Psychological Testing in Personnel Selection , Part III : The Resurgence of Personality Testing

This article is the third in a three-part series examining the development of selection testing. Part I focused on the historical development of personnel selection testing from the iate 19th century to the present, with particular attention given to personality testing. Attention was given to the efforts of eariy industrial psychoiogists that shaped and defined the roie of testing in the scientific seiection of empioyees. Part il examined the development of methods and standards in empioyment testing, with particuiar emphasis on seiection validity and utility. We also explored the issues of selection fairness and discrimination in selection as they reiate to psychologicai testing. Part iii explores the development and application of personality testing with a particular emphasis on the development of the Big Five personaiity modei and the utiiity of adding personaiity testing to the menu of choices for personnei selection methods. The transient nature of modeis of personality is noted, and current paradigms and the utiiity and fairness of personaiity testing for modern organizations is discussed.