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Selection Test Anxiety: Investigating applicants' self‐ vs other‐referenced anxiety in a real selection setting
Author(s) -
Proost Karin,
Derous Eva,
Schreurs Bert,
Hagtvet Knut A.,
De Witte Karel
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of selection and assessment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.812
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1468-2389
pISSN - 0965-075X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2389.2008.00405.x
Subject(s) - psychology , anxiety , test anxiety , confirmatory factor analysis , exploratory factor analysis , context (archaeology) , structural equation modeling , construct validity , test (biology) , construct (python library) , clinical psychology , selection (genetic algorithm) , sample (material) , psychometrics , statistics , psychiatry , paleontology , chemistry , mathematics , chromatography , artificial intelligence , computer science , biology , programming language
Test anxiety has received limited attention in personnel selection research, although it may impair the test performance of applicants. This paper describes the development and validation of a new two‐dimensional measure of applicants' test anxiety, namely the Self‐ versus Other‐Referenced Anxiety Questionnaire (SOAQ), that embeds worrisome cognitions of anxious applicants in the social evaluative context of ‘self’ (Self‐Referenced Anxiety) and ‘significant others’ (Other‐Referenced Anxiety). An exploratory factor analysis (calibration sample), followed by a confirmatory factor analysis (validation sample) and correlations with several proximal and distal theoretical constructs indicated satisfactory psychometric properties and construct validity for both SOAQ scales. Structural equation modeling further showed a differential impact of Self‐ and Other‐Referenced Anxiety on applicants' test performance within a real personnel selection context. The scientific and practical relevance of these findings are discussed.