Exploring the Limits in Personnel Selection and Classification

Beginning in the early 1980s and continuing through the middle 1990s, the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) sponsored a comprehensive research and development program to evaluate and enhance the Army's personnel selection and classification procedures. This was a set of interrelated efforts, collectively known as Project A. Project A had a number of basic and applied research objectives pertaining to selection and classification decision making. It focused on the entire selection and classification system for Army enlisted personnel and addressed research questions that can be generalized to other personnel systems. It involved the development and evaluation of a comprehensive array of predictor and criterion measures using samples of tens of thousands of individuals in a broad range of jobs. The research included a longitudinal sample--from which data were collected at organizational entry--following training, after 1-2 years on the job and after 3-4 years on the job. This book provides a concise and readable description of the entire Project A research program. The editors share the problems, strategies, experiences, findings, lessons learned, and some of the excitement that resulted from conducting the type of project that comes along once in a lifetime for an industrial/organizational psychologist. This book is of interest to industrial/organizational psychologists, including experienced researchers, consultants, graduate students, and anyone interested in personnel selection and classification research.

Campbell, John P.; Knapp, Deirdre J.

Contents: Preface. Foreword. Part I: Introduction and Major Issues.J.P. Campbell, Matching People and Jobs: An Introduction to Twelve Years of R & D. J. Shields, L.M. Hanser, J.P. Campbell, A Paradigm Shift. J.P. Campbell, J.H. Harris, D.J. Knapp, The Army Selection and Classification Research Program: Goals, Overall Design, and Organization. Part II: Specification and Measurement of Individual Differences for Predicting Performance.N.G. Peterson, H. Wing, The Search for New Measures: Sampling From a Population of Selection/Classification Predictor Variables. T.L. Russell, N.G. Peterson, R.L. Rosse, J.T. Hatten, J.J. McHenry, J.S. Houston, The Measurement of Cognitive, Perceptual, and Psychomotor Abilities. L. Hough, B. Barge, J. Kamp, Assessment of Personality, Temperament, Vocational Interests, and Work Outcome Preferences. Part III: Specification and Measurement of Individual Differences in Job Performance.W.C. Borman, C.H. Campbell, E.D. Pulakos, Analyzing Jobs for Performance Measurement. D.J. Knapp, C.H. Campbell, W.C. Borman, E.D. Pulakos, M.A. Hanson, Performance Assessment for a Population of Jobs. Part IV: Developing the Database and Modeling Predictor and Criterion Scores.D.J. Knapp, L.L. Wise, W.Y. Young, C.H. Campbell, J.S. Houston, J.H. Harris, Data Collection and Research Database Management on a Large Scale. T.L. Russell, N.G. Peterson, The Experimental Battery: Basic Attribute Scores for Predicting Performance in a Population of Jobs. J.P. Campbell, M.A. Hanson, S.H. Oppler, Modeling Performance in a Population of Jobs. D.H. Reynolds, A. Bayless, J.P. Campbell, Criterion Reliability and the Prediction of Future Performance From Prior Performance. Part V: Selection Validation, Differential Prediction, Validity Generalization, and Classification Efficiency.S.H. Oppler, R.A. McCloy, N.G. Peterson, T.L. Russell, J.P. Campbell, The Prediction of Multiple Components of Entry-Level Performance. S.H. Oppler, R.A. McCloy, J.P. Campbell, The Prediction of Supervisory and Leadership Performance. N.G. Peterson, L.L. Wise, J. Arabian, R.G. Hoffman, Synthetic Validation and Validity Generalization: When Empirical Validation Is Not Possible. R.L. Rosse, J.P. Campbell, N.G. Peterson, Personnel Classification and Differential Job Assignments: Estimating Classification Gains. D.M. Olson, L.A. White, M.G. Rumsey, W.C. Borman, Environmental Context Effects on Performance and the Prediction of Performance. Part VI: Application of Findings: The Organizational Context of Implementation.L.A. White, M.C. Young, M.G. Rumsey, ABLE Implementation Issues and Related Research. C.B. Walker, M.G. Rumsey, Application of Findings: ASVAB, New Aptitude Tests, and Personnel Classification. Part VII: Epilogue.J.P. Campbell, Implications for Future Personnel Research and Personnel Management.