I/O Psychology: Chapters 1-5

Which of following is NOT one way to evaluate recruitment effectiveness?

Applicant reaction

With ________, employees and the organization meet with a neutral third party who tries to help the two sides reach a mutually agreed-upon solution?

Mediation

Which of the following is a good biodata term?

What was your GPA in college?

Personnel Psychology (the "I' in I/O)(subspecialty)

defining and analyzing jobs recruiting and selecting employees for jobs training employees assessing performance promoting and retaining employees test development and validation legal issues

Organizational Psychology (the "O" in I/O)(subspecialty)

determining how people feel about work determining why people act as they do at work examining the effects work has on people examining the effects people have on one another how organizations are structured and function how work is designed tool and equipment usage on the job examining work relevant health, safety, and well-being issues

Realistic job preview involve telling potential applicants the _________ a job with an objective of increasing ________.

truth about/tenure

Measure of Variability

variability - measure of dispersion of numerical values measured for a concept or object -range: distance between highest and lowest score -variance: average distance from the mean (squared) so as not to equal zero -standard deviation: average distance from the mean

Hugo Munsterberg

"Father of Industrial Psychology" "Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" -developing workers -designing work situations -sales in business Trolley Car Simulator Creation -systematically studied all aspects of job through observations -studied what makes good operator -analyzed behaviors and asked questions -pioneered job analysis

Key Difference Between I/O Psychology and Business Programs

-I/O psychologists rely on application of psychological principles -I/O psychologists focus strictly on the factors in businesses that affect people -I/O psychologists heavily on research, quantitative methods, and testing techniques for guiding decisions

Job Analysis Process: Identify Tasks

-create task interview or survey protocols -meet with SMEs to identify tasks -create task statements -task analysis (have SMEs rate) -analyze (means and standard deviations) -revise -finalize

Hostile Work Environment (sexual harassment)

-pattern of conduct -related to gender -is unwanted -is negative to the "reasonable person" -affects a term, condition, or privilege of employment

Types of Data

4. Nominal - classify into categories - no order ex. gender, hair color 3. Ordinal - order objects along a dimension (ranking) ex. class ranking, place in a race, seniority 2. Interval - meaningful distances between rankings ex. degrees of Celsius Scale, Performance Ratings 1. Ratio - interval with true zero point and equal ratios (most precise) ex. length of the room, weight of a student, salary

Biodata

A selection method that considers an applicant's life, school, military, community, and work experience Development Choose a job Create a pool of potential items Choose criterion to measure behavior Prescreen items and test on employees Retest items on second Strengths Good Validity (r = .36, ρ = .51) Can predict for variety of criterion measures Easy to administer Relatively inexpensive Fairly valid Weaknesses Low face validity Can invade privacy Items can be offensive Not always practical

Adverse Impact vs. Disparate Treatment

Adverse Impact (more covert) type of unfair discrimination in which the result of using a particular personnel selection method has a negative effect on protected group members compared with majority group members Disparate Treatment (more overt) type of unfair discrimination in which protected group members are afforded differential procedures in consideration for employment compared with majority group members.

Civil Acts Right of 1964

Allowed government to begin regulating employment practices Made the federal government the watch dog for discrimination in all personnel functions (selection, training) Set forth the idea of protected groups (race, religion, gender, national origin, color)

Why is statistical analysis important in making conclusions for the hypotheses?

Allows description of data, comparison of data, evaluation of significance/effect

Name one reason why there is leniency in reference check and thus does not work well.

Applicants often choose their own references Applicants often have the right to see their files Former employers fear legal ramifications

Work Samples

Applicants perform tasks that replicate actual job tasks Advantages Directly related to the job. Good face validity Good criterion validity Verbal work samples (ρ = .48) Motor work samples (ρ = .43) Less adverse impact than cognitive ability Provide realistic job previews Disadvantages Can be expensive to develop and maintain

Dual nature = Scientist and Practitioner

Application of the science of psychology to the workplace (practitioner) Research/investigation of scientific psychological principles at work (scientist) Often times function as both simultaneously (work as an consultant who conducts research)

Army Alpha Project

Army hires psychologists Early examples of employment testing Screen recruits for intelligence Army Beta - created for those that were illiterate

Legal Issues

Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ) only members of particular class can perform the job There can be no exceptions According to the courts -race can never be a BFOQ -religion has been (priests) -gender seldom is -customer preference doesn't matter

________ is a judicial interpretation of law and is important because it establishes a precedent for future cases.

Case law

Why Check References?

Check for Resume Fraud Find new information about the applicant Check for potential discipline problems Predict future performance

Constructing Interview Questions

Clarifiers Clarify resume information Seek missing information Disqualifiers (Yes/No questions necessary for job) Past focus (behavioral description) Skill or knowledge focus: A customer brings his check book and says that he cannot get it to balance. What is he probably doing wrong? How would you explain the error to him? Future focus (situational): Suppose that you were scheduled to work on Saturday. A friend calls on Thursday and says that you get to use a condo at the beach for free - but it has to be this weekend. What would you do? Organizational fit focus: Under what type of supervisor do you work best? Is there a type of supervisor for which you have trouble working?

________ sample represents participants who are available and willing at the time of the study.

Convenience

Subject Sampling

Convenience Sample participants are those individuals who are available and willing Random Sample draw individuals at random from a population and assume this will be representative of that population

If you are scoring people's interview answers based on whether they pass a question or not, which approach are you using?

Correct/Incorrect Approach

Structured Interview - Scoring Method

Correct/Incorrect Approach (Passes question or not) Typical Answer Approach (different responses with ratings on each one) Key Issues Approach (identify key issues and check off the ones the applicant acknowledged)

Bill is an I/O psychologist for the Shredder Cheese Company, hired to work with the Human Resources Department. What project would he be least likely to work on?

Determining different types of compensation and incentive plans

Which of the following are usually included in effective ads that search for talents?

Displaying company emblem and creative illustrations and Realistic information

What is the dual focus of I/O Psychology?

Efficiency of organizations and Health/well being of employees

Which of the following is NOT considered one of four principles by Fredrick Taylor?

Employees come before management

What does EEOC stand for?

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Post World War II

Evolved into legitimate area of practice Government intervention -protected class -equal employment opportunity commission Information Age -technology improvements -higher demands for organizations and employees -focus on selection methods

Types of Research Studies

Experiment -random assignment -high control -manipulation -cause and effect -IVs and DVs Quasi Experiment -no random assignment -less control -manipulation -cause and effect (less certainty because of lower certainty about internal validity; must account for threats to internal validity) -IVs and DVs Questionnaire/Survey -no manipulation/ no random assignment, no control -measure the relationship between variables, no cause -two types: cross-sectional, longitudinal -inexpensive, return rate problems -predictors and criterion variables (not IVs and DVs)

Variables to Consider

Experimental Variables -IV: manipulated variable, treatment -DV: non-manipulated variable, measured to see if treatment affects Survey/Observations/Case Studies -predictor variables: not manipulated, but measured (IV) -criterion variables: variable of interest, to see if predicted from predictor variable (DV) Variables Not of Direct Interest -extraneous/confounding variables controlled through random assignment or measurement

Which of the following is NOT one of the methods for validity testing that ensure legal protection?

Face Validity

Fredrick Taylor

Focused on redesigning work Four principles -science over rule of thumb -scientific selection and training -cooperation over individualism -equal division of work best suited to management and employees Known for institutionalizing forced breaks for those handling heavy iron

Which of the following is NOT one of the possible reasons for checking references?

Give the past employer a chance to complain

Why is Hugo Munsterberg considered the "father of Industrial Psychology"?

He pioneered job analysis

Why Conduct Research?

Help the organization's Bottom Line (save/make money) Answer important questions Allows informed decisions to be made Common sense is often wrong

What is the key difference between I/O Psychology and Business programs?

I/O psychology studies psychological aspects, focusing on human behavior. Business programs are not concerned with human behavior.

What happened to the field of I/O psychology post war?

I/O psychology was accepted as a legitimate field and Legal actions have been taken to provide equal employment opportunities to all

In experiments, what are the variables called?

Independent variables and dependent variables

"I" and "O" of I/O Psychology stand for

Industrial and Organizational

Which of the following best describes one advantage and one disadvantage of cognitive ability tests?

Inexpensive but low face validity

The Army Alpha and Beta tests were intended to assess:

Intelligence of military recruits

Which of the following description of O*NET is least accurate?

It contains information on how people can get jobs

Which of the following is thought to be the cornerstone of personnel selection?

Job analysis

________ is a process of determining job's worth (how much someone should be paid)

Job evaluation

Which of the following is NOT included in job description?

Job history

Job Descriptions Should Include:

Job title Brief summary Work activities Tools and equipment used Job context ex. stress level, job environment, work schedule Performance standards Compensation information Job competencies

Lillian and Frank Gilbreth

Lillian focused on stress and fatigue on workers Frank focused on technical aspects of worker efficiency Time and motion studies Invented foot pedal trash can

Which of the following does NOT show how spread out the scores are on a distribution?

Mean

Which best describes quasi experiment design?

No random assignment, less control, and some manipulation

Which of the following is a correct description of Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ)?

Only members of a particular class cam perform the job.

Which of the following is required for it to be a hostile work environment?

Pattern of conduct Related to gender Is unwanted

Which of the following is NOT a correct match with types of data?

Performance ratings - ratio

Which of the following subspecialties of I/O Psychology is concerned with determining the human skills and talents needed for certain jobs, grading employee job performance, and training workers?

Personnel Psychology

Case Law

Plays a role at state and federal levels Case Law (past court decisions) provide precedent for future decisions (past rulings help decide current issues)

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against discrimination for five classes. Which of the following is NOT one of these five protected classes?

Pregnancy

Realistic Job Preview (recruitment)

Realistic Job Preview (RJP) Giving an applicant an honest assessment of the job they are applying for in an organization Considered good for attracting candidates that will fit within the organization/job role Small relationship with: Turnover, job satisfaction, and performance

_________ is the process of attracting people with the right qualifications to apply for the job.

Recruitment

Which of the following should come next after collecting a list of tasks and KSAOs from the SMEs?

SMEs match the KSAOs with corresponding tasks

Which employees should participate in job analysis process?

SMEs who have been in the job for at least 6 months and Top performing employees who are very knowledgeable

Assessment Centers

Selection technique that uses multiple job-related assessment exercises to observe and record behaviors of candidates performing job-related tasks Leaderless Group Discussions In-Baskets Simulations Role Plays Case Analyses and Business Games

Significance vs. Effect Size

Significance -pre-set level where the analysis must be at or lower than the level for researchers to conclude results are not due to random choice (significant/not significant) Effect Size -estimate of amount of change due to the IV or Predictor -tells us the magnitude of the difference any test can be significant if you have large enough sample size

What is one reason that effect size is better than significance testing?

Significance testing in influenced by large sample size

Step 1 of Legal Process of Employment Complaint

Step 1: Resolving Complaint Internally must use whatever system is in place within a company -Grievance System: employees take complaints to an internal committee that makes a decision regarding the specific complaints -Mediation: employee and organization meet neutrally with a third party to try and reach a mutual solution -Arbitration: two sides present their case to a neutral third party who then makes a decision about which side is in the right can be binding/nonbinding

Cognitive Ability Tests

Strengths Highest validity of all selection measures Easy to administer Relatively inexpensive Most are not time consuming Weaknesses Likely to cause adverse impact Low face validity Not well liked by applicants

Structured Interviews vs. Unstructured Interviews

Structured Interviews: They are: Reliable Valid Not as prone to legal challenge Because they: Are based on a job analysis Ask the same questions of each applicant Have a standardized scoring procedure Unstructured Interviews: Unreliable Not valid Legally Problematic Because: Are not job related Rely on intuition, "amateur intuition", and talk show methods Biases can be formed

Which of the following included in job analysis?

Tasks performed Equipment and tools KSAOs

What is a main difference between Quid Pro Quo and hostile work environment?

The former is one time incident and the latter is a pattern of conduct

_______ method is work-oriented method, which focuses more on the actual tasks than competencies.

Time and motion

Recruitment Effectiveness

Time to Fill Retention Rates Cost per Qualified Applicant Job Performance of New Hires EEO/Diversity Desires and Impact

What is the reason to ask about applicants' past experience during selection?

To determine whether applicants had job-relevant experiences

Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons for conducting research?

To take over the world

Significance Testing: Type 1 and 2 Errors

Type 1 Errors -concluding our hypothesis is true when in fact it is not Type 2 Errors -concluding our hypothesis is false when in fact it is true

_______ occurs when a researcher concludes his/her hypothesis is true when in fact it is not

Type 1 error

When Are Assessment Centers Most Appropriate?

Weaknesses Very expensive Time Consuming Can have low inter-rater agreement Behaviors can overlap into several dimensions Safety of candidates for some work samples Most useful for promotion rather than selection When candidates have some knowledge of the job When you have the money to develop and maintain assessment centers When you have the time and trained raters

Types of Job Analyses

Work/Task Oriented Method -time and motion studies -functional job analysis: people, data -critical incident technique -task inventories Worker/KSAO Oriented Method -position analysis questionnaire Hybrid Methods -combination job analysis method -linkage analysis Competency Modeling

Task Statements

action verb, object, how Employee counts money in cash drawer at midnight every night to ensure that the amount of cash matches the amount the register recorded

Statistical Analysis

analyze data and be able to interpret analyses used to: describe data differences between groups ex. want to know if different groups meaningfully differ on some variable relationship between two or more variables reduce data ex. reduce 100 item questionnaire into meaningful dimensions

Validity Generalization (ensures legal protection)

based on meta-analysis borrows validity from other studies of organizations job analysis results must be similar for it to be accepted

Content Validity (ensures legal protection)

based on solid job analysis a method of rationally matching tasks with the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) to perform the job

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

branch of the department of labor charged with investigating and prosecuting complaints of employment discrimination

Criterion Validity (ensures legal protection)

correlate test/assessment scores with relevant criteria two types -concurrent (done with incumbents) -predictive (done with actual job hires) requirements -reasonable sample size -good range of test and criterion scores -a good criterion

Valid Testing Procedures

employment practices can create adverse impact as long as there are no reasonable alternatives validation of selection instruments must be conducted to provide evidence that selection practice relates to performance of job -content validity -criterion validity -validity generalization

Methods of Data Collection

focus groups interviews observation previous documentation (job description, O*NET) questionnaires

In which of the following situations assessment centers are most appropriate?

for promotion

A good example of ________ interview question is "If a customer starts yelling at you, how would you handle the situation?"

future-behavior

Quid Pro Quo (sexual harassment)

granting of sexual favors is tied to employment decisions single incident is enough organization is always liable

The field study has ________ external validity but _________ internal validity

high/low

Validity

internal -degree to which results evidenced are a result of the variables being studied rather than some outside influence external -degree to which the results of a study are applicable to people and organizations outside of the ones studied

Which of the following is an appropriate method of data collection in job analysis?

previous documentation and focus groups

Briefly define job analysis and describe three possible organizational uses for it

process for gathering, analyzing, and structuring information about a job's component, characteristics, and requirements can be used for: -creating training programs -employee selection -employee evaluation

Job Evaluation

process of determining a job's worth two stages -determining internal pay equity determine compensable factors determine levels for each compensable factor (education) determining factor weights -determining external pay equity compare to similar jobs in external market to see what pay should be

Structured interviews are preferred to unstructured interviews because they are

reliable and valid

Work samples and assessment centers are good selection methods to measure ________

skills

Affirmative Action

social policy that advocates members of protected groups will be actively recruited and considered for selection in employment encourages diversity and ensures discrimination is not happening in the workplace