EPPP Practice Questions: I/O Big 6

Question 1

The establishment of comparable worth depends on the use of:

a. a valid needs analysis procedure.
b. a neutral job evaluation procedure.
c. an unbiased job analysis procedure.
d. an unbiased personnel selection procedure.

Answer 1

b. a neutral job evaluation procedure.
According to the principle of comparable worth, men and women who perform jobs that
require similar levels of education, training, and skills should receive similar compensation.
A job evaluation is used to establish comparable worth and, to be useful for this purpose, it
must be unbiased (gender-neutral).

Question 2

Frame-of-reference training is useful for:

a. increasing organizational commitment.
b. management development.
c. increasing job productivity.
d. improving rater accuracy.

Answer 2

d. improving rater accuracy
Frame-of-reference training is used to improve rater accuracy by helping raters become better
observers of behavior.

Question 3

The incorporation of critical incidents into the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale
(BARS):
a. facilitates obtaining the information a supervisor needs to provide useful performance
feedback to employees.
b. reduces rater biases by requiring a supervisor to compare employees who are doing
the same job on critical dimensions of performance.
c. facilitates the rating process by allowing the supervisor to compare an employee’s
performance to a predefined “ideal” standard of performance.
d. reduces the usefulness of performance ratings by focusing only on ineffective or
unsuccessful behaviors.

Answer 3

a. facilitates obtaining the information a supervisor needs to provide useful performance
feedback to employees.
Critical incidents are descriptions of specific job behaviors that are associated with successful
or unsuccessful job performance. Anchoring the points on a job performance rating scale
with critical incidents ensures that the scale provides information that can be used to provide
employees with feedback about their job performance. BARS is one type of rating scale that
uses critical incidents.

Question 4

As defined by the EEOC, adverse impact is suggested when:

a. validity coefficients for different groups differ.
b. selection rates for different groups differ.
c. criterion performance for different groups differ.
d. predictor means for different groups differ.

Answer 4

b. selection rates for different groups differ
As defined in the EEOC’s Uniform Guidelines, adverse impact is occurring when rates of
selection or other employment practices are different for different groups of workers. Several
techniques are used to determine if adverse impact is occurring, including the 80% rule and
evaluating test bias (which involves comparing the slopes and Y-intercepts of the regression
lines for the groups).

Question 5

In the context of training, “identical elements” is associated with:

a. learning past the point of mastery.
b. distributed practice.
c. contingent reinforcement.
d. transfer of training.

Answer 5

d. transfer of training
“Identical elements” refers to providing similar conditions in the training and performance
environments in order to maximize transfer to training.

Question 6

The primary function of a realistic job preview is to:

a. increase the number of applicants for a job.
b. maximize the reliability of job selection procedures.
c. reduce on-the-job conflicts between supervisors and employees.
d. reduce employee dissatisfaction and turnover.

Answer 6

d. reduce employee dissatisfaction and turnover.
Realistic job previews consist of job descriptions, discussions with current employees, work
samples, and/or other procedures or techniques. Two assumptions underlying the use of
realistic job previews are that (a) turnover is related to unrealistic expectations about the job
and (b) providing applicants with accurate information about what the job entails will reduce
unrealistic expectations and thereby decrease dissatisfaction and turnover.

Question 7

Super’s theory of career development predicts that a worker is likely to be most satisfied
when:
a. the job fits his/her self-concept.
b. the job is compatible with his/her ego identity.
c. the job fulfills his/her most prepotent needs.
d. the job offers opportunities for self-actualization.

Answer 7

a. the job fits his/her self-concept
According to Super, the ideal circumstance is for the job to fit the individual’s self-concept,
which is comprised of several elements including the individual’s interests, abilities, and
values.

Question 8

From the perspective of Holland’s approach to career choice and career counseling, a
highly differentiated person:
a. resembles one personality type and no other type.
b. has obtained a personality profile that is unusual or unique.
c. has scored highly on two personality types that are on opposite sides of the
personality/occupational hexagon.
d. has vocational aspirations that are compatible with diverse RIASEC categories.

Answer 8

a. resembles one personality type and no other type
According to Holland, a person is highly differentiated when he/she obtains a high score on
only one personality dimension. He also believed that a personality-occupational match is
most accurate for predicting outcomes for those who are highly differentiated.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT one of the five needs identified in Abraham Maslow’s
need-hierarchy theory?
a. safety
b. social
c. existence
d. esteem

Answer 9

c. existence
From lower- to higher-order, Maslow’s five needs are physiological, safety, social
(belongingness), esteem, and self-actualization. (Existence, relatedness, and growth are the
three needs identified by Alderfer.)

Question 10

Which of the following is central to the predictions made by equity theory?

a. social power
b. social comparison
c. social contagion
d. social penetration theory

Answer 10

b. social comparison
According to equity theory, worker motivation is related to the comparisons workers make
between their own input/outcome ratio and those of other workers doing the same or a
similar job.

Question 11

When she was hired by her company, Polly Persistence was told that she’d be receiving
raises and bonuses as long as her work continues to be satisfactory. Two years later, the
promises made to Polly have not been fulfilled even though she has received good
performance reviews from her supervisor. According to expectancy theory, which of the
following of Polly’s beliefs will be most negatively affected by this situation?
a. valence
b. self-efficacy
c. expectancy
d. instrumentality

Answer 11

d. instrumentality
Expectancy theory proposes that motivation depends on three beliefs — expectancy,
instrumentality, and valence. Instrumentality refers to the belief that one’s performance will
lead to certain rewards.

Question 12

Fiedler’s theory of leadership predicts that a task-oriented leader is most effective
when:
a. the situation is very favorable.
b. the situation is very unfavorable.
c. the situation is moderately favorable.
d. the situation is either very favorable or very unfavorable.

Answer 12

d. the situation is either very favorable or very unfavorable
Fiedler distinguished between task-oriented (low LPC) and person-oriented (high LPC)
leaders. He proposed that the former are most effective when the situation is extreme – either
very favorable or very unfavorable in terms of the leader’s ability to control and influence
subordinates.

Question 13

The team leader tells Bowler A to “do his best” and Bowler B to try to break her
previous record by six points. At the end of game, Bowler A has a score of 158, which is
four points lower than his previous record, and Bowler B has a score of 180, which is seven
points higher than her previous record. This outcome is predicted by which of the following
theories?
a. path-goal theory
b. goal setting theory
c. ERG theory
d. expectancy theory

Answer 13

b. goal setting theory
One of goal setting theory’s predictions is that specific moderately difficult goals are more
effective than easy or ambiguous (“do your best”) goals.

Question 14

According to Hersey and Blanchard’s (1974) situational leadership model, the optimal
leadership style depends on which of the following?
a. the “favorableness” situation
b. the complexity and difficulty level of the task
c. the ability and motivation of employees
d. the expertise and preferences of the leader

Answer 14

c. the ability and motivation of the employees
Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model distinguishes between four leadership
styles (telling, selling, participating, and delegating), with each style being characterized by a
different combination of task- and relationship-orientation. According to this model, the best
leadership style depends on the employee’s job maturity, which is determined by a
combination of ability and willingness to accept responsibility.

Question 15

A transformational leader uses “framing” to:

a. make organizational goals more meaningful to employees.
b. ensure that workers are adequately rewarded for good performance.
c. make sure new employees receive adequate training.
d. ensure that employee performance evaluations are unbiased.

Answer 15

a. make organizational goals more meaningful to employees
A key characteristic of transformational leaders is their ability to motivate employees by
placing goals in a meaningful context.

Question 16

In the 1950s, researchers at Ohio State University developed an influential theory of
leadership that focused on a leader’s:
a. personality traits.
b. behaviors.
c. attitudes toward subordinates.
d. power.

Answer 16

b. behaviors
Results of the Ohio State leadership studies indicated that leaders can be described in terms
of two behavioral dimensions – consideration and initiating structure.

Question 17

According to H. A. Simon, rational-economic decision-making often fails in
organizations as the result of:
a. people’s basic irrationality.
b. a lack of time and information.
c. a lack of acceptable alternatives to choose from.
d. a lack of commitment to the organization’s goals.

Answer 17

b. a lack of time and information
As the result of a lack of time and information, decision makers often do not consider all
possible alternative solutions but, instead, pick the first solution that seems acceptable.

Question 18

The best way to reduce the effects of groupthink on a group’s ability to make good
decisions would be to:
a. actively encourage dissidence and criticism.
b. have the group leader present his/her favored decision at the start of the meeting.
c. increase group cohesion and interdependence.
d. reward group members for making “riskier” decisions.

Answer 18

a. actively encourage dissidence and criticism
Groupthink is most likely to occur in highly cohesive groups when members feel a need to
achieve consensus and, therefore, disregard and discourage consideration of alternative
actions. Actively encouraging dissent and criticism would help disrupt the pattern of
communication that characterizes groupthink.

Question 19

Research suggests that social loafing is MOST likely to occur in which of the following
conditions?
a. large group with low group cohesiveness
b. large group with high group cohesiveness
c. small group with low group cohesiveness
d. small group with high group cohesiveness

Answer 19

a. large group with low group cohesiveness
In one study, R. C. Liden and his colleagues found that social loafing increased as (1) group
size increased, (2) group cohesiveness decreased, (3) perception of task interdependence
increased, (4) task visibility (belief that one’s supervisor is aware of one’s effort) decreased,
and (5) perception of distributive justice (fair pay) decreased [Social loafing: A field
investigation, Journal of Management, 30(2), 285-304, 2004].

Question 20

In contrast to a centralized communication network, decentralized communication
networks are associated with:
a. higher employee productivity for all types of tasks but lower employee satisfaction.
b. lower employee productivity for all types of tasks but higher employee satisfaction.
c. higher employee productivity for complex tasks and higher employee satisfaction.
d. higher employee productivity for simple or routine tasks but lower employee
satisfaction.

Answer 20

c. higher employee productivity for complex tasks and higher employee satisfaction
The research on communication networks has found that centralized networks – for example,
the “chain” and the “Y” – are most effective in terms of productivity for simple tasks, while
decentralized networks – such as the “all-channel” – are better for complex tasks. In addition,
while supervisors and managers are likely to be more satisfied with a centralized network, the
employees (supervisees) tend to be more satisfied with a decentralized network.

Question 21

Lewin’s (1951) force-field model proposes that planned change in organizations
involves which of the following stages?
a. planning, acting, and evaluating
b. envisioning, changing, and re-visioning
c. unfreezing, changing, and refreezing
d. collecting data, providing feedback, and implementing

Answer 21

c. unfreezing, changing, and refreezing
Lewin’s model describes the process of planned change in terms of these three stages:
Unfreezing occurs when the need for change is recognized and steps are taken to make
members of the organization receptive to change; changing involves moving the organization
in the new direction; and refreezing entails supporting the changes that have been made to
help stabilize the organization at a new state of equilibrium.

Question 22

A meta-analysis of the research by Baltes et al. (1999) found that, in terms of job
outcomes, the compressed workweek has the MOST positive impact on:
a. overall job satisfaction.
b. health outcomes.
c. absenteeism and turnover.
d. objective measures of job performance.

Answer 22

a. overall job satisfaction
The research on the effects of the compressed workweek have produced inconsistent results,
but the meta-analysis by Baltes et al. (1999) found that it has positive effects on overall job
satisfaction, satisfaction with the work schedule, and supervisor ratings of performance but
not on objective measures of job performance and absenteeism.