A Century of Selection

Abstract

Over 100 years of psychological research on employee selection has yielded many advances, but the field continues to tackle controversies and challenging problems, revisit once-settled topics, and expand its borders. This review discusses recent advances in designing, implementing, and evaluating selection systems. Key trends such as expanding the criterion space, improving situational judgment tests, and tackling socially desirable responding are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which technology has substantially altered the selection research and practice landscape. Other areas where practice lacks a research base are noted, and directions for future research are discussed.

Threat of Technological Unemployment: Are Hiring Managers Discounted for Using Standardized Employee Selection Practices?

“…In addition to their own personal beliefs about employee selection (Furnham, 2008;Nolan & Highhouse, 2014), practitioners consider the beliefs of others who are stakeholders in the hiring process when determining the approaches used to make employment decisions (Ryan & Ployhart, 2014). These stakeholders include current and future job candidates (König, Klehe, Berchtold, & Kleinmann, 2010) as well as organizational colleagues and management (Terpstra & Rozell, 1997;van der Zee et al, 2002).…”

“…Studies employing the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), for example, have repeatedly demonstrated that behavioral intentions are influenced by normative beliefs concerning the likelihood that important individuals or groups approve of the behaviors (i.e., subjective norms). In the context of employee selection, research likewise suggests that practitioners' use of employee selection practices is meaningfully influenced by their beliefs about the ways in which the practices are viewed by others who are stakeholders in the hiring process (König, Klehe, Berchtold, & Kleinmann 2010;Ryan & Ployhart, 2014;Terpstra & Rozell, 1997). Van der Zee et al (2002), for example, found that practitioners' intentions to use structured and unstructured interviews were significantly influenced by theirs concerns about coworkers' approval of the practices.…”

Employment testing online, offline, and over the phone: Implications for e-assessment

“…Although in some cases the widespread use of telephone assessment may be impractical, the telephone also has benefits such as being able to reach people almost anywhere, being a familiar communication tool, and being inexpensive (Baca et al, 2007). Most recently, the need for ongoing evaluation of the role of technology in selection and assessment (Ryan & Ployhart, 2014) has been noted. If, as results from the current study indicate, online and telephone tests can be faked no more than pen-and-paper tests within a vocational context, then these delivery modes may be used with increased confidence.…”

The Psychology of Leadership Selection: DiSC Results and Leadership Success in Health Care

“…Often, a psychologically-based assessment is used in an attempt to recognize factors that cannot easily be seen in applicants during the screening and selection process. As Ryan and Ployhart (2014) state, "Over 100 years of psychological research on employee selection has yielded many advances, but the field continues to tackle controversies and challenging problems, revisit once-settled topics, and expand its borders." In fact, Diekmann and Konig (2015) review why people either love personality assessment, choose to leave it alone, or simply do not understand the results.…”