Psychometry Explainer #2
Is there such a thing as a psychometric item?
Among the many misconceptions I have encountered while engaging with corporate recruiters, hiring managers, and HR professionals, one pertains to the very use of the term psychometrics.
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A sizable proportion of my corporate clients use the term psychometric items to refer specifically to items that measure behavioural or personality-related traits. As a result, the general composition of a recruitment assessment is often perceived to be something like this:
-> Cognitive component (reasoning, ability, aptitude)
-> Behavioural component (personality, attitudes, motivation, cultural fit, etc.)
The latter is popularly referred to as psychometric items, and I find this problematic for two reasons-
- There is no such standardized term as “psychometric items.”
Psychometry is the science of measurement. While the prefix psycho refers to the measurement of psychological constructs, confusion arises when we forget that cognitive abilities such as reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, and memory are also psychological constructs.
The term psychometrics should refer to the scientific measurement and validation of an assessment instrument as a whole, rather than to a specific type of item.
2. It reinforces the misconception that cognitive items do not undergo psychometric evaluation.
In reality, all items in a standardized assessment, cognitive or behavioural, are subjected to psychometric evaluation. The methods may differ depending on the construct and item format, but the underlying principles of reliability, validity, item analysis, and standardization apply across the board. Therefore, the term psychometric items should not be reserved exclusively for behavioural or personality items.
So the key take away is that-
Psychometric items ≠ Behavioural items
