Ch 5. Assessing & Selecting Employees

Question 1

What is the main purpose of job applications and resumes? Why are applications/resumes limited in predicting work performance?

Answer 1

1. to collect info. about education, work experience and outstanding work
2. they are limited to assessing work experience

Question 2

How are weighted job application forms different from regular job application forms?

Answer 2

forms that assign different weight to the various pieces of info. provided on a job application

Question 3

How are work samples used to screen potential employees? What are the benefits of using work samples?

Answer 3

used by sending in past projects/samples that can be turned into standardized tests
benefits; predicting future job performanc

Question 4

What are the four types of information that can be provided by references or letters of recommendation?

Answer 4

1. Employment & education history
2. Evaluations of the applicant’s character
3. Evaluation of applicant’s job performance
4. Recommender’s willingness to rehire the applicant

Question 5

Why are references or letters of recommendation only of “limited importance”? In other words, why are they often not good indicators of actual job performance?

Answer 5

due to applicant’s being able to choose their recommenders, not knowing if it’s a trusted source or not without checking

Question 6

What is reliability and why is it important that employee screening tests are reliable?

Answer 6

The consistency/stability of a measurement instrument over time; to measure scores to be stable, consistent & free of error

Question 7

What is test-retest reliability?

Answer 7

Method determining the stability of a measurement instrument by administering the same measure to the same people at two different times & then correlating them

Question 8

How are “parallel forms” used to test the reliability of employee screening tests?

Answer 8

by correlating scores on two different but equivalent versions of the same instrument

Question 9

What are the two methods that can be used to test the “internal consistency” of employee screening tests?

Answer 9

1. Split-half reliability: dividing the test into 2 groups, adding up the sum and comparing the 2 scores
2. Crongach’s alpha: determining the average intercorrelation of all that’s on the test

Question 10

What is validity and why is it important that employee screening tests are valid?

Answer 10

a concept referring to the accuracy of a measurement instrument and its ability to make accurate inferences about a criterion

Question 11

What is content validity and how is it assessed?

Answer 11

the ability of the items in a measurement instrument to measure adequate the various characteristics needed to perform a job, assessed by having experts in the field analyze the info

Question 12

What is construct validity and how is it assessed?

Answer 12

refers to whether an employment test measure what it is supposed to measure, assessed by looking at their scores and seeing if they’ll do good in the future (SAT)

Question 13

How does convergent and divergent validity play a role in this?

Answer 13

convergent validity; looking at the mechanical abilities of the test
divergent validity; test being unrelated to mechanical ability

Question 14

What is criterion-related validity and how is it assessed?

Answer 14

the accuracy of a measurement instrument in determining the relationship between scores on the instrument and some criterion of job success, assessed with follow-up method & present-employee method

Question 15

What is the follow-up method of assessing predictive validity? What are advantages and disadvantages to using this approach?

Answer 15

following up with the applicant after they get the job and measuring their performance once there

Question 16

What is the present-employee method of assessing concurrent validity? What are advantages and disadvantages to using this approach?

Answer 16

giving test to current employees and seeing if scores correlate with their criterion in performance

Question 17

What are considerations to make when choosing between different test formats (i.e., individual vs. group tests, speed vs. power tests, paper-and-pencil vs. performance tests) for employee screening tests?

Answer 17

1. Individual v. Group Tests; “I” if sophisticated apparatus, “G” if wanting to spend less $
2. Speed v. Power Tests; “S” if focusing # of items completed in a set time, “P” if focusing on % of items answered right
3. Paper & Pencil v. Performance Tests; “P&P” if forcing/open-ended Q’s, “Per” if manipulating physical objects

Question 18

What is biodata? Why is it sometimes problematic to ask potential employees about this type of information?

Answer 18

background info & personal characteristics that can be used in employee selection
can be problematic since it becomes personal and may lead to unintentional discrimination

Question 19

What are cognitive ability tests?

Answer 19

general intellectual ability or cognitive skills

Question 20

What are criticisms of using such tests for employee selection?

Answer 20

general cognitive skills even for jobs that require specific ones more

Question 21

How might the use of cognitive ability tests for employee selection be discriminatory?

Answer 21

since it favors the economically & educationally advantaged

Question 22

What are mechanical ability tests? When is it beneficial to use such tests for employee selection?

Answer 22

standardized tests measuring abilities in identifying, recognizing, & applying mechanical principles
for positions that operate/repair machinery, construction jobs, & certain engineering positions

Question 23

What are motor and sensory ability tests?

Answer 23

measure specific motor skills or sensory abilities

Question 24

What are work sample tests? What are the advantages to using such tests for employee selection?

Answer 24

job skill tests that measure abilities to perform brief ex. of important job tasks
clearly job related, realistic view

Question 25

What has research shown about the use of personality tests in predicting job performance?

Answer 25

good predictors of job performance, when the particular personality dimensions needed are found after a thorough analysis of the requirements for the job

Question 26

What personality characteristics tend to be good predictors of good job performance?

Answer 26

“conscientiousness” & “dependability” are good predictors of job performance

Question 27

What is emotional intelligence and why might it be useful to screen some employees for this?

Answer 27

the ability to understand, regulate, and communicate emotions and use them to inform thinking, lets them better understand others they are helping/working with

Question 28

Why is the polygraph not a good indicator of lying?

Answer 28

invalid results from “false-positive” errors & those who score wrong when actually right

Question 29

What are “integrity tests”? What has research shown about their effectiveness in predicting employee dishonesty?

Answer 29

measures of honest or dishonest attitudes and/or behaviors

effective; w/ dishonesty or counterproductive behavior & not effective: false-positives or honest seen as dishonest

Question 30

How do “test batteries” help screening tests to work more effectively in predicting job performance?

Answer 30

through combining various test scores to help select the best possible candidates for the job

Question 31

Why is it important that employee screening tools have high validity generalization?

Answer 31

will greatly increase its usefulness and reduce the workload of I/O Psychologist since the instrument maybe won’t be needed for every position

Question 32

Why is it important that employee screening tools have high test utility?

Answer 32

by being able to make more money for the organization than what was put in for the screening test

Question 33

Why is it not true that employee tests can be easily “faked”?

Answer 33

1. Having subscales that determine if a person is faking

2. It’s hard for the test-taker to determine which answer are the desired ones

Question 34

What are assessment centers and what purposes do they serve for companies?

Answer 34

a detailed, structured evaluation of job applicants using a variety of instruments & techniques (KSA)
kinda like test batteries but based on KSAO’s

Question 35

What are problems with the validity of job interviews?

Answer 35

no organization through Q’s asked, the mood of the interviewer, etc.

Question 36

What are variations on the traditional job interview (situational interview, behavior description interview, etc…)?

Answer 36

1. Situational Interview: hypothetical Q’s to applicant
2. Behavior Description Interview: drawing on past job incidents/behaviors
3. Video Conference: interview through live video cam

Question 37

What are problems with the accuracy and reliability of job interviews?

Answer 37

accuracy; more open ended Q’s that lead to difficulty is comparing responses
reliability; interviewer arriving at different evaluation w/ the same applicants, applicant state at the time (nervous, fatigue)

Question 38

How do snap judgements and contrast effects bias job interview evaluations?

Answer 38

snap judgement; arriving at a early overall evaluation of an applicant

Question 39

civ

Answer 39

& ndbdub