The Myth of Impartiality: Part 2
This month, I look at the myth of impartiality from the perspective of the users (HR professionals and recruiters) and suppliers of psychometrics.
The Myth of Impartiality: Part 1
In last month’s post, I signed off by noting that impartiality was a pervasive myth in the industry. The corollary is that assuming impartiality allows many of the myths in the industry to not only continue but flourish. Very few in the industry can lay claims to being completely impartial,
Studies You Should Know: Reducing Implicit Bias for Race
Lai, C., Marinin, M., Lehr, S., Cerruti, C., Shin, J.L., Joy-Gaba, J., Ho, A.K., Teachman, B., Wojcik, S.P., Koleva, R., Heiphetz, L., Chen, E.V., Turner, R.N., Haidt, J., ... Sriram, N, Banaji, M., & Nosek, B.A. (2014). Reducing implicit racial preferences: I. A comparative investigation of 17 interventions. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
The Myth of Measurement
I would like to begin by apologising for not getting a myth out last month. I was working in the Philippines. Having just arrived back in Singapore I will make sure to get out two myths this month. The first myth for April that I wish to highlight is a
The Myth of Significance Testing
When I decided to leave work and go to University to study psychology I did so because of a genuine fascination with the study of human behaviour, thought, and emotion. Like many, I was drawn to the discipline not by the allure of science but by the writings of Freud,
2014: Exploring the Myths of I/O Psychology a Month at a Time
For those that may not be aware, the ‘Science of Science’ is in disarray. Everything is currently under the microscope as to what constitutes good science, what is indeed scientific and the objectivity and impartiality of science. This is impacting many areas of science and has even led to a
Studies You Should Know: Poverty Impedes Cognitive Functioning
Mani, A., Mullainathan, S., Shafir, E., & Zhao, J. (2013) Poverty impedes cognitive function. Science, 341, 6149, 976-980. Abstract The poor often behave in less capable ways, which can further perpetuate poverty. We hypothesize that poverty directly impedes cognitive function and present two studies that test this hypothesis. First, we
Studies You Should Know: Work Stress and Employee Health
Ganster, D.C., & Rosen, C.C. (2013) Work stress and employee health: A multidisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 39, 5, 1085-1122. Abstract Research examining the relationship between work stress and well-being has flourished over the past 20 years. At the same time, research on physiological stress processes has also advanced significantly.
Healthy Thinking
According to Wikipedia, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach that addresses dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviours and cognitive processes. CBT achieves these outcomes through a number of goal-oriented, explicit systematic procedures. Cognitive behavioural therapy is one of the most widely used clinical interventions. It is thought to be effective
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail
In a recent book, Nate Silver illustrates the limitations of people to think in probabilistic terms and build models that incorporate uncertainty. This is not a trivial matter and is a major contributing factor to the financial crash that started in late 2007, the effects of which are still resonating





