A comprehensive meta-analysis of the validity of general mental ability (GMA) measures across 12 occupational categories in the European Community (EC) is presented. GMA measures showed that there is validity generalization and large operational validities for job performance and training success in 11 occupational groups. Results also showed that job complexity moderated the magnitude of the operational validity of GMA tests across three levels of job complexity: low, medium, and high. In general, results were similar to those found in the United States, although the European findings showed a slightly larger magnitude of operational validity in some cases. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for personnel selection are discussed. ((c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)

This article reports on a series of meta‐analyses into the criterion validity of general menatl ability (GMA) and specific cognitive ability tests for predicting job performance ratings and training success in the European Community (EC). Meta‐analyses were computed on a large EC database examining the operational validity of GMA and other specific cognitive abilities, including verbal, numerical, spatial‐mechanical, perceptual and memory (N ranged from 946 to 16,065) across 10 EC member countries. The results showed that tests of GMA and specific cognitive ability are very good predictors of job performance and training success across the EC. Evidence for the international validity generalization of GMA and specific cognitive abilities was presented. The results for the EC meta‐analyses showed a larger operational validity than previous meta‐analyses in the U.S. for predicting job performance. For training success, the European and American results are very similar. Implications for the international generalizability of GMA test validities, practical use of cognitive ability tests for personnel selection, and directions for future research are discussed.

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This paper examines the reactions to personnel selection methods in Spain and Portugal using a sample composed of 125 and 104 students, respectively. The results found are very similar in both countries. The best rated and most favorable methods are interviews, résumés and work sample tests, while contacts, integrity tests and graphology were the least favorable ones. With regard to the process dimensions used, face validity and opportunity to perform are the most important bases for considering personnel techniques favorably. The results show some similarities with the ones found by Steiner and Gilliland (1996) in French and American samples. The similarities among the countries are examined and directions for future research are discussed.

Many meta-analyses and hundreds of primary studies have been carried out on the criterion-oriented validity of personality measures for predicting job performance. The Five-Factor Model of personality has been used as a frame for analyzing the empirical evidence. However, the research in industrial, work and organizational psychology has not examined the relationship between the dysfunctional tendencies of personality and the personality disorders as described in DSM-IV (Axis II) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and job performance. The present paper examines the relationship between job performance and the dysfunctional personality styles included in a non-clinical personality inventory developed to assess personality tendencies related to the dysfunctional (normal) personality styles and the personality disorders in work settings. This inventory assesses 14 dysfunctional personality styles and was given to a sample of 85 applicants. The job performance was rated by the direct supervisor 8 months later, and three measures were obtained: task performance, contextual performance, and overall job performance. The results showed that the seven dysfunctional personality styles (suspicious, shy, sad, pessimistic, sufferer, eccentric, and risky) predicted the three measures of job performance. The egocentric personality style negatively predicted contextual performance. Finally, the submitted style predicted task performance. With the exception of the risky personality style, the rest of the styles mainly consisted of Neuroticism. Implications for the research and practice of personnel selection are discussed.