Selection: The Two Subcultures

The concept of culture is proposed as an explanatory tool for analysing the profession of work and organizational psychology. It is argued that two professional subcultures may be distinguished in the area of selection—labelled psychometric and social negotiation respectively. These are distinguished by their differing assumptions, values and artefacts. Changes in the environment of work and organizational psychologists are described, and it is argued that these have profound implications for the ways in which selection procedures are conducted. The psychometric subculture is considered to be less adaptive in the longer term to these environmental changes.