The Prediction of Predictability Revisited: Differential Predictability Applied to Managerial Selection

Abstract

Ghiselli's (1956) differential predictability procedure was applied to individual managerial assessment. Candidates for managerial positions (N = 452) were administered a battery of tests as part of the individual assessment selection procedure. This sample was divided into two equal-size groups; a Derivation Group and a Cross-Validation Group. The criterion was the candidate's organizational level; the predictor was a measure of cognitive ability provided by scores on the Adaptability Test. Need for Financial Reward, a subscale of the Self-Description Inventory, was identified as a moderator in the Derivation Group, however, sub grouping chi-square analyses and moderated multiple regression failed to corroborate this finding. Dependent on the selection ratio, use of the moderator was shown to have some limited utility in the Cross-Validation Group, however, its accuracy did not exceed that obtained through use of regression analysis.