SUBJECT

Applied Social Psychology: The Vienna Test System

lecture

master

Faculty of Education and Psychology

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2 Semester

Spring semester

Aim of the course:

This course is concerned with the recruitment, selection and psychological assessment of candidates. What is the added value of a psychologist and psychological assessment methods to the personnel selection process? Psychological assessment methods will be introduced to the students through the Vienna Test System (VTS). The VTS is a test system which includes more than 100 psychological tests. These tests are able to assess various personality traits, mental aptitudes, and work-related motivation. The students will learn to use the VTS and they will have the chance to try some of the tests. More information about the VTS: http://viennatest.hu/

Learning outcome, competences

knowledge:

• Knows the logic and steps of the personnel selection process
• Knows the characteristics (e.g. reliability and validity) of various psychological assessment methods

attitude:

• Sensitive to the problems of personnel selection
• Shows a strong ethical sensitivity in the use of the psychological assessment methods

skills:

• Uses the Vienna Test System
• Can design a personnel selection process from the beginning to the end

Content of the course

Topics of the course

• The selection process: logic and steps
• Job analysis
• Structured, competency-based, job-related interview
• Projective tests: ethical concerns
• Personality tests
• Cognitive abilities and aptitude tests
• Motivational tests
• Assessment centres (ACs)
• The relationship between personnel selection and job performance: the question of predictive validity

Learning activities, learning methods

Evaluation of outcomes

Learning requirements, mode of evaluation, criteria of evaluation:

requirements

• Presentations on a given topic in the class (20-30 minutes in pairs)
• Class attendance and participation (the students should not be absent more than 3 times)

mode of evaluation: The students should not be absent more than 3 times + evaluations of the presentations in a 5-point scale

criteria of evaluation:

• The student’s readiness to use the knowledge, information, and consideratons of the class during his/her presentation

Compulsory reading list

• Juhász Márta (2002). A Big Five faktorok és skálák alkalmazása a személyzeti kiválasztásban és a teljesítményértékelésben. Az előrejelző érvényességet meghatározó kritériumok módosulása a vezetői teljesítményértékelés tükrében. PhD disszertáció, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar, Budapest.
• Tolley, H., & Wood, R. (2001). How to succeed at an assessment centre? London, UK: Kogan Page.

Recommended reading list

• Stough, C., Saklofske, D.H., & Parker, J.D.A. (2009) (Eds.). Assessing Emotional Intelligence. Theory, Research, and Applications. London, UK: Springer.
• Grothe, R.C. (2002). The performance appraisal question and answer book. Survival guide for managers. New York: Amacom.