When Traits Are Behaviors: The Relationship Between Behavioral Responses and Trait-Based Overall Assessment Center Ratings

Abstract

Interest in exercise effects commonly observed in assessment centers (ACs) has resurfaced with Lance, Lambert, Gewin, Lievens, and Conway's 2004 study. The study presented here addressed the construct validity puzzle associated with ACs by investigating whether traditional trait-based overall assessment ratings (OARs) could be explained by behavioral performance on exercises. In a sample of 208 job applicants from a real-world AC, it was found that the multivariate combination of scores from three behavioral checklists explained around 90% (p < .001) of the variance in supposedly trait-based OARs. This study adds to the AC literature by suggesting that traditional OARs are predictive of work outcomes because they reflect exercise-specific behavioral performance rather than trait-based assessments. If this is the case, validity and efficiency are best served by abandoning redundant trait ratings (dimensions) in favor of more direct behavioral ratings.