Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Increased use of personality inventories in employee selection has led to concerns regarding factors that influence the validity of such measures. A series of studies was conducted to examine the influence of frame of reference on responses to a personality inventory. Study 1 involved both within-subject and between-groups designs to assess the effects of testing situation (general instructions vs. applicant instructions) and item type (work specific vs. noncontextual) on responses to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1989). Results indicated that a work-related testing context and workrelated items led to more positive responses. A second study found differences in the validity of a measure of conscientiousness, depending on the frame of reference of respondents. Specifically, context-specific items were found to have greater validity. Implications for personnel selection are discussed.
Schmit et al. (Sun,) studied this question.