Measurement invariance of the second edition of the Fifteen Factor Personality Questionnaire (15FQ+) over different ethnic groups in South Africa
Holtzkamp, Jani Gerda (2013-12)
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Commericial organizations operate in a free-market economic system. The goal of commercial organizations in a free-market economic system is to utilise scarce resources at their disposal to optimally maximise their profits. To achieve this goal, the human resources function is tasked with the responsibility to acquire and maintain a competent and motivated workforce in a manner that would add value to the bottom-line. The human resource management interventions are therefore a critical tool in regulating human capital in such a manner that it optimally adds value to the business. Personality tests are used in the world of work to determine individual differences in behaviour and performance. There was recently a dispute over the effectiveness of the use of personality tests in predicting job performance, but personality is nowadays regarded as a an influential causal antecedent in the prediction of job performance.
From the first democratic elections held in 1994, greater demands have been placed on the cultural appropriateness of psychological testing in South Africa. The use of cross-cultural assessments in South Africa are therefore currently very prominent. The use of psychological tests, including personality tests, is now strictly controlled by legislation, including the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. In order to make informed decisions, industrial psychologists and registered psychology practitioners need reliable and valid information about the personality construct which will enable them to make accurate predictions on the criterion construct. This argument provides significant justification for the primary purpose of this study, namely an equivalence and invariance study of the second edition of the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire (15FQ +) in a sample of Black, Coloured and White South Africans.
Bias in psychological testing can be described as ‘troublesome’ factors that threaten the validity of cross-cultural comparisons across different groups e.g., ethnic groups (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). These factors can be caused by construct bias, method bias and/or item bias. It is therefore essential that the information provided by the test results must have the same meaning across all the various reference groups. This assumption necessitates evidence of equivalent and invariant measurements across different groups. Equivalence and invariance in this study is investigated by making use of Dunbar, Theron and Spangenberg (2011)'s proposed steps. Complete measurement invariance and full measurement equivalence is the last step and implies that the observed measurements can be compared directly between the different groups.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kommersiële Organisasies word bedryf in ‘n vrye-mark ekonomiese stelsel. Die doel van kommersiële organisasies is dus om skaars hulpbronne tot hul beskikking optimaal aan te wend ten einde wins te maksimeer. Daarom is dit belangrik vir die menslikehulpbron funksie om ‘n bevoegde en gemotiveerde werksmag te verkry en in stand te hou op ‘n wyse wat waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Dit is daarom uiters belangrik om die regte menslikehulpbron intervensies in organisasies te implementeer om die menslike kapitaal so te reguleer dat hulle optimaal waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Persoonlikheidstoetse word gebruik in die wêreld van werk om individuele verskille in gedrag en werksprestasie te bepaal. Daar was onlangs ‘n dispuut oor die effektiwiteit van persoonlikheidstoetse se gebruik in die voorspelling van werksprestasie, maar persoonlikheid word hedendaags beskou as ‘n invloedryke oorsaaklike veranderlike in die voorspelling van werksprestasie.
Vanaf die eerste demokratiese verkiesing van 1994 word daar sterker eise geplaas op die kulturele toepaslikheid van sielkundige toetse in Suid Afrika. Kruis-kulturele assesserings in Suid Afrika is daarom tans baie prominent. Die gebruik van sielkundige toetse, ingesluit persoonlikheidstoetse, word nou streng beheer deur wetgewing, onder andere die Wet op Gelyke Indiensneming 55 van 1998. Ten einde ingeligte besluite te kan neem, benodig bedryfsielkundiges en geregistreerde sielkundé praktisyns betroubare en geldige inligting oor die persoonlikheidskonstruk om hul in staat te stel om akkurate voorspellings van die kriteriumkonstruk te maak. Dit bied wesenlik die regverdiging vir die primêre oogmerk van hierdie studie, naamlik om ‘n ekwivalensie en invariansie studie van die tweede uitgawe van die Vyftien Faktor Vraelys (the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire, 15FQ+) op ‘n steekproef van Swart, Kleurling en Wit Suid Afrikaners te onderneem.
Sydigheid in toetse kan beskryf word as ‘lastige’ faktore wat die geldigheid van kruis-kulturele vergelykings oor verskillende groepe (bv. Etniese groepe) bedreig (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). Hierdie faktore kan veroorsaak word deur konstruksydigheid, metodesydigheid en/of itemsydigheid. Dit is dus noodsaaklik dat die informasie wat verskaf word deur die toetsresultate dieselfde betekenis moet hê oor al die verskillende verwysingsgroepe. Hierdie aanname noodsaak bewyse van ekwivalente en invariante metings oor verskillende groepe. Ekwivalensie en Invariansie in hierdie studie word ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van Dunbar, Theron en Spangenberg (2011) se voorgestelde stappe. Volle ekwivalensie en invariansie is die laaste stap en impliseer dat waargenome metings oor verskillende groepe direk met mekaar vergelyk kan word.
Please refer to this item in SUNScholar by using the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/85619