Application of multi-media technology to computer administered vocational personnel assessment

• US 7,207,804 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2002
• Issued: 04/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Michael Hersh
• Original Assignee: Michael Hersh
• Inventors: Hersh, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng; Joe H.
• Application Number:
  US10/101,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20020106617A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,863 Days
• Field of Search: 434/29, 434/30, 434/61, 434/62, 434/156, 434/157, 434/218, 434/219, 434/236, 434/322, 434/323, 434/118, 434/258, 434/362, 434/365, 434/350, 706/FOR.119, 700/90, 600/301, 705/2, 705/7, 705/10, 705/11
• US Class Current: 434/236
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/16 Devices for psychotechnics using teaching or educational appliances G09B1/00 - G09B7/00; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4035 Evaluating the autonomic nervous system
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/065 Combinations of audio and video presentations, e.g. videotapes, videodiscs, television systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/00 Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/02 of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student

Abstract

A multi-media method and system performs psychological assessment of an individual for suitability for particular jobs, whereby the individual is shown and provided with discrete visual and auditory stimuli on a multi-media computer screen, so that the individual'"'"'s responses can be monitored in conjunction with physiological responses received by biofeedback sensors. The computer tallies the test subject'"'"'s recorded responses. Virtual work environments are optionally displayed, to enable the tested individual to simulate a real work environment. Unlike other job evaluation systems, the system evaluates a job candidate'"'"'s ability to maintain task focus under pressure. It directly measures performance under pressure, rather than only inferring potential performance based upon selective input from a job candidate.

Claims

1. A personnel evaluation system comprising:

at least one multimedia computer for transceiving audio and visual stimuli for a subject;

a storage memory of said system for storing application modules;

at least one central processing unit within said multimedia computer to administer said application modules to said subject, perform analysis of input data, and cause said multimedia computer to transmit said stimuli;

said application modules comprising at least one software application for utilizing multimedia technology to assess in a clinically valid manner respective skills and abilities of the subject which cannot be assessed by non-multimedia test content, said skills and abilities applicable to work-related tasks;

a software application in which stimuli are revealed progressively to a subject and the subject identifying the emerging stimuli as early as he or she can to determine the precise level of detail required by the subject to correctly identify the stimuli, the identification made by the subject being evaluated; and

wherein said storage memory of said system includes a scoring system derived from database statistics calculated for a representative sample of a specific population of subjects being tested and a predetermined pass/fail threshold for each said application module based on updated database statistics reflecting past test results of prior subjects in a similar job role or in a role requiring similar skills or abilities.

2. The evaluation system of claim 1 in which a subject'"'"'s performance on a specific task is compared under non-stressful and stressful conditions.

3. The evaluation system of claim 1 including a social perception test in which pictures of people in a variety of postures, facial expressions, and interactions are displayed and an audio presentation of a spoken statement is made, said subject identifying the picture of the person or people most likely to have made that statement or most closely associated with that statement.

4. The evaluation system of claim 1 in which said system moves on to easier sets of questions or more difficult sets of questions when the subject makes a predetermined number of incorrect answers or a predetermined number of correct answers.

5. The evaluation system of claim 1 wherein said system records an answer of a subject to a particular question during a test, updates a test score and dynamically routes subsequent questions in a logical flow to a subject depending upon the correctness or incorrectness of the subject'"'"'s answer to said particular question, said dynamic routing progressing through said test to provide subsequent questions to the subject depending upon the subject'"'"'s responses on prior questions of said test to estimate the subject'"'"'s abilities and dynamically determine the most appropriate starting point and difficulty level of subsequent questions of the test for that subject.

6. The evaluation system of claim 1 in which transmission of said stimuli includes transmission via the internet or a company intranet.

7. A personnel evaluation system comprising:

a multimedia computer for transceiving audio and visual stimuli for a subject;

a storage memory of said system for storing application modules utilizing multimedia technology to assess skills and abilities in a manner which cannot be assessed by non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to measure skills or abilities applicable to work-related tasks in a manner which is more clinically valid than the manner in which such skills or abilities must be measured when using only non-multimedia, text-based content;

a central processing unit within said multimedia computer to administer said application modules to said subject, perform analysis of input data, and cause said multimedia computer to transmit said stimuli;

said application modules comprising a software application to complete at least one of the following tasks;

to store and evaluate all input data, simulate work-related tasks, deliver stress-inducing audio or visual stimuli to said subject, said stress-inducing audio or visual stimuli being race, gender, ethnic, and cultural neutral, to interact with said subject, and assess at least one of the intelligence, interest, values, emotional status, mental health, neurological impairment, education, social skills, aptitude, processing speed, performance efficiency, task focus, distractability resistance, stress-tolerance, communication skills, knowledge, reasoning ability, logic skills, job skills, vocabulary, emotional quotient (EQ), impulsivity, risk-tolerance level, personality and specific approach to problem solving;

a software application in which stimuli are revealed progressively to a subject and the subject identifying the emerging stimuli as early as he or she can to determine the precise level of detail required by the subject to correctly identify the stimuli, the identification made by the subject being evaluate;

wherein said storage memory of said system includes a scoring system derived from database statistics calculated for a particular job title, incorporating a suggested default list of application modules to be administered for a specific job title, a suggested weight and signification applied to each said application module score in an overran suitability to job title score, and a predetermined pass/fail threshold for each said application module based on updated database statistics reflecting past test results of prior subjects in a similar job role;

wherein said system incorporates the ability to compare a subject'"'"'s performance on a task under non-stressful and stressful conditions to determine a subject'"'"'s stress tolerance level;

wherein said stressful conditions incorporates multimedia stressors using one or more of the following;

stressful music, stressful audio, negative feedback, and restricted time deadlines for task completion;

wherein said system incorporates error pattern analysis so as to determine not just the degree to which a subject is affected by stress, but in what manner the subject tends to become affected and in what manner his performance is most likely to change when placed in a stressful environment; and

wherein said system incorporates the ability to automatically stop administration of remaining application modules of said application modules, in the event that the subject'"'"'s performance is below a predetermined pass/fail threshold for any particular application module of said application modules.

8. A personnel evaluation system comprising:

at least one multimedia computer for transceiving audio and visual stimuli for a subject from at least one of a hard drive of said computer, or the Internet, or a company intranet, or combination thereof;

a storage memory of said system for storing application modules;

at least one central processing unit within said at least one multimedia computer to administer said application modules to said subject;

perform analysis of input data, and cause said multimedia computer to transmit said stimuli;

said application modules comprising at least one software application to complete at least one of the following tasks;

to store and evaluate all input data, simulate work-related tasks, deliver stress-inducing audio or visual stimuli to said subject, said stress-inducing audio or visual stimuli being race, gender, ethnic, and cultural neutral, to interact with said subject, and assess at least one of the intelligence, interest, values, emotional status, mental health, neurological impairment, education, social skills, aptitude, processing speed, performance efficiency, task focus, distractability resistance, stress-tolerance, communication skills, knowledge, reasoning ability, logic skills, job skills, vocabulary, emotional quotient (EQ), impulsivity, risk-tolerance level, personality and specific approach to problem solving;

a software application in which stimuli are revealed progressively to a subject and the subject identifying the emerging stimuli as early as he or she can to determine the precise level of detail required by the subject to correctly identify the stimuli, the identification made by the subject being evaluated;

wherein said storage memory of said system includes a scoring system derived from database statistics calculated for a particular job title, incorporating a suggested default list of application modules to be administered for a specific job title, a suggested weight and signification applied to each said application module score in an overall suitability to job title score, and a predetermined pass/fail threshold for each said application module based on updated database statistics reflecting past test results of prior subjects in a particular job role or similar job role; and

wherein when a scoring ceiling or basal threshold is reached when the subject misses a predetermined number of a consecutive correct answers or answers a predetermined number of consecutive questions correctly in said tests, said system dynamically adapting by automatically moving on to easier or more difficult sets of questions being presented to the subject.

9. A personnel evaluation system comprising:

at least one multimedia computer for transceiving audio and visual stimuli for a subject from at least one of a hard drive of said computer, or the Internet or a company intranet, or combination thereof;

a storage memory of said system for storing application modules;

at least one central processing unit within said at least one multimedia computer to administer said application modules to said subject, perform analysis of input data, and cause said multimedia computer to transmit said stimuli;

said application modules comprising at least one software application for doing at least one of the following tasks;

utilizing multimedia technology to assess skills and abilities in a clinically valid manner, or utilizing multimedia technology to assess skills or abilities applicable to work-related tasks in a more effective manner than how those skills or abilities can be assessed by non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to compare the performance of a subject on a specific task with distractions present to the performance of the same subject on the same or similar task without distraction present, in a more effective manner than can be assessed when utilizing non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to compare the performance of a subject on a specific task when under stressful conditions to the same subject'"'"'s performance on the same or a similar task when under less stressful or non-stressful conditions, in a more effective or real life manner than can be assessed by utilizing non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to assess the social skills of a subject using audio and facial expressions or social interactions, in a more effective manner than can be assessed by utilizing non-multimedia content, or combinations thereof;

a software application in which stimuli are revealed progressively to a subject and the subject identifying the emerging stimuli as early as he or she can to determine the precise level of detail required by the subject to correctly identify the stimuli, the identification made by the subject being evaluated; and

wherein said storage memory of said system includes a scoring system derived from database statistics calculated for a representative sample pf a specific population being tested and a predetermined pass/fail threshold for each said application module based on updated database statistics reflecting past test results of prior subjects in a similar job role.

10. A personnel evaluation system comprising:

at least one multimedia computer for transceiving audio and visual stimuli for a subject from at least one of a hard drive of said computer, or the Internet or a company intranet, or combination thereof;

a storage memory of said system for storing application modules;

at least one central processing unit within said multimedia computer to administer said application modules to said subject, perform analysis of input data, and cause said multimedia computer to transmit said stimuli;

said application modules comprising at least one software application for doing at least one of the following tasks;

utilizing multimedia technology to assess skills and abilities in a clinically valid manner or utilizing multimedia technology to assess skills or abilities applicable to work-related tasks in a more effective manner than how those skills or abilities can be assessed by non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to compare the performance of a subject on a specific task with distractions present to the performance of the same subject on the same or similar task without distraction present, in a more effective manner than can be assessed when utilizing non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to compare the performance of a subject on a specific task when under stressful conditions to the same subject'"'"'s performance on the same or a similar task when under less stressful or non-stressful conditions, in a more effective or real life manner than can be assessed by utilizing non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to assess the social skills of a subject using audio and facial expressions or social interactions, in a more effective manner than can be assessed by utilizing non-multimedia content, or combinations thereof;

a software application in which stimuli are revealed progressively to a subject and the subject identifying the emerging stimuli as early as he or she can to determine the precise level of detail required by the subject to correctly identify the stimuli, the identification made by the subject being evaluated;

wherein said storage memory of said system includes a scoring system derived from database statistics calculated for a particular job title, incorporating a suggested default list of application modules to be administered for a specific job title, a suggested weight and signification applied to each said application module score in an overall suitability to job title score, and a predetermined pass/fail threshold for each said application module based on continually updated database statistics reflecting past test results of prior subjects in a particular job role or similar job role; and

wherein when a scoring ceiling or basal threshold is reached when the subject misses a predetermined number of a consecutive correct answers or answers a predetermined number of consecutive questions correctly in said tests, said system dynamically adapting by automatically moving on to easier or more difficult sets of questions being presented to the subject.

11. A personnel evaluation system comprising:

at least one multimedia computer for transceiving audio and visual stimuli for a subject from at least one of a hard drive of said computer, or the Internet or a company intranet, or combination thereof;

a storage memory of said system for storing application modules;

at least one central processing unit within said multimedia computer to administer said application modules to said subject, perform analysis of input data, and cause said multimedia computer to transmit said stimuli;

said application modules comprising at least one software application for doing at least one of the following tasks;

utilizing multimedia technology to assess skills and abilities in a clinically valid manner or utilizing multimedia technology to assess skills or abilities applicable to work-related tasks in a more effective manner than how those skills or abilities can be assessed by non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to compare the performance of a subject on a specific task with distractions present to the performance of the same subject on the same or similar task without distraction present, in a more effective manner than can be assessed when utilizing non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to compare the performance of a subject on a specific task when under stressful conditions to the same subject'"'"'s performance on the same or a similar task when under less stressful or non-stressful conditions, in a more effective or real life manner than can be assessed by utilizing non-multimedia content or utilizing multimedia technology to assess the social skills of a subject using audio and facial expressions or social interactions, in a more effective manner than can be assessed by utilizing non-multimedia content, or combinations thereof;

a software application in which stimuli are revealed progressively to a subject and the subject identifying the emerging stimuli as early as he or she can to determine the precise level of detail required by the subject to correctly identify the stimuli, the identification made by the subject being evaluated;

wherein said storage memory of said system includes a scoring system derived from database statistics calculated for a particular job title, incorporating a suggested default list of application modules to be administered for a specific job title, a suggested weight and signification applied to each said application module score in an overran suitability to job title score, and a predetermined pass/fail threshold for each said application module based on updated database statistics reflecting past test results of prior subjects in a similar job role;

wherein said system incorporates the ability to compare a subject'"'"'s performance on a task under non-stressful and stressful conditions to determine a subject'"'"'s stress tolerance level;

wherein said stressful conditions incorporates multimedia stressors using one or more of the following;

stressful music, stressful audio, negative feedback, and restricted time deadlines for task completion;

wherein said system incorporates error pattern analysis so as to determine not just the degree to which a subject is affected by stress, but in what manner the subject tends to become affected and in what manner his performance is most likely to change when placed in a stressful environment; and

wherein said system incorporates the ability to automatically stop administration of remaining application modules of said application modules, in the event that the subject'"'"'s performance is below a predetermined pass/fail threshold for any particular application module of said application modules.