Page 83 - Psychological Management of Individual Performance

62 debis career development center
objective information (e.g., professional history, education);

external observations and ratings (e.g., observation of behavior, interview impres-

sions);
self-image of the participants (e.g., self-description during the interview or in a ques-

tionnaire).
Therefore, the personality questionnaire adds additional information to the diag-
nostic information relevant to the self-image learned about in the assessment center.
It is the combination of the three elements—self-image, outside image and objective
information—that leads to a comprehensive understanding of the candidate. Omitting
parts of this diagnostic triad restricts this broad perspective. For that reason, using psy-
chological tests should be only one kind of approach in assessment contexts.
Finally, note that tests of verbal and numerical intelligence are designed to understand
the maximum performance of the individual at hand, because the tests reflect ability
under time pressure, a condition that places test-takers under motivation levels that may
be higher than is typical on the job (DuBois, Sackett, Zedeck, & Fogli, 1993; Sackett,
Zedeck, & Fogli, 1988).
Besides the fundamental consideration of self-image, what lines of reasoning for using
personality tests have been especially convincing? The aspects shown in Figure 3.4 are
salient.

THE OCCUPATIONAL PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE AND ITS ANALYSIS

The core element in helping to recognize and understand the participant’s self-image—
besides the aspects covered by the interview—is the Occupational Personality Question-
naire (OPQ) (Saville et al., 1984; Saville & Holdsworth, 1990). This questionnaire was

FIGURE 3.4 Advantages of Personality Tests