Selection Test Anxiety: Investigating Applicants' Self- vs. Other-Referenced Anxiety in a Real Selection Setting
13 Pages Posted: 29 Jan 2008
Abstract
Test anxiety has received limited attention in personnel selection research, although it may impair the test performance of applicants. This paper describes the development and validation of a new two-dimensional measure of applicants' test anxiety, namely the Self- versus Other-Referenced Anxiety Questionnaire (SOAQ), that embeds worrisome cognitions of anxious applicants in the social evaluative context of self (Self-Referenced Anxiety) and significant others (Other-Referenced Anxiety). An exploratory factor analysis (calibration sample), followed by a confirmatory factor analysis (validation sample) and correlations with several proximal and distal theoretical constructs indicated satisfactory psychometric properties and construct validity for both SOAQ scales. Structural equation modeling further showed a differential impact of Self- and Other-Referenced Anxiety on applicants' test performance within a real personnel selection context. The scientific and practical relevance of these findings are discussed.
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