Haley wants to accurately gauge the conscientiousness and neuroticism of people applying to work in her convenience store. What is the best way for Haley to assess these qualities in prospective employees before she hires them?
A) interview the applicants in person
B) interview the applicants over the telephone
C) ask the employees to submit to a polygraph test
D) use a written personality test to assess the applicants
E) ask friends of the applicants to rate them on these qualities

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Interviewers' ratings of extraversion, agreeableness, and openness were fairly consistent with the students' own ratings, as well as their friends' ratings. In contrast, interviewers' ratings of conscientiousness and neuroticism were only weakly related to the students' and friends' ratings. This study therefore shows that interviewers are unable to gauge the two Big Five dimensions that are most highly related to job performance. Rather than using interviews to assess personality, more and more companies are relying on paper-and-pencil "personality tests".

Haley Wants to Accurately Gauge the Conscientiousness and Neuroticism of People