Problem 2 - Selection Flashcards
(14 cards)
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Type of study
Unstructured review
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Theoretical background on GMA
- GMA = C. Spearman 1904.
- GMA predicts both occupational level attained and performance within one’s chosen occupation and does so better than any other trait, ability or disposition and better than job experience.
- Disconfirming specific aptitude theory = weighted combinations of specific aptitudes tailored to individual jobs do not predict job performance better than GMA alone.
- GMA is relatively stable over the years.
- GMA has a strong genetic basis (correlation between genetics and GMA increases with age).
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
GMA and attainment of occupational level: Cross-sectional studies
- Reliable correlations of ratings/rankings of occupational level.
- Occupational level ratings correlate between 0.9 and 0.95 with average GMA scores of people in the occupations.
- Individual level correlations are smaller (around 0.65).
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
GMA and attainment of occupational level: longitudinal studies
- Important for showing whether GMA predicts later occupational attainment.
- Those with higher GMA before moved up the hierarchy and those lower GMA moved down.
- Job mobility was predicted by the congruence between individuals’ GMA scores and the objectively measured complexity of their jobs (if GMA exceeded complexity = more likely to more to complex job, if complexity of job exceeded GMA level = more likely to move down to a less complex job).
- GMA predicted later income
- Childhood GMA scores predicted adult occupational level with a correlation of 0.51 and predicted adult income with a correlation of 0.53.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
GMA and attainment of occupational level: sub conclusion
- GMA predict’s one’s ultimate attained job level, but it does not predict which occupation at that level on will enter (this depends on interests).
- This relationship is relatively strong (0.5 and higher) - this is high for psychology.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
GMA and performance within occupations and jobs
Theory of situational specificity: the validity of GMA for predicting job performance is highly situational.
* It might predict for one job in one employment setting but fail to do so for what was apparantly the same job in another organisation.
* THIS IS DISPROVED = GMA measures were predictive of job performance for all jobs.
GMA predicts performance on higher/complex level jobs better (0.58) than for lower level jobs (0.23)
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Specific aptitudes and specific aptitude theory
Other traits and variables that affect job performance
Specific aptitudes: cognitive abilities that are narrower than GMA (ex: verbal, spatial, numerical aptitude).
Specific aptitude teory: hypothesises that performance on different jobs requires different cognitive aptitudes and therefore regression equations for each job and measures of several specific aptitudes will optimise the prediction of performance on the job and in training.
* Disconfirmed by research.
* GMA appears to be responsible for the prediction of job and training performance whereas specific aptitudes appear to contribute little to nothing to the prediction.
* Millitary research shows no causal arrows from any aptitudes or subtests to training or job performance but GMA does => large - 0.62.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Job experience, GMA, and Job performance
- Job experince plays a major role in the determination of job performance.
- Experience provides the medium for learning.
- Individual differences => if one worker learns faster than another, the same amount of experience will produce a higher level of performance.
- GMA turns experience into increased job knowledge and hence higher performance.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Ability differences over time
Job experience, GMA, and Job performance
GMA decrease hypothesis and consistent vs inconsistent tasks
One may hypothesise that the validity of GMA declines over time as workers obtain more job experience:
* However, not supported by research.
* As the level of experience increases, the predictive validity does not decrease.
* The validity, from small samples, show it increases/or stays stable atleast with time.
Consistent tasks vs inconsistent tasks:
* Consistent tasks are simple enough that their performance can be automated = minimal cog. resources needed and therefore low correlation between GMA and performance.
* Inconsistent tasks are complex enough that no matter how long they are performed, they continue to draw on cognitive resources = large correlation between GMA and performance.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Predictive validity of job experience
Job experience, GMA, and Job performance
The mean predictive validity of job experience is 0.18.
Differences in experience are important among newly hired employees:
* The correlation between experience and performance ratings is 0.49 for those who have been on the job 0-3 years.
* This drops gradually to 0.15 for those who have been on the job 12+ years.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Ability versus experience as predictors
Job experience, GMA, and Job performance
As workers gain job experience:
* Correlation between experience and performance decreases.
* Correlation between GMA and performance stays constant or increases.
This pattern may be more pronounced today because of the rapidly changing product life cycles that requires workers to learn new methods of production at even shorter intervals.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Personality and job performance
Research suggests personality is less important than GMA but some say traits in childhood predict adult occupational level and income.
* Conscientiousness => 0.49 for occupational level and 0.41 for income = most important.
* Openness to experience => 0.32 for occupational level and 0.26 for income.
* Neuroticism => -0.26 for occupational level and -0.34 for income.
Results/conclusion:
* Conscientiousness more important.
* GMA is 59% more important than conscientiousness.
* Conscientiousness functions as a motivational contributor to job performance.
* Conscientiousness measures contribute to validity over and above the validity of GMA because the two are uncorrelated.
* Integrity tests produce a 27% increase in validity over that of GMA alone.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Why is GMA so important for job performance?
- causal analyses of the determinants of job performane show that the major effect of GMA is on the acquisition of job knowledge (people with higher GMA acquire more job knowledge and faster and therefore have higher levels of job performance).
- Job knowledge = mediating link between GMA and job performance.
- For practical purposes of prediction in personnel selection, it does not matter why GMa predicts job performance but theoretical explanation is needed.
Schmidt & hunter - GMA: occupational attainment and job performance
Summary (picture with circles)
Civilian jobs:
1. GMA => 0.8 for job knowledge => 0.4 for supervisor ratings or 0.56 for job performance (=> 0.2 for supervisor ratings).
2. GMA => 0.3 for job performance => 0.2 for supervisor ratings.
Military jobs:
1. GMA => 0.63 for job knowledge => 0.3 for supervisor ratings or 0.6 for job performance (=> 0.1 for supervisor ratings).
2. GMA => 0.15 for job performance => 0.1 for supervisor ratings.
