The construct validity of the first view™ for selection purposes in South Africa

Abstract

Through the process of selection the measurement and prediction of behaviour has become an important activity in the field of psychology, especially in the workplace. A dynamic selection process can assist the organisation in identifying individuals who best suite it’s needs. Psychometric testing is the most common procedure in the prediction of human behaviour during selection. Seeing that not all instruments are valid and reliable, much controversy still exists on the use of such instruments in South Africa. Only by introducing instruments that apply to these criteria will psychometrics have a future in labour practices. The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity of the First View™ , an instrument originating in the United States, for selection purposes in South Africa. By incorporating personality and cognitive ability into one instrument, First View™ , as a psychometric instrument, can be used in selection to determine job performance. The cognitive scale is based on Guilford’s Structure of Intellect and the personal scale on the Big Five Personality factors. The reliability and validity of this instrument have proved to be high in the United States. In order to investigate validity, First View™ had to be correlated with well established and valid South African instruments. In this study the Differential Aptitude test (DAT) and 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire SA-92 (16 PF) were used. The three tests were administered to a sample of 229 respondents from different race, gender, age and occupation groups, drawn by means of convenient sampling and random selection. Canonical correlation showed a strong relationship between the independent and dependant variables. From this a conclusion can be drawn that the 16 PF SA-92 and the personal scale of First View™ show a positive interrelationship. The multiple regression indicated a significant relationship between the predictors and the composite criteria, concluding that there is a strong relationship or overlapping between the DAT and cognitive scale of First View™. Thus, results indicate that First View™ can be a valuable instrument in selection. The findings and implications of the study are discussed and recommendations for future studies made.