ADMINISTRATION EFFECTS ON THE S-329 OF THE GATB USING THREE EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENTS

Does the administrator of a test have an effect on the results of a group taking a test? If so, does a warm positive administrator have a different effect than a cold aloof examiner? Is there a difference in the effect of a male and female administrator? These are the questions that this study was designed to investigate. One hundred forty females 22 years or over taking the clerical battery of the GATB as part of a civil service examination were randomly assigned to one of three test administrators: (1) a warm, positive administrator, (2) a neutral administrator and (3) a negative, aloof and unhelpful administrator. One male and one female employed each of the experimental treatments resulting in six treatment groups. Findings: (1) Subjects taking the test administered by males did not achieve significantly different scores from those taking the test administered by females; (2) Warm positive administrator behavior produced significantly higher scores than negative administrator behavior; (3) Neutral administrator behavior produced significantly higher scores than negative administrator behavior; (4) Neutral and positive administrator behaviors were on the average equally effective in promoting high scores.