Industrial Psychology Flashcards
Job Analysis: Description/Methods:
systematic method for collecting the information needed to describe job requirements and provide information that helps recruitment, selection, training program design
*information can be obtained by observing employees, perform the job, interviewing employees, supervisors, a reviewing company records.
Job oriented methods- provide information about the characteristics of a task that are performed on the job
Worker Oriented methods- provide information on the knowledge, skills, abilities that a worker needs
PAQ- completed by the job holder, supervisors, and provides quantitative information on six dimensions of worker activity.
Job Analysis vs Job Evaluation
Job Analysis- conducted to clarify the requirements of the job
Job Evaluation- performed to determine the relative worth of jobs in order to set salaries and wages.
Comparable Worth
a technique of job evaluations to ensure that people who are performing work of comparable value receive comparable pay.
Using the same job evaluation technique for all jobs within an organization so that the wages are established on the basis of each jobs inherent value
Objective Vs Subjective Measures
Objective- include quantitative measures such as units produced, sold or rejected , accidents, tardiness and salary.
Subjective Measures: most frequently used performance assessment techniques and take the form of ratings that reflect the judgement of the rater
*supervisors ratings are generally the most reliable
Ultimate vs Actual Criterion
ultimate criterion- known as the conceptual or theoretical criterion and refers to an accurate and complete measure of performance
Actual Criterion- way the performance is actually measured
Relative Rating Techniques: Paired Comparison, Forced Distribution
require the rater to compare the performance of two or more employees to each other
Paired Comparison: rater compares each ratee with every other ratee in pairs on one or more dimensions of job performance
Forced Distribution: involves assigning ratees to a limited number of categories based on a predefined normal distribution on one or more dimensions of job performance
Absolute Rating Technique-
provide information on a ratee’s performance without reference or comparison to other employees
Critical Incident Technique
involves first deriving a checklist of critical incidents by having the supervisor observe employees while they work and record specific behaviors that are associated with outstanding and poor performance.
* only addresses extreme job behaviors*
Forced Choice Rating Scale
consists of two to four alternatives that are considered to be about equal in terms of desirability and the rater selects the alternative that best or least describes the ratee
BARS
Behaviorally anchored rating scale- supervisors or other familiar with the job identify several independent dimensions of job behaviors, (job knowledge, motivation) identify several behavioral anchors( critical incidents) and order and number the behavioral anchors within each dimension from least to most positive or desirable
Rater choses the one behavior for each dimension that best describes the employee.
*easy to provide specific feedback, increases interrater reliabilty,
Rater Biases:
Leniency /Strictness
Leniency and strictness occur when a rater tends to avoid the middle range of a rating scale and rates all employees as either too high ( leniency) or too low( strictness)
Central Tendency Bias
refers to a raters consistent use of only the middle range of the rating scale
Halo Bias
occurs when a raters evaluation of an employee on one dimension of job performance affects his or her evaluation of that employee on other unrelated dimensions or when raters general impression of an employee influences how the rater rates the employee on all dimensions. Can be positive or negative
Frame of reference training
provides raters with a common understanding of the multidimensional nature of job example, provides raters with a common understanding of the job performance, and what is effective and ineffective performance on each dimension
*rater bias can be reduced by having raters rate specific behaviors rather than global or traits.
Adverse Impact/80% Rule
Title VII of the civil rights acts of 1964 and other legislations prohibit discrimination in hiring, placement, training, promotion, and retention on the basis of race, religion, origin, age,
EEOC- equal employment selection procedures-
selection test- has adverse impact when use of that procedure results in a substantially different selection,, placement, or promotion rate for members of that group.
80% ( Four Fifths) Rule- often used to determine if a procedure has an adverse impact,
hiring rate for the majority group is multiplied by 80% to determine the minimum hiring rate for the minority group.
Differential Validity vs unfairness
Differential validity occurs when there is a significant difference in the validity coefficients obtained for subgroups and the correlations found in one or both of these groups are significantly different from zero.
Unfairness- occurs when members of one group consistently obtain lower scores on the predictor than members of another group, but the difference in predictor scores is not related to differences in scores on the criterion.
Reliability:
refers to the extent to which performance on a measure is unaffected by measurement error
Differential Validity vs unfairness
Differential validity occurs when there is a significant difference in the validity coefficients obtained for subgroups and the correlations found in one or both of these groups are significantly different from zero.
Unfairness- occurs when members of one group consistently obtain lower scores on the predictor than members of another group, but the difference in predictor scores is not related to differences in scores on the criterion.
- employer can use of several defenses to jutisfy continued use of the procedure such as a business necessity, prove that its use is required for the safe and efficient operation.
Incremental Validity
increase in decision making accuracy an employer will achieve by using the predictor to make selection decisions
Selection Ratio/Base Rate
is the ratio of job openings to job applicants.
example a selection ratio of 1.50 indicates that there is one job opening for every fifty applicants
Low selection rate- (many applicants for one or a few jobs) is preferred, the employer can raise the predictor cutoff score and thereby reduce the risk of hiring flase positives( individuals who score high on the predictor but low on the criterion)
Base rate- percent of employees who are performing satisfactorily without use of the proposed predictor and ranges in value from 0 to 1.0 .
Moderate base rates ( base rates close to .50) are associated with the greatest incremental validity.
Taylor Russel Tables
can be used to estimate the percent of new hires that will be successful ( the success ratio) as employees given various combinations of validity coefficients, selection ratios, and base rates.
Multiple Regression vs Multiple Cutoff
Multiple Regression: predtictor scores are weighted and summed to yield an estimated criterion score, with each predictor weight being determined by its correlation with the criterion and other predictors.
*compensatory since exceptional performance on one predictor can offset poor performance on another predictor.
Multiple cutoff- noncompensatory which means that a minimum score on each predictor must be obtained before a job applicant will be considered for selection. , can be used in conjunction with multiple regression by first selecting only those people above the minimum cutoff point on all predictors
General mental Cognitive Ability Tests
consistently produce the highest validity coeffiencents across jobs and job settings.
average correlation of .53 when criterion is performance ratings and .75 when criterion is an objective measure of performance
Personality tests/Big 5 traits
can be useful in organizational settings,
**conscioustiousness has been found to be the best predictor of job performance across different jobs, job settings, and criterion measures
BioData
selection tool is based on assumption that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior,
BIB- biographically information blank- empirically derived form that assesses applicants job history, his or her family background, economic history,
**lack face validity because they do not look lke they are related to job performance
Interviews
most commonly used method for obtaining information about job applicants, lower levels of reliability,
maximized when structured interview is used. and combined with another selection procedure.
Work samples/realistic job previews
work samples require an individual to perform tasks similar or identical to those actually performed on the job and are most commonly used to select applicants for jobs requiring clerical, mechanical, or technical skills
Realistic job preview- may include a written description of a job, video, discussion with current workers or strategies,
assessment centers
used to evaulate managerial level personell, most often to determine if lower level managers should be promoted to higher level positions,
evaualted by a team of evaulators on a number of dimensions, with structured interviews, written tests, and situational tests.
*in basket test is probably the best known of the situational tests, requires participants to take action on lettes, memos hat are typically of those encountered by managers.
Leaderless group discussion- having five or six participants work together without an assigned leader to solve a job related problem
Needs Assessment:
training program development begins with needs assessment, consists of 1) organizational analysis to identify organizational goals and determine if training is needed 2) a task anaylsis to identify what must be done to perform the job successfully 3) a person analysis to determine which employees require raining and what knowledge, skills or abilities need to acquire 4) demographic analysis to identify the training needs of different groups of workers
Overlearning
promotes ability to be able to perform a behavior or recall information quickly with little or no conscious attention.
different from overtraining- overtraining is excessive stress due to excessive athletic training, anxiety, depression, decrease in motivation
Identical Elements
identical elements of a training program refers to the degree of similarity between aspects of the learning and performance environment such as materials, conditions
On the Job- Job rotation
involves having trainees perform several jobs over time and is used to train managers,
Off the Job- Vestibule training
makes use of a physical replication or simulation of the work environment and is useful for when on the job training would be too costly or dangerous
Behavioral Modeling
based on banduras social cognitive theory- proposes that learning is facilitated when a person observes a skilled worker perform the target behavior and then is provided with opportunities to practice the behavior,
Kirkpatricks four levels of Criteria
four levels that can be used to assess the effectiveness of training programs:
Reaction: evaluate participants reactions the the program ( satisfaction with the training experience)
Learning: evaulate how much participants actually learn from the training program
Behavioral: assess participants change in performance when they return to the job
Results: asssess the value of the training program in terms of orginizational goals
*result criteria in the most important, most difficult to develop
Kirkpatricks four levels of Criteria
four levels that can be used to assess the effectiveness of training programs:
Reaction: evaluate participants reactions the the program ( satisfaction with the training experience)
Learning: evaulate how much participants actually learn from the training program
Behavioral: assess participants change in performance when they return to the job
Results: asssess the value of the training program in terms of organizational goals
*result criteria in the most important, most difficult to develop
Utility Analysis
used in organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs as well as other procedures and programs using mathematical equation to derive and estimate of institutional gain or loss
Formative and Summative Evaluations
Formative- conducted while training program is being developed, results used to make changes to the program before it is implemented
Summative- conducted after a program has been implemented in order to assess its outcomes and may include determining how much trainees have learned
Super’s Life Space, Life span Theory
proposed a life space life span theory of career development that integrates self concept, life span and life space
Self concept
product of inheirted aptitudes, phsycial makeup, and social learning experiences
Self concept changes over the life span but becomes more stable with increasing age,
Job satisfaction, stability, and success depend on the extent to which a job matches the individuals self concept