Psychological Testing In the Selection of State Military Officers - Coursework Example

Evidence Based HRM Report: Psychological Testing In the Selection of State Military Officers Name Institution Date Executive Summary Psychological testing has been used in military recruitment since the early 1900s more so during the world war era. Many countries are still applying them but with the current cultural, social, technological and security needs changes, the tools are becoming more complex and tailor made as much as possible. This project basically questions the effectiveness of the use of these tools in the recruitment of the military amidst the claim of many scholars about their promotion of discrimination and invasion of privacy. This is a purely conceptual inquiry which is based on a thorough review of literature before making the necessary conclusions and requisite recommendations Psychological Testing in the Selection of State Military Officers Context and Industry Information According to Camara and Merenda (2000) psychological testing consists of both cognitive and personality test. The difference between the two is that the cognitive tests are meant to determine one’s ability to learn while the personality tests are meant to judge ones character traits like emotions, intrinsic motivation, attitude, preferences, interests, temperament and interpersonal skills. Documented evidence shows that there is increased use of these tests in the hiring of staff in many organisations. Arthur (2000) notes that most organisation are now utilisation these test because they realised that the most unfortunate thing to happen to any given organisation id to end up hiring someone who doesn’t fit into the job simply because they lack the cognitive and personality capability. This paper will basically be discussing the effectiveness of psychological testing in the recruitment of the police force officers. To do so the researcher will first of all begin by providing a historical background to the use of these tests in the recruitment process. The researcher will then proceed to determine whether these tests are indeed helpful or not. The military department remains some of the most sensitive offices in the public services. Military officers are expected to be the most vigilant personnel because of the nature of their role. The kind of work they perform calls for someone whose thinking and character is top notch. They deal with complex to minor security issues that require high level of precise judgement. Their role is about protecting human beings. Their tools of trade are also highly classified. A military officer is trained on how to use various weapons and that’s why they have to be selected carefully so that they do not become a danger to themselves and the society at large. The use of psychological screening in the recruitment of the police and the military is not new. There is substantial literature that suggests that these tastes have existed even before the First World War broke out. They were extensively used during the first and Second World War and they are still widely used in the post-cold war era (andrian and Drekely, 2000). This has not been without criticism. Some scholars argue that what psychological tests reveal can easily be told during a standard normal interview. In their view, there is no need to subject prospective employees to such tests while the same results can be realised through another method (Summer and Lasry, 1984). Nature of the Problem The concept of psychological testing during the recruitment process has received a lot of scrutiny from various scholar and even policy makers. Some scholars argue that subjecting employees to such tests is in fact invading their privacy as well as promotes discrimination. The argument is that since they are self-evaluations then it’s even hard to tell whether the provided answers are reliable or valid to be taken seriously. This project delves deep into the reliability of these tests in the hiring process with a specific focus on the police force. Psychological screening has been part of military and police recruitment for many decades now. This tool was developed so as to measure human qualities. The use of these tests in the services came with lots of complications. There were divergent opinions on the kind of tools to be used, the thinking behind the creation of the tests and the accuracy of the tools as well (Rosse, 1994). Many scholars at that time seemed to be in agreement with the use of these tools. They argue that the service has trained medical practitioners who can accurately administer these tests. As time went by and the demand for more people to join the force increased due to increasing factors that brought about insecurity, even the civilians were hired to carry out the psychological tests. This attracted more study on this subject and many scholars came to agree that these tests were unable to determine so many things including, an officers level of adaptation ones in the force, their degree of motivation, leadership skills, stress management abilities and the position and unit to be placed in once hired.. It is against this background that this project sets out to analyse the pros and cons of this process before making recommendations on this debatable subject. Review of Evidence As much as these the use of psychological tests has been around for the longest time, they increasingly became popular during the early 1990s (Saccuzzo, 1999). This was necessitated by various reasons. First of many employers had realised that hiring ineffective people can be very expensive. Some employees would engage in fraud while some would cause chaos in the work place because of their uncontrolled temperaments. So in a bid to avert the implications of hiring employees that were unknown to their employer especially as regards their cognitive and personality traits, these tests became instituted by many organisations. One area where these test were applied is in the recruitment of the police force and the military. The other benefit that the employer though was an outcome of screening is that they would be in a position to avert any legal consequences that would come with recruiting incompetent people. While this is the case, the opponents of psychological screening argue that there is very little positive benefits that can be attached to this process. They further notes that violence, substance abuse, fraud are increasing becoming common in the work place despite all these tests. As aforementioned, psychological screening in military recruitment has been in use since the 1st World War era. In those days they were mostly individualised tests usually lasting up to one hour. In the contemporary world, due to changes in the social and economic conditions, and even the nature of the military work, they are now administered on large scale. Technological advancement has contributed to the changes in the manner in which these tests are administered as well. Studies also reveal that changes in the modern world have also shaped these tests because it has come to the realisation of many psychologists that more competences are needed for the military work (Leaetta, 1990). For instance after the fall of the Berlin wall, peace keeping and humanitarian work was incorporated into the military work (Martin and Loren, 1992). Additionally, the rise of terrorism has also influenced the way the military is recruited and trained. When psychological tests are administered during the military recruitment they are meant to check for specific competences. To begin with the recruit must be able to have physical strength over people, able to live with the idea their lives are on threat, fully submit to orders from above, expect orders any time and be willing to work internationally(Kochan, 1999). Usually the tests different depending on the unit to be assigned; for example administrative, supportive staff, airline crew etc. all in all many countries in the world from the west, east and even in Africa apply psychological testing in their recruitment in their military selection. However what is important to not the complexity of these tests is dependent on the level of development of each country. For instance, a country lie the United States, Britain and France invest resources in the development of these tools depending on the technological advance of the day. Additionally, the kind of threats they face will determine what kind of people they want to employ in the military. This cannot be said of developing countries who have so many other competing needs which down play the need to invest in psychological testing. In a study that was conducted by Sommer and Lasry (1984)in order to tell whether military recruits will fare well more than others it’s important to develop a customised individual behavioural health that can be used to analyse and determine person resilience. This is what screening tools don’t provide because they are structured in a way that they only provide the very basic information on how to determine a recruit who is not able to adapt an adjust well which then makes the department focus on how to improve that (Saccuzzo,1999). It is common for recruits with some physical disabilities to be identified during the recruitment process. Therefore some scholars now argue that these psychological screening should help in the identification of minor psychological impairments which then could be addressed through certain well defined programmes (Oliver, 1999). Generally even when applied in context outside the military or police, these tests prove to be challenging. It’s not easy to match personality traits with a particular job or position in an organisation (Kochan, 1999). Again according to Martin and Loren (1992) any of the psychological tests that are now used in the hiring process were never intended for that purpose. This is so especially for the Myres-Briggs that is commonly used in hiring. In fact this test was meant for addressing issues in training for development (Delikat and Kathawala, 1997) That is why some scjolars are very sceptical about the use of screening in the hiring process. Kim (1996) argues that the performance of an employee is influenced more with the working environment than an individual’s personality traits. Kim (1996)adds that to think that one’s personality traits are permanent and can be transferred from one place to the next is erroneous. For instance the way an individual behaves before they enter the police training camp cannot be the same they do when in the training or out working at the police stations. Studies on the military show their routine is influence just as much as their mindset and behaviour. The police is government by a very strict code of conduct that does not allow for divergent manifestations of personalities. They are trained and have their minds or their thinking fixed in a certain manner (Andrain and Drakeley, 2000). Findings and Implications The findings are such that screening processes still remain inadequate especially as afr as predicting officers with a high tendency of failed attrition before being hired. In many countries high school education or an acquired diploma is used a s a predictor of ones abilities. In fact many scholars have criticised screening processes on the ground that they are very expensive to administer (Saccuzzo, 1999). They require professional who need to be paid. Perhaps the best approach to be adopted in military force settings ids to divert the little resources and all those energies that are used during the screening to meaning training long term interventions that will help the policy officer deal with whatever weaknesses thy have as far as their personality and cognitive ability is concerned. There is a lot that can be borrowed from studies that has been carried by the Department of defence which reveals that rehabilitation programmes coupled with supportive training can solve so many issue faced by military officers. From the literature it comes out clearly that screening tools are in many ways unreliable owing to the fact that they are self-assessments. Many employees would not want to give so much information especially the negative aspects during the recruitment process. They will give that portrayal that they are perfect to the job. And this is so in the police force. It is very difficult to tell who will not perform well say when taken to combat criminals, or who is not strong enough to engage in a gun battle with criminals. Taking a test cannot reveal such information. What many employers don’t realise that such tests are sugar coated lies which lack in objectivity. Reading through the military history it comes out clearly that it’s impossible to determine an officer’s future performance by simply assessing their personal qualities. There are some attribute that cannot be determine by answering some question; except through long term interaction with an officer. For instance it’s just impossible to tell who is a leader and who is not through an exam. Until that individual is given an opportunity to lead. It is also important that the contemporary world is faced with a different kind of social, cultural, technological and economic contexts which now shape the psychological screening. For instance children are now exposed to the internet so early in life and this has a huge impact on their cognitive and personality traits. They are exposed to so much information in their teenage years which makes it hard to achieve reliability when conducting tests. Therefore psychologists need to carry out more research to determine how the current trends are affecting the cognitive make up of individuals. Researchers should focus on studying the expected shifts in future military missions and the corresponding requisite skills that will be required and come up with an appropriate adaptation model. Conclusions and Recommendations While psychological testing has so much to admire about, they mainly serve the interests of the employer. In fact the existing studies do not tell whether such tests are important to the employee specifically during the recruitment process. The police service remains a sensitive job that requires careful selection of the personnel. Most government would want to bear the cost or otherwise implications of hiring incompetent people for such an office. Some studies reveal that there are some attributes that can easily be identified through the tests like attrition but some require time to manifest like performance and leadership. One major recommendation that I think is important is that employers should make it a habit to administer these test periodically. The test should be spread over time. That therefore calls for the restructuring of these tools so that we have those tests that can reveal the very basic during the recruitment, and those that can be administered once recruited. Secondly I would say that there is need to have tailor made tests for the men in uniform. These tests should not be just some standard procedures that are applicable to everyone. A police man/woman is expected to possess certain qualities that are not needed in other professions. More research should be carried out to determine which modules work for them. When it comes to the effectiveness of these tests in the recruitment of police officers, there is much to lose than gain. This is because these tests have an inbuilt rigidity. They are standardised. They are profession specific. Even if they are administered, they won’t bring out much. Additionally as aforementioned, they tend to be discriminative in nature. They expect one to be already qualified before you are hired. While this sounds a good thing, it’s important that human beings are not static. They keep learning, relearning and unlearning some character raids. An individual who was so humble could turn into a ruthless person just because of an undesirable experience they undergo. Or one could start off shy but gets courageous as time goes by. In this era where unemployment is so high people tend to exaggerate their qualifications so that they can be hired. This implies that it’s very difficult to tell whether the answer provide is authentic or not. No one would speak negatively about themselves especially when competing for an opportunity. May be its high time employers invested in research that will determine new methods of recruitment that is responsive to the challenges of the times we are living in. References Arthur, R. J. (2000). Testing: The Dilemma of Group Differences, 6 J. Psychol. Pub Pol'y & L. 121, 121 Adrian, F. & Russell, D. (2000). Predicting Occupational Personality Test Scores, J. Psychol., Jan. 1, 2000, available at 2000 WL 18744085. Daniel, S. & Jean-Claude, L. (1984). Personality and Reactions to Stressful Life Events, can. Mental health, Sept. Dennis, P. S. (1999). Still Crazy after All These Years: California's Persistent Use of the MMPI as Character Evidence in Criminal Cases, 33 U.S.F. L. REv. 379, 392. Leaetta M. H., et al., (1990). Criterion-Related Validities of Personality Constructs and the Effect of Response Distortion on Those Validities, 75 J. Applied Psychology. 581, 59. Joseph, G. R. et al., (1994). A Field Study of Job Applicants' Reactions to Personality and Cognitive AbilityTesting, 79 J. Applied Psychology. 987, 987. Gregory, M. S. (1995). Job Applicant Screening by a Japanese Transplant: A Union- Avoidance Tactic, 49 INDUS. & LAB. REL. REv. 88, 102. Michael, D. & Rene, K., 1997. Personality and Aptitude Tests: A Good Idea for Employers?, N.Y.L.J., Dec. 29. Pauline, T. K. (1996). Privacy Rights, Public Policy and the Employment Relationship, 57 OHIO ST. L.J. 671, 698-709. Wayne J. C. & Peter F. M. (2000). Using Personality Tests in Pre-employment Screening, 6 J. PSYCHOL. PUB. POL'Y & L. 1164, 1172. Susan, O., (1999). Note, Opening the Channels of Communication Among Employers: Can Employers Discard Their "No Comment" and Neutral Job Reference Policies?, 33 VAL. U. L. REv. 687, 692 n.2 Scott L. Martin & Loren P. Lehnen, (1992). Select the Right Employees Through Testing, Personnel. Thomas A. Kochan, (1999). Reconstructing America's Social Contract in Employment: The Role of Policy, Institutions, and Practices, 75 CHI.KENT L. Rnv. 137, 138 Read More