PSYC 60563 – The dependent variable

PSYC 60563 – The dependent variable

Subject: Psychology    / General Psychology
Question
QUESTION 1

The dependent variable is the variable that is

the controlled variable.

manipulated by the researcher.

measured by the researcher.

ignored in most experiments

2 points
QUESTION 2

In order to obtain his degree in telecommunications, Martin must complete courses in and blueprint reading and online security systems as well as assist an expert for 10 hours/week installing fiber optic cables and wireless networks in neighborhoods near campus. This is an example of ________________ training.

on-the-job

simulation

job rotation

apprenticeship

2 points
QUESTION 3

Sampling refers to

the selection of a population to be studied.

the selection of one hypothesis from several proposed hypotheses.

the selection of a representative group from a large population.

the inclusion of all members of a population in a particular study.

2 points
QUESTION 4

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that employers

hire a disabled worker over a more qualified non-disabled worker.

hire any disabled worker for any type of job.

hire a certain percentage of disabled workers into their workforce.

make reasonable accommodations so that disabled workers can perform their jobs.

2 points
QUESTION 5

The best way to collect data is with self-report techniques as subjects always give honest answers.

True

False

2 points
QUESTION 6

Letters of recommendation and references may be somewhat biased because

they are almost always slanted in a positive direction.

for legal reasons, many companies may refuse to provide them if the employee did not leave on positive terms.

candidates may select which references are to be contacted.

All of the above

2 points
QUESTION 7

Dr. O has been hired to evaluate the effectiveness of the Gingerbread Factory’s training program designed to increase worker productivity. In this example, the independent variable is ___________

the training program.

worker productivity.

the hiring team.

Dr. O.

2 points
QUESTION 8

One disadvantage of on-the-job training is

it is very expensive to the organization.

employees are not able to work while they learn.

trainers may not be motivated to train new workers.

trainers always follow established procedures.

2 points
QUESTION 9

Apprenticeships typically involve a combination of
a.

on-the-job training and classroom instruction.
b.

on-the-job training and simulation training.
c.

job rotation and classroom instruction.
d.

none of the above

2 points
QUESTION 10

Industrial/organizational psychology is defined as
a.    the study of work in industry.
b.    the study of human behavior in work settings.
c.

a combination of management principles and work efficiency methods.
d.    the process of analyzing communication between managers and subordinates.

2 points
QUESTION 11

In the Hawthorne studies, workers became more productive because
a.

they were given longer rest breaks.
b.

the lighting was increased.
c.

they knew they were being observed.
d.

they thought they would eventually be rewarded.

2 points
QUESTION 12

A situational interview

asks interviewees how they would deal with an issue that could potentially arise in the workplace.

asks interviewees to perform simulations of work-related behaviors.

asks employees to evaluate their interviewers.

asks interviewees to describe past work incidents that were challenging.

2 points
QUESTION 13

A hypothesis is
a.

a statement of fact.
b.

a natural or physical law which has been proven to be true.
c.

a statement concerning the supposed relationship between or among variables.
d.

an assumption that has not previously been scientifically tested.

2 points
QUESTION 14

The institutional review board
a.    provides regulations for the protection of only human research participants.
b.

is required by all academic institutions except federally funded hospitals.
c.

allows participants to give only verbal consent when the study is determined “safe.”
d.

critically evaluates the potential benefits versus risks of participating in a research study.

2 points
QUESTION 15

A performance appraisal process should include

a performance evaluation.

time for feedback and questions.

a corrective action plan for areas that need improvement.

All of the above

2 points
QUESTION 16

Elton Mayo and his colleagues did not believe that employee morale played a significant role in worker productivity.

True

False

2 points
QUESTION 17

One of the oldest and most widely used training methods is
a.

simulation training.
b.

job rotation.
c.

on-the-job training.
d.

vestibule training.

2 points
QUESTION 18

The Johnson Space Center is home to the nation’s astronaut corps and is responsible for preparing explorers for space travel. Selected candidates complete approximately two years of intensive training before beginning specialized mission training. One training method that the Center is not limited to but likely relies heavily on is _______________ training.

on-the-job

vestibule

behavior model

simulation

2 points
QUESTION 19

Jorge is interviewing Samantha for an associate position at his firm. He asks her if she has ever experienced an interpersonal conflict with a co-worker or supervisor. Samantha responds, “No, not that I recall.” He then asks her to describe how she thinks she might handle an interpersonal conflict with a co-worker if it occurred in the future. This is an example of a ___________________ interview question.

critical incident

behavioral description (BDI)

situational

non-directive

2 points
QUESTION 20

The main benefit of random sampling is
a.

it is always more informative than stratified sampling.
b.

it protects against biases in the selection of participants for study.
c.

it is very flexible and follows very loose guidelines.
d.

it is most frequently used by scientists.

2 points
QUESTION 21

The owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory felt they were “under siege” for all of the following reasons except:

they had tough competition from other companies.

the shirtwaist was going out of style.

factory workers around the city were demanding better working conditions.

laws were enacted requiring them to increase minimum wages.

2 points
QUESTION 22

Match the statement that best fits as a possible descriptor of a Big 5 personality factor.
-A.B.C.D.E.    I am the life of the party.
-A.B.C.D.E.    I am always prepared.
-A.B.C.D.E.    I get stressed out easily.
-A.B.C.D.E.    I have a vivid imagination.
-A.B.C.D.E.    I sympathize with others’ feelings.

A.    Openness
B.    Conscientiousness
C.    Extraversion
D.    Agreeableness
E.    Neuroticism

10 points
QUESTION 23

Angela wants to know if the arithmetic test used in her bank’s pre-screening process measures a job applicant’s math skills. She is concerned with the test’s

internal consistency.

criterion-related validity.

content validity.

concurrent validity.

2 points
QUESTION 24

The most widely used employee screening and selection device is
a.

hiring interviews.
b.

cognitive ability and job skills tests.
c.

assessment centers.
d.

personality and managerial skills tests.

2 points
QUESTION 25

To test the effectiveness of a new training program for sales skills, a randomly selected group of salespeople receives training and another randomly selected group receives no training. The control group is

the amount of sales for each of the groups.

the group of salespeople who received the training.

the group of salespeople who did not receive the training.

a group of salespeople not being evaluated.

2 points
QUESTION 26

Role playing teaches specific managerial skills and also helps managers to develop
a.

positive attitudes about work.
b.

ways to get along with lower-level workers.

.
c.

ways to manipulate others.
d.

communication and presentation skills.

2 points
QUESTION 27

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) explicitly forbids the testing of disabled applicants when using performance-based tests.

True

False

2 points
QUESTION 28

Dr. I is interested in examining differences in worker job satisfaction based on the type of product a team is assigned to work on in the laboratory. In this example, the dependent variable is

job satisfaction.

the type of product worked on by the team.

the workers assigned to each team.

team performance.

2 points
QUESTION 29

Taylor believed that there must be a match between the worker’s skills and abilities and the type of work he or she performs.

True

False

2 points
QUESTION 30

A job analyst asks department store supervisors to describe behavioral examples of the best and worst salespersons they supervised. The job analyst is using

Functional Job Analysis.

the Position Analysis Questionnaire.

the Critical Incidents Technique

the Dictionary of Occupational Titles

2 points
QUESTION 31

Observing new trainees on the job to see how often they use new skills is an example of using what kind of evaluation criteria?
a.

Reaction criteria
b.

Learning criteria
c.

Behavioral criteria
d.

Results criteria

2 points
QUESTION 32

Behavior modeling training involves
a.

replicating job conditions.
b.

the use of separate areas adjacent to the work setting.
c.

demonstrating appropriate and inappropriate work behaviors and outcomes.
d.

a combination of all of the above.

2 points
QUESTION 33

When using interview techniques in a job analysis, more reliable representations of jobs are established when

several employees within a single organization are interviewed.

open-ended questions are used.

only the supervisor of the particular position being analyzed is interviewed.

only one worker in each position is interviewed.

2 points
QUESTION 34

Match each example to the type of employee testing it best represents.
-A.B.C.D.    Reading Comprehension (or Critical Reading) section on the SAT
-A.B.C.D.    Run 250 yards uphill, climb 6-foot wall, crawl through obstacle course
-A.B.C.D.    Copies of press releases and marketing plans you have created
-A.B.C.D.    Bookkeeping proficiency exam

A.    Job Knowledge
B.    Aptitude
C.    Work Sample
D.    Physical Ability

8 points
QUESTION 35

If applicants who scored high on a pre-employment aptitude test perform well at the job 3 months later and applicants who scored low on the same test perform poorly at the job 3 months later, the aptitude test can be said to have

good predictive validity.

good content validity.

good concurrent validity.

good reliability.

2 points
QUESTION 36

The personality categories (O.C.E.A.N) described in the NEO-PI were determined through a statistical technique called ___________.

logistical regression

heuristic analysis

factor analysis

multiple regression

2 points
QUESTION 37

The institutional review board

provides regulations for the protection of researchers.

is required by all academic institutions except federally funded hospitals.

allows participants to give only verbal consent when the study is determined “safe.”

critically evaluates the potential benefits versus risks of participating in a research study.

2 points
QUESTION 38

Keiko would like to improve the person-job fit of new positions she is hiring for. To be successfully do this, she should

hire only very educated and experienced workers.

carefully screen and select employees that meet the job description criteria and place them in areas that they will grow in.

set up specific, challenging work goals for the new hires.

work in groups in order to share job tasks.

2 points
QUESTION 39

During a company retreat, department managers were broken into teams where each team was asked to brainstorm solutions to one of several problems an I/O consultant had identified in the company. The managers were engaged in

360º feedback.

action learning.

simulation training.

behavior model training.

2 points
QUESTION 40

A strong negative correlation is represented by a coefficient of zero (0.0).

True

False

2 points
QUESTION 41

The Solomon four-group design involves

two trained groups measured before and after a training program.

two control groups measured after a training program, and two trained groups measured before and after training.

a training group and a control group measured before and after training, and a training and control group measured after training.

three training groups and one control group all measured before and after the training.

2 points
QUESTION 42

Simulation training is most likely to be used in training

teachers.

doctors.

nuclear power plant operators.

business executives.

2 points
QUESTION 43

Which of the following is an example of a negative correlation?
a.

As turnover increases, absenteeism rates are unchanged.
b.

Greater absenteeism leads to a drop-off in productivity.
c.

The more training, the better worker performance.
d.

The happy worker is a productive worker.