The workplace is unique because the qualities and characteristics of people and abilities are combined to help an organization to function properly. Organizations work diligently to measure the performance and productivity of these employees. However, psychological testing is a provision that allows the workplace to choose accurately workers through pre-employment testing or substantiate the employees' status during employment. A psychological test is a standardized testing method that accesses knowledge, skill, ability, and other personal characteristics (Spector, 2008).
Organizations apply different psychological tests. For example, ability tests, integrity tests, and drug testing. Although these types of tests helps organizations with pre-employee screening, existing employee's positions, finding accurate, and beneficial method is vital. The validity, reliability, and ethical issues of psychological tests become part of the focus when hiring and retaining employees.
[...] The abilities, integrity, and use of drug testing, help to filter unwanted employees, by a weeding out method used through psychological testing. Processing employee selection must be supported by validity and reliability. Psychological testing correlates with ethical issues that arise. Society builds organizations on the abilities, performances, and productivity of the people who seeks and gains employment, to maintain a good system and peak performance, psychological testing is necessary for the survival of an organization. Reference American Psychological Services (2011). [...]
[...] The validity and reliability of psychological testing is important so employers can determine who is fit for the position. Unfortunately, in some instances such as drug testing, some believe this is an invasion of privacy and the validity of a test does not prove a person's inability to perform (Spector, 2008). The validity for integrity is difficult to sustain because employees who steal seldom are caught (Spector, 2008). In addition, cognitive ability testing is likely to have different results because of race and gender (APS, 2011). [...]
[...] Drug tests performed randomly helps to keep coworkers and the public safe. People who abuse drugs eventually become unreliable. Job performance deteriorates; the employee displays acts of absenteeism, poor judgment. These unwanted behaviors of those employees affect the job and others who work there too. Not to mention, employee accidents and dishonesty correlates with drug use on the job. Tests are controversial and some believe drug tests are unfair (Spector, 2008). The American Civil Liberties Union disapproves of urine drugs tests because tests are unfair and unnecessary and do not prove a correlation with employee production, allowing people of certain groups or ethnicities to be racially targeted (The Lectric Law Library, 2011). [...]
[...] A couple of tests fall under ability testing, such as cognitive and psychomotor ability (Spector, 2008). Possessing the abilities to comprehend the job, retain additional information, and physically perform the duties comes along with ability testing and covers the cognitive and psychomotor abilities of the person. Integrity Tests In correlation with abilities integrity is important for the performance of new and current employees. Employers want personnel who work hard and show integrity for the job. Testing for integrity is used during pre-employment and retention too. [...]
[...] Test takers may dislike this style of testing especially if the question are not relating to the job (APS, 2011). In addition, integrity tests helps to predict unwanted employee behaviors. Organizations use the integrity testing method to seek out cheating, dishonesty, theft, sabotage, and unethical behaviors (Spector, 2008). Integrity tests give an idea of attendance and turnover rates too. Two types of integrity tests includes overt and personality. Overt tests evaluate the prospective employee's attitudes and past behaviors. Personality tests helps to highlight characteristics found in people who display counterproductive performance (Spector, 2008). [...]
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