IO Psychology Definitions - Chapter 1, 2, 4, 5 PDF

**[Chapter 1]** **Industrial/organizational psychology** A branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace. **Scientist-practitioner model** A teaching model in which students are trained first to be scientists and second to be able to apply the science of their fie...

**[Chapter 1]** **Industrial/organizational psychology** A branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace. **Scientist-practitioner model** A teaching model in which students are trained first to be scientists and second to be able to apply the science of their field to find solutions to real- world problems. **Personnel psychology** The field of study that concentrates on the selection and evaluation of employees. **Organizational psychology** The field of study that investigates the behavior of employees within the context of an organization. **Human factors** A field of study concentrating on the interaction between humans and machines. **Army Alpha** An intelligence test developed during World War I and used by the army for soldiers who can read. **Army Beta** An intelligence test developed during World War I and used by the army for soldiers who cannot read. **Hawthorne studies** A series of studies, conducted at the Western Electric plant in Hawthorne, Illinois, that have come to represent any change in behavior when people react to a change in the environment. **Hawthorne effect** When employees change their behavior due solely to the fact that they are receiving attention or are being observed. **Graduate Record Exam (GRE)** A standardized admission test required by most psychology graduate schools. **Terminal master's degree programs** Graduate programs that offer a master's degree but not a Ph.D. **Internship** A situation in which a student works for an organization, either for pay or as a volunteer, to receive practical work experience. **Practicum** A paid or unpaid position with an organization that gives a student practical work experience. **Dissertation** A formal research paper required of most doctoral students to graduate. **Hypothesis** An educated prediction about the answer to a research question. **Theory** A systematic set of assumptions regarding the cause and nature of behavior. **Bridge publication** A publication with the goal of bridging the gap between the research conducted by academics and the practical needs of practitioners. **Journals** A written collection of articles describing the methods and results of new research. **Trade magazines** A collection of articles for those "in the biz," about related professional topics, seldom directly reporting the methods and results of new research. **Magazines** An unscientific collection of articles about a wide range of topics. **Laboratory research** Research that is conducted in a laboratory setting that can be controlled more easily than research conducted in a field setting. **External validity** The extent to which research results can be expected to hold true outside the specific setting in which they were obtained. **Generalizability** Like external validity, the extent to which research results hold true outside the specific setting in which they were obtained. **Field research** Research conducted in a natural setting as opposed to a laboratory. **Informed consent** The formal process by which subjects give permission to be included in a study. **Institutional review boards** A committee designated to ensure the ethical treatment of research subjects. **Cause-and-effect relationships** The result of a well-controlled experiment about which the researcher can confidently state that the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable. **Experiment** A type of research study in which the independent variable is manipulated by the experimenter. **Manipulation** The alteration of a variable by an experimenter in expectation that the alteration will result in a change in the dependent variable. **Independent variable** The manipulated variable in an experiment. **Dependent variable** The measure of behavior that is expected to change as a result of changes in the independent variable. **Experimental group** In an experiment, the group of subjects that receives the experimental treatment of interest to the experimenter. **Control group** In an experiment, the group of subjects that does not receive the experimental treatment of interest to the experimenter, so that their results can be compared with those of subjects who do receive the treatment. **Quasi-experiments** Research method in which the experimenter either does not manipulate the independent variable or in which subjects are not randomly assigned to conditions. **Archival research** Research that involves the use of previously collected data. **Effect size** Used in meta- analysis, a statistic that indicates the amount of change caused by an experimental manipulation. **Meta-analysis** A statistical method for cumulating research results. **Mean effect size** Used in meta-analysis, a statistic that is the average of the effect sizes for all studies included in the analysis. **Correlation coefficients** A statistic, resulting from performing a correlation, that indicates the magnitude and direction of a relationship. **Difference score** A type of effect size used in meta-analysis that is signified by the letter *d* and indicates how many standard deviations separate the mean score for the experimental group from the control group. **Practical significance** The extent to which the results of a study have actual impact on human behavior. **Standard deviation (SD)** A statistic that indicates the variation of scores in a distribution. **Random sample** A sample in which every member of the relevant population had an equal chance of being chosen to participate in the study. **Convenience sample** A nonrandom research sample that is used because it is easily available. **Random assignment** The random, unbiased assignment of subjects in a research sample to the various experimental and control conditions. **Debriefing** Informing the subject in an experiment about the purpose of the study in which they were a participant and providing any other relevant information. **Correlation** A statistical procedure used to measure the relationship between two variables. **Intervening variable** A third variable that can often explain the relationship between two other variables. **[Chapter 2]** **Job analysis** The process of identifying how a job is performed, the conditions under which it is performed, and the personal requirements it takes to perform the job. **Job description** A written summary of the tasks performed in a job, the conditions under which the job is performed, and the requirements needed to perform the job. **Peter Principle** The idea that organizations tend to promote good employees until they reach the level at which they are not competent---in other words, their highest level of incompetence. **Uniform Guidelines** Federal guidelines used to guide an employer in establishing fair selection methods. **Job analysis interview** Obtaining information about a job by talking to a person performing it. **Grade** A cluster of jobs of similar worth. **Job specifications** A relatively dated term that refers to the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform a job. "Competencies" is the more common term used today. **Knowledge** A body of information needed to perform a task. **Other characteristics** Such personal factors as personality, willingness, and interest that are not knowledge, skills, or abilities. **KSAOs** *K*nowledge, *s*kills, *a*bilities, and *o*ther characteristics required to perform a job. **Competencies** The knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed to perform a job. **Job crafting** A process in which employees unofficially change their job duties to better fit their interests and skills. **Subject-matter experts (SMEs)** Sources such as supervisors and incumbents who are knowledgeable about a job. **Job analyst** The person conducting the job analysis. **SME conference** A group job analysis interview consisting of subject- matter experts (SMEs). **Ammerman technique** A job analysis method in which a group of job experts identifies the objectives and standards to be met by the ideal worker. **Observations** A job analysis method in which the job analyst watches job incumbents perform their jobs. **Job participation** A job analysis method in which the job analyst actually performs the job being analyzed. **Task inventory** A questionnaire containing a list of tasks each of which the job incumbent rates on a series of scales such as importance and time spent. **Task analysis** The process of identifying the tasks for which employees need to be trained. **Skill** Proficiency to perform a particular task **Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)** A structured job analysis\ method developed by McCormick. **Job Structure Profile (JSP)** A revised version of the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) designed to be used more by the job analyst than by the job incumbent. **Job Elements Inventory (JEI)** A structured job analysis technique developed by Cornelius and Hakel that is similar to the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) but easier to read. **Functional Job Analysis (FJA)** A job analysis method developed by Fine that rates the extent to which a job incumbent is involved with functions in the categories of data, people, and things. **Job Components Inventory (JCI)** A structured job analysis technique that concentrates on worker requirements for performing a job rather than on specific tasks. **AET** An ergonomic job analysis method developed in Germany (*Arbeitswissenschaftliches Erhebungsverfahren zur Tätigkeitsanalyse*). **Occupational Information Network (O\*NET)** The job analysis system\ used by the federal government that has replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). **Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)** A directory that was published by the federal government that supplied information for almost 30,000 jobs. It has been replaced by O\*NET. **Critical Incident Technique (CIT)** The job analysis method developed by John Flanagan that uses written reports of good and bad employee behavior. **Threshold Traits Analysis (TTA)** A 33-item questionnaire developed by Lopez that identifies traits necessary to successfully perform a job. **Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS)** A job analysis method in which jobs are rated on the basis of the abilities needed to perform them. **Job Adaptability Inventory (JAI)** A job analysis method that taps the extent to which a job involves eight types of adaptability. **Personality-Related Position Requirements Form (PPRF)** A job analysis instrument that helps determine the personality requirements for a job. **Job evaluation** The process of determining the monetary worth of a job. **Internal pay equity** The extent to which employees within an organization are paid fairly compared with other employees within the same organization. **Compensable job factors** Factors, such as responsibility and education requirements, that differentiate the relative worth of jobs. **Wage trend line** A line that represents the ideal relationship between the number of points that a job has been assigned (using the point method of evaluation) and the salary range for that job. **External equity** The extent to which employees within an organization are paid fairly compared with employees in other organizations. **Salary surveys** A questionnaire sent to other organizations to see how much they are paying their employees in positions similar to those in the organization sending the survey. **Direct compensation** The amount of money paid to an employee (does not count benefits, time off, etc.). **[Chapter 4]** **Recruitment** The process of attracting employees to an organization. **External recruitment** Recruiting employees from outside the organization. **Internal recruitment** Recruiting employees already employed by the organization. **Point-of-purchase method** A recruitment method in which help- wanted signs are placed so that they can be viewed by people who visit the organization. **Virtual job fairs** A job fair held on campus in which students can "tour" a company online, ask questions of recruiters, and electronically send résumés. **Executive search firms** Employment agencies, often also called headhunters, that specialize in placing applicants in high- paying jobs. **Employment agency** An organization that specializes in finding jobs for applicants and finding applicants for organizations looking for employees. **Public employment agency** An employment service operated\ by a state or local government, designed to match applicants with job openings. **Employee referral** A method of recruitment in which a current employee refers a friend or family member for a job. **Direct mail** A method of recruitment in which an organization sends out mass mailings of information about job openings to potential applicants. **Job fairs** A recruitment method in which several employers are available at one location so that many applicants can obtain information at one time. **Cost per applicant** The amount of money spent on a recruitment campaign divided by the number of people that subsequently apply for jobs as a result of the recruitment campaign. **Cost per qualified applicant** The amount of money spent on a recruitment campaign divided by the number of qualified people that subsequently apply for jobs as a result of the recruitment campaign **Realistic job preview (RJP)** A method of recruitment in which job applicants are told both the positive and the negative aspects of a job. **Expectation-lowering procedure (ELP)** A form of RJP that lowers an applicant's expectations about the various aspects of the job. **Employment interview** A method of selecting employees in which an interviewer asks questions of an applicant and then makes an employment decision based on the answers to the questions as well as the way in which the questions were answered. **Structured interviews** Interviews in which questions are based on a job analysis, every applicant is asked the same questions, and there is a standardized scoring system so that identical answers are given identical scores. **Unstructured interview** An interview in which applicants are not asked the same questions and in which there is no standard scoring system to score applicant answers. **Primacy effects** The fact that information presented early in an interview carries more weight than information presented later **Contrast effect** When the performance of one applicant affects the perception of the performance of the next applicant. **Negative information bias** The fact that negative information receives more weight in an employment decision than does positive information. **Nonverbal communication** Factors such as eye contact and posture that are not associated with actual words spoken. **Clarifier** A type of structured interview question that clarifies information on the résumé or application **Disqualifier** A type of structured interview question in which a wrong answer will disqualify the applicant from further consideration. **Skill-level determiner** A type of structured-interview question designed\ to tap an applicant's knowledge or skill. **Future-focused question** A type of structured interview question in which applicants are given a situation and asked how they would handle it. **Situational question** A structured-interview technique in which applicants are presented with a series of situations and asked how they would handle each one. **Past-focused questions** A type of structured-interview question that taps an applicant's experience. **Patterned-behavior description interviews (PBDIs)** Astructured interview in which the questions focus on behavior in previous jobs. **Organizational-fit questions** A type of structured-interview question that taps how well an applicant's personality and values will fit with the organizational culture. **Right/wrong scoring** A method of scoring interview questions in which the answer is either right or wrong (e.g., What is the legal drinking age in Virginia?). **Typical-answer approach** A method of scoring interview answers that compares an applicant's answer with benchmark answers. **Benchmark answers** Standard answers to interview questions, the quality of which has been agreed on by job experts. **Key-issues approach** A method of scoring interview answers that provides points for each part of an answer that matches the scoring key. **Cover letters** A letter that accompanies a résumé or job application. **Résumés** A formal summary of an applicant's professional and educational background. **Averaging versus adding model** A model proposed by Anderson that postulates that our impressions are based more on the average value of each impression than on the sum of\ the values for each impression. **[Chapter 5]** **Reference check** The process of confirming the accuracy of résumé and job application information. **Reference** The expression of an opinion, either orally or through a written checklist, regarding an applicant's ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential for future success. **Letter of recommendation** A letter expressing an opinion regarding\ an applicant's ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential for success. **Résumé fraud** The intentional placement of untrue information on a résumé. **Negligent hiring** A situation in which an employee with a previous criminal record commits a crime as part of their employment. **Validity coefficient** The correlation between scores on a selection method (e.g., interview, cognitive ability test) and a measure of job performance (e.g., supervisor rating, absenteeism). **Corrected validity** A term usually found with meta-analysis, referring to a correlation coefficient that has been corrected for predictor and criterion reliability and for range restriction. Corrected validity is sometimes called "true validity." **Negligent reference** An organization's failure to meet its legal duty to supply relevant information to a prospective employer about a former employee's potential for legal trouble. **Reliability** The extent to which a score from a test or from an evaluation is consistent and free from error. **Job knowledge tests** A test that measures the amount of job-related knowledge an applicant possesses **Ability** A basic capacity for performing a wide range of different tasks, acquiring knowledge, or developing a skill. **Cognitive ability** Abilities involving the knowledge and use of information such as math and grammar. **Cognitive ability tests** Tests designed to measure the level of intelligence or the amount of knowledge possessed by an applicant. **Wonderlic Personnel Test** The cognitive ability test that is most commonly used in industry. **Perceptual ability** Measure of facility with such processes as spatial relations and form perception. **Psychomotor ability** Measure of facility with such processes as finger dexterity and motor coordination. **Physical ability** Tests that measure an applicant's level of physical ability required for a job. **Assessment center** A method of selecting employees in which applicants participate in several job-related activities, at least one of which must be a simulation, and are rated by several trained evaluators. **Unproctored internet- based testing** An assessment method that can be taken virtually at any time and place and on the device of the applicant's choosing. **In-basket technique** An assessment center exercise designed to simulate the types of information that daily come across a manager's or employee's desk in order to observe the applicant's responses to such information. **Simulations** An exercise designed to place an applicant in a situation that is similar to the one that will be encountered on the job. **Work samples** A method of selecting employees in which an applicant is asked\ to perform samples of actual job-related tasks. **Leaderless group discussion** A selection technique, usually found in assessment centers, in which applicants meet in small groups and are given a problem to solve or an issue to discuss. **Business simulation games** An exercise, usually found in assessment centers, that is designed to simulate the business and marketing activities that take place in an organization. **Gamification** The application of game-like elements to traditional assessments. **Biodata** A method of selection involving application blanks that contain questions that research has shown will predict job performance. **File approach** The gathering of biodata from employee files rather than by questionnaire. **Questionnaire approach** The method of obtaining biodata from questionnaires rather than from employee files. **Criterion groups** Division of employees into groups based on high and low scores on a particular criterion. **Vertical percentage method** For scoring biodata in which the percentage of unsuccessful employees responding in a particular way is subtracted from the percentage of successful employees responding in the same way. **Derivation sample** A group of employees who were used in creating the initial weights for a biodata instrument. **Hold-out sample** A group of employees who are not used in creating the initial weights for\ a biodata instrument but instead are used to double-check the accuracy of the initial weights. **Personality inventory** A psychological assessment designed to measure various aspects of an applicant's personality. **Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)** The most widely used objective test of psychopathology. **Projective tests** A subjective test in which a subject is asked to perform relatively unstructured tasks, such as drawing pictures, and in which a psychologist analyzes their responses. **Rorschach Inkblot Test** A projective personality test. **Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)** A projective personality test in which test-takers are shown pictures and asked to tell stories. It is designed to measure various need levels. **Objective tests** A type of personality test that is structured to limit the respondent to a few answers that will be scored by standardized keys. **Interest inventory** A psychological test designed to identify vocational areas in which an individual might be interested. **Strong Interest Inventory (SII)** A popular interest inventory used to help people choose careers. **Vocational counseling** The process of helping an individual choose and prepare for the most suitable career. **Integrity test** Also called an honesty test; a psychological test designed to predict an applicant's tendency to steal. **Polygraph** An electronic test intended to determine honesty by measuring an individual's physiological changes after being asked questions. **Voice stress analyzer** An electronic test to determine honesty by measuring an individual's voice changes after being asked questions. **Overt integrity tests** A type of honesty test that asks questions about applicants' attitudes toward theft and their previous theft history. **Personality-based integrity tests** A type of honesty test that measures personality traits thought to be related to antisocial behavior. **Shrinkage** The amount of goods lost by an organization as a result of theft, breakage, or other loss. **Conditional reasoning tests** Test designed to reduce faking by asking test-takers to select the reason that best explains a statement. **Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)** A federal law that provides people with certain rights regarding the collection and use of credit history reports. **Exclusionary period** The amount of time that must pass since conviction or release from prison before the conviction is no longer considered as being relevant to the hiring decision. **Graphology** Also called handwriting analysis, a method of measuring personality by looking at the way in which a person writes. **Drug testing** Tests that indicate whether an applicant has recently used a drug. **Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988** A federal law that requires federal contractors with a contract of at least \$100,000 to maintain a drug-free workplace. **Rejection letter** A letter from an organization to an applicant informing the applicant that they will not receive a job offer.