CHAPTER ONE

Introduction to Psychometrics
Human behaviour
 Human behaviour refers to the way humans act
and interact.
 is the potential and expressed capacity
(mentally, physically, and socially) of human
individuals or groups to respond to internal and
external stimuli throughout their life.
 Behavior is driven by genetic and
environmental factors that affect an individual.
 Behaviour can be observable or unobservable
Observable behavior
 Observable behavior are known as overt behavior
 Refers to behaviour or actions that are easily and
directly observable,
 Describes something done or shown openly and can be
observed by others.
 Includes physical actions, facial expressions and
gestures
Examples of overt behaviour include running, dancing,
arguing, smiling, frowning(expression of anger,
disapproval, or worry) etc.
Unobservable behavior

 Unobservable behavior are called covert behaviour

 refers to behaviour is not observable and hidden or
not shown openly.
 Are not as visible or apparent. This means that it is
hidden or concealed from others.
 Includes mental processes
Examples: of covert behaviour include thinking,
dreaming, glandular responses, etc.
Definitions of psychometrics

 Psycho =mind/mental (Greek: ‘psyche’)

 Metric =measurement
Therefore psychometrics is the science of measuring
mental capacities and processes.
Meaning of Psychometrics

 Psychometrics is the science of measurement of

unobservable individual behaviors.
 Psychometrics is a field of study concerned with the
theory and technique of psychological measurement
It encompasses
 The construction of measurement instruments
 The development of theoretical approaches to
measurement.
Psychological test

 Is a standardized measure of a person’s behaviour that

is used to measure the individual differences that exist
among people.
 Psychometric tests attempt to objectively measure
aspects of mental ability or personality, normally for the
purposes of job selection.
 Psychological tests are written, visual, or verbal
evaluations administered to assess the cognitive and
emotional functioning of a person
 Mostly tests are used as a way of measuring differences
between people or differences in the same person over
time.
Psychological test

Also known as:

 Mental measurements
 Psychological instruments
 Psychometric tests
 Inventories
 Rating scales
Features of a psychometric test

 Measures aspects of mental function

 Used for differentiating between people
 Derived through rigorous scientific and statistical
methods
 Used to quantify ,understand and predict behavior
 Can be administered individually or in a group
Need for psychological test

Employers typically use psychometric tests as a way of:

 Eliminating unsuitable candidates at an early stage
 Screening candidates for interviews
 Objectively determining someone’s ability,
personality, motivation, values and reactions to their
environments
 Identifying the strengths or weaknesses of employee
 Providing management with guidance on career
progression for existing employees
What can be measured

 Ability
 Aptitude - “IQ”
 Personality and preferences
 Motivation / interests
 Emotional intelligence
 Attitudes
 Critical thinking / inductive reasoning
Where can they be used in HRM
Selection
 Recruiting external job applicants
 Promoting existing staff
 Selecting for redundancy
Training and development
 Identify an individual’s development requirements
 Enhanced self-knowledge
 Career Development
Team Building
 Forming a new team
 Developing a team
Requirements of psychometric tests
Psychometric test must be:
• Objective – the score must not be affected by the
testers' beliefs or values.
 Standardized – a test is administered the same way
every time, to reduce any test bias.
 Reliable – the test must produce consistent results, and
not be significantly influenced by outside factors.
 Validity – A test has to measure what it's designed to
measure
 Non-discriminatory – it must not disadvantage any
group on the basis of gender, culture, ethnicity, etc.
Types of psychometric tests

 Ability test: measure a specific ability or abilities

required for a job
 Aptitude test: evaluates what an individual is capable
of learning. Measures capacity or future potential
 Intelligence test: measures a person’s general potential
to solve problems, adapt to novel situations
 Personality test: used to identify behaviors which
characterized a unique individual
Psychometric tests used in HRM

Mostly,
 Ability
 Personality
Ability tests

Work-related reasoning, perception and judgment

Includes
• Verbal reasoning
• Numerical reasoning
• Abstract/Logical reasoning
• Mechanical reasoning
• Spatial reasoning
Verbal Reasoning

 A verbal reasoning test assesses ability to make

deductions from text.
 Designed specifically to measure the candidate's
understanding and interpretation of written
information.
Example
Verbal reasoning : logical sequence of words

In this type of question, some words are given. You have

to arrange these words in a meaningful order. The order
may be according to age, size and need etc.
Arrange the following words in a meaningful order.
1. Death 2. Marriage 3. Education 4. Birth 5. Funeral
(A) 5, 1, 2, 3, 4
(B) 4, 2, 3, 1, 5
(C) 4, 3, 2, 5, 1
(D) 4, 3, 2, 1, 5
Example 2

Arrange the words given below in a meaningful sequence.

1. Key 2. Door3. Lock 4. Room 5. Switch on
A. 5, 1, 2, 4, 3
B. 4, 2, 1, 5, 3
C. 1, 3, 2, 4, 5
D. 1, 2, 3, 5, 4
Numerical reasoning test 

 Measures your ability to interpret, analyze and draw

logical conclusions based on numerical data
presented in graphs and tables.
 Maths skills tested may include calculation of
percentages, fractions and ratios
 Not designed to measure your mathematical ability
but your ability to use numerical data as a tool to
make reasoned decisions and solve problems
Example
Which number comes next in this series of
numbers?
2 3 5 7 11 13
a) 14
b) 15
c) 16
d) 17
Example 2

Fill in the missing numbers:

1 10 3 9 5 8 7 7 9 6 ? ?
Abstract/Logical reasoning

 Use diagrams, symbols or shapes instead of words

or numbers.
 They involve identifying the logic of a pattern and
then continuing that logic to arrive at the solution.
Example

Which figure comes next in the sequence

Answer

D As the sequence progresses the number of dots

alternates in opposite section of the rectangle. For
example, the top of the first rectangle has 4 black dots
and the bottom of the second rectangle has 2 black
dots. The top of the third rectangle has 4 black dots and
the bottom of the fourth has 2 black dots and so on.
Conversely, the number of black dots in the bottom of
the first rectangle has 5 black dots and the top of the
second rectangle has 3 black dots and so on. Therefore,
the correct answer is D.
Mechanical reasoning tests

 They are typically used to assess how well an

individual can apply reasoning in a practical
environment.
 Used during the selection or recruitment process for
jobs related to engineering, the emergency services
and the army, amongst many others.
Example
Example 2

Which gear will turn the same way as the driver

Spatial reasoning

• Is a non-verbal aptitude test that assesses ability to

understand complex plans and shapes.
• It’s sometimes called a ‘spatial awareness test’
• Spatial reasoning tests are often used to assess
technical or engineering candidates, for example
people who want to become architects, engineers
or designers
What types of questions will I face?

 Shape combining
 Matching two dimensional shapes
 Mirror images
 Three dimensional cubes
 Two and three dimensional solids
 Maps
Example

Which figure is identical to the first?

Example
Which shape in Group 2 corresponds to the shape in
Group 1?
Hint:

These 2 dimensional spatial questions are usually

fairly straightforward but you may be asked to
complete a number of them in a limited time. Note
that in this example some of the shapes in Group 2
are rotations of those in Group 1. These questions
use a large number of shapes that are presented
close together. Some people find this very distracting
and find it easier to work through the shapes in the
second group systematically
Measuring Personality

What is Personality?
• A person’s relatively stable feelings, thoughts,
and behavioral patterns.
• The combination of characteristics or qualities
that form an individual's distinguishing
character
The BIG FIVE personality characteristics