Industrial Organizational Psychology Questions Flashcards
According to Holland, a highly differentiated person:
A. is most flexible, possessing traits found in all six personality types.
B. scores high on only one of the six personality types.
C. scores high on two personality types that are on opposite sides of the personality hexagon.
D. has the emotional maturity to effectively deal with many different personality types
B. scores high on only one of the six personality types.
Holland proposed that all behaviors, including career choice, are a function of personality and the social environment. He distinguished between six personality types - realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. A highly differentiated person would be someone who scored high on only one of the personality types. Holland believed that high differentiation would best predict the outcome of a personality and occupational match.
In terms of interviews as selection techniques, which of the following is most consistent with the research?
A. Panel interviews generally have the highest levels of validity, and they are especially valid when an average (versus consensus) rating is derived.
B. When interviewers are given biodata information about an interviewee prior to the interview, interviewers give less credence to interview information when the biodata is not supportive of a decision to hire than when the biodata is very supportive of a decision to hire.
C. Although the research is inconsistent, the best conclusion about interviews is that future-oriented (situational) interviews are more valid than past-oriented (behavior description) interviews regardless of whether the interview is structured or unstructured.
D. One of the difficulties with interviews, even when they are structured, is that they are highly susceptible to gender biases, especially when the interviewee and the interviewer are of different genders.
B. When interviewers are given biodata information about an interviewee prior to the interview, interviewers give less credence to interview information when the biodata is not supportive of a decision to hire than when the biodata is very supportive of a decision to hire.
There is some evidence that interviewers place less importance on interview information when biodata is not very favorable and more importance when it is supportive of a hiring decision. Apparently, a good interview cannot make up for a bad history, but a good history can be supported or canceled out by the results of the interview.
In industrial settings, administration of a trainability test would be done for the purposes of determining whether
A. the examinee is likely to do well on the job.
B. the examinee is likely to do well on a job sample.
C. the examinee will be satisfied on the job.
D. the examinee is suited to train others.
B. the examinee is likely to do well on a job sample.
A trainability test is designed to determine whether or not potential employees are suitable for training. It is not designed to be directly predictive of how well the person will do on the job itself. Instead, it would more directly indicate how well the person would do on a job sample, which is likely to be a part of the training sessions. In fact, trainability tests typically include job samples and are described as a type of job sample.
According to Anne Cleary’s model of test fairness, a job selection test would be considered unfair if
A. Based on the use of the test, a higher proportion of Caucasians than African-Americans are chosen for the job.
B. the test has a higher validity coefficient for Caucasians than for African-Americans.
C. the slope of the test’s regression line is different for African-Americans than for Caucasians.
D. the content of the test is culturally biased.
C. the slope of the test’s regression line is different for African-Americans than for Caucasians.
Under the Cleary model, a test is considered unfair if the slope and/or the y-intercept of the regression line is different for one subgroup than for another. The effect of these statistical phenomena is that differences between subgroups on predictor scores would not be reflective of differences between the groups on the criterion. For instance, low scorers in one subgroup might do just as well on the criterion as high scorers in the other subgroup.
Of the following, the best way to reduce rater errors such as the halo and leniency biases would be
A. use of a forced-choice rating scale.
B. use of the forced distribution rating scale.
C. use of Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales.
D. adequate training of raters.
D. adequate training of raters.
A number of special types of rating scales designed to reduce rater bias (such as the forced-choice and the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales) have been derived, and, in fact, there is some research to show that they are effective in doing so. However, no rating scale will be effective unless raters are trained adequately in its use. Indeed, research shows that relevant training can minimize some rating errors – specifically, the halo effect, constant error such as the leniency or strictness bias, and contrast effects. The operative word here is “relevant”: unless training focuses on matters such as the multi-dimensionality of work performance, objective recording of behavior, and rating people in terms of actual job requirements, training the raters won’t work.
In contrast to traditional organizational culture, a quality-oriented culture emphasizes all of the following except:
A. using cross-training so that each worker can perform a variety of tasks.
B. viewing workers as requiring continuous learning and development.
C. basing rewards on long-term (versus short-term) achievement.
D. rewarding employees for individual (versus group) achievement.
D. rewarding employees for individual (versus group) achievement.
This is the opposite of what is true about organizations that focus on quality where the policy is to emphasize rewarding group performance and organization-level achievement rather than individual achievement (which is characteristic of the traditional approach). The other characteristics listed in the responses are relatively new approaches and are characteristic of “total quality” organizations.
A leader should adopt a “telling” style if:
A. The employee has low ability but high willingness to accept responsibility
B. The employee has high ability but low willingness to accept responsibility
C. The employee’s ability to and willingness to accept responsibility are both high
D. The employee’s ability and willingness to accept responsibility are both low
D. The employee’s ability and willingness to accept responsibility are both low
The “telling style” according to Hersey and Blanchard’s (1974) description, is more effective when an employee’s ability and willingness to accept responsibility are low. This leadership style involves high task orientation and low relationship orientation. With A, the leader should adopt the “selling” style–high task orientation and high relationship orientation. With B, the leader should adopt a “participatory” style–low task orientation and high relationship orientation. With C the leader can use a “delegating style”; both low task and low relationship orientation.
Which of the following work schedules would most likely result in improved job satisfaction? A. five-day fixed day shift B. compressed week C. rotating shifts on a weekly basis D. rotating shifts on a quarterly basis
B. compressed week
The research on alternative work schedules is mixed, however, one consistent finding is that rotating shifts result in lowered productivity and satisfaction, higher accident rates, and more physical and mental health problems. Obviously, the more frequent the change in schedule, the more difficult it would be to adapt. On the other hand, compressed work week schedules, such as the 4/40, usually result in improved job satisfaction and decreased absenteeism. However, compressed schedules usually have no effect on productivity or, depending on the job, possibly a negative affect. (while flextime schedules result in improved productivity, absenteeism, and satisfaction).
In regard to substance use, the Americans with Disabilities Act
A. protects alcoholics and drug addicts as “qualified individuals” with a disability.
B. prohibits administering a drug test to an individual who is participating in a drug rehabilitation program.
C. prohibits drug testing from being administered to a prospective employee after a job offer is made.
D. protects individuals participating in a drug rehabilitation program who are no longer using drugs.
D. protects individuals participating in a drug rehabilitation program who are no longer using drugs.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) does not consider individuals who are “currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs” as suffering from a disability on that basis. In other words, it does not protect current drug users. However, it does protect past substance addicts – as long as the individual is currently participating in or has completed a supervised rehabilitation program, and the person is not currently using drugs.
In regard to drug testing, the act does not identify any circumstances in which drug testing is prohibited. In fact, even though it protects former substance addicts, the Act permits employers to use “reasonable means” – including drug tests – to verify that such persons are no longer using substances.
According to the Ohio State University studies from the 1950s, what are the two dimensions of leadership?
A. consideration and initiating structure
B. employee-centered and production-centered
C. autocratic and democratic
D. authoritarian and laissez-faire
A. consideration and initiating structure
Using a style approach, the Ohio State leadership studies identified two behavioral dimensions of leaders: initiating structure and consideration. These dimensions were treated as independent of each other in contrast to previous studies of leader behavior which placed related dimensions along a single continuum of leadership ranging from employee to production-centered (response “B”). In different models of leadership, the dimension of initiating structure is sometimes referred to as task-orientation and concern for production. The dimension of consideration has also been labeled employee orientation, relations-oriented and concern for people. (See: Stogdill, R. M., and Coons, A. E. (Eds.). (1957). Leader behavior: Its description and measurement. Columbus, OH: Bureau of Business Research, Ohio State University.)
Which of the following theorists related career development to ego identity development? A. Anna Freud B. Super C. Holland D. Tiedeman and O'Hara
D. Tiedeman and O’Hara
Tiedeman and O’Hara based their career development model on Erikson’s psychosocial theory of ego identity development. They proposed that a person develops a vocational identity through a process of many differentiations and reintegrations throughout one’s lifespan. Differentiation comes from the realization that a particular career does not “fit” with one’s personality. Integration involves identification with a career.
Which of the “Big Five” personality traits is most associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder?
A. low on neuroticism, low on agreeableness, and low on conscientiousness
B. low on neuroticism, low on openness, low on extroversion
C. high on neuroticism, low on agreeableness, and low on conscientiousness
D. high on neuroticism, low on openness, low on agreeableness
C. high on neuroticism, low on agreeableness, and low on conscientiousness
The Big Five personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (“OCEAN”) have been matched with several of the personality disorders. Antisocial Personality Disorder was found to be associated with low scores in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and generally higher scores in Neuroticism and Extroversion. Note that “neuroticism” is sometimes referred to as its opposite: “emotional stability”.
You are an organizational process consultant hired by a hospital. Several nurses tell you they feel they’re being overworked and underpaid. In this case, your most likely intervention would be to
A. explain the nurses’ concerns to the hospital administrators.
B. conduct a job analysis to determine how much the nurses deserve to be paid and present your results to the hospital administrators.
C. act with the best interests of the hospital’s patients in mind.
D. help the nurses organize regular meetings with the physicians and administrators to discuss their concerns.
D. help the nurses organize regular meetings with the physicians and administrators to discuss their concerns.
A process consultant, rather than merely correcting problems for his or her client, focuses on an organization’s underlying processes, with the goal of making changes in processes so that individuals within the organization can solve their own problems. Thus, choice D is the best answer, as it is the only one which offers a way in which the nurses and administrators can work together to solve the problem of dissatisfaction with work conditions. By comparison, choices A and B would have the consultant diagnose and “fix” the problem; these interventions would be consistent with the medical rather than the process model of consultation.
