Deck 3: Foundations of Individual Behavior

Question 1

Which of the following statements regarding assessing employees' "Big Five" personality traits is true?

A)The "Big Five" personality traits are based primarily on research conducted in the United States.
B)Managers are basically uninterested in the "Big Five" personality traits.
C)Rigorous and valid measures of personality allow for their accurate assessment.
D)Managers should be very confident about their assessment of employees' personality traits.
E)Personality traits are poor predictors of virtually all employee behaviors.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

If you have the ability to remain optimistic and to continue striving in the face of setbacks, barriers, and failure, you have the ability to

A)manage your emotions.
B)show empathy.
C)motivate yourself.
D)get along with others.
E)be promoted at your job.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following statements best describes the role of circumstances in assessing individual differences?

A)Circumstances are more important in judging newer employees than they are in judging older employees.
B)Individual differences may shape circumstances, but circumstances cannot shape individual differences.
C)Managers can assess circumstances, but they cannot assess individual differences.
D)Whether specific differences that characterize a person are good or bad depends on circumstances.
E)Circumstances becomes more important the more unique the

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Expatriate managers may have a difficult time returning from an international assignment because

A)the organization that they are coming back to may be different than the one they left.
B)their company is required by law to wait 30 days before rehiring them.
C)their personality has changed in the course of their absence.
D)former coworkers attempt to draw them away to different organizations.
E)they lose their citizenship if they stay away longer than five years.

Question 5

Jim enjoys meeting new people on a regular basis and is very talkative and assertive.We would expect Jim to be most attracted to a job such as

A)custodian.
B)accountant.
C)sales representative.
D)animal trainer.
E)research scientist.

Question 6

Emotional intelligence includes all of the following except

A)self-awareness
B)managing emotions
C)locus of control
D)self-motivation
E)social skills

Question 7

Agreeableness includes all of the following except

A)gentle
B)cooperative
C)poor working relationships.
D)forgiving
E)understanding

Question 8

The extent to which the contributions made by an individual match the inducements offered by the organization is referred to as

A)a complementary contract.
B)employment alignment.
C)person-job fit.
D)workplace balance.
E)job security.

Question 9

Which of the following best describes the source of Paul Tagliabue's success as the National Football League (NFL) Commissioner?

A)His outgoing, dynamic personality
B)His willingness to listen and flexibility in his decisions
C)His undying obsession for football
D)His "take no prisoners" approach to running the league
E)His ability to take big risks on unproven athletes

Question 10

Jim has the ability to balance anxiety, fear, and anger and still get the job done.Jim possesses which component of emotional intelligence?

A)social skills
B)locus of control
C)managing emotions
D)empathy
E)motivating oneself

Question 11

Jane is relatively calm, poised, and secure.Jane's boss is more excitable, insecure, and reactive.Jane and her boss differ in their level of which personality trait?

A)Conscientiousness
B)Agreeableness
C)Extraversion
D)Negative emotionality
E)Openness

Question 12

A precise person-job fit is seldom achieved for all of the following reasons except

A)it is difficult to measure employee skill levels.
B)organizations tend to change over time.
C)each person is unique.
D)hiring procedures are imperfect.
E)employees rarely make true contributions to organizations.

Question 13

The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a(n)

A)measure of employees' "Big Five" personality traits.
B)questionnaire used to assess employees' willingness to accept international assignments.
C)instrument created to measure employees' productivity.
D)survey to help managers understand employees' psychological contracts.
E)useful method for determining employees' communication styles and interaction preferences.

Question 14

The extent to which personality attributes are inherited from our parents or shaped by our environment is called by psychologists.

A)individual differences
B)psychological contributions
C)nature versus nurture
D)psychological contract
E)psychological inducements

Question 15

A psychological contract is

A)a description of the intellectual work the employee will be required to complete on the job.
B)a legally binding agreement between the employer and the worker.
C)a person's overall expectations regarding the employment arrangement.
D)a written document outlining what the employee will be paid.
E)a ideal employment contract developed by industrial psychologists.

Question 16

Research has found that people tend to be higher performers in a variety of jobs.

A)extroverted
B)introverted
C)conscientious
D)open
E)All of these are correct.

Question 17

The basic categories of individual differences include all of the following except

A)personality
B)self-esteem
C)attitudes
D)perception
E)creativity

Question 18

An assembly-line worker who sits by a moving conveyor and attaches parts to a product as it passes by

A)has multiple performance behaviors.
B)has relatively few performance behaviors.
C)has low consistency.
D)has high consensus.
E)None of these are correct

Question 19

People with a high level of are willing to listen to new ideas and to change their own ideas, beliefs, and attitudes in response to new information.

A)agreeableness
B)conscientiousness
C)openness
D)extraversion
E)negative emotionality

Question 20

John truly believes that he can achieve his goal of selling 10 cars each month.This belief reflects John's

A)self-efficacy.
B)risk propensity.
C)attitude.
D)self-esteem.
E)Machiavellianism.

Question 21

If you accept orders from your supervisor solely because he or she is "the boss," you are highly

A)authoritarian.
B)self-monitoring.
C)perceptual.
D)motivational.
E)dogmatic.

Question 22

When a large-scale layoff is announced in Bill's company, all of the workers including Bill begin to complain.According to attribution theory, we would evaluate Bill's behavior as exhibiting

A)high consistency.
B)high distinctiveness.
C)low consistency.
D)low consensus.
E)high consensus.

Question 23

One of the primary differences between attitudes and personality is that

A)attitudes are more difficult to assess than personality attributes.
B)attitudes are stronger than personality attributes.
C)attitudes are more deeply rooted than personality attributes.
D)attitudes are less important than personality attributes.
E)attitudes are not as stable as personality attributes.

Question 24

Individual behavior that makes a positive overall contribution to an organization is called

A)positive inducement.
B)organizational citizenship.
C)motivational behavior.
D)performance behavior.
E)perceptive contribution.

Question 25

Tammi generally is upbeat and optimistic and usually sees things in a positive light.Tammi has a relatively high degree of

A)job satisfaction.
B)positive affectivity.
C)self-esteem.
D)Machiavellianism.
E)self-efficacy.

Question 26

George is highly committed and has an attachment to the organization where he works.He feels he is a true member of the company.George is demonstrating _.

A)organizational citizenship.
B)organizational commitment.
C)job identification.
D)job satisfaction.
E)job involvement.

Question 27

What is the relationship between job satisfaction and worker productivity?

A)Job satisfaction does not necessarily lead to higher levels of productivity.
B)More satisfied men, but not women, are more productive.
C)Less satisfied workers are more productive.
D)More satisfied older workers, but not younger workers, are more productive.
E)More satisfied workers are more productive.

Question 28

George believes that he was promoted and given a raise based upon his hard work on the job.George has

A)self-efficacy.
B)an internal locus of control.
C)emotional intelligence.
D)high self-esteem.
E)an external locus of control.

Question 29

The component of an attitude reflects how an individual expects to behave toward or in a situation.

A)cognition
B)intellect
C)expectation
D)affect
E)intention

Question 30

usually requires an organization to incur costs by replacing employees.

A)Absenteeism
B)Perceptual attitude
C)Turnover
D)Performance behavior
E)Workplace behavior

Question 31

Categorizing or labeling people on the basis of a single attribute is called

A)attribution.
B)selective perception.
C)racism.
D)stereotyping.
E)prejudice.

Question 32

A person who generally sees things in a negative light and seems to be in a bad mood most of the time has a high level of

A)self-criticism.
B)organizational resentment.
C)job dissatisfaction.
D)negative affectivity.
E)Machiavellianism.

Question 33

is the process of screening out information that we are uncomfortable with or that contradicts our beliefs.

A)Perceived reality
B)Person-job fit
C)Selective perception
D)Complementary congruence
E)Objective reality

Question 34

A person's set of expectations regarding what he or she will contribute to the organization and what the organization, in return, will provide to that individual is called a psychological contract.

Question 35

After working in a fast-food restaurant for three years to pay for your college tuition, you vowed never to work in a restaurant again.But after graduation, the only job offer you receive is a managerial job at a local restaurant.Your acceptance of this job may result in dissonance.

A)attitudinal
B)behavioral
C)cognitive
D)affective
E)intentional

Question 36

A supervisor who experiments with new ideas, takes a chance with new products, and leads his or her department in new directions has high

A)locus of control.
B)risk propensity.
C)self-monitoring.
D)self-esteem.
E)competencies.

Question 37

If you "hate" one aspect of your job, but your coworker "loves" it, the component of your attitudes differ.

A)affect
B)intention
C)intellect
D)behavior
E)cognition

Question 38

If you are proud of your accomplishments yet look forward to achieving higher levels of performance and are confident in your abilities, you have high

A)risk propensity.
B)locus of control.
C)conformity.
D)self-esteem.
E)self-monitoring.

Question 39

is behavior directed at gaining power and controlling the behavior of others.

A)Authoritarianism
B)Positive affectivity
C)Machiavellianism
D)Selective perception
E)None of these are correct.

Question 40

The component of an attitude is derived from knowledge that an individual has about a situation.

A)cognition
B)intention
C)perception
D)affect
E)intellect

Question 41

Tangible and intangible rewards are called organizational inducements.

Question 42

Person-job fit is the extent to which the contributions made by the individual match the inducements offered by the organization.

Question 43

A person who is upbeat and optimistic and has an overall sense of well-being, and can see things in a positive light is said to possess positive affectivity.

Question 44

Basic perceptual processes include selective perception and stereotyping.

Question 45

Cognitive dissonance results from contradictory or incongruent attitudes, behaviors, or both.

Question 46

A person's locus of control is the extent to which a person believes circumstances are a function of either his or her own actions or of external factors beyond his or her control.

Question 47

A person who feels discomfort with personal relationships is said to be an extrovert.

Question 48

The "Big Five" personality traits are a set of fundamental traits that are not especially relevant to organizations.

Question 49

Openness is the capacity to entertain new ideas and to change as a result of new information.

Question 50

People with little negative emotionality are not able to withstand stress.

Question 51

People who possess the personality trait of Machiavellianism support delegation of authority, power, and control to subordinates.

Question 52

A person's self-efficacy is that person's beliefs about his or her capabilities to perform a task.

Question 53

An individual's contributions to an organization include such things as effort, skills, ability, time, and loyalty

Question 54

The ability of the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator to provide valid and stable assessments of personality attributes is questionable.

Question 55

Individual differences are personal attributes that vary from one person to another person.

Question 56

A human resources manager who bases hiring decisions on racial and sexual stereotypes is costing the organization talent, violating federal law, and behaving unethically.

Question 57

A manager with strong emotional intelligence is able to overcome his or her empathy when dealing with others.

Question 58

The basis for the other components of emotional intelligence is self-awareness.

Question 59

Managers with high emotional intelligence are expected to perform well in jobs that require a high degree of interpersonal interaction.

Question 60

Authoritarianism is the belief that power and status differences are not appropriate within hierarchical social systems such as organizations.

Question 61

The anxiety a person experiences when two sets of knowledge or perceptions are contradictory or incongruent is called
.

Question 62

Workplace behavior is a pattern of action by the members of the organization that directly or indirectly influences organizational effectiveness.

Question 63

The extent to which people are self-aware can manage their emotions, motivate themselves, and express empathy for others is called their
.

Question 64

Because Don follows the orders of his supervisor without question, he probably has a high level of .

Question 65

Dysfunctional behaviors are all of the total set of work- related behaviors that the organization expects the individual to display.

Question 66

Because Mike is overqualified for his current job, his
- fit is not ideal.

Question 67

Dick has an locus of control because he believes that his hard work has led to his personal success.

Question 68

Effort, skills, ability, and time are all that people make to the organization.

Question 69

A is the overall set of expectations held by an individual about what he or she will contribute to the organization and what the organization will provide to the individual.

Question 70

is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes or traits that distinguish one person from another.

Question 71

are complexes of beliefs and feelings that people have about specific ideas, situations, or other people.

Question 72

Because Stan once read about a scandal involving a local politician, he thinks the politician is untrustworthy.This reflects the
component of his attitude about the candidate.

Question 73

is a personality trait that refers to a person's ability to get along with others.

Question 74

is the degree to which a person is willing to take chances and make risky decisions.

Question 75

describes behavior directed at gaining power and controlling the behavior of others.

Question 76

is a personality trait that refers to a person's comfort level with relationships.

Question 77

Jan's is her feelings toward people who come to work late.

Question 78

A person with a high level of - is likely to feel he or she is a worthwhile and deserving individual.

Question 79

A person who screens out information because he or she is uncomfortable with the information or the information contradicts his or her belief is said to have selective perception.

Question 80

Dan, one of your coworkers, performs acceptable work in terms of quantity and quality and is always willing to work late.He is probably considered a good organizational citizen.