The Construction of Personality Questionnaires for Selection of Aviation Personnel

The Personality Research Form (PRF), a questionnaire for voluntary self-description, was administered to a group of applicants (N) for pilot training with a major European airline. Standard psychometric statistics were computed for the PRF subscales. Comparison with information given in the test manual shows that the reliability of all PRF subscales declines in personnel selection. Strong ceiling effects which were caused by response sets (mainly Social Desirability) were identified as the reason for this phenomenon. The Temperament Structure Scales (TSS), a questionnaire constructed for selection conditions, were presented to the same group. The computed factor-analytic results indicated that the factorstructure of the TSS is very similar to that of the PRF. No detrimental downward trend could be revealed for the subscale reliabilities of the TSS. Thus, it seems necessary to construct questionnaires within specific selection conditions to make them robust with respect to the negative psychometric effects of selection.