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Task‐Based Assessment Centers: Empirical support for a systems model
Author(s) -
Jackson Duncan J. R.,
Stillman Jennifer A.,
Englert Paul
Publication year - 2010
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.1468-2389.2010.00496.x
Subject(s) - psychology , task (project management) , variance (accounting) , extraversion and introversion , cognitive psychology , assessment center , social psychology , applied psychology , personality , big five personality traits , management , business , accounting , economics
Task‐based assessment centers (TBACs) have been suggested to hold promise for practitioners and users of real‐world ACs. However, a theoretical understanding of this approach is lacking in the literature, which leads to misunderstandings. The present study tested aspects of a systems model empirically, to help elucidate TBACs and explore their inner workings. When applied to data from an AC completed by 214 managers, canonical correlation analysis revealed that extraversion, abstract reasoning, and verbal reasoning, conceptualized as inputs into a system, explained around 21% of variance in manifest assessment center behavior. Behavior, in this regard, was found to consist of both general and situationally specific elements. Results are discussed in terms of their support for a systems model and as they pertain to the literature on TBACs.