chapter 1: The Field of I/O Psychology Flashcards
A branch of
psychology that applies the
principles of psychology to the
workplace
Industrial-organizational
psychology
The
field of study that concentrates
on the selection and evaluation
of employees.
Personnel psychology
The field of study
that investigates the behavior of
employees within the context of
an organization
Organizational
psychology
A field of
study concentrating on the interaction between humans and
machines
Human factors
An intelligence
test developed during World
War I and used by the army for
soldiers who can read
Army Alpha
An intelligence
test developed during World
War I and used by the army for
soldiers who cannot read.
Army Beta
two
pioneers in I/O
psychology.
Frank and Lillian
Gilbreth
A series
of studies, conducted at the
Western Electric plant in
Hawthorne, Illinois, that have
come to represent any change in
behavior when people react to a
change in the environment.
Hawthorne studies
When
employees change their behavior
due solely to the fact that they
are receiving attention or are
being observed
Hawthorne effect
A standardized admission
test required by most psychology
graduate schools
Graduate Record Exam
(GRE)
programs Graduate programs
that offer a master’s degree but
not a Ph.D.
Terminal master’s degree
A situation in
which a student works for an
organization, either for pay or as
a volunteer, to receive practical
work experience
Internship
A paid or unpaid
position with an organization
that gives a student practical
work experience
Practicum
A formal
research paper required of
most doctoral students in
order to graduate.
Dissertation
An educated
prediction about the answer to
a research question.
Hypothesis
A systematic set of
assumptions regarding the cause
and nature of behavior
Theory
A written collection
of articles describing the methods and results of new research
Journals
A collection of articles for those “in the
biz,” about related professional
topics, seldom directly reporting
the methods and results of new
research
Trade magazines
An unscientific
collection of articles about a
wide range of topics.
Magazines
The extent
to which research results can be
expected to hold true outside
the specific setting in which they
were obtained
External validity
Like external validity, the extent to which
research results hold true outside
the specific setting in which they
were obtained.
Generalizability
Research
conducted in a natural setting as
opposed to a laboratory
Field research
The formal process by which subjects
give permission to be included in
a study
Informed consent
A committee designated to ensure the ethical
treatment of research subjects.
Institutional review
boards
The result of
a well-controlled experiment
about which the researcher can
confidently state that the independent variable caused the
change in the dependent
variable.
Cause-and-effect
relationships
A type of
research study in which the
independent variable is
manipulated by the
experimenter.
Experiment
The alteration
of a variable by an experimenter
in expectation that the alteration
will result in a change in the
dependent variable.
Manipulation
The
manipulated variable in an
experiment
Independent variable
The
measure of behavior that is
expected to change as a result of
changes in the independent
variable.
Experiment
Dependent variable
In an
experiment, the group of subjects that receives the experimental treatment of interest to
the experimenter.
Experimental group
A group of
employees who do not receive a
particular type of training so that
their performance can be compared with that of employees
who do receive training
Control group
Research method in which the
experimenter either does not
manipulate the independent
variable or in which subjects are
not randomly assigned to
conditions
Quasi-experiments
Research
that involves the use of previously collected data
Archival research
Another method of conducting research is to ask people their opinion on
some topic.
Surveys
is a statistical method of reaching conclusions based
on previous research.
Meta-analysis
Used in metaanalysis, a statistic that indicates
the amount of change caused by
an experimental manipulation.
Effect size
Used in
meta-analysis, a statistic that is
the average of the effect sizes for
all studies included in the
analysis
Mean effect size
A
statistic, resulting from performing a correlation, that indicates the magnitude and
direction of a relationship.
Correlation coefficients
A type of
effect size used in meta-analysis
that is signified by the letter d
and indicates how many standard deviations separate the
mean score for the experimental
group from the control group.
Difference score
The
extent to which the results of a
study have actual impact on
human behavior
Practical significance
A sample
in which every member of the
relevant population had an equal
chance of being chosen to participate in the stud
Random sample
A
nonrandom research sample that
is used because it is easily
available
Convenience sample
The
random, unbiased assignment of
subjects in a research sample to
the various experimental and
control conditions
Random assignment
the
subject in an experiment about
the purpose of the study in
which he or she was a participant and providing any other
relevant information.
Debriefed Informing
A statistical procedure used to measure the
relationship between two
variables
Correlation
A
third variable that can often
explain the relationship between
two other variables.
Intervening variable
The idea that
organizations tend to promote
good employees until they reach
the level at which they are not
competent—in other words,
their highest level of
incompetence
Peter Principle
Employees are often evaluated with forms
that use such vague categories as “dependability,” “knowledge,” and “initiative.
Performance Appraisal
It is useful for determining
pay levels, transfers, and promotions
Job Classification
Obtaining information about a
job by talking to a person performing
Job analysis interview
A process in
which employees unofficially
change their job duties to better
fit their interests and skills.
Job Crafting
Sources such as supervisors and incumbents who are
knowledgeable about a job.
Subject-matter experts
(SMEs)
The person conducting the job analysis
Job analyst
A group job
analysis interview consisting of
subject-matter experts (SMEs).
SME conference
