
C)If we conducted our study in the same manner 100 times, in 100 of these we would find a similar relation between our predictor and criterion.
D)There is an inverse relationship between the predictor and criterion and that relationship is very strong.

Question 45

Upon which step do concurrent and predictive validation strategies differ?

A)job analysis
B)choice of criteria
C)selection of test
D)test administration

Question 46

What is the range of possible validity coefficients?

A)-2.00 to 2.00
C)-1.00 to 0.00
B)0.00 to 1.00
D)-1.00 to 1.00

Question 47

Which of the following content validity ratios indicates that half of the judges rate a specific test item as essential?

A)1.00
C).50
B)-1.00
D).00

Question 48

For which of the following situations is a content validity approach appropriate?

A)when job applicants are ranked (from high to low) on the basis of scores on a selection measure
B)when mental processes, psychological constructs, or personality traits are not directly observable but inferred from the selection device
C)when the content of the selection device resembles work behaviors and the setting and administration of the selection procedures resemble the work setting
D)when the selection procedure involves KSAs which an employee is expected to learn on the job

Question 49

What is a content validity ratio?

A)an index computed on a panel of experts' ratings of the quality of a selection test
B)an index of the proportion of job-related and non job-related elements of a selection instrument
C)an index computed on a panel of experts' ratings regarding the degree of overlap between the content of a selection measure and the content of the job
D)a correlation coefficient indicating the strength of the relationship between the content of the selection instrument and the content of the job

Question 50

According to the Uniform Guidelines what are situations where content validation alone is not appropriate?

A)when mental processes, psychological constructs, or personality traits are not directly observable
B)selection procedure involves KSAs an employee is expected to learn on the job
C)content of the selection device does not resemble a work behavior
D)all of the these

Question 51

_________________ is a research process involving the collection of evidence used to test hypotheses about relationships between measures and their constructs.

A)Social validation
C)Comprehensive validation
B)Construct construction
D)Construct validation

Question 52

Recent research comparing concurrent and predictive validation study outcomes has shown which of the following?

A)For aptitude tests significant differences were found in the results of the two types of designs.
B)Sample size requirements favor predictive rather than concurrent validation strategies.
C)Statistical artifacts are more likely to result from the use of a concurrent validation strategy.
D)For ability tests a concurrent validation approach may be just as viable as a predictive validation one.

Question 53

An index that summarizes the degree of relationship between a predictor and criterion is known as a:

A)face validity coefficient.
C)validity coefficient.
B)reliability estimate.
D)correlation matrix.

Question 54

Small sample sizes make which type of validation strategy infeasible?

A)criterion-related
B)content
C)construct
D)synthetic

Question 55

Which validation strategy places emphasis on construction of a new measure rather than validating an existing one?

A)concurrent
B)predictive
C)content
D)synthetic

Question 56

Which of the following is a factor that would be most likely to affect the usefulness of a concurrent validation study?

A)pay level of employees who participate in the study
B)marital status of employees who participate in the study
C)job tenure of employees who participate in the study
D)the geographical location of the organization

Question 57

What are the two important elements of a validity coefficient?

A)sign and magnitude
C)expectancy table and chart
B)predictor and criterion
D)simple and multiple

Question 58

According to the Uniform Guidelines, a job analysis should result in which of the following products?

A)task description as well as measures of the criticality and/or importance of the tasks
B)a specification of WRCs required to perform critical tasks
C)linkage of important job tasks to important KSAs
D)all of the above

Question 59

The magnitude of a validity coefficient indicates the _____________ of association between a predictor and criterion.

A)direction
C)range
B)strength
D)amplitude

Question 60

In the Personnel File Research predictive validation design, applicants are:

A)hired, placed on the payroll and subsequently tested.Predictor scores are obtained at a later time.
B)selected on the basis of their predictor scores .
C)hired and their personnel records contain references to test scores or other information that may serve as predictors.
D)none of the above

Question 61

Which of the following are criticisms of validity generalization?

A)lumping together good and bad studies
C)reliable unreliability
B)selection bias
D)all of these

Question 62

In which type of validation are selection measures validated across several jobs in an organization, rather than for only one job?

A)synthetic
C)criterion
B)predictive
D)face

Question 63

Recent research evidence has concluded which of the following about cross-validation approaches?

A)No statistical corrections provide a satisfactory solution to the problem which cross-validation seeks to address.
B)Formula and empirical cross-validation are both equally efficient, simple to use, and accurate.
C)Formula cross-validation is more efficient, simpler to use, and no less accurate than empirical validation.
D)Empirical cross-validation is more efficient, simpler to use, and no less accurate than formula cross-validation.

Question 64

Which of the following statements concerning selection measure validation is correct? Selection measure validation is probably:

A)more important for small businesses than large businesses.
B)more important for large businesses than small businesses.
C)overrated by both large and small firms.
D)too complex for most HR managers to use.

Question 65

Which of the following is not a factor affecting the size of validity coefficients?

A)reliability of criterion and predictor
C)criterion contamination
B)restriction of range
D)the coefficient of determination

Question 66

Utility analysis is used to:

A)determine isoquants that make it possible to assess equally valid selection measures.
B)demonstrate how investments in human resources compare with investments in capital equipment
C)translate the results of a validation study into terms that are important to and understandable by managers.
D)assess the costs and benefits associated with various validation approaches

Question 67

Basically, what does linear regression determine?

A)the central tendency of predictors, criteria, and combinations of predictors and criteria
B)whether or not there are statistically significant differences between predictors and criteria
C)how similar variables cluster together to form unique constructs
D)how changes in criterion scores are functionally related to changes in predictor scores

Question 68

Restriction of range is:

A)unreliability in validity.
B)when variance in scores on selection measures has been reduced.
C)used only with predictors.
D)used to increase sample size.

Question 69

It is common to find validity coefficients in which of the following ranges?

A).30-.50
C).50-.70
B).40-.60
D).60-.80

Question 70

What conclusion seems well supported by empirical evidence derived from research investigating validity generalization?

A)The "situational specific hypothesis" has not been disproved.
B)A test that is valid for one job will be valid for any other job.
C)For all paper-and-pencil tests, separate validity studies are not needed for each job.
D)The validity of a test is more generalizable across similar situations and similar jobs than has been previously thought.

Question 71

What does the correction for attenuation formula show?

A)what the validity coefficient would be if the test was longer (i.e., had more items)
B)what the validity coefficient would be if the predictor and/or criterion were perfectly reliable
C)what the true variance in individuals' scores would be if range restriction was not present
D)what the validity coefficient would be if criterion contamination was not present

Question 72

Which of the following validity coefficients would be used for predicting the job success of individuals?

A)linear regression
B)forecasting efficiency
C)Pearson product-moment (simple) correlation coefficient
D)none of these

Question 73

Cross-validation is necessary because of which of the following problems associated with predictive accuracy?

A)shrinkage
C)bias
B)inflation
D)contamination

Question 74

A(n) _________________ is a table of numbers that shows the probability that a person with a particular predictor score will achieve a defined level of success.

A)nominal table
C)expectancy table
B)regression table
D)expensive table

Question 75

Criterion contamination can be controlled for by all of the following EXCEPT::

A)decreasing sample size.
B)statistical procedures.
C)adjustments to criterion data.
D)the research design of the validation study.

Question 76

Which type of expectancy chart is useful for estimating what will happen in the organization if various passing or cutoff scores are used for a selection measure?

A)individual chart
C)cutoff chart
B)institutional chart
D)predictor chart