Understanding subgroup differences with general mental ability tests in employment selection: Exploring socio‐cultural factors across inter‐generational groups

Abstract

In employment selection, general mental ability (GMA) tests predict training and job performance but also lead to subgroup differences which in turn can produce adverse impact against minority groups. Although researchers have explored genetic, developmental, and environmental explanations for ethnic group differences, few studies have explored socio‐cultural factors comparing immigrant and non‐immigrant job applicants. Given that many ethnic job applicants may also be immigrants, understanding these factors can provide insight into GMA test score differences. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of individual and socio‐cultural factors on GMA test scores with immigrant and non‐immigrant bus driver applicants. This is the first study of its kind to our knowledge that has attempted to disentangle the effects of socio‐cultural factors from race/ethnicity in the study of subgroup differences. Incorporating these variables between non‐visible minority and minority groups accounted for considerable variance in GMA test scores across groups. The implications of focusing on socio‐cultural variables to enhance our understanding of subgroup differences are discussed. Our results specifically suggest that practitioners attend to the issue of the intersecting grounds of potential discrimination when using GMA tests in personnel selection.

Using game‐like animations of geometric shapes to simulate social interactions: An evaluation of group score differences

“…First, English language proficiency and exposure to the English language may contribute to differences in test scores between demographic groups; respondents with less exposure to the English language (i.e., those who were not raised speaking English) should perform better on the game-like test than on a written SJT, which likely requires heavier amounts of reading. Along these lines, Hausdorf and Robie (2018) recently reported that racial/ethnic differences in GMA scores could be meaningfully reduced after controlling for differences in English language fluency, generational status, and other demographic variables. Due to the expected cognitive saturation of both assessments used in this study, we expect that these past findings may generalize to our study.…”