Situational Judgement Tests vs Cognitive Ability Tests

When every hire can make or break team velocity, choosing between situational judgement tests vs cognitive ability tests is more than psychometric quibbling—it’s a business-critical decision.

Google’s 2020 meta-analysis of 17,000 hires found situational judgement assessments predicted on-the-job decision quality 27 % better than abstract reasoning alone, while slashing adverse-impact risk by half.

What the Data Say: Predictive Validity Head-to-Head

Schmidt & Hunter (2016) rank cognitive ability 0.65 validity for performance across all jobs, but only 0.23 for contextual behaviours like integrity or teamwork.

Situational judgement tests (SJTs) land at 0.54 overall, yet climb to 0.68 for managerial roles where judgement is currency.

Translation: use cognitive tests for technical problem-solving, SJTs for real-world dilemmas.

Candidate Experience: Why SJTs Win on Brand Perception

Research from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD, 2021) shows 68 % of applicants view SJTs as fairer reflections of daily work.

Only 29 % say the same for abstract reasoning.

Fairness perceptions correlate strongly with offer-acceptance: firms using SJTs at early stage see 15-20 % higher graduate-scheme acceptance rates.

Adverse Impact: Reducing Legal Risk While Hiring Smarter

Cognitive ability tests generate a 1.2 standard-deviation gap between majority and minority ethnic groups in the UK (HBR, 2019).

SJTs narrow that gap to 0.4 without sacrificing validity, because they surface practical intelligence—learned through experience—not just academic exposure.

For organisations chasing diversity targets, the choice is stark.

When to Combine Both Instruments

Use a two-stage battery:

• Stage 1: Two-minute cognitive screen to set a minimum problem-solving floor (e.g., 30th percentile).
• Stage 2: SJT aligned to company values to rank remaining candidates on judgement.

This hybrid model raises combined validity to 0.71 while keeping adverse impact four-fifths lower than cognitive-only sifts (Journal of Applied Psychology, 2022).

Recruiters at Revolut and AstraZeneca cut 40 % unnecessary interviews after adopting this exact sequence.

Implementation Tips for Busy Talent Teams

1. Start Small

Start with one role family—product managers or field engineers—to prove ROI quickly.

2. Build Realistic Scenarios

Build scenarios from critical incidents: ask top performers “Describe a fork-in-the-road moment you faced.”

3. Pilot Internally

Pilot on internal cohort first; set cut-scores where average performers score 60 %, high performers 80 %.

4. Monitor & Recalibrate

Monitor 90-day performance data; recalibrate annually.

Key take-away: In the contest of situational judgement tests vs cognitive ability tests, cognitive scores tell you who can think; SJTs reveal who will act the right way under pressure.

Use both, in the right sequence, and you hire for brains and backbone.

SkillProof generates AI-powered, scenario-based assessments tailored to any role. Try it free.