PSY 321 I/O Psych Test 1
Personnel selection procedures
a wide range of instruments that organizations can use to predict job performance
Performance goal orientation
which is focused on doing well on the outcomes, proving their competence to others, and avoiding criticism of their performance
Counterproductive work behavior (CWB)
work behaviors such as theft, derailment of others, and abusive leadership
Assessment centers
work samples for managers
Position analysis questionnaire
a standardized pre-written job analysis questionnaire containing 195 items; these items describe a broad range of jobs and are an alternative to the more time-consuming method of developing a task-KSA analysis
Training goals
a statement of the purpose of the training and the end state of the trainee in behaviorally specific terms
Task-KSA linkage survey
a step in the task-KSA analysis in which SMEs document the degree to which the KSAOOs really are needed to do the tasks
Functional categories
a group of tasks that serve a similar purpose. These groups of tasks are sometimes said to be grouped into larger responsibilities
Behavioral observation scale (BOS)
a hybrid of BARS and graphic rating scale, this appraisal format asks raters to describe the frequency with which each behavior takes place
Work-oriented job analysis method
a job analysis method in which the primary unit of analysis is the characteristics of the job
Subject matter expert (SME)
a job expert with a great deal of knowledge about and/or experience of the job, these are people with whom we get the job analysis information, typically an incumbent or supervisor
Internal equity
a key goal of job evaluation, the intention of internal equity is to assure fairness of relative pay values within the organization
Training
a key part in developing employees
Executive coaching
a manager works closely with a coach either at their own or at company expense, on issues and challenges at work
Carelessness index
a method for detecting whether SMEs are paying attention; these consist of bogus or nonsensical questions throughout a survey, which if endorsed, indicate that the SME is being careless
Recruitment
a method for increasing your applicant pool in an attempt to find the best people for the job
Sandwich technique
a method of delivering feedback, starting with more positive pieces of feedback followed by areas for improvement ending the meeting on a positive note with an action plan
Competency modeling
a method of job analysis that involves describing the general characteristics needed in jobs in a company, especially within a series of jobs or across a range of jobs, this often includes the company values or mission statement
Diary keeping
a method where the rater keeps records of important performance incidents
Behavior modeling training
a model is observed, a learner than role-plays a similar situation and gets feedback from other learners and the trainer
Research purposes
appraisal conducted to validate a selection battery or validating and assessing the effectiveness of a training program
Valid selection procedures
methods, such as tests and interviews, which can be used in order to assist in hiring the best applicant for the job
Incumbent
the person doing a given job, the person most familiar with the job; these people are sometimes consulted as subject matter experts
Unproctored Internet testing
when tests are administered online so that a person might take the test at home or at some location away from a representative of the organization
Roleplay
where individuals act out challenging work situations in order to enhance their ability in future situations
Branching programmed instruction
where the learner may be required to go in various directions if they do not successfully complete a module
Cognitive task analysis
a newer approach to job analysis, this goes beyond traditional task analysis by focusing specifically on the cognitive processes involved in doing the job
Job evaluation
a particular type of job analysis, used to determine the relative value that jobs have within an organization
Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)
a performance appraisal format that identifies the most important aspects of a job and includes behavioral descriptions of high, average, and low levels of performance for each aspect
360-degree appraisal
a performance appraisal system where data are collected from multiple raters at all levels, including managers, peers, subordinates, and customers
Learning self-efficacy
a person's belief that they can master the training material
Five-factor model (FFM)
a personality framework that focuses on normal adult personality and includes the five personality dimensions of openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism
Realistic job preview (RJP)
a preview to the applicant about what the job is like, both good and bad; it can be provided in a number of ways such as through part of a job interview
Onboarding
a process through which employees become familiar with both the task and social demands of their new roles
Job analysis survey
a questionnaire given to a large number of employees about the job in order to conduct the job analysis
Contrast error
a rater error where a person is rated higher or lower than warranted because the person's' performance is higher or lower than their peers'
Recency error
a rater error where events that occurred in the recent past have undue influence over the performance appraisal compared to events that occurred in the more distant past
Calibration meeting
a rater reliability session where raters come together to discuss the ratings they gave to the employees they are ratings, defending and justifying their particular ratings
Similarity and liking
a rating error whee the ratee is evaluated higher than warranted because the rater like the rate or because the rater feels that the rate is similar to the rater
Halo effect
a rating error where the ratee's overall impression in the eyes of the rater drives the performance score, regardless of the questions being asked
Forced distribution
a relative appraisal format where there are restrictions on what percentage of employees can be placed in top, middle, and bottom categories
Graphic rating scale
a scale hat lists traits and behaviors where raters assess rates on a scale consisting of a continuum
One-on-one meeting
a short, regularly scheduled meeting between the manager and employee for coaching and regular connecting
Presenteeism
a situation in which a worker comes to work sick, perhaps because they thought that the boss expected them to do so
Compensation
involves setting pay levels within an organization
Case study analysis
an in-depth analysis of a particular business case
Structured interview
an interview process where job applicants are all asked the same job-related questions
Recruitment
an organizational activity focused on increasing the number of job applicants, their quality and fit with the job openings and with the organization's culture, and at the same time meeting the organization's legal and ethical obligations with regard to diversity
Job description
an overview of a job, typically one to two pages outlining what the job entails
Task
a basic element that can be used to describe a job, together a large set of tasks makes up a job
Conceptual criterion
an abstract idea of the essence of a job; it cannot be directly measured
Contextual performance
behaviors that support the social environment in the workplace
Dynamic criteria
the concept that performance for an individual employee may change over time
Occupational Information Network (O*NET)
An online database developed by the US Department of Labor. The database contains job analyses from various job titles and provides considerable information on work characteristics and requirements, as well as the experience needed for the job
Battery of selection procedures (test battery)
a group of selection procedures that can be used together to predict job performance
Job specifications
a brief overview of the requirements for doing the job, including the minimum qualifications necessary to do a job
Composite criterion (composite)
a combination of multiple criteria, added or averaged together, used to show the "bottom line" work performance; for example, one could see whether a training program helps an employees behavior overall
Core self-evaluation (CSE)
a combination of self-esteem, locus of control, self-efficacy, and neuroticism
Learning goal orientation
a focus on mastering the training material
Learning schema
a framework for organizing learning content
Job design
a systematic analysis of the organization of work which often includes job analysis to identify the best way to allocate various tasks and responsibilities among different jobs
Work sample test
a test in which the applicant is asked to do a small portion of the job
Overlearning
a training approach in which the trainee practices a behavior so much that it becomes automatic, that is, it requires little attentional capacity from the learner
Machine simulator
a training environment that reflects the job situation as closely as possible, both psychologically and physically
New employee orientation programs (NEO)
a training process that presents basic information to new employees to help get them up and runnings and ready to contribute to the organization as quickly as possible
Strictness
a type of distribution error in which raters give all rates low ratings without distinguishing among them
Leniency error
a type of distribution error in which the rated gives all rates a high rating without distinguishing among them
Central tendency error
a type of distribution error in which the rated gives all rates a medium rating without distinguishing among them
Frame of reference training
a type of rater training teaching raters the meaning of each performance dimension and level showing raters how to rate
Straight ranking
a type of relative appraisal where the rater ranks each employee from strongest to weakest in performance
Behavioral interview
a type of structured interview where applicants are asked job-related questions about a past experience that the applicant has had
Situational interview
a type of structured interview where applicants are asked job-related questions about hypothetical situations
Rater error training
a type of training familiarizing raters with different types of rating errors in the hope that raters will avoid committing these errors
Critical incidents technique
a worker-oriented method of job analysis focuses on documenting examples of critical situations faced by job incumbents such as examples of good and poor ways to handle them and the results
Essay appraisal form
an appraisal form whose primary purpose is to give feedback and is in the form of an essay
Leaderless group discussion
an assessment center exercise in which candidates are presented with a problem as a group, such that they can be evaluated for teamwork and leadership
inbox/in basket exercise
an assessment center exercise that requires the candidate to review a number of memoranda or emails that have been sent to him or her and determine which of these have priority and how they would respond to them
Roleplay
an assessment center exercise where candidates play out a situation that they would encounter on the job, such as a subordinate with a performance problem
Performance appraisals
an evaluation used by supervisors to evaluate employees' performance
Absolute appraisals
appraisal that compares one's performance to pre-established criteria
Outcome appraisals
appraisal which focus on quantitative metrics such as sales figures, number of units produced, or number of mistakes
Administrative reasons
appraisals conducted to make decisions on past performance such as pay or promotions
Developmental reasons
appraisals conducted with the primary purpose of developing future performance
Relative appraisals
appraisals that compare one's performance to other ratees' performance
Behavioral appraisals
appraisals that measure the frequency with which specific observable work behavior s occur
Trait appraisals
appraisals which focus on measuring employee knowledge, skills, and abilities, such as reliability, honesty, punctuality, or friendliness
Developmental assessment centers
assessment centers used to give feedback and provide a developmental plan for managers
External equity
assessment of fair compensation in relation to market conditions for a particular job, this is important for attracting and retaining the best talent for each position
Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs)
behaviors focused on helping individual co-workers and helping to support the organization
Comparable worth
commonly discussed in terms of gender differences, points to differences in pay for typically male versus typically female jobs based on job evaluation and market value
Business games and simulations
competition among groups of business teams to improve business decisions
Legal reasons
conducting appraisals for the purpose of legal documentation
Emotional intelligence (EI)
defined by some researchers as more of cognitive social skills, whereas others have focuses on its non-cognitive properties, useful in predicting social skills at work
Diversity training
focused on the better functioning of diverse groups of employees; includes sensitively to different groups
Functional job analysis
focuses on the purpose or functions of the job as opposed to the actual tasks being performed
Criticality
how important a task is to job performance, typically in terms of importance to the job or relative time spent on the job
Adaptive behavior
includes factors such as adjusting to new social and tasks environments; includes adapting to work stress, solving problems creatively, handling emergencies, and cultural and interpersonal adaptability
General cognitive ability
includes reasoning, symbolic representation, and problem-solving
Organizational analysis
includes the identification of abroad set of organizational issues that can help or hinder the effectiveness of a training program
Unstructured interview
interview that is like a casual conversation between the interviewer and the job applicant; different applicants can be asked very different questions and the questions are often not job-related
Task-KSA analysis
involves generating a list of critical job tasks, and the KSAOs needed to do them, through observations and SME interviews
Creative performance
involves problem finding flexibility, originality, and evaluation of ideas
Biodata
items include questions concerning an applicant's education and past work and life experiences that can help decide how well the applicant can be for the job; often scored through a detailed scoring process established through research
Performance appraisal
measurement of employee performance based on pre-established criteria, and communication of this information to the employee
Worker-oriented job analysis approach
methods of job analysis that focus on the characteristics of the employee
Observations
one of the most basic ways to learn about a job, observations are done by watching incumbents and SMEs doing their job
Criteria
outcome variables such as measures of job performance that can be used to demonstrate the performance or effectiveness of an employee or group of employees; criteria are used to show whether employee outcomes such as work behavior have improved as a result of a personnel selection measure, a training system, or some other workforce intervention
Subjective measures
performance measures based on the judgment of another person such as supervisor performance ratings
Objective measures
performance measures not based on the judgment of others, such as number of sales (for a sales job) or number of units produced (for jobs that can be quantified)
Individually administered selection procedures
procedures administered to one applicant at a time
Feedback
providing learners with information about how they are doing leading to their knowledge of results
Dictionary of occupational titles (DOT)
published by the US government in paper form, this contains short job descriptions of nearly every job, the last edition was published in 1991
On the job training (OJT)
putting the learner into the job to learn how to do it
Group administered procedures
selection procedures given to large groups of applicants at one time
Action plan
setting goals for the near future regarding what the employee and the manager will do to improve the employee's effectiveness
Electronic performance monitoring
systems that utilize technology such as video cameras, recording of employee-customer interactions, or recording keyboard strokes to observe, review, and act on employee performance in a continuous fashion
Job analyst
the person conducting a job analysis, this person is usually an I/O psychologist or HR specialist
Debriefing
talking with trainees about what happened in the training program, what could have been done better, and what was learned as a result
Situational judgment tests (SJTs)
technically known as low-fidelity simulations; questions put the job applicant into a work-related situation and ask what he or she believes is the right action
Physical ability tests
tests developed to assess dimensions like endurance or explosive strength for physically demanding jobs
Integrity tests
tests developed to predict the number of negative and counterproductive employee behaviors such as theft, malingering, drug use, and aggression
Cognitive tests
tests measuring an applicant's general cognitive ability or a specific cognitive ability
Non-cognitive tests
tests such as personality which tap individual differences that are not related to cognitive skills
Paper and pencil test
tests that are administered to job applicants in paper format
Specific cognitive ability tests
tests that do not assess g but instead assess specific dimensions such as mechanical ability and or clerical speed and accuracy
Psychomotor tests
tests which assess dexterity and or coordination and which may require agility and dexterous movements of the finger, hands or body
Power tests
tests which let respondents go at their own pace with no consideration for how quickly an applicant can answer the questions
Speed tests
tests which require the test taker to work as quickly as possible within a short period of time
Metacognitive skills
the ability of learners to step back and assess their own learning and mastery of the material
Feedback context
the conditions under which feedback is delivered; includes factors such as the relationship quality between employees and managers, team cohesiveness, organizational culture
Task performance (or core task performance)
the core tasks that make up a particular job, typically shown in a job description
Criterion deficiency
the degree to which the actual criterion fails to overlap with the conceptual criterion
Criterion relevance
the degree to which the actual criterion overlaps with the conceptual criterion
Trainee motivation
the degree to which the learner is motivated to gain the KSAs provided in training or to succeed in training
Transfer climate
the degree to which the social climate among employees back in the work situation supports training
Identical elements
the degree to which the training context is similar to the transfer environment
Psychological fidelity
the degree to which the training elicits the KSAs needed to do the job
Meaningfulness
the degree to which the training is seen as relevant to the workshops or to the learner
Physical fidelity
the degree to which the training resembles the physical aspects of the job
Adverse impact
the degree to which there are meaningful differences in the performance of different subgroups on a selection procedure
Transfer of training
the degree to which training leads to improvements in on the job behavior
Massed learning
the delivery of training in a condensed session or sessions
Spaced learning
the delivery of training in small sessions over a long period of time
Criterion problem
the difficulty of capturing the conceptual criterion with the actual criterion measures; this is because the job analysis does not completely define the conceptual criterion plus the actual criterion measures are unreliable and contain some measurement error
Utility
the dollar value of using a selection procedure which is largely determined by the procedure's validity, the cost of using it, and the benefit it provides to the organization in terms of improved performance of workers
Typical performance
the job performance that an employee usually exhibits
Linear programmed instruction
the learner either continues to the next module or repeats the previous one if they do not pass the quiz
Lecture
the oral presentation of information to trainees, either with or without feedback and discussion
Actual criterion
the performance measure of measures you will actually use to try to capture the conceptual criterion; all actual criteria have some degree of unreliability and measurement error
Maximum performance
the performance that an employee is capable of carrying out
Training needs assessment
the process by which an organization identifies the key factors in the organization that will support the training program, what needs to be trained, and who needs to the training
Person analysis
the process of identifying what current employees can actually do and what KSAs they currently possess
Demographic analysis
the process of identifying who the trainees are, for example, education, age, and familiarity with technology
Qualifications
the skills and experience required to do a job
Job analysis
the systematic process which helps you identify the job tasks and responsibilities, KSAOs, and critical incidents on the job
Adaptability
the tendency to adjust to new situations and which includes learning adaptability, interpersonal adaptability, and cultural adaptability
Proactive personality
the tendency to recognize and act on opportunities in the environment
Work analysis
the term acknowledging that jobs are quickly changing and more fluid in today's market
Goal orientation
the type of goal a person has when learning
Performance appraisal system training
this training program educates readers about the features of the appraisal system, as well as teaches raters how to give feedback and communicate more effectively during the appraisal process
Supervisors
those overseeing job incumbents; for job analysis purposes supervisors as SMEs may have a better idea of how a given job fits into the overall organization
Criterion measures
tools used to evaluate job performance
Coaching
training and development of a person to achieve professional goals
Reactions
training criteria focused on how trainees perceive the training
Results
training criteria focused on whether the training led to a change in organizational performance such as profitability
Learning
training criteria that are indicators of whether the trainees indicated signed of learning the material in the training sessions
Behavior
training criteria which are indicators of whether the training actually led to changes in on the job behavior
Cross-cultural training
training developed to help increase managers' success in overseas assignments
Transfer through principles
training employees to understand why they should perform their job in a certain way and the underlying principles behind what they do on the job
Programmed instruction
training that involves the presentation of training material in modules; after each module employees must take and pass a quiz before being allowed to continue onto the next module
Multiple criteria
treating each criterion measure separately in analysis; example one could see whether a training program helps customer service behavior safety behavior and other behavior of employees
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
used to describe the characteristics an employee needs to do the job; knowledge is generally something that can be learned; a skill is something that you can learn how to do; an ability is something that the person brings with them to the job
Job analysis interview
when a job analyst asks SMEs about questions about job responsibilities, tasks performed, critical incidents faced, and what KSAOs, experience, and qualifications are needed to effectively perform the job
Focus groups
when a job analyst gathers groups of SMEs and asks structured sets of questions regarding their jobs
Criterion contamination
when an actual criterion measure includes something that it should not lead to error
