Unanswered questions in assessment center research

This study compared the predictive validity of two types of overall assessment center ratings (clinical and mechanical) and two types of performance ratings (supervisor and subordinate). Data were gathered on approximately 50 law enforcement agency managers over a four-year time span. Results indicated that clinical predictions were not significantly better than mechanical ones and that prior performance ratings were better predictors of future performance ratings than were assessment centers. Further, dimension ratings within the assessment center were found to be unrelated to ratings of the same dimensions on the job four years later, supporting the notion of subtle criterion contamination (Klimoski & Strickland, 1977) and raising questions about the central assumptions underlying the assessment center approach.