Industrial/organizational Psychology

Question 1

The purpose of which of the following is to obtain information needed about jobs in order to make decisions about the appropriate salaries for those jobs?

a. needs analysis
b. job evaluation
c. critical incident technique
d. job analysis

Answer 1

b. a job evaluation is conducted specifically to determine the worth of jobs in order to set wages and salaries.

Question 2

A supervisor’s ratings of her employees reflect a halo bias. This means that the supervisor rates:

a. all employees identical to the way that she rates the first employee.
b. all employees on the basis of their physical attractiveness
c. each employee the same on all dimensions of job performance.
d. each employee very high on all dimensions of job performance.

Answer 2

c. The halo bias occurs when the rater’s rating of an individual on one dimension of behavior (or overall impression of the ratee) influences how that individual is rated on other unrelated dimensions. The halo bias can be either positive or negative.

Question 3

Frame-of-reference training is used to:

a. improve the ability of raters to assign accurate performance ratings
b. improve the ability of managers to adapt their leadership style to the demands of the situation
c. help test developers identify items that will maximize a test’s construct validity
d. help job analysts accurately identify essential job requirements

Answer 3

a. Frame-of-reference training is a type of rater training that is used to increase rater accuracy

Question 4

When using the critical incident technique (CIT), critical incidents are usually identified by:

a. the supervisor who observes and employee while he/she works
b. the employee who maintains a detailed job diary
c. a job analyst who administers a structured interview
d. the supervisor who temporarily performs the job him/herself

Answer 4

a. As originally described, the critical incident technique involved having the supervisor observe an employee while he/she works and record the employee’s successful and unsuccessful behaviors

Question 5

The primary goal of a realistic job preview is to:

a. increase the number of job applicants
b. reduce turnover rates
c. identify the most skilled workers
d. maximize transfer of training

Answer 5

b. a realistic job preview provides applicants with realistic information about the nature of the job and working conditions. Ideally, this will reduce disillusionment once a worker has been on the job and thereby reduce turnover

Question 6

Of the “Big Five” personality traits, which has been found to be most predictive of job performance across different jobs and job settings?

a. openness to experience
b. emotional stability
c. agreeableness
d. conscientiousness

Answer 6

d. Conscientiousness has been found to be most predictive of performance across different jobs, job settings, and criterion measures

Question 7

Meta-analyses of the research suggests that, across jobs and organizations, the best predictor of job performance is:

a. biodata
b. general mental ability tests
c. vocational interest tests
d. structured interviews

Answer 7

b. Although the research is far from consistent, the meta-analyses suggest that general mental (cognitive) ability tests outperform most other predictors across jobs and organizations

Question 8

Use of a selection test produces a hiring rate of 75% for non-minoritty applicants and a hiring rate of 55% for minority applicants. Based on these figures, you can use the 80% rule to determine if use of the test:

a. has differential validity
b. has adequate utility
c. is a business necessity
d. is having an adverse impact

Answer 8

d. A selection test or other employment procedure is having an adverse impact when use of that procedure results in a substantially different selection, placement, or promotion rate for members of a group. The 80% rule is often used to determine if a procedure is having an adverse impacct: When using this rule, the hiring rate for the majority group is multiplied by 80% to determine the minimum hiring rate for the minority group

Question 9

What is job analysis?

Answer 9

Conducted to clarify the requirements of the job

Question 10

What is a job evaluation?

Answer 10

Performed to determine the worth of jobs in order to set salaries and wages. Techniques of job evaluation range from judgmental to statistical, but all emphasize identifying compensable factors such as skills and education reqquired, degree of autonomy and responsibility, and the consequence of errors

Question 11

Studies comparing the usefulness of subjective measures of employee performance, including supervisor, peer, subordinate, and self-ratings have found all of the following to be true except for which of the following?

a. Self-ratings tend to be the most lenient but are less susceptible to the halo bias
b. Supervisor ratings are generally the least reliable
c. Peer ratings are particularly good for predicting training success and subsequent promotions
d. Subordinate, peer, and supervisor ratings usually agree more with each other than with self-ratings

Answer 11

b. Supervisor ratings are actually generally the most reliable

Question 12

Criterion __________ refers to the actual criterion’s construct validity - i.e., the degree to which it measures the ultimate criterion

Answer 12

relevance

Question 13

In reference to criterion measures, ___________ refers to the degree to which an actual criterion does not measure all aspects of the ultimate criterion and is one of thee factors that limits criterion relevance:

a. Relevance
b. Contamination
c. Deficiency
d. Relative

Answer 13

c. deficiency

Question 14

This is a factor that limits relevance and occurs when an actual criterion assesses factors other than those it was designed to measure.

a. Actual criterion
b. Deficiency
c. Contamination
d. Subjective criterion

Answer 14

c. Contamination

Question 15

Subjective measures are categorized as relative or absolute. __________ techniques require the rater to compare the performance of two or more employees, while __________ techniques provide information on the ratee’s performance without reference or comparison to other employees.

Answer 15

relative; absolute

Question 16

Subjective measures of job performance are susceptible to a number of rater biases that limit their accuracy. __________ biases occur when a rater tends to avoid the middle range of a rating scale and, instead, rates all employees as either high or low on all dimensions of job performance. ____________ bias refers to a rater’s consistent use oof only the middle range of the rating scale. The _________ bias occurs when a rater’s evaluation of an employee on one dimension of job performance affects his/her evaluation of that employee on other unrelated dimensions or when the rater’s general impression of an employee influences how the rater rates the employee on all dimensions of job performance.

Answer 16

Leniency/strictness; Central tendency; Halo

Question 17

These can be used to estimate the percent of new hires that will be successful as employees given various combinations of validity coefficients, selection ratios, and base rates.

Answer 17

Taylor-Russell Tables

Question 18

Which of the following methods used for selection and other employment decisions consistently produces the highest validity coefficients across jobs and job setting?

a. Personality tests
b. Biodata
c. Interviews
d. General Mental (Cognitive) Abiility tests

Answer 18

d. General Mental ability tests

Question 19

Which of the following is not true of interest tests in organizations?

a. It’s based on the premise that applicants whose interest profiles resemble those of successful employees will perform best on the job
b. They have been found to be more valid for predicting job choice, satisfaction, and persistence
c. They are a good predictor of job success
d. They are limited because applicants have the ability to fake on the tests

Answer 19

c. It is not as good of a predictor of job success

Question 20

What are some disadvantages of certain types of biodata assessments?

Answer 20

They often contain items that lack face validity because they do nott look like they are related to job performance. As a consequence, applicants may resist answering items because they perceive them to be an invasion of privacy

Question 21

______________ are the most commonly used method for obtaining information about job applicants, although they generally have lower levels of reliability and validity than many other selection techniques.

a. Personality tests
b. Interviews
c. General mental ability tests
d. Biodata

Answer 21

b

Question 22

Which of the following is not true in terms of interviews?

a. The accuracy of interviews is increased by training interviewers in observation and interpersonal skills
b. The reliability and validity of interviews is maximized when a structured interview is used
c. The usefulness of a structured interview is increased when it is combined with another selection procedure, especially a measure of general mental ability
d. There is evidence that structured interviews are most reliable, valid, and cost-effective when they involve multiple interviewers

Answer 22

d. There is evidence that structured interviews are most reliable, valid, and cost effective when they involve a SINGLE interviewer

Question 23

Work samples require an individual to perform tasks similar or identical to those actually performed on the job and are most commonly used to select applicants for jobs requiring which type of skills?

a. clerical
b. mechanical
c. technical
d. all of the above

Answer 23

d

Question 24

Which of the following is used to evaluate managerial level personnel, most often to determine if lower-level managers should be promoted to higher-level positions or to identify a manager’s needs for training and personal development?

a. Work samples
b. Job knowledge tests
c. Assessment centers
d. General mental ability tests

Answer 24

c. Participants in an assessment center are evaluated by a team of evaluators on a number of dimensions and with a variety of techniques including structured interviews, written tests, and situational tests

Question 25

Training program development begins with a needs assessment/needs analysis and consists of four elements

Answer 25

1. An organization analysis to identify organizational goals and determine if it is training that is needed to achieve these goals
2. A task (job) analysis to identify what must be done to perform the job successfully
3. A person analysis to determine which employees require training and what knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to acquire
4. A demographic analysis to identify the training needs of different groups of workers

Question 26

When is feedback most effective?

Answer 26

When it is provided as soon as possible after the target behavior is performed

Question 27

______________ promotes automaticity (the ability to perform a behavior or recall information quickly with little or no conscious attenttion) and occurs when an individual practices a skill or studies material beyond the point of mastery.

Answer 27

Overlearning

Question 28

What is the most widely used method of training?

a. on-the job techniques
b. off-the-job techniques
c. Overtraining
d. Behavioral modeling

Answer 28

a

Question 29

The local firefighters practice rescuing dummies from a burning car. This is an example of:

a. on-the-job training
b. Vestibule training
c. Behavioral modeling
d. Job rotation

Answer 29

b

Question 30

Jenny was recently hired at a local warehouse as the general manager. Over the first several months, she is trained on all of the activities that she oversees. This is an example of:

a. Behavioral modeling
b. Vestibule traiing
c. Off-the-job training
d. Job rotation

Answer 30

d

Question 31

This is used in organization to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs as well as other programs and procedures and involves using a mathematical equation to derive an estimate of the program’s financial return on investment:

a. Formative evaluation
b. Utility analysis
c. Needs assessment
d. Summative evaluation

Answer 31

b

Question 32

Key terms proposed by Super’s life-space, life-span theory of career development

Answer 32

Self-concept
Life span (career maturity)
Life Space (Life-career rainbow)

Question 33

Which of the following best describes the emphasis of Holland’s career model?

a. A person’s occupational choice is linked to his/her needs and personality
b. A person’s vocational identity development is an ongoing process that is tied to ego identity development and that involves the repetitive processes of differentiation and integration
c. A person’s career concept, which refers to how the person envisions his/her ideal career path
d. The importance of matching an individual’s personality to the characteristics of the work environment and proposes that a person will be more satisfied, will stay on the job longer, and will be more productive when there is a good personality-environment fit

Answer 33

d.

Question 34

Roe was influenced by the work of Abraham Maslow. What is true about her theory of career choice?

a. A person’s occupational choice is linked to his/her needs and personality
b. A person’s vocational identity development is an ongoing process that is tied to ego identity development and that involves the repetitive processes of differentiation and integration
c. A person’s career concept, which refers to how the person envisions his/her ideal career path
d. The importance of matching an individual’s personality to the characteristics of the work environment and proposes that a person will be more satisfied, will stay on the job longer, and will be more productive when there is a good personality-environment fit

Answer 34

a

Question 35

What statement is true of Tiedman and O’Hara’s career decision-makking model?

a. A person’s occupational choice is linked to his/her needs and personality
b. A person’s vocational identity development is an ongoing process that is tied to ego identity development and that involves the repetitive processes of differentiation and integration
c. A person’s career concept, which refers to how the person envisions his/her ideal career path
d. The importance of matching an individual’s personality to the characteristics of the work environment and proposes that a person will be more satisfied, will stay on the job longer, and will be more productive when there is a good personality-environment fit

Answer 35

b

Question 36

An early approach to management theory was Taylor’s notion of ______________, which emphasizes breaking jobs into component parts, having each employee perform a single component, relying primarily on ___________.

Answer 36

Scientific management; economic rewards (pay)

Question 37

This refers to an improvement in job performance resulting from participation in a research study.

Answer 37

Hawthorne effect

Question 38

The personnel director where you work is reluctant to use the selection test you’ve designed because its validity coefficient is .30. Your best argument for use of the test is that:

a. the selection ratio is 1:10
b. The selection ratio is 1:50
c. the base rate is .25
d. the base rate is .95

Answer 38

b. Predictors with low validity coefficients can improve decision-making accuracy when the selection ratio is low and the base rate is moderate

Question 39

One disadvantage of empirically derived Biographical Information Blanks (BIBs) is that they may contain items that:

a. lack face validity
b. contribute to differential validity
c. are difficult to interpret and score
d. are useful for skilled and semi-skilled jobs only

Answer 39

a. Sometimes biographical information that predicts job performance lacks face validity

Question 40

A psychologist relying on Bandura’s social learning theory would most likely recommend which of the following training approaches?

a. train-then-place
b. programmed instruction
c. job rotation
d. behavioral modeling

Answer 40

d. Bandura’s social learning theory proposes that people learn by watching others

Question 41

You would conduct a needs assessment in an organization to:

a. establish comparable worth
b. determine if an employment procedure is having an adverse impact
c. evaluate and employment procedure’s incremental validity
d. determine if employee training would resolve a company’s productivity problems

Answer 41

d. A needs assessment is conducted to identify training needs. In some cases, the assessment will show that production problems aren’t actually due to deficiencies on the part of workers and that training is not the solution

Question 42

Vestibule training is:

a. most useful for job incumbents who lack basic educational skills
b. useful when errors that occur during on-the-job training would be too costly
c. useful for determining which job fits a person’s abilities
d. most useful for managerial-level jobs

Answer 42

b.

Question 43

According to Super, job choice is most related to which of the following?

a. need structure
b. initial work experience
c. parental occupational status
d. self-concept

Answer 43

d

Question 44

Dawis and Lofquist’s theory of work adjustment (TWA) predicts that job tenure and other job outcomes are related to which of the following?

a. career concept
b. basic needs
c. satisfaction and satisfactoriness
d. task approach skills

Answer 44

c. As defined by Dawis and Lofquiist, satisfaction refers to an employee’s satisfaction with the job, which is determined by the degree to which the rewards provided by the job satisfy the employee’s needs; while satisfactoriness refers to the job’s “satisfaction” with the employee

Question 45

Tiedman and O’hara’s approach to career development:

a. emphasizes the importance of a good personality/work environment match
b. views career identity development as an aspect of ego identity development
c. links career outcomes to Maslow’s need hierarchy theory
d. uses the Life Career Rainbow to depict the interaction between life roles and life stages

Answer 45

b. Tiedman and O’Hara link career identity development to Erikson’s stages of ego (personality) development

Question 46

According to Holland, the optimal situation is for the job environment to match the indivual’s:

a. stated goals
b. aptitude
c. career concept
d. personality

Answer 46

d.

Question 47

For an advocate of expectancy theory, “instrumentality” refers to:

a. the relationship between effort and performance
b. the desirability of the outcomes
c. the relationship between performance and outcomes
d. the ratio of inputs to outcomes

Answer 47

c. Expectancy theory distinguishes between three types of beliefs - expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Instrumentality refers to the belief that satisfactory performance will lead to certain outcomes

Question 48

Goal-setting theory predicts that adherence to production goals is greatest when:

a. goals are general rather than speciffic
b. goals are easy rather than difficult to achieve
c. goals have been accepted by employees
d. pay is clearly related to goal achievment

Answer 48

c. Although participation in goal-setting is sometimes helpful in gaining acceptance of goals, according to goal-setting theory, it is the acceptance of goals that is critical. The theory also predicts that specific, moderately difficult goals will lead to greatest productivity.

Question 49

A manager with a Theory X philosophy would most likely say that her role as a manager:

a. is to help employees identify and achieve their common goals and objectives
b. is to direct and control employees in order to achieve organizational goals
c. varies, depending on factors related to the organization’s environment
d. is to recognize when change is needed and find ways to overcome employees’ resistance to change

Answer 49

b

Question 50

Research on goal-setting theory has found that, when workers participate in setting their own goals, the goals tend to be ________ goals set by the supervisor alone.

a. easier than
b. similar to
c. more difficult than
d. qualitatively different than

Answer 50

c. Contrary to what people might think, workers tend to set goals that are more difficult than goals set by the supervisor alone

Question 51

Many of the employees working on the assembly line at a large auto manufacturing plant are dissatisfied with their jobs. The new superviosr, who is familiar with Herzberg’s work, is most likely to recommend that, to improve satisfaction:

a. each employee’s most prepotent need must be identified
b. each employees level of “job maturity” must be identified
c. employees must be given a raise
d. employees must be given more individual responsibility and autonomy

Answer 51

d. Herzberg argued that, to maximize an employee’s motivation and satisfaction, he/she must be given an enriched job

Question 52

Hershey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model proposes that the most effective leadership style:

a. depends on the favorableness of the situation
b. depends on the maturity of the worker
c. is one that allows worker to participate in all levels of decision-making
d. is one that equally emphasizes people and production

Answer 52

b. Hershey and Blanchard’s theory proposes that the most effective leader is the one who matches his/her style to the employee’s job maturity, which is determined by the employee’s motivation and ability

Question 53

A colleague tells you that she is designing a study to investigate tthe correlates of job satisfaction. Based on your knowledge of the literature in this area, you tell her that job satisfaction has the strongest inverse correlation with:

a. productivity
b. turnover
c. absenteeism
d. motivation

Answer 53

b. The highest reported correlations are usually between satisfaction and turnover, with the average correlation being about -.40

Question 54

A transformational leader is most likely to use which of the following to help motivate emloyees?

a. Monetary rewards
b. brainstorming
c. framing
d. norming

Answer 54

c. a transformational leader uses framing to motivate employees. Framing involves describing an organization’s goals and activities in ways that make them more meaningful to employees

Question 55

According to Fiedler’s contingency model of leaderrship, low LPC leaders perform most effectively in:

a. unfavorable situations
b. moderately favorable situations
c. highly unfavorable situations oonly
d. highly unfavorable and highly favorable situations

Answer 55

As defined by Fiedler, a low LC leader is task-oriented. Fiedler argued that task-oriented leaders are most effective in extreme situations

Question 56

If you are using a decision-tree to determine which leadership style to adopt, you are relying on the work of:

a. Vroom, Yettton, and Jago
b. Hersey and Blanchard
c. Fiedler
d. Manny, Mo, and Jack

Answer 56

a. The Vroom-Yetton-Jago normative model provides leaders with a decision tree that helps them choose the best leadership style for the situation

Question 57

To gain idiosyncrasy credits, you would:

a. create a vision for change
b. acquire skills beyond those required by your job
c. consistently conform to group norms
d. help subordinates link individual goals to organizational goals

Answer 57

c. Idiosyncrasy credits allow a group member to occasionally deviate from group norms. A group member can acquire idiosyncrasy credits in several ways including serving as the group leader, making outstanding contributions to the group, and having a history of conforming to norms

Question 58

According to Herbert Simon, decision-making in organizations is often affected by:

a. bounded rationality
b. groupthink
c. group polarization
d. social loafing

Answer 58

a. Simon proposed that rational decision-making in organizations is limited by a variety of internal and external constraints. He referred to this as bounded rationality

Question 59

Social loafing is most likely to occur when:

a. the group is small and the task is additive
b. the group is large and the task is compensatory
c. the group is large and the task is additive
d. the group is small and the task is disjunctive

Answer 59

c. Social loafing is most likely to occur when the group is large and the task is additive, probably because this situation allows the individual to conceal his/her actual contribution

Question 60

Groupthink is least likely to occur when:

a. dissent among group members is encouraged
b. groups are highly cohesive
c. group members are allowed to determine group goals
d. the leader is highly directive

Answer 60

a. Groupthink is most likely to occur when the leader is directive and the group is highly cohesive. One way to alleviate groupthink is to appoint one or more members to act as a “devil’s advocate.”

Question 61

Team heterogeneity:

a. is best for simple tasks
b. is associated with greater creativity and better decision making
c. is associated with reduced quality of performance
d. is effective only when the task is additive

Answer 61

b

Question 62

When hired to settle a dispute between members of an organization, a mediator:

a. cannot offer solutions to the problem
b. has the authority to impose a solution to the problem
c. helps disputants identify alternative solutions to the problem
d. offers several alternative solutions that disputants must choose from

Answer 62

c

Question 63

A process consultant initially:

a. observes workers as they interact
b. meets with individual disputants
c. develops an action plan
d. conducts an employee survey

Answer 63

a. As the name implies process consultation involves looking at “processes”

Question 64

Having employees meet in groups to discuss alternative ways of accomplishing change is an example of which strategy?

a. power-coercive
b. rational-empirical
c. normative-reeducative
d. team-thrashabout

Answer 64

c. The name “normative-reeducative” should have helped you recognize that this is the correct response. This strategy is based on the premise that peer pressure and sociocultural norms are potent forces of change

Question 65

According to Schein, organizational culture can be described in terms of three levels. The deepest level consists of basic underlying assumptions, which can serve as:

a. driving forces
b. irrational beliefs
c. cognitive archetypes
d. cognitive defense mechanisms

Answer 65

d. Schein conceptualizes underlying assumptions as cognitive defense mechanisms

Question 66

Which of he following will have the greatest impact on employees’ perceptions of interactional justice at work?

a. Employees receive the organizational outcomes they believe they deserve
b. Employees participate in decisions related to organizational outcomes
c. Employees are treated with respect and consideration by supervisors
d. Employees are allowed to evaluate each other’s performance

Answer 66

c. Interactional justice refers to how people feel about the quality and content of person-to-person interactions

Question 67

The compressed workweek is most associated with:

a. improved employee attitudes
b. improved job performance
c. increased tardiness and absenteeism
d. increased organizational commitment

Answer 67

a

Question 68

Which one of the following individuals is at highest risk for a stress-related illness?

a. the company vice-president
b. a file clerk who does the filing for several departments
c. an assembly-line worker whose work is machine-paced
d. an administrative assistant who has two bosses

Answer 68

c. The research has found that a lack of control over the pace of one’s job is one of the greatest contributors to job-related stress

Question 69

A psychologist conducting research on the effects of the graveyard shift is most likely to find that adverse consequences are lowest among employees who:

a. are unmarried and living alone
b. are self-described “night owls”
c. work the graveyard shift for only two out of every three weeks
d. voluntarily chose to work the graveyard shift

Answer 69

d. the negative outcomes associated with the graveyard shift are often alleviated when the worker has voluntarily chosen that shift

Question 70

Which of the following is an early sign of job burnout?

a. a sudden decrease in work effort and motivation
b. a sudden onset of feelings of guilt
c. a sudden increase in work effort without an increase in productivity
d. a sudden increase in a sense of self-efficacy with a temporary increase in productivity

Answer 70

c

Question 71

The Yerkes-Dodson law predicts a(n)____________ relationship between level of arousal and performance.

a. S-shaped
b. U-shaped
c. inverted-Y shaped
d. inverted-U shpaeed

Answer 71

d. The Yerkes-Dodson law predicts that the relationship between arousal and performance is described by an inverted U-shape with moderate levels of arousal being associated with the highest levels of performance