Should We Write Off Graphology?

The scientific study of graphology (handwriting analysis) has had a long history. Many practitioners believe that graphology is a valuable selection aid and use this technique in a selection context, and in some European countries it is quite well thought of. While a few articles have proposed that graphology is a valid and useful selection technique, the overwhelming results of well-controlled empirical studies have been that the technique has not demonstrated acceptable validity. A review of relevant literature regarding both theory and research indicates that, while the procedure may have an intuitive appeal, graphology should not be used in a selection context.     

计算机时代的书写心理学

计算机的普及使人们阅读及书写的能力降低, 这引发了社会对书写的关注。书写涉及大量高级神经活动, 与认知、人格、疾病等均有关联, 对个体发展也具有重要作用。现代书写心理学通过使用书写板等设备, 实现了对书写过程及结果的量化研究, 发现了书写速度、压力、握笔等指标与智力、认知负荷等的一些关联。未来对书写过程的研究可以进一步深入; 测量方面的研究成果可以应用到日常人机交互及教学、司法等实践中; 还可以研究用书写促进个体认知及人格发展的具体途径。     

How Widespread is Graphology in Personnel Selection Practice? A case study of a job market myth

Graphology is allegedly widely used in personnel selection in Europe. This is a myth: a widespread but false belief. We explored this myth in five studies. Study 1 established that job ads rarely require handwritten letters. Study 2 showed that handwritten letters serve multiple purposes but are seldom used for handwriting analysis. In Study 3, job market actors overestimated the frequency with which handwritten letters are subjected to graphological analysis. In Study 4, we showed experimentally that people expect graphology to be used when job ads require submission of a handwritten letter. Study 5 showed that advice books may transmit the myth. The myth may foster tolerant attitudes toward graphology, thereby facilitating its persistence in selection practice.     

Reasons for Being Selective When Choosing Personnel Selection Procedures

The scientist–practitioner gap in personnel selection is large. Thus, it is important to gain a better understanding of the reasons that make organizations use or not use certain selection procedures. Based on institutional theory, we predicted that six variables should determine the use of selection procedures: the procedures' diffusion in the field, legal problems associated with the procedures, applicant reactions to the procedures, their usefulness for organizational self‐promotion, their predictive validity, and the costs involved. To test these predictions, 506 HR professionals from the German‐speaking part of Switzerland filled out an online survey on the selection procedures used in their organizations. Respondents also evaluated five procedures (semi‐structured interviews, ability tests, personality tests, assessment centers, and graphology) on the six predictor variables. Multilevel logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the highest odd ratios belonged to the factors applicant reactions, costs, and diffusion. Lower (but significant) odds ratios belonged to the factors predictive validity, organizational self‐promotion, and perceived legality.     

Applicant Reactions to Selection Methods in China

This study examines applicant reactions to ten popular selection methods in China. Using a sample of 294 graduates we found that Chinese applicants’ reactions were highly favorable for work sample tests, interviews, and written ability tests, whereas Guanxi (i.e., relying on personal contacts when applying for a job) and graphology were perceived as the least favorable selection methods. Guanxi was also perceived as significantly less fair method compared with all others on all seven procedural dimensions studied. These findings suggest that Guanxi as an informal selection channel might threaten the fairness of personnel selection in China. Implications for the design of selection systems in Chinese companies are discussed, and ramifications for future research into applicant reactions are considered.     

Selection Methods used by Executive Search Consultancies in Four European Countries: A Survey and Critique

This article identifies two deficiencies in the existing literature on selection methods used for the recruitment of managers: 1. The central focus has been the relationship between the employing organization and the applicant/candidate. It has been assumed that all managerial employees are recruited directly by the employing organization. As a consequence, only the selection methods used by the employer have been examined. 2. Few researchers have considered managerial selection from a cross-national perspective, particularly in relation to the use of external recruitment consultancies. These two issues are the central concern of this article. The use of external executive recruitment consultancies is examined in four European countries: France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Results are presented from two studies on the use of selection methods by such consultancies. A significant difference between France and the UK, and these two countries and the other two, in their use of references and graphology is reported. The evidence shows that, in general, German, Italian and UK search consultancies use low validity techniques, primarily unstructured interviews and references, while France makes use of these two methods in addition to graphology. It is suggested they use low validity selection methods because validity is not the primary ‘evaluative standard’by which the usefulness of selection methods are assessed. Five alternative ‘evaluative standards’are suggested: client expectations, role of consultants, consultant qualifications, impact on candidates and importance of characteristics being assessed. The utilization of different selection methods by search consultancies located in the four countries is negligible. This may be due to three factors: organizational (the form of international search network adopted), individual (the multi-cultural background experiences of consultants) and external (the nature of clients served).     

Fairness Reactions to Personnel Selection Methods: A look at professionals in Mumbai,India

This study expands upon Steiner and Gilliland's selection fairness research. Professionals (N = 114) from Mumbai, India rated 12 employee selection methods on favorability and provided the bases for those ratings. In line with previous research, interviews and resumes were rated most favorably, while graphology and honesty tests were rated least favorably. Perceived face validity, opportunity to perform, and widespread use of selection methods were highly correlated with favorability ratings, while interpersonal warmth, scientific evidence, and respectful of privacy exhibited weak correlations with favorability ratings. Work sample tests, which have previously been rated favorably, were rated unfavorably. Exploratory analysis showed that participants viewed assessment centers favorably and online information unfavorably. Outcome favorability was highly correlated with favorability ratings.     

Choosing How to Choose: Institutional Pressures Affecting the Adoption of Personnel Selection Procedures

The gap between science and practice in personnel selection is an ongoing concern of human resource management. This paper takes Oliver's framework of organizations' strategic responses to institutional pressures as a basis for outlining the diverse economic and social demands that facilitate or inhibit the application of scientifically recommended selection procedures. Faced with a complex network of multiple requirements, practitioners make more diverse choices in response to any of these pressures than has previously been acknowledged in the scientific literature. Implications for the science‐practitioner gap are discussed.     

Graphologie et personnalité selon le modèle en cinq facteurs

Considered as a personality assessment technique, graphology is defended by some but finds weak scientific base. Validation studies often suffer from methodological weaknesses. In this study, 145 participants wrote a text on a white sheet and answered the NEO PI-R, personality inventory. Having built a reliable grid of analysis of the handwriting, we correlate 13 graphological variables and 35 personality features taken from the five-factor model (FFM). After controlling sample effects, one correlation is compatible with graphology, one contradictory to it and most of them are unexpected. These results evoke type I errors and confirm the very low validity of graphology as a personality assessment technique.     

Developing a Measure of Individual Differences in Organizational Revenge

The purpose of this research was to develop a measurement of the individual differences that contribute to acts of organizational revenge and aggression. This scale was designed to achieve three goals: (a) to minimize demand characteristics so that the scale may be useful for personnel selection, (b) to represent a wide range of possible behavioral reactions to organizational injustice, and (c) to represent a range of trust violations committed by organizations that can lead to revenge. Two studies were conducted to reduce the initial 168 items into a 50-item scale containing two conceptually distinct subscales, a 19-item Constructive subscale and a 31-item Destructive subscale. Study 2 provides evidence for the internal reliability of the overall scale and its subscales and also provides some evidence for the construct validity of the final scale. The utility of this instrument for use in personnel selection and for research on workplace aggression is discussed, along with suggestions for additional efforts to demonstrate the validity of this instrument.     

Personnel selection using INSIGHT — C: An application based on the analytic hierarchy process

The purpose of this paper is to explore the applicability of an extension of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for personnel selection and placement. In line with the AHP approach, personnel selection is viewed as a multiple criteria-decision making situation. A personnel package, based on the analytic hierarchy theory, is suggested. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the suitability of the package as an aid for personnel decision-making.     

笔迹与人格关系研究的回顾及评价

西方心理学者对笔相学家的笔迹分析提出质疑,研究表明需要我们重新考虑笔迹分析的适用性,而其利用因素分析技术对笔迹与人格关系的大量研究发现,笔迹特征与EPQ中的E因素、N因素相关显著。我国古代丰富的笔迹学思想和当代笔相学家的实践经验为我们从心理学角度研究笔迹与人格之间的关系,提供了宝贵的资料,但我们在这一领域运用心理学方法的研究还刚刚起步。目前国内外心理学者在研究取向、笔迹特征选择和研究目的上还存在一定局限,对此加深认识,将会对我们具有重要的借鉴意义。     

European Management Selection Methods: A Comparison of Five Countries

There is some disagreement in the recent literature on how similar or different are the methods used to select employees in different European countries. The confusion comes about in part because different samples and questions have been used in different countries to investigate this issue, making comparison between countries very difficult. This study investigates managerial selection methods in three members of the European Community, Belgium, Germany and Italy, using the same questionnaire and sample characteristics previously used in Britain and France. This allows a direct comparison between the five countries. The samples comprised 250 companies randomly drawn from the top 1,000 in each country. Questionnaires sent to the companies asked a range of questions concerning the frequency of use of selection methods and attitudes towards their use. Results show major differences in frequency of use of different methods. Some of these differences are: British and German companies tend to use assessment centres much more often than other countries, while Germany and Italy are relatively infrequent users of psychological tests. Companies in the Flemish (Dutch speaking) part of Belgium are the most likely to use biodata, while their French speaking compatriots are similar to the French in their liking for graphology. Both Belgium and France make much less use of references than do Britain, Germany and Italy. Results suggest that harmonization of selection practice in Europe is a long way off. Habit, tradition and culture determine the choice of selection method much more than do the relative predictive validities of the techniques.     

Culture and Testing Practices: Is the World Flat?

There has been much speculation regarding the influence of cultural norms on the acceptance and use of personnel selection testing. This study examined the cross‐level direct effects of four societal cultural variables (performance orientation, future orientation, uncertainty avoidance, and tightness–looseness) on selection practices of organisations in 23 countries. A total of 1,153 HR professionals responded to a survey regarding testing practices in hiring contexts. Overall, little evidence of a connection between cultural practices and selection practices emerged. Implications of these findings for personnel selection and cross‐cultural research as well as directions for future work in this area are described.     

An assessment of the potential utility of “scientific jury selection”: A “thought experiment” approach

The efficacy of “scientific jury selection” (the use of social science methodology to aid the jury selection process) has been a subject of considerable contention. Unfortunately, such issues are difficult to address empirically, especially at the level of jury rather than juror decisions. One means of addressing some of these questions is through the use of “thought experiments” or computer simulations that are based not on intuition or conventional wisdom alone but guided by relevant empirical data. This paper reports the outcomes of simulations that explore jury verdict consequences from the use of scientific jury selection to (a) obtain changes in venue, (b) select jurors, and (c) accomplish both of the preceding. The results indicated that the potential effects of scientific jury selection are strongest when the techniques are successful in bringing about changes of venue or more representative jury panels. Somewhat weaker, albeit still consequential, effects were observed in those instances where scientific jury selection techniques are used to select particular jurors. The psychological and legal implications of these results, and the thought experiment approach in general, are discussed.     

Current Directions in Personnel Selection Research

Abstract— For many decades, the focus of personnel selection research was on developing selection tests that maximized prediction of job performance; the approach was typically lacking in theoretical bases. The past two decades saw significant shifts in research to a focus on the nature of constructs and their interrelationships, characterized by an approach that emphasizes theoretical understanding of the phenomena under investigation. This article provides an overview of how a construct-oriented approach underlies major current directions in scientific research on personnel selection. Emerging trends that are likely to constitute issues of enduring importance are discussed.     

Evaluation of video-based assessment in transit operator selection

The use of video testing is relatively new in personnel selection. Initial research has shown that the visual presentation of behaviorial incidents to job applicants may be a practical alternative to paper-and-pencil selection tests. Little research, however, has been conducted on the psychometric properties of video testing. To address this shortcoming in the personnel selection literature, this study reports the results of a validation study conducted on a video test for transit operators conducted in a large Canadian transit authority. The test, the Metro Seattle Video Test (MSVT), was designed to assess the interpersonal skills required of transit operators. The results show that, although content validation evidence was supportive, other psychometric evidence (i.e., reliability, criterion-related validation evidence, and construct-oriented validation evidence) is not consistent with an adequate selection test of interpersonal skills. Recommendations are made for future development and use of video testing in transit operator selection, as well as for improving the reliability and validity of video-based assessment of interpersonal skills.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Kevin Kelloway and Maury Getkate for their assistance with this paper, as well as Rick Hackett and Peter Hausdorf for their involvement in the data collection phase of this study.     

人事选拔决策过程的匹配评价研究: 基于策略捕捉技术

传统的人事选拔是以胜任力或者说是人－职匹配为基础的,即强调基于胜任力,但研究者和实践者们越来越多的强调人－组织匹配在人事选拔中的重要性,即强调人事选拔过程中招募者匹配评价的多维性。本研究通过实验运用策略捕捉技术,检验多种职位特征和不同层次的匹配评价对选拔雇佣结果的影响。通过HLM分析结果发现四种匹配类型需要－供给匹配、要求－能力匹配、个性匹配和价值观匹配对雇佣决策都有显著的独立主效应,招募者在长期招募比短期招募中更多依靠个性匹配来评价应聘者,招募者在对管理类职位更多依靠价值匹配来进行评价,而对专业类职位则更多依靠要求－能力匹配进行评价。     

A survey of parent training manuals

Twenty-six commercially available parent training manuals were surveyed with the goal of providing helpful information to the professional for selection of manuals. Included were manuals for parents as well as manuals for professionals for use in conducting individual or group treatment. The following information was given for all manuals: the characteristics of the target populations for whom the manuals were intended, readability levels, use made of technical language, provision of glossary, organization and format of the book, availability of supplementary materials such as leaders' guides, and references to reviews by other authors. In an additional section, the research literature dealing with evaluation of these manuals was reviewed and summarized as a means of acquainting the reader with the available scientific information on their effectiveness. A report on the status of each manual in terms of evaluation was provided in tabular form. The evaluation of manuals by conduct of empirical research to determine their usefulness to the consumer was emphasized.     

Evaluations of Tests Used for Making Selection and Promotion Decisions

Participants (N= 212) rated the fairness, job relevance, appropriateness, and invasiveness of 16 tests that could be used to select or promote people into production or management positions. Fairness, job relevance and appropriateness were highly correlated, and were combined to form a composite evaluation scale. Evaluations and invasiveness ratings varied among the 16 tests, with the most positive ratings given to interviews and work samples and the most negative ratings given to astrology, graphology and polygraphs. Evaluations of four tests were affected by the position (manager vs. production worker). Evaluations of 11 tests and invasiveness ratings of two tests were affected by respondent experience with the test. Respondents who had experienced the tests evaluated them more positively and considered them to entail a smaller invasion of privacy. Responses were not affected by whether the test was to be used for selection versus promotion decisions.