Mid-Term study guide Flashcards
1
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Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology
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The application of psychological principles, theory, and research to the work setting.
2
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Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
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An association to which many I-O psychologists, both practitioners and researchers, belong. Designated as Division 14 of the American Psychological Association (APA)
3
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Personnel psychology
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field of psychology that addresses issues such as recruitment, selection, training, preformance appraisal, promotion, transfer, and termination
4
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Human Resources Management (HRM)
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Practices such as recruitment, selection, retention, training, and development of people (human resources) in order to achieve individual and organizational goals.
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Organizational psychology
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Field of psychology that combines research from social psychology and organizational behavior and addresses the emotional and motivational side of work.
6
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Human engineering or human factors psychology
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the study of the capacities and limitations of humans with respect to a particular environment
7
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Scientist-practitioner model
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A model that uses scientific tools and research in the practice of I-O psychology
8
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TIP (The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist)
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Quarterly newsletter published by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: provides I-O psychologists and those interested in I-O psychology with the latest relevant information about the field
9
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Telecommuting
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Accomplishing work tasks from a distant location using electronic communication media
10
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Virtual team
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Team that has widely dispersed members working together towards a common goal and linked through computers and other technology
11
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Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Federal legislation that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national, origin, which define what are know as protective groups. Prohibits not only intentional discrimination but also practices that have the unintentional effect of discrimination against individuals because of their race, color, national origin, religion, or sex
12
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American Psychological Association (APA)
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The major professional organization for psychologists of all kinds in the United States.
13
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Experimental design
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Participants are randomly assigned to different conditions
14
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Quasi-experimental design
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Participants are assigned to different conditions, but random assignment to conditions is not possible
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Nonexperimental design
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Does not include any “treatment” or assignment to different conditions.
16
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Observation design
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The researcher observes employee behavior and systematically records what is observed
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Survey design
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Research strategy in which participants are asked to complete a questionnaire or survey
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Quantitative methods
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Rely on tests, rating scales, questionnaires, and physiological measures and yield numerical results
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Qualitative methods
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Rely on observations, interviews, case studies, and analysis of diaries or written documents and produce flow diagrams and narrative descriptions of events or processes
20
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Triangulation
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Approach in which researchers seek converging information from different sources
21
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Experimental control
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Characteristic of research in which possible confounding influences that might make results less reliable or harder to interpret are eliminated: often easier to establish in laboratory studies that in field studies
22
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Statistical control
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Using statistical techniques to control for the influence of certain variables. Such control allows researchers to concentrate exclusively on the primary relationships of interest.
23
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Descriptive statistics
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Statistics that summarize, organize, and describe a sample of data
24
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Measure of Central Tendency
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Statistics that indicates where the center of a distribution is located. Mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency
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Variability
The extent to which scores in a distribution vary
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Skew
The extent to which scores in a distribution are lopsided or tend to fall on the left or right side of the distribution
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mean
The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution: obtained by summing all of the scores in a distribution and dividing by the sample size
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Mode
The most common or frequently occurring score in a distribution
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Median
The middle score in the distribution
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Inferential statistics
Statistics used to aid the researcher in testing hypotheses and making inferences from sample data to a larger sample or population
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Statistical Significance
Indicates that the probability of the observed statistic is less than the stated significance level adopted by the researcher (commonly p<.05). A statistically significant finding indicates that the results found are unlikely to have occurred by chance, and thus the null hypothesis (hypothesis of no effect) is rejected
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Statistical power
the likelihood of finding a statistically significant difference when a true difference exists
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Correlation coefficient
Statistic assessing the bivariate, linear association between two variables. Provides information about both the magnitude (numerical value) and the direction (+ or -) of the relationship between two variables
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Regression line
Straight line that best “fits” the scatter plot and describes the relationship between the variables in the graph; can also be presented as an equation that specifies where the line intersects the vertical axis and what the angle or slope of the line is.
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Linear
Relationship between two variables that can be depicted by a straight line
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Nonlinear
Relationship between two variables that cannot be depicted by a straight line; sometimes called “curvilinear” and most easily identified by examining a scatter plot
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Meta-analysis
statistical method for combining and analyzing the results from many studies to draw a general conclusion about relationships among variables.
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Reliability
consistency or stability of a measure
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Validity
The accuracy of inferences made based on test or performance data; also addresses whether a measure accurately and completely represents what was intended to be measured.
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Test-retest reliability
A type of reliability calculated by correlating measurements taken at the time 1 with measurements taken at time 2
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Equivalent forms reliability
a type of reliability calculated by correlating measurements from a sample of individuals who complete two different forms of the same test
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Internal consistency
form of reliability that assesses how consistently the items of a test measure a single construct; affected by the number of items in the test and the correlations among the test items
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Generalizability Theory
A sophisticated approach to the question of reliability that simultaneously considers all types of error in reliability estimates (e.g., test-retest, equivalent forms, and internal consistency).
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Predictor
The test chosen to assess attributes identified as important for successful job performance
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Criterion
An outcome variable that describes important aspects or demands of the job; the variable that we predict when evaluating the validity of a predictor
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Criterion-related validity
Validity approached that is demonstrated by correlating a test score with a performance measure; improves researcher’s confidence in the inference that people with higher test scores have higher performance
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Validity coefficient
correlation coefficient between a test score (predictor) and a performance measure (criterion)
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Predictive validity design
Criterion-related validity design in which there is a time lag between collection of the test data and the criterion data
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Concurrent validity design
Criterion-related validity design in which there is a time lag between collection of the test data and the criterion data
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Content-related validation design
A design that demonstrates that the content of the selection produce represents an adequate sample of important work behaviors and activities and/or worker KSAOs defined by the job analysis
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Construct validity
Validity approach in which investigators gather evidence to support decisions or inferences about psychological constructs; often begins with investigators demonstrating that a test designed to measure a particular construct correlates with other tests in the predicted manner
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Construct
psychological concept or characteristic that a predictor is intended to measure; examples are intelligence, personality, and leadership
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Individual differences
Dissimilarities between or among two or more people
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Psychometrics
Practice of measuring a characteristic such as mental ability, placing it on a scale or metric
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Intelligence test
Instrument designed to measure the ability to reason, learn, and solve problems
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Psychometrician
psychologist trained in measuring characteristics such as mental ability
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Cognitive ability
Capacity to reason, plan, and solve problems; mental ability
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“g”
Abbreviation for general mental ability
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Personality
An individual’s behavioral and emotional characteristics, generally found to be stable over time and in a variety of circumstances; an individual’s habitual way of responding
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Americans with Disabilities Act
Federal legislation enacted in 1990 requiring employers to give applicants and employees with disabilities the same consideration as other applicants and employees, and to make certain adaptations in the work environment to accommodate disabilities.
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Big 5
A taxonomy of five personality factors; the Five-Factor Model (FFM)
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Five-Factor Model (FFM)
A taxonomy of five personality factors, composed of conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, and openness to experience
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Integrity
Quality of being honest, reliable, and ethical
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O*NET
Collection of electronic databases, based on well-developed taxonomies, that has updated and replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)
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Procedural knowledge
Familiarity with a procedure or process; knowing “how”
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Declarative knowledge
Understanding what is required to perform a task; knowing information about a job or job task
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Test battery
Collection of tests that usually assess a variety of different attributes
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Bias
Technical and statistical term that deals exclusively with a situation where a given test results in errors of prediction for a subgroup
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Fairness
Value judgment about actions or decisions based on test scores
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Screen-out test
A test used to eliminate candidates who are clearly unsuitable for employment; tests of psychopathology are examples of screen-out tests in the employment setting
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Screen-in test
A test used to add information about the positive attributes of a candidate that might predict outstanding performance; tests of normal personality are examples of screen-in tests in the employment setting
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Self- presentation
A person’s public face or “game face”
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Emotional intelligence (EI)
A proposed kind of intelligence focused on people’s awareness of their own and others’ emotions
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Structured interview
Assessment procedure that consists of very specific questions asked of each candidate; includes tightly crafted scoring schemes with detailed outlines for the interviewer with respect to assigning ratings or scores based on interview performance
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Situational interview
An assessment procedure in which the interviewee is asked to describe in specific and behavioral detail how he or she would respond to a hypothetical situation
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Unstructured interview
An interview format that includes questions that may vary by candidate and that allows the candidate to answer in any form he or she prefers
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Assessment center
Collection of procedures for evaluation that is administered to groups of individuals; assessments are typically performed by multiple assessors.
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Work sample test
Assessment procedure that measures job skills by taking samples of behavior under realistic job-like conditions
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Situational judgment test
Commonly a paper-and-pencil test that presents the candidate with a written scenario and asks the candidate to choose the best response from a series of alternatives
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Incremental validity
The value in terms of increased validity of adding a particular predictor to an existing selection system
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Biodata
information collected on an application blank or in a standardized test that includes questions about previous jobs, education, specialized training, and personal history; also known as biographical data
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Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT)
A type of testing that presents a test taker with a few items that cover the range of difficulty of the test, identifies a test taker’s approximate level of ability, and then asks only questions to further refine the test taker’s position within that ability level
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Objective performance measure
Usually a quantitative count of the results of work, such as sales volume, complaint letters, and output
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Judgmental performance measure
Evaluation made of the effectiveness of an individual’s work behavior; judgment most often made by supervisors in the context of a performance evaluation
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Performance management
System that emphasizes the link between individual behavior and organizational strategies and goals by defining performance in the context of those goals; jointly developed by managers and the people who report to them
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Performance
Actions or behaviors relevant to the organization’s goals; measured in terms of each individual’s proficiency
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Effectiveness
Evaluation of the results of performance; often controlled by factors beyond the actions of an individual
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Productivity
ratio of effectiveness (output) to the cost of achieving that level of effectiveness (input)
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Declarative knowledge (DK)
Understanding what is required to perform a task; knowing information about a job or job task
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Procedural knowledge and skill (PKS)
knowing how to perform a job or task; often developed through practice and experience
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Motivation (M)
Concerns the conditions responsible for variations in intensity, persistence quality, and direction of ongoing behavior
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Determinants of performance
Basic building blocks or causes of performance, which are declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and motivation
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Performance components
Components that may appear in different jobs and results from the determinants of performance; john Campbell and colleagues identified eight performance components, some or all of which can be found in every job
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Criterion deficiency
A situation that occurs when an actual criterion is missing information that is part of the behavior one is trying to measure
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Criterion contamination
a situation that occurs when an actual criterion includes information unrelated to the behavior one is trying to measure
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Ultimate criterion
ideal measure of all the relevant aspects of job performance
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Actual criterion
actual measure of job performance obtained
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Adaptive performance
performance component that includes flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances
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Expert performance
Performance exhibited by those who have been practicing for at least 10 years and have spent an average of four hours per day in deliberate practice
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Personnel measure
Measure typically kept in a personnel file, including absences, accidents, tardiness, rate of advancement, disciplinary actions, and commendations of meritorious behavior
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Task-oriented job analysis
Approach that begins with a statement of the actual tasks as well as what is accomplished by those tasks
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Work-oriented job analysis
Approach that focuses on the attributes of the worker necessary to accomplish the tasks
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KSAOs
individuals attributes of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that are required to successfully perform job tasks
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Subject matter expert (SME)
Employee (incumbent) who provides information about a job in a job analysis interview or survey
105
Critical incident technique
Approach in which subject matter experts are asked to identify critical aspects of behavior or performance in a particular job that led to success or failure
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Cognitive task analysis
A process that consists of methods for decomposing job and task performance into discrete, measurable units, with special emphasis on eliciting mental processes and knowledge content
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Think-aloud protocol
Approach used by cognitive psychologists to investigate the thought processes of experts who achieve high levels of performance; an expert performer describes in words the thought process that he or she uses to accomplish a task
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Job evaluation
method for making internal pay decisions by comparing job titles to one another and determining their relative merit by way of these comparisons
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Compensable factors
Factors in a job evaluation system that are given points that are later linked to compensation for various jobs within the organization; factors usually include skills, responsibility, effort, and working conditions.
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Comparable worth
notion that people who are performing jobs of comparable worth to the organization should receive comparable pay
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Equal Pay Act of 1963
Federal legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits, where men and women perform work of similar skill, effort, and responsibility for the same employer under similar working conditions
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Critical incidents
Examples of behavior that appear “critical” in determining whether performance would be good, average, or poor in specific performance areas
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Graphic rating scale
Graphic display of performance scores that runs from high on one end to low on the other end
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Checklist
list of behaviors presented to a rater, who places a check next to each of the items that best (or least) describe the rate
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Weighted checklist
A checklist that includes items that have values or weights assigned to them that are derived from the expert judgments of incumbents and supervisors of the position in question
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Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS)
Rating format that includes behavioral anchors describing what a worker has done, or might be expected to do, in a particular duty area
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Behavioral observation scale (BOS)
Format that asks the rater to consider how frequently an employee has been seen to act in a particular way
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Employee comparison methods
form of evaluation that involves the direct comparison of one person with another
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360-degree feedback
Process of collecting and providing a manager or executive with feedback from many sources, including supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers, and suppliers.
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Central tendency error
Error in which raters choose a middle point on the scale to describe performance, even though a more extreme point might better describe the employee
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Leniency error
error that occurs with raters who are unusually easy in their rating
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Severity error
Error that occurs with raters who are unusually harsh in their ratings
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Halo error
Error that occurs when a rater assigns the same rating to an employee on a series of dimensions, creating a halo or aura that surrounds all of the ratings, causing them to be similar
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Psychometric training
Training that makes raters aware of common rating errors (central tendency, leniency/severity, and halo) in the hope that this will reduce the likelihood of errors
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Frame-of-reference (FOR) training
Training based on the assumption that a rater needs a context or “frame” for providing a rating; includes (1) providing information on the multidimensional nature of performance (2) ensuring that raters understand the meaning of anchors on the scale (3) engaging in practice rating exercises, and (4) providing feedback on practice exercises.
