Chapter 10

Question 1

What are objective characteristics?

Answer 1

Characteristics that refer to demographics and lifestyle risk factors (age, gender, ethnicity and smoking/alcohol use, exercising)

Question 2

What are subjective characteristics?

Answer 2

Characteristics that refer to characteristics that are experienced introspectively and that are manifested through certain behaviours.

Question 3

What are the 3 levels of subjective characteristics?

Answer 3

• Trait-like characteristics; stable and difficult to change (i.e. self-esteem, locus of control)
• State-like characteristics; relatively changeable and malleable (i.e personal resources, optimism, hope, resilience)
• States; characteristics that vary significantly within the same person over short periods of time and across situations (i.e. emotions)

Question 4

What are the 5 different approaches to conceptualize employees’ age?

Answer 4

• Chronological approach
• Performance-based/functional approach
• Psychosocial/subjective approach
• Organizational approach
• Lifespan approach

Question 5

Explain the chronological approach of conceptualizing employees’ age

Answer 5

This approach is based on a worker’s chronological or calendar age

Question 6

Explain the performance-based/functional approach of conceptualizing employees’ age

Answer 6

This approach recognizes the individual variation in abilities and functioning at all ages. States that the measurement of age should be based on objective functional measures

Question 7

Explain the psychosocial/subjective approach of conceptualizing employees’ age

Answer 7

Based on social or self-perceptions of the ‘older worker’ (how old does the worker feel?)

Question 8

Explain the organizational approach of conceptualizing employees’ age

Answer 8

Assumes that age and tenure (amount of time spend on the job) are related

Question 9

Explain the lifespan approach of conceptualizing employees’ age

Answer 9

Approach based on elements of the 4 other approaches.

Question 10

How can the relation between ethnicity and poorer work-related opportunities be explained?

Answer 10

By the similarity-attraction theory: people will be evaluated more positively when they have similarities to the rater

Question 11

What is PsyCap?

Answer 11

Four of the state-like personal resources (self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience) are labelled as PsyCap. Using these PsyCap resources is positively related to organizational outcomes such as performance, job satisfaction, commitment and work engagement.

Question 12

State-like personal resources have three common characteristics, what are these?

Answer 12

• Agency; helps individuals to encounter their environment positively, take initiative and engage in self-regulation
• Positive outcomes; higher well-being, better capability of handling demands, etc.
• Malleability; can be changed over time