Use of Situational Judgment Test to Measure Individual Adaptability in Applied Settings

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to develop a measure of individual adaptability for use in applied settings. Specifically, an Adaptability Situational Judgment Test (ASJT) was designed to provide a practical and valid selection and assessment instrument that had incremental validity beyond the Big Five personality traits and cognitive ability in predicting supervisor ratings of adaptability. A criterion-related concurrent validation study was conducted in both a military (n = 101) and call center (n = 67) sample. Findings provide evidence for the criterion-related and nomological validity of the measure. In addition, minimal scoring differences existed on the basis of race support its fairness. The ASJT had similar relationships with all variables of interest in both samples, thus providing support for the generalizability of the measure to both military and business settings. Practical implications and recommendations for future refinements of the ASJT are discussed.