HR PERSPECTIVE: INTEGRITY AND PERSONALITY TESTS

HR Perspective: Integrity and Personality Tests



HR Perspective: Integrity and Personality Tests

1.Do you think employers should use integrity and personality tests to make recruiting and promotion decisions? Why or why not?

Ans. In a few instances involving their misuse, these clinical personality tests have been the focus of invasion of privacy suits. In contrast, integrity tests have not been the focus of invasion of privacy challenges simply because they do not contain items that are perceived as invasive by job applicants. A good example of this fact stems from a suit against Target Stores (Soroka v. Dayton Hudson, 235 Cal.App.3rd 654 (1991)). One of the major concerns regarding hiring procedures, including integrity tests, is whether they tend to exhibit adverse impact on the basis of race or gender. The MMPI test and all other peer-reviewed personality tests for that matter are only legally allowed to be accessed, administered, and scored by trained psychologists. It is very important to the integrity and accuracy of these tests that the public does not have access.

This is tightly regulated, While test publishers and researchers certainly have generated significant documentation that integrity tests do not exhibit adverse impact, employers responding to applicant challenges have provided such information as well. With respect to challenges of adverse impact, employers in over thirty cases have been able to demonstrate to administrative agencies that these instruments do not exhibit adverse impact. (Jeffery 2005)

2. Can you think of some jobs where integrity and personality tests might be more appropriate than for other jobs? Give your rationale.

Ans. There has not been a single Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state/provincial human rights agency or court determination holding that integrity tests exhibit an adverse impact on the basis of race or gender—regardless of subgroup status, job applicants tend to ...