COMPOSITE VS. MULTIPLE CRITERIA: A REVIEW AND RESOLUTION OF THE CONTROVERSY.

INDUSTRIAL psychology; MULTIPLE criteria decision making; ORGANIZATION; INDUSTRIAL psychologists; ORGANIZATIONAL behavior; DECISION making; LAWYERS; ECONOMICS; PSYCHOLOGISTS

The article discusses the controversy in industrial psychology between the advocates of the single composite criterion and those favoring multiple criteria. The basic contention of the advocates of the composite criterion is that the criterion should provide a measure of the overall success or value to the organization of the individual. Those favoring multiple criteria view the composite criterion as not only virtually un-interpretable in most cases, but also as an impediment to progress in practical prediction. The contention that composite criteria, unlike multiple criteria, do not and cannot lead to understanding of psychological and behavioral processes is probably the most persuasive of the arguments for multiple criteria. The typical practicing industrial psychologist probably seeks both economic and psychological ends in the validation process.