Briefly describe how concurrent and predictive validation research is conducted, and identify at least two potential advantages of predictive validation.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Concurrent validation research administers a test to people who currently hold a job and then compares their scores to existing measures of job performance. If the people who score highest on the test also do better on the job, the test is assumed to be valid. Predictive validation research uses the test scores of all applicants and looks for a relationship between the scores and future performance. The researcher administers the tests, waits a set period of time, and then measures the performance of the applicants who were hired.

Potential advantages of predictive validation include: (1) Job applicants are typically more motivated to perform well on the test than job incumbents; (2) Their performance on the tests is not influenced by their firsthand experience with the job; and (3) The group studied is more likely to include people who perform poorly on the test-a necessary ingredient to accurately validate a test.