EEOC looking into Personality Tests (sample, alternative, wholesale, job interviews)
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I have a psychology degree and have had no problem finding a job. I live in a low cost of living area and make over 100k/yr at 30 years old. But thanks for your insight into my "abilities"
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This is called an "anecdote". You are an isolated example, and one person out of thousands and thousands who have psychology degrees is not considered compelling evidence of anything.
This is called an "anecdote". You are an isolated example, and one person out of thousands and thousands who have psychology degrees is not considered compelling evidence of anything.
You were generalizing, I provided a piece of counter evidence. If you say all swans are white, one black swan proves you wrong.
Poor precission is ofen a symptom of poor validity and ultimately poor accuracy.
If I develop an analytical method based on a bunch of bull crap with no scientific validity, to predict or characterize something very complex, based on very simple tools with large ammounts of variables not controlled my peers would call me a moron. That is how things work in real science.
In the social sciences you just go with it and market it to a bunch arrogant bimbos in HR desperate enough to buy it yet too intelectually deficient to recognise it as quackery.
Please elaborate. Some citations would be helpful. By the way, at what institution did you receive your professional training on personality test development and assessment at?
It's interesting because although I scored what I suppose would be the equivalent of a "good" personality type for my career path, I hate this type of pseudo-science crap. I wrote a paper recently on the downsides of these type of tests and they certainly do seem discriminatory. I pride myself on being an adaptable individual, especially where work is concerned. The tests (MBTI specifically) don't really account for that, nor the fact that I'm not really introverted or extraverted, but rather it depends on the situation, my mood, the task at hand etc. Same with the other components. I don't like being painted black and white and told there's no gray area, when I know myself and my capabilities, and some of the traits it tells me I have/don't have are flat out wrong. There have been questions raised about testing validity, and the question of whether they even can be validated, since personality is such an ambiguous thing and can't be precisely measured. Makes for some interesting reading if anyone has the time to read through scholastic journals!
Not an introvert might be a valid job requirement for some jobs requiring customer contact and sales skills.
The tests I have seen are ones where a production worker applicant must have knowledge qualifying them for the most skilled jobs in a line of progression (a job that under ideal economic conditions that might be available 15-20 years hence) or 'honesty' tests in retail. I actually had a situation where an employer engaged a psychologist who used the MMPI (there the employee sued and the employer caved when it turned out that the 'psychologist' was practicing without a license).
I am an introvert, but I am also very sociable with exceptional customer service skills. BTW, introverts in general listen better than do extroverts, and that is a plus in customer service. As an introvert, I just need alone time at the end of the day to recharge my batteries. My son is shy and an introvert, but no one can tell. People love him because he has great social skills. See, that is the problem with pseudo-science and pop psyche. It is inaccurate because people are more complex than that.
Aside from reporting on if the tests are effective, the Journal report says the EEOC is investigating whether such tests discriminate against people with disibilities. EEOC officials are aiming to determine if the test effectively shut off people with mental illness like depression, even if they are capable of doing the job.
This is why the EEOC is investigating. I have had to take these silly things, and I don't have a problem with them. The employer has a right to try to hire the right, emotionally balanced people for specific jobs. Not all employers have a personality test, but those that do, want to identify the right people for customer service jobs, or in places where team work is crucial.
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