Chapter 5

Question 1

A ______
is the process of confirming the accuracy of information provided by an
applicant.

Answer 1

reference check

Question 2

A ______is the expression of an opinion, either orally or through
a written checklist, regarding an applicant’s ability, previous performance, work
habits, character, or potential for future success.

Answer 2

reference

Question 3

A ____ is a letter expressing an opinion regarding an applicant’s ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential for future success. The content and format of a letter of recommendation are determined by the letter writer.

Answer 3

letter of recommendation

Question 4

lying on their résumés about what experience or education

they actually have.

Answer 4

résumé fraud

Question 5

– if an organization hires an applicant without checking references & background, if there’s a crime,
then the company is liable

Answer 5

Negligent hiring

Question 6

the best predictor of future performance is

Answer 6

past performance

Question 7

most of the recommendations are positive

Answer 7

Leniency

Question 8

if a company fails to divulge a fact to other company

Answer 8

Negligent reference

Question 9

– the person writing the letter often does not know the applicant well

Answer 9

Knowledge of the applicant

Question 10

– involves lack of agreement between two people who provide references for the same person. Letters of
recommendation may say more about the person writing the letter than about the person for whom it is being
written

Answer 10

Reliability

Question 11

– the method used by the letter writer is often more important than the actual content. Thus
letters of recommendations often are not great predictors of performance.

Answer 11

Extraneous factors

Question 12

3 ETHICAL GUIDELINES THAT REFERENCE PROVIDERS SHOULD FOLLOW:

Answer 12

a. Explicitly state your relationship
b. Be honest in providing details
c. Let the applicant see your reference before sending it & give him the chance to decline to use it

Question 13

The use of GPA is most predictive in the first few years of graduation. It will result in high levels of adverse impact.

Answer 13

PREDICTING PERFORMANCE USING APPLICANT TRAINING & EDUCATION

Question 14

• Used primarily in the public sector, especially for promotions
• Job Knowledge Tests – designed to measure how much a person knows about a job. They have excellent content &
criterion validity

Answer 14

PREDICTING PERFORMANCE USING APPLICANT KNOWLEDGE

Question 15

designed to measure how much a person knows about a job. They have excellent content &
criterion validity

Answer 15

Job Knowledge Tests

Question 16

– tap the extent to which an applicant can learn or perform a job related skill. Used primarily for occupations
in which applicants are not expected to know how to perform the job at the time of hire.

Answer 16

Ability Tests

Question 17

– oral & written comprehension, oral & written expression, reasoning. Important for professional, clerical,
& supervisory job. Commonly used because they are excellent predictor of employee performance. It has high level of
adverse impact & lack face validity, difficulty of setting a passing score. It is thought to predict work performance in 2 ways:
o By allowing employees to quickly learn job-related knowledge
o By processing information resulting in better decision making
o Wonderlic Personnel Test – most widely used cognitive ability test in industry. 12 mins.

Answer 17

Cognitive ability

Question 18

– most widely used cognitive ability test in industry. 12 mins.

Answer 18

Wonderlic Personnel Test

Question 19

consists of vision (near, far, night, peripheral), color discrimination, depth perception, glare sensitivity, speech (clarity, recognition), and
hearing (sensitivity, auditory attention, sound localization)

Answer 19

Perceptual ability

Question 20

– finger dexterity; useful for jobs as carpenter, police officer etc.

Answer 20

Psychomotor ability

Question 21

– jobs that require physical strength & stamina

Answer 21

Physical ability tests

Question 22

– relative standards indicates how well an individual scores compared to others. Absolute passing
score are set at the minimum level needed to perform a job

Answer 22

Passing score

Question 23

– the applicant performs actual job-related tasks. When a simulation does not involve situational exercise

Answer 23

WORK SAMPLE

Question 24

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

Answer 24

Leaderless group discussions

Question 25

– allow the applicant to demonstrate such attributes as creativity, decision making & ability to
work with others

Answer 25

Business games

Question 26

– selection technique characterized by the use of multiple assessment methods that allow multiple
assessors to actually observe applicants perform simulated job tasks

Answer 26

ASSESSMENT CENTER

Question 27

– designed to simulate the types of daily information that appear on a manager’s or
employee’s desk.

Answer 27

In-basket technique

Question 28

– enable assessors to see an applicant “in action”. Includes role plays, work samples, place an
applicant in a situation that is similar as possible to one that will be encountered on the job

Answer 28

Simulations

Question 29

– experience by itself is not enough

Answer 29

EXPERIENCE RATINGS

Question 30

– a selection method that considers an applicant’s life, school, military, community and work
experience. Good predictor of job performance and best predictor of future employee tenure.

Answer 30

Biodata

Question 31

– obtain information from personnel files on employee’s previous employment,
education, interests & demographics

Answer 31

File approach

Question 32

– biographical questionnaire that is administered to all employees &
applicants

Answer 32

Questionnaire approach

Question 33

– predict performance better than was once thought

Answer 33

PERSONALITY INVENTORIES

Question 34

– determine whether individuals have serious psychological problems
ex ( Projective tests,Rorschach Ink Blot Test, TAT)

Answer 34

psychopathology

Question 35

→ asks individuals to indicate whether they like or dislike 325 items such as
bargaining, repairing electrical wiring & taking responsibility. Answers shows how similar a person is to people
already employed in 89 occupations that have been classified into 23 basic interest scales

Answer 35

Strong Interest Inventory (SII)

Question 36

– helping people find the careers for which they are best suited

Answer 36

Vocational Counseling

Question 37

→ tell an employer the probability that an applicant would steal money or
merchandise.

Answer 37

Integrity tests (honesty tests)

Question 38

s → tap a variety of personality traits related to counterproductive
behavior such as theft, absenteeism & violence.

Answer 38

Personality based integrity test

Question 39

→ the researcher does not know which of the employees is responsible for
the theft

Answer 39

PROBLEMS: “shrinkage”

Question 40

→ reduce inaccurate responses & get a more accurate picture of a
person’s tendency to engage in aggressive/counterproductive behavior

Answer 40

Conditional reasoning tests

Question 41

→ “handwriting”

Answer 41

Graphology