I/O Psychology Flashcards
Title VII of the CIvil RIghts Act of 1964
Title VII is the original Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Act
States that one cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, ethnicity, and a variety of other factors
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) created Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection in 1978
Use of any test that adversely affects hiring, promotion, or selection procedures constitutes discrimination
Use of such a test may still be acceptable IF test is validated, has utility, and no alternatives are available
Americans with Disabilities Act
1990
Bans discrimination in employment, transportation, access to public buildings, other settings
Requires that companies make reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals
Discrimination according to ADA
Using standards, employment tests, or other selection criteria that screen out an individual with a disability or class of individuals with disabilities, unless the test or criteria is shown to be job related and consistent with business necessity
ADA and substance anbuse
Prohibits discrimination against someone who has successfully completed or is currently participating in a drug rehab program and is no longer using drugs
NO stance for or against drug testing
Griggs vs. Duke Power Company (1971)
Court ruled that tests that measured broad abilities, in which minority group members passed at much lower rates than Whites, were unfair to use to make decisions of hiring and promotion
THUS, broad general testing was faulted and requirement was established that tests measure skills necessary for a particular job
Adverse Impact
80% or 4/5ths rule
Percentage of minorities selected must be at least 4/5ths of the percentage of non-minorities
Multiple selection rate for non-minorities by .80 to determine minimal acceptable rate for selection of minorities
Adverse impact example
Selection ratio for non-minority applications = 20/100=.20
Multiple .20*/80 = .16
Minimum acceptable rate for the selection of minority applicants would be 16%
Unfairness
When minorities and non-minorities score differently on the predictor test yet perform similarly on the criterion
Some theorists argue that unfairness rarely occurs
A cause of adverse impact
e.g. MCAT. Minorities routinely score lower but once in med school, perform just as well as non-minority counterparts
Differential Validity
When there are significantly different criterion-related validity coefficients for different groups on the same test
i.e. test is more valid for producing the performance of one group than it is for performance of another
Research suggests differential validity rarely occurs
Job analysis
Procedure for collection and analysis of data that provides information about the job tasks (job description) and job requirements (job specifications)
Involves identifying the skills, knowledge, etc required for successful job performance
How can data for a job analysis be obtained
Open-ended or structured interviews
Critical incident technique
Critical incident technique
involves ascertaining the specific actions that lead to desirable (successful) or undesirable (unsuccessful) consequences on the job
employee selection - biodata
standard application blank
weighted application blank- assigns weights to certain variables (e.g. college vs non-college grads)
biographical inventory aka biographical information blank (BIB) covers applicants life in greater detail
interviews
have worst criterion-related validity
better if structured, there are multiple interviewers, if interviewers are trained
interviewer biases
first impression, negative information, the contrast effect, interviewer prejudices, and the halo effect
first impression bias
tendency of the interviewer to be swayed by an initial impression of the candidate and to overlook the candidate’s presentation throughout the remainder of the interview
negative information bias
tendency for one or two negative items to cause the interviewer to overlook strengths or accomplishments
contrast effect
occurs when an interviewer’s ratings of a candidate are affected by the performance of a previous candidate (e.g. mediocre candidate gets rated more highly because the previous candidate was extremely pour)
interviewer prejudices
personal likes, dislikes, and beliefs of the interviewer that biases his or her view of the candidate
halo effect
generalizing from one characteristic to the entire candidate in either a positive or negative direction
commonly occurring halo effect - attractive individuals frequently seen as more competent, effective, and trustworthy
cognitive ability tests as a predictor of job performance
cognitive ability (e.g. Wonderlic Personality Test) and aptitude (e.g. typing tests) are very commonly used and tend to be quite good predictors of job success
personality tests
poor predictors of job performance
interest tests as predictor of job performance and job satisfaction
e.g. Holland’s Self-Directed Search
poor predictors of job success by DO correlate with job satisfaction
work sample tests and validity
both high content and criterion-related validity
tend to be more valid for minorities in comparison with other types of testing
test batteries as predictor of job performance
almost exclusively used in upper management and good predictors of job performance
assessment center
aka situational testing first used by German army in 1920s involves work samples very good criterion-related validity method of selection that places new job applicants and candidates for promotion in a simulated job situation so that their behaviors under stress can be observed or evaluated
assessment centers usually involve…
6 to 12 candidates at a time
work through series of exercises over several days
extensive interviews
may be given intelligence and personality tests, but most time devoted to exercises that simulate actual problems of high-level work
in-basket technique
presents applicants with typical problems and questions that managers would expect to find when they return from a vacation
leaderless group discussion
applicants meet as a group to discuss an actual business problem
leadership qualities and communication styles observed
references and letters of recommendation
often misleading because candidates tend to seek them from those who will give them favorable reviews
multiple regression approach to selection
compensatory technique - low scores on one predictor can be compensated by high scores on another predictor
multiple cutoff approach to selection
noncompensatory technique
only candidates who meet or exceed cutoff on each of the predictors will be considered
multiple hurdle approach
noncompensatory technique
predictors applied in a particular order and an applicant must pass the cutoff score on the first predictor to continue in the selection procedure
performance is a function of
ability, motivation, and opportunity
ability
research have found no differences in overall abilities between men and women
women tend to have lower expectations of success
motivation
reflected by person’s willingness to perform and can be measured by work effort
opportunity
related to environmental variables, including organizational support
performance appraisals - methods
objective, subject, focused on results rather than merit (e.g. management by objectives (MBO))
two types of subjective methods of performance appraisals
comparative vs. individual methods
comparative methods of performance appraisals
straight rankings
forced distribution
paired comparison
straight rankings
listing workers from best to worst
forced distribution
people are ranked to fit a distribution (e.g. few at top and bottom with most in middle)
paired comparison
each employee compared to every other employee in pairs
graphic ratings scales
ratings on several aspects of a job
BARS (behaviorally anchored ratings scales)
behavioral anchors based on critical incidents e.g. ranked on various aspects of the job that are linked to successful job performance
BOS (behavioral observation scale)
rating the extent to which a person engages in every behavior e.g. finishes projects on time
forced choice
rater must choose between two seemingly equally desirable or undesirable choices e.g. is reliable/agreeable, is headstrong/slow
behavioral checklist
checks off all adjectives that apply to the employee being rated
individual (absolute) methods of performance appraisals
graphic ratings scale BARS (behaviorally anchored rating scales) BOS (behavioral observation scale) forced choice behavioral checklist
management by objectives (MBO)
mutual agreement between employees and supervisors on goals to be achieved in a given time
2 phases: goal-setting and performance review
effectiveness of MBO
effective in increasing motivation and productivity
average gain of 44.6% (Rodgers & Hunter, 1991)
errors in evaluation
come from both instrument errors and rater errors
rater errors account for more significant problems
instrument errors in evaluation
deficiency and contamination errors
deficiency errors
excluding important aspects of the job from evaluations
contamination errors
rating an employee on a non-important aspect of the job
rater errors
task-based rater biases
ratee-based biases
task-based rater biases
occur when rater adopts an evaluation set based on the task
strictness set - rater overly strict, gives everyone low ratings
leniency set - rater is overly lenient and gives everyone high ratings
central tendency set - rater tends to rate everyone as about average
ratee-based biases
halo error - individual’s performance rating is based on one positive or negative aspect of the individual (e.g. style of dress)
personal biases - such as prejudices of certain ethnicities
supervisors tend to rate______more favorable
persons of their own race
Schmitt & Lappin, 1980
black and white raters gave lower performance appraisals to___________
black workers than white workers
Sackett & Dubois, 1991
women’s ratings were lower when they constituted less than ________ but higher when they constituted________
20% of the work group
more than 50% of the work group
older workers tend to be rated lower on________ and __________
interpersonal skills
overall job performance
recency biases
tendency of an evaluator to be most influenced by an employee’s recent behaviors
attribution errors
tendency of supervisors to attribute poor performance to internal factors for workers they don’t like and external factors for workers they do like
supervisors tend to rate employees higher when…
the supervisor participated in the hiring decision
strategies to improve ratings
training raters with instruments to be used
using multiple raters
having raters rate on an ongoing basis rather than once or twice per year
basing performance on clear and specific performance standards obtained through a job analysis
frame of reference training
successful strategy for reducing rater error
raters provided with clear and specific criteria for what constitutes the different levels of performance
non-participation training
e.g. watching video, listening to lecture
programmed instruction
makes use of booklets, interactive videotapes, and complex computer software
involves gradual presentation of material with feedback at each step
computer assisted instruction
derivative of programmed instruction
instruction is computer based
simulation training
training in environment that simulates actual job
job rotation
exposing trainees (usually managers) to different jobs and departments to acquaint them with all faces of the organization
group participation training
discussion, role playing, business games, sensitivity training, in-basket training, behavioral modeling
effect of individual differences on training
training does not always equalize differences in ability, it may actually magnify them
individual differences in ability to be trained can be predicted through cognitive tests, biographical dangers, attitude measures, and work samples
effect of pre-training expectations on training
individuals with a low sense of self-efficacy are less receptive than those with a high sense of self-efficacy
effect of motivation on training
trainees with higher levels of motivation learn more and are more likely to complete programs
motivation is affected by one’s sense of job involvement and by locus of control
active versus passive practice - effect on training
trainees learn the most when they are actively involved in the process
massed vs distributed (spaced) practice - effect on training
massed practice - providing all training in short period (e.g. one day)
spaced practice - training conducted over several session
in general, spaced practice is better for learning
whole and part learning - effect on training
whole learning - presenting the material all at once
part learning - presenting the material in smaller units
slower learners may be better able to master new materials when it is presented in smaller units
transfer of training - effect on training
application of training material to the work setting
to enhance transfer of training - overlearning and identical elements (similarity between training situation and actual work situation)
feedback - effect on training
people learn best with feedback
feedback should be offered as soon as possible
training is better when program allows for frequent feedback
reinforcement - effect on training
reinforcement affects speed of learrning
greater the reward, more rapidly the behavior will be learned
initially - continuous reinforcement, latter, reinforcement can be thinned
structural vs. developmental theories of career development
structural - focus on individual traits and occupational tasks (e.g. Holland’s theory)
developmental - focus on development across the life span (e.g. Super’s theory)
Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory
major assumption = individuals and job traits can be matched and close matches will correlate with job success and satisfaction
Holland’s typology of personality and work environments
RIASEC Realistic Investigative Artistic Social Enterprising Conventional
Holland’s Self Directed Search
each person receives a code with the letters that represent his/her personality (e.g. RI for realistic and investigative)
person can receive up to 3 letter codes
first letter represents dominant personality type
Realistic (Holland’s Typology)
Prefers physical activities that require skill, strength, and coordination
e.g. mechanic, drill press operator, farmer
