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Pre-Employment Personality Assessment

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Pre-Employment Personality Assessment
Literature Evaluation Paper

Abstract
Use of pre-employment personality testing has come under fire for many years, but recently has received more attention and thought. Specifically, the education of potential applicants on the use of pre-employment screening and therefore their desire to “fake” an outcome that will result in hiring is of great concern in its use. The present paper will identify current thoughts on the attempts of applicants to impact the outcomes of the hiring process through “faking” in the selection methods. The following three literature reviews will discuss the rationale, outcomes, and differences in each of the selected studies.

Literature Evaluation Paper
Personality testing and its use in employment related decisions has been at the forefront of organizational research and practice since the 1950’s. Use of various types of personality testing, ranging from the simple Color Quiz to the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, can help an employer to focus on a prospective employee’s specific personality traits and whether they fit the needs of the open position. Use of pre-employment personality testing has come under fire for many years, but recently has received more attention and thought. Specifically, the education of potential applicants on the use of pre-employment screening and therefore their desire to “fake” an outcome that will result in hiring is of great concern in its use. The present paper will identify current thoughts on the attempts of applicants to impact the outcomes of the hiring process through giving what they feel are socially desirable responses in the selection methods. The following three literature reviews will discuss each of the selected studies.
Jill Ellingson, Paul Sackett, and Leaetta Hough
In a study conducted by Ellingson, Sackett, and Hough, the authors wanted to evaluate whether employer’s using social desirability (SD) scales could effectively implement corrections based on the SD scale score



References: Ellingson, J., Sackett, P., & Hough, L. (1999). Social desirability corrections in personality measurement: Issues of applicant comparison and construct validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2), 155-166. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.84.2.155 Griffith, R., & Peterson, M. (2008). The failure of social desirability measures to capture applicant faking behavior. Industrial and Organizational, 1(3), 308-311. doi: 10.1111/j.1754-9434.2008.00053.x Hough, L., & Oswald, F. (2008). Personality testing and industrial–organizational psychology: Reflections, progress, and prospects. Industrial & Organizational Psychology, 1(3), 272-290. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2008.00048.x.

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