STABILITY OF BIODATA KEYS AND DIMENSIONS ACROSS ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES - A TEST OF THE CROSS-SITUATIONAL HYPOTHESIS

Questions have been raised about the generalizability of biodata instr uments across situations. In the present study, the stability of a bio data scoring key and factor structure was examined across two situatio ns-the insurance industry in the United States and the United Kingdom/ Republic of Ireland. Results indicated that the validity of a biodata scoring key could be successfully transported. Confirmatory factor ana lysis, using a maximum likelihood estimation procedure (LISREL), also indicated that the biodata factor structure was stable across the coun tries and cultures. The reliability and validity of the dimension scor es also were successfully transported. The results provide new support for the contention that biodata keys, as well as underlying dimension al structures, can generalize across situations, specifically English- speaking countries and cultures.