Considering vocational interests in adverse impact: a meta-analysis of race, cognitive ability, and vocational interests

Jones, Kisha S.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/45634 Copy

Description

Title

Considering vocational interests in adverse impact: a meta-analysis of race, cognitive ability, and vocational interests

Author(s)

Jones, Kisha S.

Issue Date

2013-08-22T16:56:10Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Newman, Daniel A.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Newman, Daniel A.

Committee Member(s)

• Rounds, James
• Drasgow, Fritz
• Neville, Helen A.
• Fraley, R.C.

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Adverse Impact
• Vocational Interests
• Race
• Cognitive Ability

Abstract

Research on adverse impact (i.e., differential hiring/selection rates between minority and majority groups in employment settings) has traditionally focused on aspects of the selection systems themselves (e.g., cognitive testing, personality measurement). In contrast, by using a supply-side perspective the current research proposes to incorporate vocational interests into the study of adverse impact, to help explain how people end up applying for jobs in the first place. In order to understand how vocational interests influence adverse impact, it is necessary to determine if Blacks and Whites differ in the types of jobs they are interested in, and whether people who are interested in certain kinds of jobs have different levels of cognitive ability. In Study 1, differences between African Americans and Caucasian Americans on vocational interests were estimated via meta-analysis. It was found that Whites have stronger realistic, investigative, and artistic interests, while African Americans have stronger social interests. Various moderators of these relationships were investigated as well. In Study 2, the relationships between cognitive ability and vocational interests were meta-analyzed. Cognitive ability was found to have strong positive correlations with investigative, artistic, and social interests. Finally, in Study 3, I constructed a combined meta-analytic correlation matrix of race, vocational interests, cognitive ability, and conscientiousness, and then used mathematical formulae to assess the role of applicant vocational interests in determining subgroup differences in selection predictors under various application ratios and job types. These findings have implications for how adverse impact might differ systematically across various occupations and jobs, due to race differences in vocational interests.

Graduation Semester

2013-08

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45634

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2013 Kisha Shannon Jones

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