Empirical Assessment of Typical versus Maximal Responding in Behavior Description Interviews

The purpose of this investigation was to provide a direct assessment of typical versus maximal responding in a Behavior Description Interview. A total of 109 participants were recruited from three universities and tested as applicants for a general retail position. When asked to describe a time when they had to deal with a difficult person, a core aspect of retail positions, responses reflected typical tendencies roughly half of the time and more maximal tendencies the other half. Convenience factors (e.g., recent, frequent) appeared to exert a strong influence on responding. Such mixing is problematic from a psychometric perspective given the relatively low correlation between these two aspects of performance. Typical versus maximal recall was not correlated with mental ability. Directions for future research are discussed.