Utility (diagnostics)

The utility is the usefulness of a diagnostic tool. It is considered to be one of the secondary quality criteria of psychodiagnostic procedures.

A test is useful if the characteristic it is measuring has practical relevance and the decisions or measures taken on the basis of it cause more benefit than harm. Utility is sometimes referred to as external validity (the measurement for the decision).

In order to evaluate the utility of a process, the question must be answered whether the respective process is useful or suitable for answering a specific question.

In aptitude diagnostics , utility can be assessed by selecting as many suitable people as possible and not selecting as many unsuitable people as possible. Four factors play a special role in assessing utility: validity , basic quota, selection rate and the costs of a wrong decision.

literature

• Amelang, M. & Schmidt-Atzert, L. (2006). Psychological diagnostics and intervention (4th fully revised and expanded edition). Springer: Berlin, Heidelberg.
• Schuler, H. & Funke, U. (1995). Diagnosis of professional suitability and performance. In H. Schuler (ed.), Textbook organizational psychology (2nd corrected edition, pp. 235–283). Bern: Huber.
• Schuler, H. (Ed.) (2001). Textbook of Personnel Psychology. Göttingen: Hogrefe. (Chapters 3, 5–7, 22)
• Taylor, HC & Russell, JT (1939). The relationship of validity coefficients to the practical effectiveness of tests in selection: Discussion and tables. Journal of Applied Psychology, 23, 565-585.