Selection Test Anxiety: Investigating Applicants' Self- vs. Other-Referenced Anxiety in a Real Selection Setting

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.