FRAME-OF-REFERENCE EFFECTS ON PERSONALITY SCALE SCORES AND CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY

Increased use of personality inventories in employee selection has led to concerns regarding factors that influence the validity of such measures. A series of studies was conducted to examine the influence of frame of reference on responses to a personality inventory. Study 1 involved both within-subject and between-groups designs to assess the effects of testing situation (general instructions vs. applicant instructions) and item type (work specific vs. noncontextual) on responses to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae, 1989). Results indicated that a work-related testing context and work-related items led to more positive responses. A second study found differences in the validity of a measure of conscientiousness, depending on the frame of reference of respondents. Specifically, context-specific items were found to have greater validity. Implications for personnel selection are discussed.