I/O exam 1

work is a source of… (5 positive, 4 negative)

pos: 1) identity and self-esteem, 2) relationships outside family, 3) structure, 4) autonomy, 5) opportunity for growth and development; neg: 1) stress, 2) role conflict, 3) mistreatment, 4) insecurity

goals of I/O psychology (3)

fairness, well-being, and productivity; apply psychology principles and methods to understand, explain, and enhance human behaviors in the workplace

wilhelm wundt

father of psychology; founded the first lab dedicated to psychology research

hugo munsterberg

one of the first people to measure people’s abilities and tie them to performance

james mckeen cattell

interested in the reliable individual differences that wundt dismissed as mere error

walter dill scott and walter van dyke bingham

developed selection and training methods in WWI (Army alpha - first group intelligence test)

lillian gilbreth

first american engineer to combine psychology and scientific management in a synthesized way; used ‘time and motion studies’ to analyze jobs with husband frank gilbreth

scientific management principles

1) jobs can be scientifically studied, and the ‘one best method’ for doing them can be found, 2) there needs to be a match between worker abilities and skills/job tasks, 3) money is the prime motivator, 4) select and train workers for specific tasks, 5) give clear instructions on what workers need to do and supervise

time and motion studies - gilbreths

1) break jobs down into core movements, 2) time movements, 3) use info to figure out more time-efficient ways of doing the job

hawthorne studies

elton mayo did a series of studies by varying conditions to see what hinders performance; found a hawthorne effect/demand effect - productivity would improve because researchers were watching them

human relations movement

workers value things besides money; core beliefs: 1) good relationships are the most important determinants of productivity; 2) social factors > money in most cases; 3) workers are more responsive to peers’ values than those of management

WWII - henry murray

murray developed the first US assessment center for the office of strategic services to pick spies (Station S)

civil rights act of 1964: title VII

legislation banned discriminatory practices in the workplace

scientist-practitioner model

science and practice of I/O mutual influence and direct each other; hopeless science vs. irrelevant science vs. junk science vs. pragmatic science

theory

integrated set of principles that predicts and explains observed events; summarizes and organizes knowledge

moderator vs mediator variable

moderator: may influence the strength and direction of an effect; mediator: explains the ‘why’ of a relationship

3 types of research designs

experimental (manipulates the IV and uses random assignment), non-experimental (no manipulation of IV; examines correlation), and quasi-experimental (manipulates IV; no random assignment)

constructs vs. operationalizations

constructs - hypothetical and abstract variables that are not directly observable; operationalizations - process of defining constructs into measurable factors

reliability

consistency of a measurement/stability overtime; extent to which a measure is free from error

test-retest reliability + problems

measure the group twice; it’s reliable if there is a correlation between time 1 and time 2.

problems: long gap → true score change; short gap → consistency pressure

parallel forms reliability + problems

measure groups on 2 ‘parallel' (identical statistical properties) tests; reliability = correlation between form 1 and 2 observed scores

problems: fatigue and boredom

internal consistency reliability + problems

randomly split long test into 2 equal halves; reliability = correlation between halves

problems: fatigue and boredom, how do we split it in half?

chronbach’s alpha + problems

used for internal consistency; average of all possible split half reliabilities

problems: can be inflated by higher number of items

inter-rater reliability + problems

2 people rate other people; reliability = 2 sets of ratings agree

problems: tends to be significantly lower than other reliability forms; raters differ in their opportunities to observe the ratee

internal validity

extent to which we can draw cause-effect solutions (random assignment)

external validity

extent to which we can generalize the results to a larger population

construct validity

extent to which the operations and measures used in the research reflect the theoretical constructs tested; 3 types: content, convergent-discriminant, criterion-related

content validity

extent to which the measure provides a good sample of the construct domain it’s intended to represent

criterion-related validity

empirical relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable; 2 types: concurrent and predictive

concurrent validity

IV and DV are measured at the same time

predictive validity

IV measured some time before DV

discriminant validity

tests not meant to be related are unrelated

convergent validity

tests meant to be related are related

3 types of descriptive statistics

1) measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode); 2) measures of dispersion (standard deviation and variance); 3) measures of skewness and kurtosis

positive vs. negative skew

positive - tails point towards positive values

negative - tails point towards negative values

nominal data

categories with differences in name only (gender, race, etc)

ordinal data

rank-order data, but space between them is non-standardized (finishing place in a race)

interval data

valued are ordered with equal spacing, but no natural 0 (likert scale)

ratio data

values are continuous, ordered, standardized differences, with natural zero (age, temp)

when to use t-test/ANOVA

with a between subjects design (comparison across groups) when IV is a nominal variable (ANOVA evaluates the mean difference between 3 or more groups, t-test is just 2)

when to use repeated measures t-test/ANOVA

with a within subjects design (comparison across time) when IV is a nominal variable

when to use correlation/regression

when IV is internal or ratio; use correlation when only interest in magnitude and direction of a variable, and regression when wanting deeper information about the relationship

changes in the workplace

1) generational shift (aging workforce); 2) skills gap/shortage; 3) demographic shift (women, minorities, immigration); 4) globalization; 5) technology

why is the workforce aging?

1) fewer babies born per year; 2) financial need; 3) increased longevity and function; 4) talent/skill shortage; 5) enjoy work and being productive

young workforce entrants are:

1) higher educational attainment than older workers; 2) more likely to have school debt than older workers; 3) comfortable and savvy with technology on average

factors impacting skill shortage (5)

1) older workers retiring; 2) lower birthrate; 3) younger workers staying in school longer; 4) shift toward knowledge economy; 5) currently… great resignation

solutions to skill shortage (4)

1) training and education; 2) collaboration between organizational and educational inst.; 3) hiring independent contractors; 4) supplementing existing workforce with skilled immigrants

globalization

allows companies to draw from labor pools all over the globe

2 types of globalization + pros and cons

1) outsourcing - contraction out a specific part of the process to a third party; pros: efficiency, cons: process loss if there’s an issue in the supply chain

2) offshoring - relocates production operations/services to another country; pros: affordability, bring up standard of living in developing nation; cons: loss of jobs here

challenges of globalization (5)

1) expatriation (going to another country to work, or having someone come here to work); 2) language barriers; 3) time zones; 4) fault lines (us vs. them); 5) cultural differences

how the nature of work is changing

jobs on average are requiring more diverse skills and workers have less direct supervision

work values

desired outcomes attained through work; shape preferences and behaviors toward work (intrinsic or extrinsic)

sisyphean cycle of technology panics

concerns over new tech are common and cyclical: new tech → broad generalizations about how it’s bad → moral panic → scientists find out that it’s not true

technological determinism

belief that tech is the foundation for change and society has little power to influence it (in reality, we do have the power to influence it)

technological implications for individuals: skills needed

not acquiring skills to use new tech can result in lost jobs and lost opportunities; skills that cant be easily replaces are critical thinking, interpersonal skills, creativity, and dexterity

technological implications for individuals: digital readiness

individual’s knowledge, skills, abilities, that prepare them for the adoption of digital tech in the workplace; factors include confidence in using technology, ability to use technology, trust in tech, and familiarity with tech

technology implications for individuals: remote work (pros and cons)

pros: more autonomy, may help workers balance work and family demands, more efficient, higher levels of supervisor rated and objective indicators of job performance

cons: isolation, reduced knowledge sharing, often work longer hours due to lack of work-life boundaries

technology implications for organizations and HR

1) automation; 2) selection; 3) training; 4) performance management

performance management: gamification

adding game-like characteristics in the workplace to enhance motivation and performance (competitions, leaderboards, badges, levels of progress)

electronic performance monitoring (EPM)

tech used to observe, record, and analyze info that directly or indirectly relates to job performance

purposes include performance, safety, development, and surveillance

factors that impact how well EPM is received by employees (3)

invasiveness, frequency and regularity of monitoring, transparency to workers

alternative work

work that departs from standard employment in one or more ways; includes temporary work, on-call work, gig work, freelance work, contingent work, and independent contract work

temporary work

short-term work arrangements to meet increase in demand; usually get lower pay, costly health care, no chance for advancement, no sick days, no paid vacation or holidays, no job security, and no retirement savings

on-call work

no regular schedule, more likely to have long-term (though irregular) relationships with the organization

freelance work

hired for short-term project for the specific knowledge or skills they possess; paid upon completion of project, provides own materials, works for multiple clients, contractor decides manner and means of performing

gig work

project-based, limited in duration, falls outside of organization structures; flexibility and diverse

gig platform work

gig workers → intermediary platforms (uber, doordash) → consumers

legal and ethical issues of alternative work

most alternative work arrangements don’t fall under the legal definition of an employee; thus: less regulated market, lack protection, risk shifts to worker

motives of alternative work

push and pull factors: push ( :( ) = financial status, employment status, family needs; pull ( :) ) = preferences, values, interests

job demands-resources model

if job demands outweigh job resources, stress and burnout is common → worse outcomes; personal factors play a role in the impact of stress

job demands + 5 types

physical, social, or organizational aspects of the job that require sustained physical or mental effort

1) precarity - unpredictable work hours, low wages, job insecurity, lack of legal protections

2) underemployment - employment in job requires less education, experience, and or skill; employment outside filed of one’s education; involuntary employment in temp work

3) alienation

4) isolation

5) emotional labor

job resources + 2 types

physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that serves as a buffer for job demands, help individuals, achieve goals, or stimulate personal growth and development

1) autonomy (participation in alt. work, working hours, location, nature of work, payment)

2) skill variety

personal factors

factors that help individuals thrive in alternative work arrangements

1) social capital - buffer against isolation and alienation (social networks)

2) psychological capital - who you are; self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resiliency (buffer against emotional exhaustion)

3) human capital - skills, education, knowledge, and experience (more human capital → more choice and economic security)

4) tolerance for ambiguity - perceive ambiguous situations as challenging or interesting rather than stressful (linked to lower stress among temp and contingent workers)