ABSTRACT
The objective of this chapter is to provide the reader with a brief discussion of the theoretical and conceptual basis for assessment center dimensions. The orientation of this chapter is embedded within the perspective that dimensions have historically served as the foundational basis of assessment centers. This is in sharp contrast to a task-based perspective that calls for a “redesign of assessment centers toward task- or role-based assessment centers and away from traditional dimension-based assessment centers” (Lance, 2008a, p. 84). The issue of task-based assessment centers is discussed elsewhere in this volume (e.g., see Chapters 9, 10, and 11, this volume).
