Deck 17: Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Question 1

After you apply for a job,the employer asks you to participate in an assessment center,which means that you will most likely ____.

A) take a battery of psychological tests
B) engage in exercises that simulate various aspects of a job
C) participate in a series of job applicant interviews
D) fill out graphic rating forms

Answer 1

engage in exercises that simulate various aspects of a job

Question 2

Job analyses that are used to guide hiring practices may describe the KSAOs needed to do the job tasks of an organization.According to the text,the ____-oriented approach is most useful for this purpose.

A) personality
B) person
C) job
D) task

Answer 2

person

Question 3

Kinetic,Inc.is an assessment center that was recently built in a nearby business park.Curious about its purpose,you look up the company's website and learn that the main purpose of this assessment center is to assist employers in ____.

A) making hiring decisions
B) recruiting job candidates
C) making firing decisions
D) promoting organizational citizenship behavior

Answer 3

making hiring decisions

Question 4

Innitech has hired Bob,a consultant,to complete a job analysis for the company's computer technician positions.To complete this task,Bob must specifically define the ____.

A) manner in which the employee will be compensated
B) relative position of the job in the company hierarchy
C) financial impact of the job on the company
D) tasks involved in the job and the qualities of the person needed to do the job

Question 5

The attributes that are collectively known as KSAOs specifically include all of the following except ____.

A) knowledge
B) skills
C) ability
D) organization

Question 6

Due to increasing costs in hiring practices,your boss asks you to find out if any dimensions of personality have been positively linked to job performance.This finding may help in creating a future assessment for job applicants.After some research,you discover that ____ has been linked to job performance across many occupations.

A) openness
B) conscientiousness
C) extraversion
D) agreeableness

Question 7

A manager at a clothing store needs to hire more sales associates,but is worried about hiring employees who might be inclined to steal.To ease her mind,the manager should administer ____ tests to job applicants.

A) intelligence
B) job-relevant knowledge
C) integrity
D) unstructured

Question 8

Research has consistently shown that ____ interviews are far more effective in leading to good hiring decisions,mostly because they focus more on ____.

A) unstructured; job-related knowledge and skills
B) structured; the candidate's presentation style and appearance
C) unstructured; the candidate's presentation style and appearance
D) structured; job-related knowledge and skills

Question 9

As a job applicant at Quahog Insurance,Lois must complete a situational judgment test.For the test,she views a video about various workplace scenarios and then must describe how she would respond if she was in that situation.According to the textbook,such tests are utilized ____.

A) to serve more and more as a replacement for standard intelligence tests
B) as supplements to cognitive and personality tests
C) as a test of the applicant's level of job-relevant knowledge
D) to predict a range of behaviors from absenteeism to organizational citizenship behaviors

Question 10

Assessment centers have been shown to be highly effective in predicting employee performance.Employers should also know that assessment centers have some drawbacks.Which characteristic is not one of these drawbacks?

A) They are expensive.
B) They are time-consuming.
C) Their effectiveness is less accurate if used in the second step of the selection process.
D) Their results sometimes add little beyond what can be determined by applicant interviews.

Question 11

An employer asks a job candidate to engage in an exercise in which the candidate is to play the role of a manager who must discipline a problem employee.The employer is using a(n)____.

A) personality test
B) assessment center
C) job applicant interview
D) job performance appraisal

Question 12

Fikayo,an I/O psychologist,wants to measure a job candidate's personal characteristics.Fikayo is least likely to use ____.

A) psychological tests
B) job applicant interviews
C) graphic rating forms
D) assessment centers

Question 13

After a job applicant interview,Nada was concerned that the hiring manager's evaluation would reflect the manager's personal bias.Nada's concern is most likely valid if ____.

A) the interview focused specifically on job-related skills
B) the interview was unstructured
C) the interview was structured
D) she was not asked to take a personality test

Question 14

Tyra is participating in a job interview in which she is being asked a specific set of questions in a predetermined order.Rudy is participating in an interview in which he is being asked open-ended questions and engaging in informal conversation.Tyra is participating in a(n)____ interview,and Rudy is participating in a(n)____ interview.

A) unstructured; structured
B) structured; unstructured
C) subjective; projective
D) projective; subjective

Question 15

As part of a job analysis,an industrial and organizational psychologist describes the particular tasks involved in doing the job.The psychologist is using a(n)____ approach to job analysis.

A) job-oriented
B) person-oriented
C) emotion-focused
D) problem-focused

Question 16

Which tool is most commonly used for job analysis?

A) electronic monitoring to measure employee productivity
B) assignment of specially trained job analysts to observe employees
C) questionnaires that ask current employees to describe their jobs
D) standardized testing that assess employee competence

Question 17

Theo is an industrial and organizational psychologist.As a researcher in the field,Theo's main goals are least likely to include ____.

A) promoting effective job performance
B) improving the health and well-being of employees
C) designing equipment to minimize injury
D) improving the safety of employees

Question 18

Elaine is preparing for a structured interview for a chiropractic solutions company,The Lumbar Yard.Elaine can expect all of the following of her interview except ____.

A) being asked a set of specific questions in a particular order
B) having her responses rated on a set of dimensions by the interviewer
C) completing a set of exercises designed to determine her suitability for the position
D) answering questions that focus on job-related knowledge and skills

Question 19

Bonita is a psychologist.Her primary goals are to improve the health and safety of a company's employees and to promote effective job performance.Bonita must be a(n)____ psychologist.

A) health care
B) occupational health
C) human factors
D) industrial and organizational

Question 20

Hollie is conducting a job analysis for each position at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.Hollie has decided to take a person-oriented approach to each job analysis,which means she will include a description of all of the following except ____.

A) the tasks involved in doing a job
B) the knowledge that an employee must possess
C) the employees' potential for learning a skill
D) the skills that an employee must possess

Question 21

Employers tend to use behavior-focused rating forms for performance reviews because ____.

A) they rely on methods tested at assessment centers
B) they have been statistically verified through validation studies
C) their focus on specific incidents produces fewer errors and biases
D) they are more likely to produce positive leader-member exchanges

Question 22

A business that asks employees to "satisfy customers" has just established what industrial and organizational psychologists call a(n)____ criterion.

A) actual
B) theoretical
C) objective
D) subjective

Question 23

David Brent,manager at Wernam-Hogg,is using employee appraisal forms when conducting employee reviews.These forms consist of a list of behaviors such as "contributes during meetings" and "keeps co-workers informed of progress." Such behaviors are known as ____.

A) performance-level criteria
B) critical incidents
C) actual criteria
D) objective measures

Question 24

If an employer is using critical incidents to evaluate employee performance at a restaurant,all of the following would be examples except "____."

A) listens patiently to customer complaints
B) asks how customers are doing before taking their order
C) returns to table after food is served to check on customers
D) friendly customer service

Question 25

As a supervisor,if Becca is demonstrating the leniency error,she would ____.

A) rate Sue as "satisfactory" and Frank as "excellent" in all categories
B) rate every staff member on the upper end of every performance category
C) rely more heavily on subjective measures than objective measures
D) rely on employee self-reports rather than conducting her own appraisal

Question 26

In evaluating an employee's job performance,all of the following are considered examples of subjective measures except ____.

A) numerically rating an employee on dimensions of organization and dependability
B) the number of parts a manufacturing employee constructs
C) rating an employee for a specific behavior, such as greeting customers with a smile
D) self-report questionnaires completed by the employee

Question 27

Objective measures of job performance are least likely to include ____.

A) number of days employees are absent from work
B) number of complaints filed against employees
C) total value of items sold per month by each employee

Question 28

Renni is designing a job performance appraisal for her company that assesses how well an employee is doing his or her job.From this basic theoretical criterion,Renni will most likely ____.

A) determine which one actual criterion best matches the theoretical criterion
B) utilize a global approach to establish an operational definition of performance
C) recommend several actual criteria that will best measure an employee's performance
D) utilize a facet approach to determine the most important aspects of performance

Question 29

Phil just received a written evaluation from his supervisor that provides feedback about various aspects of Phil's work.Phil just received a(n)____.

A) validation study
B) job analysis
C) assessment center
D) job performance appraisal

Question 30

Which element best illustrates an actual criterion for a student's performance in college?

A) outstanding academic record
B) involvement in campus activities
C) grade-point average
D) participating in class

Question 31

Graphic rating forms are ____ susceptible to a supervisor's errors and biases as compared to behavior-focused rating forms.

A) more
B) less
C) equally
D) more or less

Question 32

Tim sits down with his boss,David Brent,for his performance review.David says,"In all categories on my review sheet,you did well.Great job,Tim." David Brent has demonstrated ____.

A) an anchoring fallacy
B) the halo effect
C) the leniency error
D) a critical incident

Question 33

Your boss calls you into her office."I will be reviewing your performance next week based on what we call critical incidents.These are comprised of specific outcomes important to you job." In other words,your boss will be utilizing a(n)____.

A) graphic rating form
B) behavior-focused rating form
C) objective measure
D) global measure

Question 34

A supervisor is rating an employee's performance on each of several general dimensions,using a scale from 1 to 10.In other words,the supervisor is filling out a ____.

A) graphic rating form
B) behavior-focused rating form
C) validation study
D) job analysis

Question 35

Which of the following is not an objective measure of a donut baker's job performance?

A) The number of complaints received about donuts produced during the baker's shift
B) The number of donuts produced during the baker's shift
C) The number of donuts not sold at the end of the day
D) The supervisor's rating of the baker's time management

Question 36

Donna Marie is constructing an employee performance appraisal and is consulting several manuals.She learns that one way to appraise an employee is based on the frequency of behaviors performed.Perplexed,she says to herself,"I can't use this.Not all jobs can be evaluated merely by counting things." This is a common limitation and criticism of ____ measures of job performance.

A) constructive
B) projective
C) objective
D) subjective

Question 37

Ray Stokes is a supervisor in a local factory.When Ray appraises his employees' performance,he often exhibits the halo effect.In other words,Ray ____.

A) rates all the employees in an organization as "satisfactory" or better
B) gives an employee the same rating on nearly all dimensions
C) ignores an employee's critical incidents
D) uses objective measures only when they are to the benefit of the employees

Question 38

Sue is a supervisor who has a tendency to rate all of her employees as "very good" or "excellent" on the dimensions found on her graphic rating form.Sue is exhibiting the ____.

A) leniency error
B) self-serving bias
C) halo error
D) actor-observer bias

Question 39

Which statement regarding the limitations of actual criteria is false?

A) An actual criterion is usually incomplete.
B) Actual criteria tend to be harder to measure than theoretical criteria.
C) An actual criterion may be affected by factors other than an employee's performance.
D) The problems associated with using an actual criterion can be minimized by using several actual criteria.

Question 40

Elias is establishing theoretical criteria for a set of job performance appraisals he will be conducting.Elias should be aware of the limitations of theoretical criteria.For instance,theoretical criteria ____.

A) tend to be subjectively construed by the person conducting the appraisal
B) provide vague outcomes that do not indicate how the behavior will be measured
C) are not as useful when appraising work teams as compared to appraising individuals
D) have not yet been verified statistically with validation studies

Question 41

H.E.Pennypacker recently picked up a copy of "Recruiting for Dummies." He thumbs through the chapter on attracting job candidates and discovers that all of the following are common methods for attracting job candidates except ____.

A) actively recruiting workers with good reputations from rival companies
B) newspaper advertisements
C) posting jobs on recruitment websites
D) interviewing graduating seniors on college campuses

Question 42

A few times each month,Thurmond needs to hire a front-line factory employee for his local company.If these are low-level positions that require few skills,Thurmond should recruit based on ____.

A) a state-wide newspaper advertisement
B) private head-hunting firms
C) postings to Monster.com
D) walk-in applications

Question 43

One aspect of a training needs assessment is a personal development plan.These plans are useful to evaluate ____.

A) performance goals to be reviewed at the next annual review
B) how to best cultivate relationship-motivated leaders
C) a person's strengths and weaknesses
D) methods for improving or maintaining job satisfaction

Question 44

Which method for identifying and recruiting job candidates is least commonly used?

A) college campus career fairs
B) newspaper advertisements
C) data from current employees
D) assessment centers

Question 45

A psychologist is trying to determine the usefulness of a particular assessment method for predicting an employee's actual job performance.The psychologist is conducting a(n)____.

A) job analysis
B) assessment center
C) graphic rating form
D) validity study

Question 46

Your boss,Mr.Grinch,barges into your office and exclaims,"I want you to complete a validity study and get back to me with the results right away!" Confused,you shrug and confess you have no idea what that means.Mr.Grinch sighs,"Oh come on! Everyone knows that a validity study determines whether a(n)____.

A) employee is right for a particular position."
B) occupation will experience growth in demand."
C) assessment method predicts an employee's actual job performance."
D) manager has erred in rating an employee's performance."

Question 47

At Hartford Hospital,the medical staff undergo continuous training to ensure that they are not only highly competent but can also work cohesively without much thought.This _____ is critical to saving the lives of patients when the emergency room fills up.

A) overlearning
B) global approach
C) massed practice
D) formal reasoning

Question 48

Before recruiting new employees for a growing company,an I/O psychologist will be least likely to ____.

A) conduct an analysis of how many people are needed in each position now and in the future
B) determine the right employee-to-customer ratio for efficient operation
C) calculate the intensity of demand for employees in various occupations
D) utilize assessment centers to determine what KSAOs are in highest demand

Question 49

During a training session,Dawn had to act out a scenario in which she responded to an angry customer complaint.After the scenario,the training director pointed out a few constructive suggestions in which she could improve her technique.This is an example of ____.

A) a facet critique
B) feedback
C) overlearning
D) leniency error

Question 50

Kerry is conducting an employee training program for all sales representatives at Phalanx Corporation.Which goals or principles is least important to his training program?

A) overlearning
B) feedback
C) massed training
D) transfer of training

Question 51

Your good friend is a human resources manager.As someone who is opening your own company in the next few months,you ask him what he thinks is the best recruitment strategy.Your friend responds that the best recruitment plan ____.

A) is newspaper advertising
B) depends on the difficulty in attracting high-quality applicants and on the importance of the position
C) is to post the job on a website
D) depends on the availability of assessment centers

Question 52

Barry Benson has developed an honesty assessment that he believes will predict successful performance of tellers hired at his bank.If he wants to ensure his assessment actually predicts what it is supposed to,he could have it scrutinized with a(n)____.

A) validity study
B) behavior-focused review
C) objective measure
D) structured interview

Question 53

The managers of Honex Corporation create a series of activities that will help employees see how the methods learned at the monthly training program can be applied when they return to their work stations.In other words,the managers want to promote the program's ____.

A) transfer of training
B) task-oriented focus
C) feedback assessment
D) critical incidents

Question 54

Bonnie is researching various training methods to determine which would be best to establish for her company.She discovers that ____ training is associated with greater learning and retention than ____ training.

A) objective; subjective
B) subjective; objective
C) massed; distributed
D) distributed; massed

Question 55

Maggie reads through a manual about employer practices and law.She looks up in the middle of her reading and says,"Hey,I just learned something new.This book states that in some states,an employer is not prohibited from discriminating on the basis of a job candidate's ____."

A) age
B) ethnicity
C) gender
D) sexual orientation

Question 56

Which guideline is not part of the "Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures"?

A) Personnel decisions must be based solely on job-related criteria.
B) Only test scores that have been validated as good predictors of job performance should be used.
C) Employees' KSAOs should match those previously established by the job analysis.
D) An organization's demographics should reflect the ethnic and gender makeup of the organization's local population.

Question 57

J.Peterman cannot decide whether his copy editors should attend a one-day training session or several short sessions over the next five weeks.In other words,Mr.Peterman is figuring out the ____ of training.

A) feedback
B) general principles
C) critical incidents
D) sequencing

Question 58

At her new employee training,Melissa not only learns specific techniques for working with her clients,but she also receives an overview of why it's important to foster long-term clients.Melissa feels she has benefited from the big picture presentation,otherwise known as ____.

A) massed distribution
B) existence, relatedness, and growth dimensions
C) training in general principles
D) organizational citizenship behaviors

Question 59

At an executive meeting,several managers are discussing the issue of transfer of training.Transfer of training typically refers to the ease with which knowledge and skills are transferred from ____.

A) one employee to another
B) a training program to the workplace
C) one workplace scenario to another
D) massed training to distributed training sessions

Question 60

A training needs assessment is least likely to include ____.

A) looking at job analysis reports
B) determining the need for future assessment centers
C) giving employees a chance to describe the training they desire
D) analyzing the goals of the organization

Question 61

As an I/O psychologist,Linus knows that the most motivating goals for employees are ones that are ____.

A) chosen by employers, not employees
B) difficult enough to be challenging, but not impossible
C) phrased in general, rather than specific, terms
D) not easy for the employees to monitor

Question 62

The existence,relatedness,growth (ERG)theory holds that ____.

A) relatedness needs must be satisfied before growth needs are addressed
B) growth needs center around the need for social contact in all forms
C) a person will be motivated to pursue other needs if one need is fulfilled or frustrated
D) growth needs are more concrete than relatedness needs

Question 63

Job satisfaction is least likely to be dependent on ____ components.

A) cognitive
B) relatedness
C) behavioral
D) emotional

Question 64

Patrick experiences feelings of excitement and pride as he works at his job.This illustrates the ____ component of job satisfaction.

A) cognitive
B) behavioral
C) emotional
D) growth

Question 65

Nora is an author who has spent the last six months writing a novel.Now that she has finished the novel,she is spending time catching up with family and friends.Nora's behavior is best explained by ____ theory.

A) existence, relatedness, growth
B) goal-setting
C) leader-member exchange
D) expectancy

Question 66

Mr.Burns believes that his employees will be motivated when they know they will be rewarded for their efforts,especially when they value the reward they anticipate.Mr.Burns believes in the ____ theory of motivation.

A) goal-setting
B) existence, relatedness, growth
C) initiating structure
D) expectancy

Question 67

Han Sol is studying employee motivation.She develops an interest in the expectancy theory,which seeks to explain how cognitive processes affect the impact of salary or other rewards of employee behavior.The main assumption of this theory is that ____.

A) behavior at work is affected by workers' intentions to achieve specific goals
B) employees behave in accordance with what results they anticipate their actions to bring and how much they value those results
C) people must at least partially satisfy lower level needs before they will be motivated by higher level goals
D) the most motivating goals tend to be those that are challenging but not so difficult as to be impossible

Question 68

According to the textbook,which theory on motivation was most instrumental in the implementation of flexible working hours in many organizations?

A) existence, relatedness, growth (ERG) theory
B) expectancy theory
C) goal-setting theory
D) Maslow's theory

Question 69

If a company wishes to use performance-level criteria to evaluate their training program,the managers would be interested in ____.

A) employee feedback following the training
B) comparing their employees' increase in knowledge with those of a control group
C) observing an increase in the quality of service employees provide
D) measuring their employees' learning immediately following the training

Question 70

Allowing employees time to set specific goals has been shown to lead to ____.

A) more organizational citizenship behaviors
B) better job performance
C) fewer critical incidents
D) a decrease in absenteeism

Question 71

Carlos has a paper due in two weeks,but he is trying to meet a self-imposed deadline of 5:00 p.m.on Friday.Carlos's motivation is best explained by ____ theory.

A) expectancy
B) goal-setting
C) existence, relatedness, growth (ERG)
D) leader-member exchange (LMX)

Question 72

Goal setting theory is quite useful in motivating employees,assuming that the goals ____.

A) are easily achieved
B) are chosen or accepted by the employees
C) are not too specific
D) come with a reward valued by the employees

Question 73

Immediately after an employee training session,an employer asks the trainees to fill out questionnaires indicating how much they liked the training and how valuable it was for them. The employer is using the evaluative criteria known as ____.

A) performance-level criteria
B) trainee learning criteria
C) training-level criteria
D) experimental research

Question 74

Judith wants to know whether her organization's employee training program leads to actual improvements in job performance.In other words,Judith is interested in ____ criteria.

A) performance-level
B) trainee-learning
C) behavior-focused
D) training-level

Question 75

Phil Morris is an I/O psychologist hired to determine if a healthy living seminar delivers the outcomes the creators intended.Phil asks attendees to answer a bank of questions prior to the seminar.Afterward,an alternate version of the questions is given to see what learning has taken place.Phil is assessing ____.

A) overlearning
B) trainee-learning criteria
C) sequencing of training
D) facet outcomes

Question 76

Which theory of employee motivation proposes that an employee's behavior is guided by the results the employee anticipates and the value the employee places on those results?

A) existence, relatedness, growth (ERG) theory
B) goal-setting theory
C) leader-member exchange (LMX) theory
D) expectancy theory

Question 77

Mr.Belding,principal of Bayside High School,wants to know if Miss Bliss,one of his teachers,is satisfied with her job.He remembers that she is always early to work,stays late to work with her struggling students,and hasn't called in sick the entire year.Based on his observations,Mr.Belding seems to be focusing on the ____ component of Miss Bliss' job satisfaction.

A) cognitive
B) relatedness
C) behavioral
D) emotional

Question 78

Executives at MacDowell's restaurant have asked human resources to evaluate the effectiveness of the company's training program.The human resources team is least likely to use ____ to evaluate the effectiveness of its training program.

A) experimental research
B) training-level criteria
C) trainee learning criteria
D) performance-level criteria

Question 79

If an employer wanted to evaluate an employee training session using trainee-learning criteria,that employer would most likely ____.

A) examine whether the trainees' productivity increases
B) commission experimental research on its training program
C) ask the trainees to fill out questionnaires about whether they enjoyed the training session
D) test each trainee's knowledge and skill in the areas covered by the training material

Question 80

Edna enjoys her job.Every day,she tells herself that she is looking forward to the challenge that her work provides.Edna is focusing on the ____ component of job satisfaction.

A) cognitive
B) emotional
C) behavioral
D) instrumental