Assessment of cognitive flexibility in personnel selection: Validity and acceptance of a gamified version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test

Abstract

The present study contributes to the emerging field of gamification in personnel selection by examining validity and acceptance of the Gamified Set-Shifting Task (GSST), which is based on a well-established neuropsychological test of cognitive flexibility, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Results based on a sample of 180 participants in an online study provided preliminary support for construct and criterion-related validity. The GSST was better accepted among test-takers than both the WCST and a cognitive ability test. Overall, the findings suggest that the GSST may be an attractive and valid method to assist organizations in selecting employees who are able to adapt to changing environments.

Game-related assessments for personnel selection: A systematic review

“…In fact, more than half of the empirical research on GRA deals with this issue. Thus, we can confirm that GRA promote positive reactions in the applicants (Georgiou, 2021;al-Qallawi and Raghavan, 2022;Georgiou and Lievens, 2022) and tend to be better valued than conventional selection methods (Collmus and Landers, 2019;Georgiou and Nikolaou, 2020;Landers et al, 2021;Harman and Brown, 2022;Hommel et al, 2022). It is noteworthy that this result seems consistent across the different types of GRA, as these investigations have been conducted with very diverse games, starting with traditional assessment and going on to include serious games.…”

“…(1) gamified assessment (e.g., Hommel et al, 2022); (2) gamefully designed assessment (e.g., Georgiou, 2021); (3) game-based assessments (e.g., Wiernik et al, 2022); and (4) playful games used for assessment purposes (e.g., Sanchez et al, 2022).…”

“…As for the relationship with the use of video games, there is some evidence that self-efficacy in playing video games positively influences GRA scores, but the results are inconsistent (Sanchez et al, 2022). Playing experience, on the other hand, does not seem to affect evaluations with GRA (Hommel et al, 2022). Complementing these studies, Formica et al (2017) find that people who play video games show greater emotional stability than those who do not, specifically, higher levels of emotional control and impulse control.…”

Formation of students’ communicative competence through game technology

“…In this context, teachers who play an active role in all the learning steps to be carried out and who are the direct designers of the designed course content and in course applications have many tasks and they need to improve their competencies within this framework (Ozcinar et al, 2019). Most people today, what we call the digital age, especially after becoming a parent relationship with technology, are more aware of the need to organise in a careful way; however, one can feel inadequate in this regard from time to time (Hommel et al, 2021). While some of the families are concerned about the fact that university students use digital technologies and come into contact with these technologies, some of them can use digital technologies as a parenting tool and leave their child alone with digital technologies, especially from an early age (Hafeez, 2021).…”

Game‐based, gamified, and gamefully designed assessments for employee selection: Definitions, distinctions, design, and validation

“…In assessment, where the goal may not be behavioral change but instead shaping applicant reactions, the use of narrative, stories, and immersive factors are also relatively common (e.g.,Georgiou et al, 2019;Landers & Collmus, 2021), especially when considering the complex branching narratives of some situational judgment tests(Reddock et al, 2020) to be a game mechanic. Gamification often involves the simultaneous integration of multiple mechanics; for example,Hommel et al (2021) added storytelling, points, and a graphical representation of progress to a cognitive flexibility assessment to improve applicant perceptions.…”