MTSU psychology students work with THP to design testing for trooper promotions

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Industrial-Organizational Psychology students at Middle Tennessee State University are getting real-world experience collaborating with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to identify future leaders for the agency.

This summer, more than 200 THP troopers and sergeants vying for promotions underwent a multifaceted examination process designed by students and faculty in MTSU’s Center for Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness, or COHRE.

“We are trying to determine if they have the knowledge, skills and abilities to get promoted,” said Mark Frame, psychology professor and consultant for COHRE.

During a daylong assessment process, applicants for THP sergeant and lieutenant positions were evaluated in three tests: job knowledge, situational judgment and administrative tasks in the form of email inbox, explained Zeinab Mostafa, one of the industrial-organizational, or I-O, psychology graduate students working on the project.

To develop the assessments, students worked one-on-one with THP sergeants, lieutenants and captains to discern what skills and abilities are needed to perform those positions.

“We asked them what they thought the (test) items should be and how we should score them,” Mostafa said. “Basically, we’re asking them what they’d like to see in a sergeant and lieutenant. It’s helped us understand what we should be assessing.”

McKenzie Adams, Industrial-Organizational Psychology graduate student at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., speaks to a class of Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers and sergeants on campus earlier this summer vying for promotions during an examination process designed by students in MTSU’s Center for Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness, or COHRE. (MTSU photo by Nancy DeGennaro)

Building blocks for student success

Students then built the test and met with Frame and the command staff to review the examination questions.

“They conducted critical incident-style interviews — a very popular way to collect job information,” Frame said. “These are skills the students can use when they go off to become practicing industrial-organizational psychologists or human resource practitioners.”

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The job knowledge test focuses on the relevant policies and procedures. The situational judgment test requires troopers to read scenarios and situations and rank possible answers or responses to the problems in the scenarios presented.

“You have to make judgments on the fly and that’s what sergeants and lieutenants do,” Frame said. “We are testing them on their ability to do that.”

The inbox test “takes the situational judgment up a notch,” Frame explained, and examines their analytical abilities, their ability to integrate disparate pieces of information, and their ability to effectively communicate in writing.

“We just redesigned the inbox test,” explained graduate student McKenzie Adams. “They’re getting emails in real-time and pulling information together to discern what the issues are and how to solve problems.”

Instead of picking and choosing from a preselected list or options, applicants have to write memos and emails and explain their tactics for dealing with the varied situations.

“That’s when it gets real. It’s a ‘day-in-the-life’ kind of simulation,” Frame said.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology students at Middle Tennessee State University, from left, McKenzie Adams, Raif Al Mezraani and Zeinab Mostafa worked on a project to design and administer testing on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn., for Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers and sergeants vying for promotions. The students are part of MTSU’s Center for Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness, or COHRE, get real-world experience through this process. (MTSU photo by Nancy DeGennaro)

The COHRE team used the job information collected in the critical incident-style interviews to create the two new components of the promotional process. The team then developed work samples and situational judgment tests custom-made for THP.

Test development is important for creating fair and equitable assessments. Troopers may not enjoy the testing process, but the methodology leads to fair and objective results, Frame said.

“We’re learning a lot about how to make tests relevant to your audience specifically,” Mostafa said. “That tests what you want your candidates to be excelling at. We make sure they are relevant, and they are not testing things that are irrelevant. And it makes sure tests are fair and helps us develop our skills to be able to test fairly and effectively.”

COHRE is a way to give students experience that will carry them beyond the classroom.

“Their graduate assistantships are paid through COHRE. It supports them academically and it supports them financially,” Frame said. “The MTSU Psychology Department is one of the only places in the country where a student can get a bachelor’s in I-O Psychology and the experiences our students get through COHRE are changing their career trajectory.”

Industrial and Organizational psychology is an area of scientific study that addresses psychological concepts and principles in the workplace and applies evidence-based research in solving issues.

Visit https://www.mtsu.edu/program/industrial-organizational-psychology-b-s/ to learn more about the Bachelor’s degree program in I-O Psychology, which is one of the few in the nation.

Visit www.mtsu.edu/program/psychology-industrial-organizational-concentration-m-a/ to learn more about the I-O Psychology masters-level program, which is ranked No. 1 nationally.

Learn more about COHRE at https://cohre.mtsu.edu/.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)