Derecho Penal Francés

Personality measures are now used in a variety of industries and levels of employment. One area where personality assessment is currently used readily is the Armed forces (Army, Navy, Air force). While previous sections have examined the literature of personality assessment with particular emphasis on relationships between their utility and general job performance, the present section looks at this relationship in the setting of the Armed Forces.

Personnel selection strategies in the Armed Forces are subjected to specific and unique environmental influences that are different from traditional roles. A large portion employees within the Armed Forces are subjected to highly stressful environments and training. This requires personnel selection strategies to be effective at measuring applicants potential job performance in extreme environmental situations. Further, in addition to stressful environmental conditions, Armed Forces personnel are also subjected to frequent changes in job roles and locale, which requires considerable flexibility. Therefore, HR specialists and psychologists in the realm of the Armed Forces need to not only be concerned with the link personality

measures have with job performance but also how this link is influenced under extreme environmental conditions.

Historically the Armed Forces were one of the first industries to use personality assessment, however, in this context the link between personality and job performance has often been slightly different than in general settings. Thus, it is not surprising that researchers have spent years investigating a variety of well researched personality inventories for Armed Force selection strategies. Over the years there appears to be copious amounts of research conducted supporting the link between personality assessment and job performance in military settings (Driskell, Hogan, Salas, Hoskin, 1994; Ehud, Elishera, & Zeev, 2006; Matthews, Duckworth, & Kelly, 2007; Hartmann, Sunde, Kristensen, & Martinussen, 2003; Lung, Lee, & Shu, 2002; Medland, Green & Marder, 1965; Miller & Creager, 1960; Vickers, Hervig, & Booth, 1996; Waters, 1960). Within the settings of the Armed Forces there have been many personality inventories that have shown good levels of criterion related validity with job performance (Goyne, 2006). For example, the IPAT Nueroticism scale (NSQ), the Fleishman’s Leadership Opinion Questionnaire (LOQ), all show positive correlations with outcomes in Air Traffic Controller (TAC) training in the Australian Air Force. In addition the 16PF has also shown good correlation levels with performance for Australian Air Force Pilots (Goyne, 2006).

Research findings of particular interest for New Zealand based research have been conducted using New Zealand Police recruits. These studies provide an interesting comparison with the Army officer role within New Zealand, as the New Zealand officer role is similar. In a study conducted by Black (1997) NZ Police recruits high in Conscientiousness and Extraversion were more likely to have higher levels of job performance. Further, Neuroticism was also negatively correlated with job performance. Extending on this earlier research Black (1998) assessed the difference in personality profiles between successful applicants and unsuccessful applicants for entry in the NZ Police using the NEO-PI-R. Black found that unsuccessful applicants scored higher on Neuroticism and lower on Extraversion than successful applicants.

using the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) high Neuroticism and low Extraversion scores correlated well with Pilot candidates success rate in the British Royal Air Force. This finding has also been replicated in similar settings by Bartram and Dale (1982) again using the EPI. Batram and Dale’s findings also indicated that results from the EPI not only correlate well with job performance but also provide incremental information.

In addition to the findings linking personality with job performance in Armed Forces settings personality dispositions have also been linked to Military personnel reactions to extreme environmental conditions (Arima, 1967; Long, Chamberlain, & Vincent, 1992; Long, 2002; Price, Monson, Callahan, & Rodriguez, 2006). Further, this relationship tends to follow similar patterns to Military job performance with high Neurotics tending to be more susceptible to difficulty in coping with extreme environments.

From the literature discussed above it is evident that because the personality measures use promises positive consequences for selection and training outcomes, they are now touted as appropriate instruments for industrial and armed forces applications. Contemporary research is substantial enough for the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) to state in a letter to the New Zealand army “There is an abundance of empirical and theoretical support for the notion that information about personality can be usefully related to vocational decisions.” However, while the positive outcomes of assessment are a key issue that psychologists and HR specialists have to be concerned with, they also have to be aware of the potential negative consequences of any assessment strategy. In addition to utility issues, one of the major issues psychologists and HR specialists must be aware of is the potential for assessment procedures to have adverse impacts.

The development of the factor models described in this chapter have helped with validation and the establishment of the utility of using objective personality assessment. With basic forms of validation supporting the use of personality assessment many researchers have now begun to investigate more complex aspects regarding the reliability, validity, and utility of personality assessment e.g. demographic variables, response bias, perception of fairness. One area of particular

importance is the influence of demographic variables on personality assessment. This is perhaps one of the most enduring topics in the history of psychometrics, as many controversies have developed in a variety of areas of psychology centering on the extent various demographically defined groups differ on important human attributes (Cronbach, 1975).

One demographic group that holds a great deal of importance in psychometrics is ethnicity/culture. Ethnic status is one of the most protected demographic groups in terms of test bias and discrimination in personnel selection, as such bias breaches many laws, morals, and ethical procedures. The current climate of personnel selection in most countries around the world including New Zealand requires psychologists and HR specialists to be aware of ethical and legal requirements of assessment strategies regarding adverse impact. The proceeding two subsections will discuss first the ethical and then the legal requirements HR specialists and psychologists are subjected to.