Assessing managers' common sense using situational judgment tests

In industrial‐organizational psychology, research and practice has focused on the use of situational judgment tests to predict managerial job performance. Although there is considerable controversy over what these tests actually measure, many have argued that they at least partially measure practical intelligence or “common sense.” Therefore the purpose of this article is to discuss situational judgment tests as assessments of common sense.

Reviewing the relevant industrial‐organizational psychology literature, this article considers the history and development of situational judgment tests as well as how the field has defined situational judgment. It also reviews the empirical and theoretical literature on their effectiveness for assessing managerial decision‐making competence.

Situational judgment tests have been found to be effective predictors of many organizational outcomes in a variety of job settings and positions. In particular, they have been found to incrementally predict future performance on‐the‐job beyond other typical predictors. Situational judgment tests are also relatively easy to administer and score and are often well received by managers and job applicants.

This article suggests situational judgment tests offer an efficient method of assessing common sense that can easily be adapted to many employment settings.