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Using the 4/5ths Rule as an Outcome in Regression Analyses: A Demonstrative Simulation

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Abstract

The adverse impact associated with personnel practices is an important issue for personnel psychologists. The purpose of this simulation study is to demonstrate the consequences of using the 4/5ths rule and the adverse impact ratio in analyses designed to predict adverse impact from human resource management (HRM) strategies. Results show that increasing (1) the total number of selections made and (2) the minority representation in the candidate pool may influence adverse impact differently depending on how adverse impact is measured. Specifically, using the 4/5ths rule as an outcome in logistic regression analyses led to unexpected findings regarding the effectiveness of HRM strategies designed to reduce adverse impact. On the other hand, using the adverse impact ratio as an outcome in linear regression analyses produced to intuitive findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DCI Consulting Group, 1920 I St NW, Washington, DC, 20006, USA

    Eric M. Dunleavy

  2. Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics, Houston, TX, USA

    Karla M. Stuebing

  3. University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    James E. Campion

  4. Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC, USA

    Dana M. Glenn

Authors
  1. Eric M. Dunleavy
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  2. Karla M. Stuebing
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  3. James E. Campion
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  4. Dana M. Glenn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric M. Dunleavy.

Additional information

Portions of this paper were presented as a poster presentation at the 2006 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference in Dallas, TX.

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Dunleavy, E.M., Stuebing, K.M., Campion, J.E. et al. Using the 4/5ths Rule as an Outcome in Regression Analyses: A Demonstrative Simulation. J Bus Psychol 23, 103–114 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-008-9077-x

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