Questions 71 to 75 are based on the following passage:
Taking a peep at what’s going on in your head
CARL Filer,18,a star salesman at a B&Q hardware store in the UK,was called up for promotion within one week of starting work.But,instead of being made supervisor,he was sacked—after his employers saw the results of his psychometric test.
You might think that anyone who answers that he“strongly disagreeshe is an over-achiever is asking for trouble,but Mr Filer already thought he had proved himself more than capable.
This year,nearly half of UK firms—46 percent—will use psychometric tests to select trainees,compared with just 17 percent in 2000,according to a report for GTI,a publisher of graduate career guides.
These tests,which rate candidates’ ability and gauge their personality,have been used in the UK since the 1980s.But assorted studies have shown most people—graduates in particular—are wholly cynical about the idea of their personality being“measured.
“People tend to see them as either too silly or too clever,says Clive Fletcher,professor of occupational psychology at University of London.“But all the evidence indicates the tests do have some value.
The first personality test as we know it,was developed by the American army in 1917 to filter out weak recruits.
But it was not until the 1980s that the tests became popular in Britain.With a rising number of graduates going for a decreasing number of jobs,organizations began to see psychometric testing as a cheap,reliable alternative to the expensive,time-consuming interview.
But today the tests are becoming alarmingly sophisticated and are edging towards probing the“dark side:pathology and personality disorders.Increasingly,tests are being used to try to detect promising young graduates who may,later in life,fly off the rails(go crazy);or to stop psychopaths(having mental disorder)getting recruited.
In the future,interviewees could even be given a mouth swab to reveal the genetic and biological markers of personality.“We are heading for the era of genetic screening,”warns Carolyn Jones,of the Institute for Employment Rights.“I think these tests are very flawed.
And there are other problems with the tests.For starters,it is possible to fake it—even the test producers agree on this.But they have made it as hard as possible.For example, look at whether you agree or disagree with the following two statements:“New ideas come easily to meand“I find generating new concepts difficult.How long did it take you to realize they both could mean the same thing?
The main argument,however,is that the tests are invalid and cannot quantify(put a numerical value on)something as changeable as personality.
The golden rule is then,that a psychometric test should never be used as the sole basis of selection,but should always be followed by interviews.
Which of the following is one of the reasons why psychometric testing wins an advantage over interviews?
A.It doesn’t cost any money. B.It requires no equipment. C.It is time-saving. D.It can be done within seconds.