PSY255 - Exam 1 Flashcards
Industrial Organizational Psychology
The application of psychological principles/theory and research to the work setting.
- Science: scientific methods to test hypotheses
- Psychology: understand people as individuals and their behavior.
Industrial Psychology
Individual differences
–Recruiting/selection/training/performance management
Organizational Psychology
Social/motivation
–Teams/leadership/justice/work-life balance.
Different from HR
Application of psychological principles is not there.
Focus on people –> organization goals are secondary
Emphasis on scientific method
Purpose of IO Psych
Design systems for organizations –> selection/training
Discover ways of improving workplaces for the greater well-being of employees and greater productivity.
Usually work with systems, not one-on-one.
Scientist-Practitioner Model: Scientist
Scientist: theory + research –> understand individual/group/organizational behavior through research.
*****Generator of Knowledge
Scientist-Practitioner Model: Practitioner
Practitioner: apply I/O psychology to work settings. External/internet consultants
*****Consumer/Applier of Knowledge
Knowledge Generation
Description: what?
Explanation: why?
Prediction: when?
Control
Micro-research
Study of individual research.
Macro-research
Study of collective behavior.
Meso-research
Interaction between individual and collective behavior.
Scientifi Method
Define research question/gather information.
Form Explanatory hypotheses.
Test hypotheses by gathering data.
Analyze data.
Interpret data/draw conclusions.
Publish results (benefits others and joins the conversation of what findings are).
Retest (not only done by original scientist and may be done outside of original country).
Develop Research Idea/Question
Can come from observation of a problem.
Can come from a theory.
Hypotheses
Prediction/expectation based on knowledge obtained.
Alternative Hypothesis
What you predict to occur: must be something other than ‘nothing will happen.’
Null Hypothesis
Statement that the alternative hypothesis is false.
This is what is being disproven in experiments.
Independent Variable
The predictor, or what is being manipulated in an experiment.
Dependent Variable
The outcome of having changed something in a controlled environment.
Control
Extent to which confounds are eliminated.
Negative correlation with Generalizability.
Generalizability
Extent to which findings apply outside the experimental setting.
Negative correlation with Control.
Experimental Design
Random assignment of participants to conditions.
Non-experimental Design
Doesn’t include treatment/assignment to different conditions.
Observational/survey/correlational design.
More than 50% of IO studies are done in the field.
Quasi-Experimental
Non-random assignment of participants to conditions.
Statistical Power
Likelihood of finding statistically significant difference when true difference exists.
Smaller the sample size, the lower the power to detect a true/real difference.
Statistical Significance
Probability that the results found are due to chance.
Generally accept results that have less than 5% probability of being due just to chance
–> p<.05
Descriptive Statistics
Describing what data looks like: mean median mode.
Inferential Statistics
Making inferences about people given the actual data. Spread of the measurements --Variability: spread of data --S.D.: how far most data is from mean --Skewness: positive/negative
Correlation (r)
Relationship between 2 variables. Positive/negative, strength from 0-1.
Associations
2 conditions/events that appear to change in a related way: may be spurious of real.
No causal relationships: e.g. correlations.
Causal
Condition/event that directly triggers/initiates/brings into being another condition/event.
W/out cause a consequent will not occur: e.g. predictive relationships.
Conditions for Causality
Consistency: effects that can be replicated.
Specificity: no likely alternative explanation.
Temporality: effects always occur after the cause.
Plausibility: plausible linkages between cause/effect.
Coherence: relationship is compatible w/ related facts/theories.
Experiment: must be able to be verified w/ experiment.
Multiple Correlation
Combine variables to see how they are related to a single variable.
Meta-analysis
Combine results from many studies to draw a general conclusion.
Measurement Difficulty
Hard to measure what’s in someone’s head.
Developing Measurements
Researchers usually use top-down or bottom-up.
Top-down: develop items based on theory.
Bottom-up: develop items based on data (focus groups, pilot testing).
Reliability
Stable/consistent: reflects variance in the measurement that is not due to random source of error.
Reflects variance in the measurement that is not due to random source of error.
(r)>.70 –> reliability @/above 70%
Test/Retest Reliability
Scores remain normal over time: correlation between T1 and T2 should be positive/significant.
Equivalent Forms Reliability
Extent to which scores are stable over different forms of a test: correlation between T1 and T2 positive and significant.
Internal Consistency Reliability
Extent to which items w/in test are consistent.
Inter-rater Reliability
Extent to which scores are stable across raters (like equivalent forms, but “forms” are people).
–> How much do raters agree on how well people performed.
Validity
Whether measurements taken accurately represent what is to be measured.
Construct Validity
(Construct = intangible effect on things or theoretical concept/characteristic)
Gather evidence to support decisions/inferences about psychological constructs. Extent that test measures concept intended to measure.
Convergent Validity
Correlate w/ measures of the same thing.
Divergent Validity
Does not correlate highly to something that should be different.
- Measure of sociability and empathy
- Measure intelligence: ACT/IQ should be related/correlate, EC should not.
Content Validity
Demonstrates that content of research measure represents adequate sample of the domain you are assessing.
-Interview for teaching job should incorporate teaching skills, not just research skills.
Criterion-Related Validity
The test positively associated with attitudes/behavior/performance.
Important for selection: validity of GPAs/GREs for grad school or select device for employment.
Correlate one measure with an outcome measure (something you wish to predict): interview rating and job performance.
Face Validity
Extent to which test takers think test is measuring what it purports to measure and extent to which they think it is fair.
Wundt
First psychologist –> laws of human behavior - mostly sensation/perception.
Cattell
Nature of differences Wundt was discovering in humans’ reaction to stimuli
Galton
Heritability of these differences.
Intellectual Ability –> g
Acquire knowledge, solve problems, apply logic.
Measure of intellectual potential.
Cognitive Abilities
Verbal ability.
Quantitative ability.
People are differentially able to acquire them –> more or less ale to do a task –> SAT ACT highly related to cognitive ability.
Physical Abilities
Muscular Strength (tension, power, endurance) Cardiovascular Endurance Movement Quality (flexibility, balance, coordination) Age/Gender differences are large so their use as selection must be preceded by careful analysis of what is required by job (police, firefighter).
Americans with Disabilities Act
Requires that employers provide accommodations when reasonable (UPS pregnancy issue).
Big Five (OCEAN)
Openness (vivid imagination, ideas, reflection)
Conscientiousness (prepared, pays attention)
Extraversion (life of party, comfortable with people)
Agreeableness (interested in ppl)
Emotional Stability (easily stressed, worry about things)
Research on Personalities + Problems with B5
Big 5 not highly correlated with each other or with ability dimensions. B5 related to performance on some jobs.
May be too broad to represent personality factors. May also be combination of aspects of the B5 that are more predictive of job performance.
Personality Measurement
Stable across situations?
Fakeable?
Dealing with Faking: lie scale, warn against faking.
Interests (RIASEC model)
Realistic (practical, active outdoor tasks - farmer, fireman).
Investigate (discover things)
Artistic
Social (working with people and helping)
Enterprising (work with people to make things happen)
Conventional
Performance
Behavior/actions relevant to organization’s goals measurable at individual level. Happens over time and changes –> what people are hired to do well.
Critical for organizations to achieve their objectives and earn profits.
Criteria for Criterion
Criterion deficiency: part of ultimate not captured by actual.
Criterion contamination: irrelevant stuff measured by ‘actual’ (measurement bias)
Maximum vs. Typical Performance
Maximum influenced by ability, typical more a combination of personality and ability. Typical wanted to be closer to maximum.
Campbell’s Determinants of Job Performance
- -Job-specific task proficiency
- -Non-job-specific task proficiency
- -Written/oral communication task proficiency
- -Demonstrating effort
- -Maintaining personal discipline
- -Facilitating peer + team performance
- -Supervision/leadership
- -management + administration
Task Performance
Proficiency @ performing activities that are formally part of the job.
Predicted best by intelligence.
Contextual Performance
Proficiency @ performing activities not typically part of the job but support the organizational.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
Extra-role activities by employees that help maintain broader organizational/social/psychological environment.
5 Types of Contextual Performance
Enthusiasm and extra effort to complete own task activities.
Volunteering to carry out task activities outside of job description.
Helping coping with others.
Follow organizational rules/procedures
Endorse/support/defend organization objectives.
Causes of OCB
Social exchange theory: scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
Conscientiousness
Low structure, high autonomy
Political Climate
Gender stereotypes: women expected to be nicer.
Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB)
Voluntary behavior that violas significant organizational norms/threatens well-being of org/its members/both.
Organizational Deviance
Toward organization
Production Deviance: absence/tardiness/long breaks
Property Deviance: theft/property damage/sabotage
Interpersonal Damage
Toward other people
Sexual harrassment/gossip/verbal abuse.
Adaptive Performance
Additional Type of Performance
People need to be flexible
Not included in Campbell’s model
Jobs vary in (amt flexiblity, type of flexibility required).
8 Types of Adaptive Performance
Handling emergencies/crisis situations
Handling work stress
Solving problems creatively
Dealing with uncertainty/unpredictable work situations
Learning work tasks/technologies/procedures
Demonstrating interpersonal adaptability
Demonstrating cultural adaptability
Demonstrating physically-oriented adaptability.
