Deck 18: Psychology at Work

Question 1

Work is LEAST likely to be experienced as a positive and fulfilling activity for those who

A) receive annual performance reviews.
B) frequently experience flow.
C) view their work as a job.
D) are self-employed.

Answer 1

view their work as a job.

Question 2

A person who spends far more time sharpening existing skills than correcting existing weaknesses

A) is most likely a satisfied and successful employee.
B) views his or her work as a job.
C) has a directive rather than a democratic leadership style.
D) is motivated more by external rewards than by internal rewards.

Answer 2

is most likely a satisfied and successful employee.

Question 3

Dr.Wolfson develops assessment tools for use by company supervisors to make decisions about job promotions.His work best illustrates that of a(n)________ psychologist.

A) clinical
B) personnel
C) organizational
D) human factors

Answer 3

personnel

Question 4

Matching people with existing jobs is to ________ psychology as modifying jobs and supervision is to ________ psychology.

A) human factors;organizational
B) organizational;human factors
C) personnel;organizational
D) organizational;personnel

Question 5

Human factors psychology is one of the three main subfields of

A) clinical psychology.
B) personnel psychology.
C) social psychology.
D) industrial-organizational psychology.

Question 6

Improving employee morale and business profitability by developing a new chain of command between subdivisions of a large manufacturing company best illustrates the work of a

A) personnel psychologist.
B) human factors psychologist.
C) organizational psychologist.
D) clinical psychologist.

Question 7

Personnel psychologists are most likely to be involved in

A) matching people's strengths with specific job assignments.
B) modifying work environments to improve employee engagement.
C) contributing to the design of user-friendly industrial machines.
D) assessing the effect of supervisors' management styles on business productivity.

Question 8

Designing aircraft instrument displays so pilots can easily and accurately monitor flight data would be of most direct interest to

A) personnel psychology.
B) organizational psychology.
C) human factors psychology.
D) clinical psychology.

Question 9

Matt is a student who becomes so fully absorbed in his course studies that he completely loses awareness of how long he has been working.Matt's experience best illustrates

A) 360-degree feedback.
B) task leadership.
C) human factors psychology.
D) flow.

Question 10

Which profession is most likely to be concerned with the effect of supervisors' management styles on worker motivation and productivity?

A) developmental psychology
B) social psychology
C) industrial-organizational psychology
D) cognitive psychology

Question 11

Danielle,an applicant for a position in corporate financial accounting,was so animated and enthusiastic in her conversations with company officials that they decided to hire her without carefully checking her résumé and past work accomplishments.The company officials should most clearly be informed about

A) human factors psychology.
B) social leadership.
C) the interviewer illusion.
D) the experience of flow.

Question 12

A performance evaluation program revealed that the most effective salespeople in a large company are sincere and energetic in their work.This led the company's psychological consultants to develop a simulation that would assess the extent to which applicants for company sales positions communicate in a forthright and animated manner.This most clearly illustrates the consultants' commitment to

A) structured interviews.
B) human factors psychology.
C) a strengths-based selection system.
D) 360-degree feedback.

Question 13

A high level of satisfaction with one's work is most likely to be reported by those who frequently experience

A) flow.
B) implementation intentions.
C) unstructured interviews.
D) 360-degree feedback.

Question 14

Structured interviews have more ________ than unstructured interviews.

A) democratic style
B) leniency errors
C) predictive accuracy
D) 360-degree feedback

Question 15

Interviewers are disposed to judge job applicants more favorably when informed that the applicants

A) are applying for their very first career position.
B) have been prescreened by other company personnel.
C) are nervous and worried about making a good impression.
D) have a strong desire to work hard if paid well.

Question 16

Dr.Ford assesses people's personalities and interests and then matches them to vocations with a good person-environment fit.His specialty is

A) worker productivity.
B) designing optimum worker environments.
C) career counseling.
D) developing system technologies.

Question 17

Which of the following is generally the poorest predictor of future job performance?

A) aptitude tests
B) job knowledge tests
C) simulated job performance tests
D) evaluations from informal interviews

Question 18

Those who view their work as a fulfilling and socially useful activity are said to view work as a

A) job.
B) calling.
C) career.
D) contract.

Question 19

Those who view their work as a calling report ________ work satisfaction than those who view their work as a job and ________ work satisfaction than those who view their work as a career.

A) greater;less
B) less;more
C) greater;more
D) less;less

Question 20

A psychological consultant develops a test that assesses the extent to which applicants for company sales positions communicate in an honest and animated manner.The consultant's work best illustrates that of a(n)

A) clinical psychologist.
B) human factors psychologist.
C) organizational psychologist.
D) personnel psychologist.

Question 21

Shauna is a company executive who encourages employees to voice their opinions and to participate in developing workplace rules and production goals.Shauna best illustrates

A) the experience of flow.
B) a democratic leadership style.
C) a strengths-based selection system.
D) managing by objectives.

Question 22

Unhappy workers who undermine what their colleagues accomplish are

A) actively disengaged.
B) experiencing a state of flow.
C) demonstrating social leadership.
D) illustrating charisma.

Question 23

Modifying management practices and work assignments to increase employee engagement best illustrates the professional concerns of

A) human factors psychologists.
B) clinical psychologists.
C) personnel psychologists.
D) organizational psychologists.

Question 24

Managers who set standards and keep a group focused on its goals are said to excel in

A) task leadership.
B) 360-degree feedback.
C) a democratic management style.
D) human factors psychology.

Question 25

Antonio,a sixth-grader,has just brought home a 30-word spelling test on which he spelled only 15 words correctly.If Antonio's parents want to effectively encourage higher levels of achievement in their son,they should tell him

A) "What's important is that you do your best always."
B) "Try to raise your next test score 5 points by typing your new spelling words into our computer."
C) "Test performance is often unrelated to how much you actually learned."
D) "If you don't perform better on your next test,you won't be allowed to watch television before bedtime."

Question 26

Performance appraisal scales that specify in detail the precise behaviors that are indicative of poor,adequate,good,and excellent worker performance are most likely to inhibit

A) severity errors.
B) the experience of flow.
C) structured interviews.
D) 360-degree feedback.

Question 27

Compared with ineffective managers,those who excel invest a _______ proportion of their time and effort trying to remedy their employees' deficiencies and a _______ proportion of their time and effort trying to enhance their employees' talents.

A) larger;larger
B) smaller;smaller
C) larger;smaller
D) smaller;larger

Question 28

Paul is seldom absent from work.However,an illness the previous week forced him to miss work for a day,and his supervisor evaluated his performance less positively than was warranted.This best illustrates the supervisor's vulnerability to

A) the interviewer illusion.
B) leniency errors.
C) recency errors.
D) the halo effect.

Question 29

The practice of 360-degree feedback is most clearly designed to improve

A) social leadership.
B) the experience of flow.
C) unstructured interviews.
D) performance appraisal.

Question 30

Managers with a social leadership style would be most likely to

A) discourage employees from critically discussing controversial company policies.
B) inform employees of the exact deadlines for the completion of work projects.
C) mediate a personal dispute between two argumentative employees.
D) provide employees with relatively easy work assignments.

Question 31

Managing by objectives is most clearly designed to facilitate the process of

A) choosing a career.
B) setting work goals.
C) assessing job skills.
D) scripting employment interviews.

Question 32

Business units with high levels of employee engagement experience somewhat

A) more organizational productivity and less employee turnover.
B) less organizational productivity and more employee turnover.
C) more organizational productivity and more employee turnover.
D) less organizational productivity and less employee turnover.

Question 33

Encouraging employee productivity through recognition and reward illustrates effective use of

A) flow.
B) implementation intentions.
C) operant conditioning.
D) a strengths-based selection system.

Question 34

An employee's high level of friendliness can lead a supervisor to judge the employee as a more reliable worker than is actually the case.This is said to illustrate

A) 360-degree feedback.
B) a halo error.
C) a voice effect.
D) a curse of knowledge.

Question 35

A company executive enhances the success of her sales department by sending a congratulatory note to department employees who exceed their monthly sales quotas.The executive is most clearly making effective use of

A) the experience of flow.
B) a strengths-based selection system.
C) 360-degree feedback.
D) operant conditioning.

Question 36

Miranda is the supervisor in the women's clothing department of a large store.Using a five-point scale,she is rating her workers' dependability,productivity,and so forth.She is using

A) a checklist.
B) strengths-based selection.
C) a graphic rating scale.
D) a behavior rating scale.

Question 37

In the early 1800s,Robert Owen improved the work environment in a Scotland cotton mill with humanitarian reforms.The commercial success that followed best illustrated the value of

A) structured interviews.
B) employee engagement.
C) leniency errors.
D) a strengths-based selection system.

Question 38

Through a task's ups and downs,people best sustain their mood and motivation when they focus on

A) a strengths-based selection system.
B) 360-degree feedback.
C) immediate goals.
D) outsourcing.

Question 39

Rating scales used to record the dependability and productivity of workers are most clearly designed to facilitate

A) flow.
B) structured interviews.
C) social leadership.
D) performance appraisal.

Question 40

Many experiments show that social leadership facilitates

A) worker morale.
B) 360-degree feedback.
C) a directive management style.
D) strength-based selection systems.

Question 41

Who would be most involved in designing user-friendly programming controls for HDTVs?

A) organizational psychologists
B) human factors psychologists
C) personnel psychologists
D) social psychologists

Question 42

Employee engagement is most likely to be facilitated by

A) transformational leadership.
B) unstructured interviews.
C) halo errors.
D) human factors psychology.

Question 43

Chief executives who inspire their colleagues to "transcend their own self-interests for the sake of the collective" demonstrate

A) flow.
B) a directive style.
C) transformational leadership.
D) the great person theory of leadership.

Question 44

Employees who enjoy high-quality colleague relationships also engage their work with more vigor.This best illustrates the value of a work environment that satisfies employees'

A) implementation intentions.
B) need to belong.
C) directive style.
D) charisma.

Question 45

By scripting specific job relevant questions to be asked of all those applying for a particular work position,a personnel psychologist is most clearly developing a framework for

A) the experience of flow.
B) transformational leadership.
C) structured interviews.
D) 360-degree feedback.

Question 46

Designing aircraft instrument displays in such a way as to minimize pilots' misperceptions of flight data would be of most direct interest to

A) personnel psychologists.
B) organizational psychologists.
C) evolutionary psychologists.
D) human factors psychologists.

Question 47

Managers who delegate authority and welcome team members' participation are said to excel in

A) structured interviews.
B) social leadership.
C) performance appraisal.
D) a directive management style.

Question 48

Lisbeth views her work only as a way to make the money she needs to do the things she enjoys.Lisbeth apparently views her work as a

A) calling.
B) job.
C) contract.
D) career.

Question 49

Work is most likely to be satisfying for employees if it is associated with

A) task leadership.
B) the experience of flow.
C) 360-degree feedback.
D) unstructured interviews.

Question 50

Regan has been programming computers for so long that she does not understand why some people have difficulty following what she considers the easy instructions to "drag and drop" files into a new folder.She is exhibiting what psychologists call

A) strengths-based selection.
B) transformational leadership.
C) the curse of knowledge.
D) a directive management style.

Question 51

The same individual may be either considered a great or an inferior coach depending on the strength of the team and its competition.This best illustrates a shortcoming of

A) a strengths-based selection system.
B) 360-degree feedback.
C) structured interviews.
D) the great person theory of leadership.

Question 52

Evaluations of job applicants based on informal interviews are ________ predictors of future job performance than handwriting analysis and ________ predictors than aptitude tests.

A) better;better
B) worse;worse
C) better;worse
D) worse;better

Question 53

Analyzing job content and optimizing worker placement is a characteristic of

A) human factors psychologists.
B) clinical psychologists.
C) organizational psychologists.
D) personnel psychologists.

Question 54

One of the three main ingredients of charisma involves

A) using a directive management style.
B) understanding human factors psychology.
C) having a vision of some goal.
D) viewing one's work as a career.

Question 55

Personnel psychology is one of the main subfields of

A) organizational psychology.
B) industrial-organizational psychology.
C) human factors psychology.
D) social psychology.

Question 56

Compared with ineffective managers,those who are effective are more likely to

A) use informal,unstructured interviews when selecting new employees.
B) exercise a directive management style for achieving organizational goals.
C) celebrate employees' productivity by providing them with recognition and rewards.
D) do all of these things.

Question 57

Dr.Eisenberg develops behavior rating scales for use by company supervisors to appraise the performance of workers and make decisions about job promotions.His work best illustrates that of a(n)________ psychologist.

A) clinical
B) personnel
C) organizational
D) human factors

Question 58

Psychologists who help design machines so that they make use of our natural perceptions are called

A) clinical psychologists.
B) personnel psychologists.
C) human factors psychologists.
D) organizational psychologists.

Question 59

People who know how to operate a computer software program often have difficulty imagining what it is like not to know how to operate the program.Their difficulty best illustrates

A) the curse of knowledge.
B) the interviewer illusion.
C) employee disengagement.
D) the leniency error.

Question 60

A completely focused state of consciousness resulting from optimal engagement of one's skills is called

A) charisma.
B) 360-degree feedback.
C) transformational leadership.
D) flow.

Question 61

Human factors psychologists would be most likely to aid in the design of

A) employee weight-reduction programs.
B) management training seminars.
C) user-friendly factory machinery.
D) work-skills assessment tests.

Question 62

Those who view their work as a career are especially likely to be concerned about opportunities for

A) outsourcing.
B) creating action plans.
C) transformational leadership.
D) increasingly better employment positions.

Question 63

Hiring job applicants who have the qualities best suited for success in the job for which they are applying illustrates

A) human factors psychology.
B) 360-degree feedback.
C) strengths-based selection.
D) employee engagement.

Question 64

Which profession is most directly involved in the application of psychology's principles to the workplace?

A) social psychology
B) personality psychology
C) developmental psychology
D) industrial-organizational psychology

Question 65

After studying artists who would spend hour after hour painting or sculpting with focused concentration,Csikszentmihalyi formulated the concept of

A) transformational leadership.
B) strengths-based selection.
C) 360-degree feedback.
D) flow.

Question 66

The main goal of a career counseling science is to

A) match people to vocations with a good person-environment fit.
B) design machines that optimally fit human abilities.
C) determine which leadership style is best for creating employee engagement.
D) design training programs for specific knowledge-related jobs.

Question 67

Those who view their work as a necessary but personally unfulfilling way to make money are said to view work as a

A) contract.
B) job.
C) calling.
D) career.

Question 68

Developing assessment tools for selecting and placing employees is of most direct relevance to

A) clinical psychology.
B) organizational psychology.
C) human factors psychology.
D) personnel psychology.

Question 69

Julia is a highly skilled professional violinist.She often becomes so focused and energized by her challenging practice sessions that they last hours longer than she had planned.Her experience best illustrates the concept of

A) flow.
B) task leadership.
C) human factors psychology.
D) 360-degree feedback.

Question 70

Work activities that are specifically suited to your strengths are most likely to be those associated with the experience of

A) flow.
B) charisma.
C) self-discipline.
D) external rewards.

Question 71

Compared with ineffective managers,those who are effective are more likely to

A) avoid solving conflicts between employees.
B) exercise a directive leadership style for achieving organizational goals.
C) encourage employee productivity by reinforcing it.
D) do all of these things.

Question 72

Dr.Thompson develops interview questions that will effectively predict job applicants' success in specific work positions.Her work best illustrates that of a(n)________ psychologist.

A) personnel
B) organizational
C) human factors
D) clinical

Question 73

Assessing the impact of different management styles on the motivation and productivity of employees best illustrates the professional concerns of

A) personnel psychology.
B) clinical psychology.
C) organizational psychology.
D) human factors psychology.

Question 74

People report the greatest satisfaction with their work and their lives if they

A) work only part-time.
B) view their work as a calling.
C) are strongly motivated by high wages.
D) are supervised by managers with a directive style.

Question 75

After discovering that their company's best software developers are highly analytical,personnel psychologists focused their employment ads for additional software developers less on applicants' experience and more on their ability to engage in logical problem solving.This best illustrates their commitment to

A) 360-degree feedback.
B) social leadership.
C) structured interviews.
D) a strengths-based selection system.

Question 76

Organizational psychologists are most likely to be involved in

A) matching job applicants with specific work assignments.
B) modifying work environments in order to improve employee engagement.
C) contributing to the design of user-friendly industrial machines.
D) designing training programs to prepare unemployed persons for existing jobs.

Question 77

Human factors psychologists are most likely to be involved in

A) designing training programs to prepare unemployed persons for existing jobs.
B) exploring how machines can be optimally designed to fit human abilities.
C) assessing the impact of supervisors' management styles on business productivity.
D) matching people's strengths with specific job assignments.

Question 78

For each performance review,Professor Donnell is evaluated by her students,colleagues,department chair,and research assistants.This best illustrates

A) managing by objectives.
B) the experience of flow.
C) human factors psychology.
D) 360-degree feedback.

Question 79

Andrea views her work as primarily an opportunity to climb up the corporate ladder in pursuit of increasingly better positions.Andrea apparently views her work as a

A) calling.
B) job.
C) contract.
D) career.

Question 80

Flow is characterized by a ________ awareness of self and a ________ awareness of the passing of time.

A) heightened;diminished
B) diminished;heightened
C) heightened;heightened
D) diminished;diminished