Video-based versus paper-and-pencil method of assessment in situational judgment tests: Subgroup differences in test performance and face validity perceptions

On the basis of a distinction between test content and method of testing, the present study examined several conceptually and practically important effects relating race, reading comprehension, method of assessment, face validity perceptions, and performance on a situational judgment test using a sample of 241 psychology undergraduates (113 Blacks and 128 Whites). Results showed that the Black-White differences in situational judgment test performance and face validity reactions to the test were substantially smaller in the video-based method of testing than in the paper-and-pencil method. The Race X Method interaction effect on test performance was attributable to differences in reading comprehension and face validity reactions associated with race and method of testing. Implications of the findings were discussed in the context of research on adverse impact and examinee test reactions.