Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Personnel Psychology

Field of study that concentrates on the selection and evaluation of employees

Organizational Psychology

Investigates the behavior of employees within the context of an organization

Human Factors

Concentrate on the interaction between humans and machines, workplace design, ergonomics, and physical fatigue and stress

Hawthorne Effect

Change of behavior due to mere presence of observers

Trade Magazines

Articles usually written by professional writers who have developed expertise in a given field

Field Research

Research conducted in a natural setting

Effect Size

Amount of change caused by an experimental manipulation

Mean Effect Size

Average of the effect sizes for all studies included in the analysis

Difference Score

How many standard deviations separate the mean score for the experimental group from the control group?

Practical Significance

Extent to which the results of a study have actual impact on human behavior

Type A Dilemma

High level of uncertainty as to what is right or wrong; there are both negative and positive consequences to a decision

Type B Dilemma

Rationalizing dilemmas, the difference between right and wrong is much clearer

Worker Mobility

Probability of promotion and job success

Peter Principle

Organizations tend to promote good employees until they reach their highest level of incompetence

Job Classification

Classifying jobs into groups based on similarities and is used to determining pay levels, transfers, and promotions

Job Evaluation

Used to determine the worth of a job

Job Design

Determine the best way for a job to be performed

Job Analysis Interview

Obtaining information about a job by talking to a person performing it

1. Job Description

2. Brief Summary

3. Work Activities

4. Tools and Equipment Used

5. Job Context

6. Work Performance

7. Compensation Information

8. Job Competencies

What are the eight sections that a job description should have?

Grade

A cluster of jobs of similar worth

Job Specifications

Dated term that refers to the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform a job

Competencies

Knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to perform a job

Job Crafting

Process in which employees unofficially change their job duties to better fit their interests and skills

SME Conference

Group job analysis interview consisting of subject-matter experts

Ammerman Technique

Job analysis method where group of job experts identifies the objectives and standards to be met by the ideal worker

Observations

Job analyst watches job incumbents perform their jobs

Job Participation

Job analyst actually performs the job being analyzed

Task Inventory

Questionnaire containing list of tasks which the job incumbent rates on a series of scales such as importance and time spent

Task Analysis

Process of identifying the tasks for which employees need to be trained

Knowledge

Body of information needed to perform a task

Skill

Proficiency to perform a learned task

Ability

Basic capacity for performing a wide range of tasks, acquiring a knowledge, or developing a skill

Contains 194 items organized into six main dimensions:

1. information input

2. mental processes

3. work output

4. relationships with others

5. job context

6. other job-related variables

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Job Structure Profile (JSP)

Revised version of the PAQ designed to be used more by the job analyst than by the job incumbent

Job Elements Inventory (JEI)

Another alternative to the PAQ but is easier to read

Functional Job Analysis (FJA)

Rates the extent to which a job incumbent is involved with functions in the categories of data, people, and things

Job Components Inventory (JCI)

Job analysis technique that concentrates on worker requirements for performing a job rather than on specific tasks

AET/ Ergonomic Job Analysis Procedure

Ergonomic job analysis method

Occupational Information Network (ONET)

Job analysis system used by the federal government; jobs can be viewed at four levels: economic, organizational, occupational, and individual

Critical Incident Technique (CIT)

Job analysis method that uses written reports of good and bad employee behavior

Threshold Traits Analysis (TTA)

33-item questionnaire that identifies traits necessary to successfully perform a job

Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS)

Jobs are rated on the basis of the abilities needed to perform them

Job Adaptability Inventory (JAI)

Job analysis method that taps the extent to which a job involves eight types of adaptability

1. Handling emergencies or crisis situations

2. Handling work stress

3. Solving problems creatively

4. Dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations

5. Learning work tasks, technologies, and procedures

6. Demonstrating interpersonal adaptability

7. Demonstrating cultural adaptability

8. Demonstrating physically oriented adaptability

What are the eight types of adaptability under JAI?

Personality-Related Position Requirements Form (PPRF)

Job analysis instrument that helps determine the personality requirements for a job

Job Evaluation

Process of determining the monetary worth of a job

Compensable Job Factors

Factors that differentiate the relative worth of jobs

Wage Trend Line

Line that represents the ideal relationship between the number of points that a job has been assigned and the salary range for that job

Salary Surveys

Questionnaire sent to other organizations to see how much they are paying their employees in positions similar to those in the organization

Comparable Worth

Idea that jobs requiring the same level of skill and responsibility should be paid the same regardless of supply and demand

Grievance System

Process in which an employee files a complaint with the organization and a person or committee in the organization makes a decision regarding the complaint

Mediation

Method of resolving conflict in which a neutral third party is asked to help the two parties reach an agreement

Arbitration

A neutral third party is asked to choose which side is correct

Binding Arbitration

Neither party is allowed to appeal the decision of the neutral third party

Nonbinding Arbitration

Either party may appeal the decision of the neutral third party

Case Law

Interpretation of a law by a court through a verdict in a trial, setting precedent for subsequent court decisions

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

Selection requirement that is necessary for the performance of job-related duties and for which there is no substitute

Adverse Impact

Employment practice that results in members of a protected class being negatively affected at a higher rate than members of a majority class

Four-fifths Rule

When the selection ratio for one group is less than 80% of the selection ratio for another group, adverse impact is said to exist

Quid Pro Quo

Type of sexual harassment in which the granting of sexual favors is tied to an employment decision

Hostile Environment

Type of harassment characterized by a pattern of unwanted conduct related to gender that interferes with an individual's work performance

Recruitment

Process of attracting employees to an organization

Noncompetitive Promotions

Involve career progression where employees move to a higher position as they gain experience and knowledge

Competitive Promotions

Several internal applicants compete with one another for a limited number of higher positions

Employee Referrals

Rated as the most effective recruitment method

Job Fair

Several employers are available at one location so that many applicants can obtain information at one time

Cost per Applicant

Amount of money spent on a recruitment campaign divided by number of applicants

Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

Job applicants are told both the positive and negative aspects of the job

Expectation-lowering Procedure (ELP)

Form of RJP that lowers an applicant's expectations about the various aspects of the job

Primacy Effect

The fact that information presented early in an interview carries more weight than information presented later

Contrast Effect

When performance of one applicant affects the perception of the performance of the next applicant

Negative-information Bias

Negative information receives more weight in an employment decision than does positive information

Clarifier

Type of structured interview question that clarifies information on the resume or application

Disqualifier

Type of structured interview question where a wrong answer will disqualify the applicant from further consideration

Skill-level Determiner

Type of question designed to tap an applicant's knowledge or skill

Future-focused Question

Applicants are given a situation and asked how they would handle it

Situational Question

Applicants are presented with a series of situations and asked how they would handle each one

Past-focused Question

Question that taps an applicant's experience

Patterned-behavior Description Interview (PBDI)

Questions focus on behavior in previous jobs

Organizational-fit Questions

Question that taps how well an applicant's personality and values will fit with the organizational culture

Typical-answer Approach

Method of scoring interview answers that compares an applicant's answer with benchmark answers

Benchmark Answers

Standard answers to interview questions, the quality of which has been agreed on by job experts

Key-issues Approach

Method of scoring interview answers that provides points for each part of an answer that matches the scoring key

Averaging versus Adding Model

Model that postulates that our impressions are based more on the average value of each impression than on the sum of the values for each impression

Negligent Reference

Organization's failure to meet its legal duty to supply relevant information to a prospective employer about a former employee's potential for legal trouble

Job Knowledge Test

Test that measures the amount of job-related knowledge an applicant possesses

Ability Tests

Used primarily for occupations in which applicants are not expected to know how to perform the job at the time of hire

Wonderlic Personnel Test

Cognitive ability test that is most commonly used in industry; only 12 minutes necessary to take the test

Siena Reasoning Test

Test that almost eliminated the racial differences in test scores

Work Sample

Applicant performs actual job-related tasks

Assessment Center

Method of selecting employees in which applicants participate in several job-related activities, at least one of which must be a simulation, and are rated by several trained evaluators.

In-basket Technique

Assessment center exercise designed to simulate the types of information that come across a manager or employee's desk in order to observe the applicant's responses to such information

Simulation

Exercise designed to place an applicant in a situation that is similar to the one that will be encountered on the job

Leaderless Group Discussions

Applicants meet in small groups and are given a job-related problem to solve or a job-related issue to discuss

Business Games

Designed to simulate the business and marketing activities that take place in an organization

Biodata

Method of selection involving application blanks that contain questions that research has shown will predict job performance

File Approach

Gathering of biodata from employee files rather than by questionnaire

Questionnaire Approach

Obtaining biodata from questionnaires rather than employee files

Criterion Group

Division of employees into groups based on high and low scores on a particular criterion

Vertical Percentage Method

For biodata scoring, the percentage of unsuccessful employees responding in a particular way is subtracted from the percentage of successful employees responding in the same way