2020年经济学人 巴托比专栏--打工人,你做过入职心理测试吗?(2)

Questions in such tests may ask a candidate to describe their behaviour in hypothetical situations: dealing¹ with an angry customer, for example. The suggested answers may all be plausible² (apologise profusely³, fetch a manager and so on), so there is no obviously “right” answer. Nevertheless the aim is to build a profile of the candidate to see if they have the right character traits for the job.

这些测试中的问题可能会要求应试者描述他们在一些假设情况下的行为，例如与愤怒的客户打交道。测试中所推荐的答案可能都合乎情理（不断道歉、找经理解决等等）。所以这些问题显然没有“正确”答案。然而，进行测试的目的是建立应试者的个人资料，查看这些求职者的性格特征是否符合这份工作。

People are generally judged on the basis of five characteristics with the acronym⁴ OCEAN for openness, conscientiousness⁵, extroversion⁶ (or introversion), agreeableness and neuroticism⁷. The ideal characteristics can be surprising: it turns out that introverts⁸ are the best traindrivers as they seem to pay more attention to details such as safety procedures and can cope with spending long periods of their time on their own.

公司通常会根据五项特征对求职者进行判断，即开放性、勤勉谨慎性、外向性（或内向性）、亲和性、以及情绪不稳定性，这五种特质可缩写为“大海（OCEAN）”。一些职业所对应的最适合的性格特征可能会使你大跌眼镜。事实证明，内向的人可以成为最好的火车司机，因为他们似乎更注重安全程序等细节，而且能够从容独处很长一段时间。

Extroverts⁹ do not make the best callcentre employees because they can spend so much time chatting to customers that they don’t get much done. The most useful trait among such workers, according to Steve Fletcher, an occupational psychologist, is assertiveness¹⁰; this enables them to deal with more calls.

外向的人并不是最合适的呼叫中心员工，因为他们会花费很长时间与客户聊天，也就没有完成很多工作。职业心理学家史蒂夫·弗莱彻认为，自信才是这类员工最实用的特质。自信的呼叫中心员工有能力处理更多的来电。

These tests are used to assess senior managers, as well as new hires. Along with OCEAN characteristics, testers are also looking for what is known as the “dark triad”—psychopathy, narcissism¹¹ and Machiavellianism. Factors that can make people successful as junior managers may limit their ascent¹². Candidates who are good with detail turn out to be obsessive¹³ micromanagers; people who flourish in sales may have an excessive need to be the centre of attention.

公司会应用这些测试评估高管和新员工。测试人员不只会注意你的“大海”特征，还会挖掘所谓的“暗黑人格”，即精神病态、自恋、和马基雅维利主义。让初级管理者收获成功的因素可能会同样阻碍他们的升职。事实证明，长于细节的应聘者往往是拥有强迫症的微观管理者；擅长销售的应聘者则很可能有着出风头的过度需求。

A large majority of big companies use these tests but they are hardly perfect. Paul Flowers, the former head of Co-op Bank, a British lender, passed his psychometric tests with flying colours, according to testimony¹⁴ at a parliamentary inquiry¹⁵. But he was later ousted¹⁶ in a sex-and-drugs scandal that led him to be dubbed¹⁷ “the crystal Methodist”. Mr Johnson says the tests can be useful, but only in conjunction with aptitude¹⁸ tests and structured interviews.

多数大型公司都会使用这些测试，但它们并不完美。保罗·弗劳尔斯是英国一家合作贷款银行的前行长。根据议会调查的证词，保罗通过了心理计量测试，而且测试成绩斐然。但他后来因性丑闻和毒品丑闻被赶下台，因而被戏称为“水晶湖公理会教徒”。约翰逊表示，这些测试可能有用，但只能与能力倾向测试和结构化面试结合起来。

That probably won’t save job candidates from having to take these tests in future, because they winnow¹⁹ down the list. But at least they beat the old-fashioned method: drop half the applications in the bin²⁰ and pick from the other half.

这可能并不会阻碍求职者将来继续参加这些测试，因为公司能够以此对求职者名单进行筛选。但至少心理测试战胜了传统的筛选方法，即把一半申请书扔进垃圾桶，再从另一半中进行选拔。

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

3 profusely   

ad.abundantly

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。

4 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

5 conscientiousness   

责任心

参考例句：

• Conscientiousness is expected of a student. 学生要诚实。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only has the conscientiousness, diligently works, can make a more splendid result! 只有脚踏实地，努力工作，才能做出更出色的成绩！ 来自互联网

6 extroversion   

n. [心理]外向，[医]外翻 =extraversion

参考例句：

• The contrast between extroversion and introversion is entirely superficial. 在外向和内向之间所作的对比完全是表面的。
• The oft-drawn contrast extroversion and introversion is entirely superficial. 在外向和内向之间通常所作的对比完全是表面的。

7 neuroticism   

n.神经过敏症

参考例句：

• Is Neuroticism an Independent Dimension of Chinese Personality Structure? 中国人有没有独立的“神经质”人格维度？ 来自互联网
• The usual smoking behavior of male had notable correlation with neuroticism dimension. 男生经常性的吸烟行为与神经质维度显著相关。 来自互联网

8 introverts   

性格内向的人( introvert的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Extroverts tend to lack self-discipline while introverts lack courage. 性格外向的人缺乏自我约束力，而性格内向的人则缺乏勇气。
• I an introvert and introverts get drawn in. 我是个内向的人而且内向是天生的。

9 extroverts   

性格外向的人( extrovert的名词复数 )； 活跃、愉快、爱交际的人

参考例句：

• In the second half, the students were criticized. Extroverts were unfazed. 在后半部分，举不动时学生要受批评，外向性格的学生表现出不满。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 大脑与疾病
• Extroverts prefer lively conversation to brooding on the meaning of life. 性格外向的人喜欢高谈阔论，而不愿思索人生的意义。

10 assertiveness   

n.过分自信

参考例句：

• Her assertiveness was starting to be seen as arrogance. 她的自信已开始被认为是自负了。
• Role playing is an important element in assertiveness training. 在果敢自信训练班上，角色扮演是个重要内容。

11 narcissism   

n.自我陶醉，自恋

参考例句：

• Those who suffer from narcissism become self-absorbed.自恋的人会变得自私。
• The collective narcissism of the Kerouac circle is ultimately boring.凯鲁亚克和他周围人物的集体自我陶醉欲最终使人厌烦不已。

12 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

13 obsessive   

adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的

参考例句：

• Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。

14 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

15 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

16 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

17 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 aptitude   

n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资

参考例句：

• That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
• As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。

19 winnow   

v．把（谷物）的杂质吹掉，扬去

参考例句：

• You should winnow out the inaccuracies of this paper this afternoon.你今天下午把这篇文章中不精确的内容删掉。
• We should winnow out the errors in logic.我们应该排除逻辑中的错误。

20 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。