R. Blake Jelley

Personality Perceptions of Medical School Applicants

Abstract: Purpose To examine the extent to which medical school interviewers consider perceptions of applicant personality traits during a semi-structured panel interview, the interrater reliability of assessments, and the impact of such perceptions on individual admission decisions. Method Semi-structured panel interviews were conducted with applicants to the Doctor of Medicine Program at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. Interviewers also provided voluntary, “research only” ratings of applicants on nine relevant personality traits. Data from 345 applicants under consideration for admission were available for analysis. Results Significant correlations were observed between personality ratings and important operational variables (e.g., interview scores). Applicants who were most likely to be admitted to the program were perceived as high on certain traits (i.e., Achievement, Nurturance, Endurance, Cognitive Structure, & Order) and low on other traits (i.e., Abasement, Aggression, & Impulsivity). Statistically removing variance shared with personality ratings from interview scores resulted in different admission decisions for over 40% of the applicants. Interrater reliabilities for personality perceptions were relatively low. However, interrater reliability of the panel interview used to make admission decisions was acceptable. Nonlinear relations between personality perceptions and interview scores were also explored. Conclusion Some evidence was found that interviewers? perceptions of applicant personality may affect their judgments when assigning interview ratings. Given that non-cognitive characteristics are perceived as important in the admissions process and that perceptions of personality traits have implications for decisions about which candidates to admit, suggestions for identifying desirable non-cognitive characteristics and for increasing the quality of assessments are offered.

Test-taking motivation in promotional employment re-examinations.

Managing applicant reactions to entry-level selection processes has been the subject of considerable research, but studies are needed to uncover the process by which test-taking motivation (TTM) affects performance in promotional contexts. We address this gap by proposing and evaluating a process model of promotional exam performance in high-stakes decision-making situations. Our model invokes theory and research on the role of past exam performance, self-set exam goals, and TTM. Empirical findings from a Canadian sample of police officers provides a test of our process model and indicates that past performance on promotional exams influences TTM indirectly through goal difficulty, which in turn influences current exam performance. Implications for managing reactions in promotion contexts are discussed. La gestion des réactions de candidats lors de processus de sélection au niveau d’entrée a fait l’objet de recherches considérables mais d’autres études s’avèrent nécessaires pour comprendre le processus selon lequel la motivation à se soumettre à un test (TTM) a une incidence sur le rendement dans un contexte de promotion. Nous tentons de combler cette lacune en proposant et en évaluant un modèle de processus de rendement à un test à des fins promotionnelles dans des situations de prise de décision où les enjeux sont élevés. Notre modèle fait appel à la théorie et à la recherche sur le rôle du rendement lors de tests antécédents, d’objectifs fixés par rapport aux tests et de la TTM. Les résultats empiriques d’un échantillon d’agents de police canadiens fournissent une mise à l’essai de notre modèle de processus et indiquent que les rendements de tests promotionnels antérieurs influencent la TTM de manière indirecte à travers le degré de difficulté des objectifs, qui à son tour influe sur le rendement du test actuel. Les répercussions sur la gestion des réactions dans des contextes de promotion sont aussi discutés.