I/O Psych Exam 1

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

study of behavior in work settings and application of work principles to change behavior

Industrial

focus on individual position

Job requirements

Assessing abilities

Ways to train

Evaluating performance

Organizational

focus on entire work groups

Relationships between employees

Performance of a business

Organizational climate

Leadership

Time-and-motion studies

breaking tasks into simple movements, timing them, and optimizing for efficiency

Scientific management

method of using scientific principles to improve the efficiency and productivity of jobs

Hawthorne effect

changes in behavior occurring as a function of participants knowledge that they are being observed

Human relations movement

emphasizes the importance of social factors in influencing work performance

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

federal agency that enforces employment and anti-discrimination laws

Protected Class

groups for which discrimination is prohibited (sex, race, religion, age, national origin, disabilities, etc.)

Adverse Impact

unfair treatment of a protected group by personnel actions

Reliability

consistency or stability of a measurement instrument

Validity

accuracy of a measurement and its ability to predict relevant outcomes

Organizational downsizing

a strategy of reducing an organization's workforce to improve organizational efficiency and/or competitiveness

Outsourcing

contracting with an external organization to accomplish work tasks

Affirmative action

voluntary creation of policies ensuring jobs are open to qualified individuals regardless of age, sex, age, or ethnicity

Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQs)

real and valid occupational needs required for a particular job

Objectivity

unbiased approach to observation and interpretations of behavior

Steps of the Research Process

1: Formulation of the problem

2: Generation of hypothesis (theory/model)

3: Choosing a research design

4: Data collection

5: Statistical analyses

6: Interpretation of results and drawing conclusions

Sampling

the selection of a representative group from a larger population for study (random, convenience, or stratified)

Experimental Method

Characterized by a high degree of control over the research setting to allow for the determination of cause-and-effect relationships among variables

Correlational Method

Examines the relationship between variables as they naturally occur

Case Study Method

In-depth research investigation involving an assessment of an individual, team, or organization

Operationalized

clearly defining a research variable so that it can be measured

Obtrusive observation

the presence of the observer is known to the participant

Unobtrusive observation

the presence of the observer is not known to the participant or they may not know which behaviors are being studied

Self-report

relying on research participants' reports of their own behavior or attitudes

Survey

participants are asked to report on their attitudes, beliefs, and/or behaviors

Internal validity

extent to which extraneous or confounding variables are removed

External validity

whether research results obtained in one setting will apply to another setting

Informed consent

a research participant is fully informed of the nature of the study and has the right not to participate

Job Description

detailed description of work tasks, procedures, and responsibilities; tools and equipment used; and the end product or service

Job Specification

statement of the human characteristics required to perform a job

Job Evaluation

assessment in the relative value of a job to determine appropriate compensation

Subject Matter Experts

individuals who have detailed knowledge about a particular job

Job Element Method

analyzes jobs in terms of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) required to perform the job

Knowledge (KSAO)

what must they know to do the job?

Skills (KSAO)

what skills are required for success?

Room for improvement and can learn

Abilities (KSAO)

what capabilities are needed?

Generally unchanging, pretty stable and inherent

Other (KSAO)

are there other important factors?

Critical Incidents Technique (CIT)

relies on instances of especially successful or unsuccessful job performance

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

uses a structured questionnaire to analyze jobs according to 187 statements (6 categories)

Functional Job Analysis (FJA)

examines sequence of tasks in a job and the processes by which they are completed

Compensable Factors

job elements that are used to determine appropriate compensation

Exceptioning

practice of ignoring pay discrepancies between particular jobs possessing equivalent duties and responsibilities

Talent Inventory

assessment of KSAOs of current employees and how they are used

Workforce Forecast

a plan for future HR requirements (ie. # of positions, required skills, some sense of the market)

Action Plans

plan to guide the recruitment, selection, training, and compensation for future hires

Control and Evaluation

system of feedback to assess how well the HR system is working and how well the company met its HR plan

Employee Recruitment

process by which companies attract qualified candidates

Quality AND quantity

Realistic Job Preview

an accurate presentation of the prospective job and organization made to applicants

Selection

process of choosing applicants for employment

Placement

process of assigning workers to appropriate jobs

Criteria

measures of job success typically related to performance

Predictors

variables about applicants that are related to (predictive of) the criteria

Weighted Applicant Forms

assign different weights to various pieces of information provided on a job application

Individual vs Group

# of test takers

# of monitors

Speed vs Power

Speed limits

Checking accuracy

Paper-and-Pencil vs Performance

Question based

Behavior based

Bio Data

Background information and personal characteristics

Cognitive

Range from general intellectual ability to tests of specific cognitive skills

Mechanical, Motor, and Sensory

Especially useful for positions that require operating or repairing machinery

Job Skills and Knowledge

Assess specific types of knowledge required to perform certain tasks

Work Samples Tests

measures applicants abilities to perform a brief example of important job tasks

Emotional Intelligence

ability to understand, regulate, and communicate emotions and use them to inform thinking

Polygraphs

instruments that measure physiological reactions presumed to accompany deception (aka lie detectors)

Test Battery

combination of employment tests used to increase the ability to predict future job performance

Assessment Centers

detailed, structured evaluation of job applicants using a variety of instruments and techniques (physical or online)

Interviews, Situational Exercises

Assessment tools that require the performance tasks that approximate actual work tasks

Snap judgements

arriving to a premature, early or overall evaluation of an applicant in a hiring interview

False Positive Errors

erroneously accepting applicants who have been unsuccessful

False Negative Errors

erroneously rejecting applicants who would have been successful

Multiple Regression

combines separate predictors of job success in a statistical procedure

Multiple Cutoff

using a minimum cutoff score on each of the various predictors of job performance

Multiple Hurdle

requires that an acceptance or rejection decision be made at each of several stages in a screening process

Performance Appraisals

formalized means of assessing worker performance in comparison with certain established organizational standards

Performance Criteria

measures used to determine successful or unsuccessful job performance

Objective Performance Criteria

measures of job performance that are easily quantifiable

Subjective Performance Criteria

measures of job performance that typically consist of ratings or judgements of performance

Criterion Relevance

extent to which the means of appraising performance is pertinent to job success

Criterion Contamination

extent to which performance appraisals contain elements that detract from the accurate assessment of job effectiveness

Criterion Deficiency

degree to which a criterion falls short of measuring job performance

Criterion Usefulness

extent to which criterion is useable for appraising a particular job

360-Degree Feedback

method of gathering performance appraisals from a worker's supervisors, subordinates, peers, customers, and other relevant parties

Comparative

involves comparisons of one worker's performance against that of other workers

Rankings

involves the ranking of supervisees from best to worst

Paired Comparisons

rater compares each worker with each other worker in the group

Forced Distribution

assigning workers to established categories of poor to good performance, with fixed limitations on how many employees can be assigned to each category

Individual

evaluating an employee by themselves without explicit reference to other workers

Graphic Rating Scale

using a predetermined scale to rate the worker on important job dimensions

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)

using rating sales with labels reflecting examples of poor, average, and good behavioral incidents

Behavioral Observation Scales (BOS)

require appraisers to recall how often a worker has been observed performing key work behaviors

Checklists

uses a series of statements to indicate whether specific job performance behaviors are present or absent

Narratives

open-ended written accounts of a worker's performance

Leniency Error

tendency to give all workers very positive performance appraisals

Central Tendency Error

tendency to give all workers the midpoint rating in performance appraisals

Severity Error

tendency to give all workers very negative performance appraisals

Halo Effect

an overall positive evaluation of a worker based on one known positive characteristic of an action

Horns Effect

an overall negative evaluation of a worker based on one known negative characteristic or action

Recency Effect

tendency to give greater weight to recent performance and lesser weight to earlier performance

Casual Attribution

process by which people assign cause to events or behaviors