Question 1

_____ is defined as the degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one context extends to other contexts.
A)Utility
B)Generalizability
C)Reliability
D)Legality
E)Exclusivity

Accepted Answer

Generalizability is defined as the degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one context extends to other contexts. There are two primary "contexts" over which people like to generalize: different situations (jobs or organizations)and different samples of people.

Question 2

Content validation:
A)seeks to establish an empirical relationship between test scores taken prior to being hired and eventual performance on the job.
B)refers to the degree to which a measure is correlated with other measures that it is theoretically predicted to correlate with.
C)is performed by demonstrating that the items, questions, or problems posed by a test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job.
D)is an estimate of whether a test appears to measure a certain criterion.
E)assesses the validity of a test by administering it to people already on the job and then correlating test scores with existing measures of each person's performance.

Accepted Answer

Content validation is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems posed by the test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job. A test that is content valid exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job, and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient knowledge, skill, or ability to handle such situations.

Question 3

The _____ defines employers' explicit obligation to establish the business necessity of any neutral-appearing selection method that has had adverse impact on groups specified by the law.
A)Rehabilitation Act of 1973
B)Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
C)Civil Rights Act of 1991
D)Civil Rights Act of 1964
E)No-FEAR Act of 2002

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 defines employers' explicit obligation to establish the business necessity of any neutral-appearing selection method that has had adverse impact on groups specified by the law. This is typically done by showing that the test has significant criterion-related or content validity.

Question 4

A firm wants to hire 15 electricians. It intends to hire only experienced electricians and, as a result, has no plans to train them. A test is developed such that it requires applicants to identify the mistakes in the circuit's wiring and rewire the circuit properly. This test is using _____ validation.
A)predictive
B)subjective
C)criterion-related
D)content
E)concurrent

Accepted Answer

Content validation is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems posed by the test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job. A test that is content valid exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job, and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient knowledge, skill, or ability to handle such situations.

Question 5

A test that has _____ validity exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job, and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient knowledge, skill, or ability to handle such situations.
A)criterion-related
B)probabilistic
C)predictive
D)content
E)concurrent

Accepted Answer

Content validation is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems posed by the test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job. A test that is content valid exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job, and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient knowledge, skill, or ability to handle such situations.

Question 6

Content validity is achieved primarily through a process of _____.
A)quantitative analysis
B)empirical study
C)secondary research
D)procedural study
E)expert judgment

Accepted Answer

Content validity is achieved primarily through a process of expert judgment. The ability to use content validation in small sample settings makes it generally more applicable than criterion-related validation.

Question 7

A construction firm needs to hire a construction superintendent, whose primary responsibilities involve organizing, supervising, and inspecting the work of several subcontractors. It administers a construction-error recognition test, where an applicant enters a room that has been specially constructed to have 10 common and expensive errors and where he/she is asked to record as many problems as he/she can detect. What type of validation is being used here?
A)Concurrent validation
B)Predictive validation
C)Content validation
D)Criterion-related validation
E)Subjective validation

Accepted Answer

Content validation is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems posed by the test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job. A test that is content valid exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job, and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient knowledge, skill, or ability to handle such situations.

Question 8

As per the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, if any neutral-appearing practice happens to have adverse impact on those over 40, the employer must _____.
A)show business necessity to avoid a guilty verdict
B)make accommodations despite facing hardships
C)facilitate pre-mature retirement for the employees
D)compensate the employee prior to court trials
E)provide special incentives to the suffering employees

Accepted Answer

Court interpretations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act mirror those of the Civil Rights Act, in the sense that if any neutral-appearing practice happens to have adverse impact on those over 40, the burden of proof shifts to the employer, who must show business necessity to avoid a guilty verdict. The act does not protect younger workers (thus there is never a case for "reverse discrimination" here), and like the most recent civil rights act, it allows for jury trials and punitive damages.

Question 9

When a company provides evidence from previous criterion-related validity studies conducted in other situations to show that a specific test is a valid predictor for a specific job performance, it is trying to prove the test's:
A)reliability.
B)utility.
C)co-efficiency.
D)generalizability.
E)legality.

Accepted Answer

Validity generalization is a three-step process. In the first step, the company provides evidence from previous criterion-related validity studies conducted in other situations that shows that a specific test is a valid predictor for a specific job.

Question 10

Which of the following acts explicitly prohibits the granting of preferential treatment to minority groups?
A)Civil Rights Act of 1964
B)Tenure of Office Act of 1867
C)Judiciary Act of 1801
D)Third Liberty Bond Act of 1918
E)Civil Rights Act of 1991

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 explicitly prohibits the granting of preferential treatment to minority groups. Preferential treatment is often attractive because many of the most valid methods for screening people, especially cognitive ability tests and work sample tests, often are high in adverse impact.

Question 11

In case of _____ validation, it is critical to minimize the amount of inference involved on the part of the judges because their subjective judgment could bias the findings.
A)predictive
B)standard
C)content
D)concurrent
E)discriminate

Accepted Answer

As subjective judgment plays such a large role in content validation, it is critical to minimize the amount of inference involved on the part of judges. Thus the judges' ratings need to be made with respect to relatively concrete and observable behaviors.

Question 12

The utility of any test generally _____ as the selection ratio gets lower.
A)increases
B)decreases
C)remains the same
D)becomes zero
E)becomes negative

Accepted Answer

The selection ratio refers to the percentage of people selected relative to the total number of people tested. The utility of any test generally increases as the selection ratio gets lower, so long as the additional costs of recruiting and testing are not excessive.

Question 13

The Americans with Disabilities Act _____.
A)protects individuals with physical disabilities but not mental disabilities
B)does not require an organization to make accommodations that cause undue hardship
C)demands affirmative action to increase representation of minorities
D)does not require that employers make reasonable accommodation for disabled individuals
E)prevents organizations from hiring someone whose disability prevents him or her from performing critical aspects of the job

Accepted Answer

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)of 1991 protects individuals with physical and mental disabilities (or with a history of the same), and requires that employers make "reasonable accommodation" to disabled individuals whose handicaps may prevent them from performing essential functions of the job as currently designed. The ADA does not require an organization to hire someone whose disability prevents him or her from performing either critical or routine aspects of the job nor does it require accommodations that would cause "undue hardship."

Question 14

Which of the following legislations prohibit discrimination and mandates that employers take affirmative actions to hire qualified minority applicants?
A)Federal Tort Claims Act
B)Revenue Act of 1913
C)Executive order 11246
D)Federal Reserve Act
E)Thirteenth Amendment

Accepted Answer

Executive Order 11246 parallels the protections provided by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but goes beyond the 1964 act in two important ways. Not only does this executive order prohibit discrimination, it actually mandates that employers take affirmative action to hire qualified minority applicants.

Question 15

Which of the following acts allows the individual filing the complaint to have a jury decide whether he or she may recover punitive damages (in addition to lost wages and benefits)for emotional injuries caused by the discrimination?
A)Civil Rights Act of 1871
B)Age Discrimination in Employment Act
C)Americans with Disabilities Act
D)Civil Rights Act of 1991
E)Civil Rights Act of 1964

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 act allows the individual filing the complaint to have a jury decide whether he or she may recover punitive damages (in addition to lost wages and benefits)for emotional injuries caused by the discrimination. This can generate large financial settlements as well as poor public relations that can hinder the organization's ability to compete.

Question 16

The percentage of people chosen relative to the total number of people tested gives the _____ ratio.
A)break-even
B)furlough
C)retention
D)turnover
E)selection

Accepted Answer

The selection ratio refers to the percentage of people selected relative to the total number of people tested.

Question 17

The degree to which the information provided by selection methods enhances the bottom-line effectiveness of the organization is known as the selection method's:
A)reliability.
B)validity.
C)generalizability.
D)utility.
E)legality.

Accepted Answer

Utility is the degree to which the information provided by selection methods enhances the bottom-line effectiveness of the organization. In general, the more reliable, valid, and generalizable the selection method is, the more utility it will have.

Question 18

Which of the following forms of validation becomes relatively more attractive as the sample available for validation becomes smaller?
A)Predictive validation
B)Concurrent validation
C)Content validation
D)External validation
E)Criterion-related validation

Accepted Answer

When sample sizes are small, an alternative test validation strategy, content validation, can be used. Content Validation is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems posed by a test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job.

Question 19

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act does not:
A)permit business necessity as a ground to avoid a guilty verdict.
B)protect younger workers.
C)allow for jury trials.
D)allow punitive damages.
E)permit promotions based performance

Accepted Answer

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act does not protect younger workers (thus there is never a case for "reverse discrimination" here), and like the most recent civil rights act, it allows for jury trials and punitive damages. This act outlaws almost all "mandatory retirement" programs (company policies that dictate that everyone who reaches a set age must retire).

Question 20

The _____ protects individuals from discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions.
A)False Claims Act
B)Civil Rights Act of 1991
C)Age Discrimination in Employment Act
D)Americans with Disabilities Act
E)Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 protects individuals from discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions. The act defines employers' explicit obligation to establish the business necessity of any neutral-appearing selection method that has had adverse impact on groups specified by the law.

Quiz 6: Selection and Placement

_____ is defined as the degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one context extends to other contexts.

Content validation:

The _____ defines employers' explicit obligation to establish the business necessity of any neutral-appearing selection method that has had adverse impact on groups specified by the law.

A test that has _____ validity exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job, and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient knowledge, skill, or ability to handle such situations.

Content validity is achieved primarily through a process of _____.

As per the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, if any neutral-appearing practice happens to have adverse impact on those over 40, the employer must _____.

When a company provides evidence from previous criterion-related validity studies conducted in other situations to show that a specific test is a valid predictor for a specific job performance, it is trying to prove the test's:

Which of the following acts explicitly prohibits the granting of preferential treatment to minority groups?

In case of _____ validation, it is critical to minimize the amount of inference involved on the part of the judges because their subjective judgment could bias the findings.

The utility of any test generally _____ as the selection ratio gets lower.

The Americans with Disabilities Act _____.

Which of the following legislations prohibit discrimination and mandates that employers take affirmative actions to hire qualified minority applicants?

Which of the following acts allows the individual filing the complaint to have a jury decide whether he or she may recover punitive damages (in addition to lost wages and benefits) for emotional injuries caused by the discrimination?

The percentage of people chosen relative to the total number of people tested gives the _____ ratio.

The degree to which the information provided by selection methods enhances the bottom-line effectiveness of the organization is known as the selection method's:

Which of the following forms of validation becomes relatively more attractive as the sample available for validation becomes smaller?

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act does not:

The _____ protects individuals from discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions.