Section FiveCognitive Tests
Cognitive tests, or tests of mental ability, have been used for
various selection purposes since the early 1900s. The use of
such tests came under attack in the 1970s because firms
sometimes used them without establishing their validity or the
relationship between applicant scores and job performance.
Nonetheless, while the process of validating such tests requires
some statistical sophistication, validation procedures are well
established. Furthermore, recent research indicates that the
predictive ability of cognitive ability tests may have been
underestimated in the past. These tests can be enormously
helpful in improving selection accuracy when validated and
administered properly.^72 The Terpstra and Rozell study found
that cognitive tests were significantly associated with profit,
sales growth, and overall performance in service industries. The
study also found that the use of cognitive testing tended to be
associated with greater firm size in terms of number of
employees.^73
Staffing Selectivity
The impact of selective staffing also has been subjected to
empirical analysis. The Delaney and Huselid study cited also
examined selective staffing through analysis of perceptual
measures of the organizational performance. For organizations