Glossary

absenteeism	Type of counterproductive behavior that involves failure of an employee to report for or remain at work as scheduled.



accident proneness	The general notion that certain individuals are more likely to have accidents than others. Although accident proneness does not exist as a general syndrome, research indicates that certain individual difference characteristics may be associated with unsafe behavior.



accommodation	Adjustments or modifications to the work environment provided by an employer to enable people with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities. A reasonable accommodation must be provided if a person with a disability needs one in order to apply for a job, perform a job, or enjoy benefits equal to those offered to other employees.



achievement	A facet of conscientiousness consisting of hard work, persistence, and the desire to do good work.



achievement strivings (AS)	Type A behavior pattern subcomponent involving the tendency to be active and to work hard in achieving one's goals.



action process	Process that starts with a goal, proceeds to a consideration of events that may occur in the future, then to the development of several alternative plans, the selection of a plan, the execution and monitoring of the chosen plan, and the processing of information resulting from the execution of the plan. The last step, feedback, influences goal development once again.



action structure	Structure that includes the notion that (1) observable action is the result of a number of prior events and plans, hierarchically arranged and (2) the feedback and resulting regulation of actions occur at different levels.



action theory (Rubicon theory)	Theory that includes broad consideration of the role of intention in motivated behavior as well as the connection between intention and action.



active practice	Practice that involves actively participating in a training or work task rather than passively observing someone else performing the task.



activity inhibition	Psychological term used to describe a person who is not impulsive.



actual criterion	The actual measure of job performance obtained.



adaptive performance	Performance component that includes flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.



adverse (or disparate) treatment	Type of discrimination in which the plaintiff attempts to show that the employer actually treated the plaintiff differently than majority applicants or employees; intentional discrimination.



adverse impact	Type of discrimination that acknowledges that the employer may not have intended to discriminate against a plaintiff, but a practice implemented by the employer had the effect of disadvantaging (i.e., had an adverse impact on) the group to which the plaintiff belongs.



adverse impact ratio	Obtained by dividing the selection ratio of the protected group by the selection ratio of the majority group. If this ratio is lower than 80 percent, then there is evidence of adverse impact.



affect	The conscious, subjective aspect of emotion.



affect circumplex	Figure in which opposite emotions appear directly across from each other in the circle.



affective commitment	An element of commitment representing an emotional attachment to an organization.



affective outcome	A type of learning outcome that includes attitudes or beliefs that predispose a person to behave in a certain way.



affiliation need	Need for approval or connections with others.



affirmative action	Program that acknowledges that particular demographic groups may be underrepresented in the work environment; provides specific mechanisms for reducing this underrepresentation.



agreeableness	Likable, easy to get along with, friendly.



alarm reaction	Stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome in which the body mobilizes resources to cope with added stress.



altruism	Helpful behaviors directed toward individuals or groups within the organization, such as offering to help a co-worker who is up against a deadline.



American Psychological Association (APA)	The major professional organization for psychologists of all kinds in the United States.



Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990	Federal legislation that requires employers to give applicants and employees with disabilities the same consideration as other applicants and employees, and to make certain adaptations in the work environment to accommodate disabilities. Applies to a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (e.g., sitting, standing, or sleeping).



apprenticeship	A formal program used to teach a skilled trade.



assessment center	Collection of procedures for evaluation that is administered to groups of individuals; assessments are typically done by multiple assessors.



assimilation model	Model for addressing diversity that recruits, selects, trains, and motivates employees so that they all share the same values and culture.



attempted leadership	Leader accepts the goal of changing the behavior of a follower, and can be observed attempting to change the follower.



attitudes	Relatively stable feelings or beliefs that are directed toward specific persons, groups, ideas, jobs, or other objects.



attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) model	Model that proposes that organizations and individuals undergo a process of jointly assessing probable fit based primarily on personality characteristics. Through a process of attraction, selection, and attrition, the goal is to make the workforce homogeneous with respect to personality characteristics.



autocratic climate	Organization described by Lewin as highly structured with little opportunity for individual responsibility or risk taking at the lowest levels.



automaticity	Occurs when tasks can be performed with limited attention; likely to be developed when learners are given several extra learning opportunities even after they have demonstrated mastery of a task.



automation	A method of completing work through the use of mechanical or electrical devices rather than through direct human action.



autonomous work group	A specific kind of production team that has control over a variety of functions, including planning shift operations, allocating work, determining work priorities, performing a variety of actual work tasks, and recommending new hires as work group members.



autonomy	The extent to which employees can control how and when they perform the tasks of their job.



base rate	The percentage of the current workforce that is performing successfully.



behavior modification	A training and motivational method that is based primarily on reinforcement theory; involves identifying, measuring, rewarding, and evaluating employee behaviors aimed at performance improvement.



behavioral approach	Approach begun by a group of leadership researchers at Ohio State University; focused on the kinds of behavior engaged in by people in leadership roles and identified two major types of leader behavior: consideration and initiating structure.



behavioral criteria	Measures of how well the behaviors learned in training transfer to the job.



behavioral modeling	Learning approach that consists of observing actual job incumbents (or videos of job incumbents) that demonstrate positive modeling behaviors, rehearsing the behavior using a role-playing technique, receiving feedback on the rehearsal, and finally trying out the behavior on the job.



behavioral observation scale (BOS)	Rating scale that asks the rater to consider how frequently an employee has been seen to act in a particular way.



behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS)	Rating format that includes behavioral anchors that describe what a worker has done, or might be expected to do, in a particular duty area.



behaviorist approach	Approach developed by B. F. Skinner that placed the emphasis for behavior and directed activity on the environment rather than on any internal needs or instincts.



bias	A technical and statistical term that deals exclusively with a situation in which a given test results in errors of prediction for a subgroup.



Big Five	A taxonomy of five personality factors; the five factor model (FFM).



biodata	Information collected on an application blank or in a standardized test that includes questions about previous jobs, education, specialized training, and personal history; also known as biographical data.



biofeedback	Stress management technique that teaches individuals to control certain body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and even skin temperature by responding to feedback from an electronic instrument.



biological approach	Approach to work design and redesign used to reduce injuries and increase the physical comfort of the workers through the reduction of fatigue and discomfort.



branching programming	A type of programmed instruction that provides a customized approach enabling each learner to practice material he or she had difficulty with when it was first presented.



buffer or moderator hypothesis	Hypothesis that social support moderates or reduces health problems by protecting individuals from the negative effects of work stressors.



bullying	Harassing, offending, socially excluding, or assigning humiliating tasks to a person of subordinate status repeatedly and over a long period of time.



bureaucracy	Proposed by Max Weber in the 1940s to be the ideal form of organization; included a formal hierarchy, division of labor, and clear set of operating procedures.



burnout	An extreme state of psychological strain resulting from a prolonged response to chronic job stressors that exceed an individual's resources to cope with them.



cardiac psychology	Field that combines the expertise of medical doctors (cardiologists) and psychologists in an effort to reduce heart disease by changing the thought processes of Type A heart patients.



carpal tunnel syndrome	Injury of the hand and wrist caused by stress from various tools, keyboards, and computer "mice," resulting in inflammation, swelling, pain, and numbness.



central tendency error	Error in which raters choose a middle point on the scale as a way to describe performance, even though a more extreme point might better describe the employee.



changing	Second stage in the process of changing an organization in which individuals adopt new values, beliefs, and attitudes.



charisma	A personal attribute of a leader that hypnotizes followers and compels them to identify with and attempt to emulate the leader.



charismatic leader	Leader with followers who are emotionally attached to the leader, never question the leader's beliefs or actions, and see themselves as integral to the accomplishment of the leader's goals.



charismatic leadership theory	Approach with many different versions of the notion that charisma is related to leadership; (1) in a crisis situation, followers will perceive charismatic characteristics in an individual and accept that person as a leader; (2) certain leader behaviors (use of innovative strategies) contribute to a charismatic aura.



checklist	A list of behaviors presented to a rater who is asked to place a check next to each of the items that best (or least) describe the ratee.



circadian cycle	The 24-hour physiological cycle in which humans tend to be active during hours of light and inactive (e.g., sleeping or resting) during hours of darkness.



class certification	Judge's decision based on several criteria that help determine whether individual plaintiffs can file together under a class action suit.



classic organizational theory	Theory that assumes there is one best configuration for an organization, regardless of its circumstances; places a premium on control of individual behavior by the organization.



classroom lecture	Training method in which the trainer communicates through spoken words and audiovisual materials what trainees are supposed to learn; also commonly used to efficiently present a large amount of information to a large number of trainees.



climate	A shared perception among employees regarding a particular work entity (organization or division, department, or even work group). Examples include safety climate and service climate.



climate/culture strength	The extent to which members of an organization share a perception (in the case of climate or a value/belief pattern (in the case of culture).



clinical decision making	Decision making that uses judgment to combine information and to make a decision about the relative value of different candidates or applicants.



coaching	A practical, goal-focused form of personal, one-on-one learning for busy employees that may be used to improve performance, enhance a career, or to work through organizational issues or change initiatives.



cognitive ability	The capacity to reason, plan, and solve problems; mental ability.



cognitive ability test	Test that allows individuals to demonstrate what they know, perceive, remember, understand, or can work with mentally; includes problem identification, problem-solving tasks, perceptual skills, the development or evaluation of ideas, and remembering what one has learned through general experience or specific training.



cognitive outcome	A type of learning outcome that includes declarative knowledge, or knowledge of rules, facts, and principles.



cognitive restructuring	Type of stress intervention that focuses on changing perceptions and thought processes that lead to stress; reduces stress by changing the individual's perception of, or capacity to meet the demands of, the work environment.



cognitive task analysis	Consists of methods for decomposing job and task performance into discrete, measurable units, with special emphasis on eliciting mental processes and knowledge content.



cognitive test battery	A collection of tests that assess a variety of cognitive aptitudes or abilities; often called Multiple Aptitude Test Batteries.



cohesion	The degree to which team members desire to remain in the team and are committed to team goals.



collectivist culture	A culture that values the group more than the individual.



commitment	The psychological and emotional attachment an individual feels to a relationship, an organization, a goal, or an occupation.



comparable worth	Notion that people who are performing jobs of comparable worth to the organization should receive comparable pay.



comparison other	Co-workers or other idealized persons to whom the individual compares him or herself in determining perceived equity.



compensable factors	Factors in a job evaluation system that are given points that are later linked to compensation for various jobs within the organization. These factors usually include skills, responsibility, effort, and working conditions.



compensatory system	Model in which a good score on one test can compensate for a lower score on another test.



competencies	Sets of behaviors that are instrumental in the delivery of desired organizational results or outcomes.



competency modeling	Process that identifies the characteristics desired across all individuals and jobs within an organization. These characteristics should predict behavior across a wide variety of tasks and settings, and provide the organization with a set of core characteristics that distinguish it from other organizations; involves integrating individual characteristics with the organization's strategy.



complexity	Property of automated systems that typically replace the functions of many individuals and, as a result, represents a "job" that is much more complicated than the work done by any one individual.



comprehensive staffing model	Model that gathers enough high-quality information about candidates to predict the likelihood of their success on the varied demands of the job.



compressed workweek	Schedule that permits an employee to work for longer than eight hours a day and fewer than five days a week; most common is the 4y10 plan, which permits the worker to accumulate the 40 hours of the workweek in four days.



computer adaptive testing (CAT)	Testing approach in which every candidate does not need to answer every test item for adequate assessment; approach that presents a test taker with a few items that cover the range of difficulty of the test, identifies a test taker's approximate level of ability, and then asks only questions that will further refine the test taker's position within that ability level.



computer-based training	Training that includes text, graphics, and/or animation presented via computer for the express purpose of teaching job-relevant knowledge and skills.



concurrent validity design	Criterion-related validity design in which there is no time lag between gathering the test scores and the performance data.



conscientiousness	The quality of having positive intentions and carrying them out with care.



consideration	Type of behavior identified in the Ohio State Leadership Studies; included behavior indicating mutual trust, respect, and a certain warmth and rapport between the supervisor and his or her group.



construct	A psychological concept or characteristic that a predictor or criterion is intended to measure. Examples of constructs are intelligence, personality, and leadership.



construct validity	Validity approach in which investigators gather evidence to support decisions or inferences about psychological constructs; often begins with the investigators demonstrating that a test designed to measure a particular construct correlates with other tests in the predicted manner.



constructive work dissatisfaction	A type of dissatisfaction that arouses or energizes individuals and is beneficial for motivating them to join attempts at organizational change.



content-related validation design	Design that demonstrates that the content of the selection procedure represents an adequate sample of important work behaviors and activities and/or worker KSAOs defined by the job analysis.



context	Includes both the announced purpose and other, nonannounced agendas of the circumstances surrounding performance ratings.



context of the work	Conditions or characteristics of work that can change the demands on the incumbent; includes interpersonal relationships, physical work conditions, and structural job characteristics.



contextual performance	Activities that are not typically part of job descriptions but support the organizational, social, and psychological environment in which the job tasks are performed; similar to organizational citizenship behavior.



contingency approach	Approach that was proposed to take into account the role of the situation in the exercise of leadership.



contingency theories of organization	Approaches that propose that the best way to structure an organization actually depends on the circumstances of the organization.



contingent reward	System in which a reward depends on or is contingent upon a particular response.



continuance commitment	An element of commitment representing the perceived cost for leaving an organization.



continuous change	Ongoing, evolving, and cumulative, organizational change characterized by small continuous adjustments, created simultaneously across units, that add up to substantial change.



continuous process organization	An organization that depends on a continuous process for output or product.



continuous reward	System in which a reward is presented every time a correct response occurs.



control	Device such as a keyboard or mouse that permits an individual to take actions.



control theory	Theory based on the principle of a feedback loop which assumes that an individual compares a standard to an actual outcome and adjusts behavior to bring the outcome into agreement with the standard.



coordination loss	Reduced group performance that occurs when team members expend their energies in different directions or fail to synchronize or coordinate their work.



core evaluations	Assessments that individuals make of their circumstances. Elements of core evaluations include self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the absence of neuroticism.



coronary-prone personality	Alternative name given to the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) because of its links to coronary heart disease and heart attacks.



correlation coefficient	Statistic assessing the bivariate, linear association between two variables. Provides information about both the magnitude (numerical value) and the direction (1 or 2) of the relationship between two variables.



counterproductive performance	Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization, its members, or both.



criterion	An outcome variable that describes important aspects or demands of the job; the variable that we predict when evaluating the validity of a predictor.



criterion contamination	Occurs when an actual criterion includes information that is unrelated to the behavior that one is trying to measure.



criterion deficiency	Occurs when an actual criterion is missing information that is part of the behavior that one is trying to measure.



criterion-referenced cut score	Cut score that is established by considering the desired level of performance for a new hire and finding the test score that corresponds to that desired level of performance; sometimes called "domain-referenced" cut score.



criterion-related validity	Validity approach that is demonstrated by correlating a test score with a performance measure. Improves researcher's confidence in the inference that people with higher test scores have higher performance.



critical incident technique	Approach in which subject matter experts are asked to identify critical aspects of behavior or performance in a particular job that led to success or failure.



critical incidents	Examples of behavior that appear "critical" in determining whether performance would be good, average, or poor in specific performance areas.



critical thinking skills	Skills that require active involvement in applying the principles under discussion.



cross-cultural training	Training designed to prepare individuals from one culture to interact more effectively with individuals from different cultures. The goal is to develop trainees' understanding of basic differences in values and communication styles.



cross-training	Training that involves rotating team members through different positions on the team so that they can acquire an understanding of the duties of their teammates and an overview of the teams task.



cross-validation	Process used with multiple regression techniques in which a regression equation developed on a first sample is tested on a second sample to determine if it still fits well; usually carried out with an incumbent sample, and the cross-validated results are then used to weight the predictor scores of an applicant sample.



cultural assimilator	A written or computer-based tool for individual use which presents a collection of scenarios describing challenging, cross-cultural critical incidents.



culture	A system in which individuals share meanings and common ways of viewing events and objects. In organizations it refers to the shared beliefs and values among employees that are created and communicated by the managers and leaders of the organization.



culture shock	A condition typically experienced four to six months after expatriates arrive in a foreign country; symptoms include homesickness, irritability, hostility toward host nationals, and the loss of ability to work effectively.



culture-general assimilator	An assimilator used to sensitize people to cross-cultural differences they may encounter across a wide variety of cultures.



culture-specific assimilator	An assimilator developed for a particular culture.



culture-specific characteristics	Leader characteristics that are more acceptable in some countries than others.



cumulative trauma disorder (CTD)	A common form of workplace injury involving the upper extremities (arm, shoulder, wrist).



cut score	A specified point in a distribution of scores below which candidates are rejected; also known as a "cutoff score."



Daubert challenge	Challenge in which opposing lawyers may ask the judge to prevent the expert witness from voicing an opinion in front of a jury, arguing that the jury will be swayed by an expert testifying about a topic that cannot be considered a legitimate scientific topic.



declarative knowledge	The familiarity with facts or abstract concepts, often acquired through direct instruction; understanding what is required to perform a job or task.



deep acting	A type of emotional labor that consists of managing one's feelings, including the emotions required by the job.



delegation of authority	Refers to information about which lower-level employees report to employees above them in an organization.



deliberate practice	Individualized training on tasks selected by a qualified teacher.



Demand-Control model	A model suggesting that two factors are prominent in producing job stress: job demands and individual control; developed by Robert Karasek.



democratic climate	Organization described by Lewin and colleagues that emphasizes a less structured organization, with greater opportunity for individual responsibility and risk taking.



demographic diversity	Differences in observable attributes or demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity.



dependability	A facet of conscientiousness, consisting of being disciplined, well organized, respectful of laws and regulations, honest, trustworthy, and accepting of authority.



depersonalization	Type of burnout that occurs when individuals become hardened by their job and tend to treat clients or patients like objects.



deposition	An interview under oath taken by an opposing attorney in a lawsuit.



descriptive statistics	Statistics that summarize, organize, and describe a sample of data.



destructive criticism	Negative feedback that is cruel, sarcastic, and offensive; usually general rather than specific and often directed toward personal characteristics of the employee rather than job-relevant behaviors.



determinants of performance	The basic building blocks or causes of performance, which are declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and motivation.



development	Refers to formal education, job experiences, mentoring relationships, and assessments of personality and abilities that help employees prepare for the future.



Dictionary of Occupational Titles (D.O.T.)	Document that includes job analysis and occupational information that is used to match applicants with job openings; one major purpose of the D.O.T was, and still is, for use in occupational counseling.



differential psychology	The scientific study of differences between or among two or more people.



discovery	Process in which lawyers are given access to potential witnesses who will be called by the other side, as well as any documents relevant to the complaints.



dishonesty	Involves employee theft of goods as well as theft of time (e.g., arriving late, leaving early, taking unnecessary sick days) or dishonest communications with customers, co-workers, or management.



disinterestedness	Characteristic of scientists who should be objective and uninfluenced by biases or prejudices when conducting research.



display	Device such as a computer screen that provides an individual with information.



dissonance theory	Festinger's theory that tension exists when individuals hold "dissonant cognitions" (incompatible thoughts). This approach assumes that individuals always seek some sense of "balance" (i.e., absence of tension) and that they will direct their behavior toward reducing the tension resulting from dissonant cognitions.



distance learning	Approach that allows trainees to interact and communicate with an instructor by using audio and video (e.g., television, computer, or radio) links that allow for learning from a distant location.



distress	A type of stress resulting from chronically demanding situations that produce negative health outcomes.



distributed practice	Provides individuals with rest intervals between practice sessions, which are spaced over a longer period of time.



distributive justice	Type of justice that focuses on the perceived fairness of the allocation of outcomes or rewards to organizational members.



diversity	Traditionally refers to differences in demographic characteristics, but also includes differences in values, abilities, interests, and experiences.



division of labor	The tasks performed in an organization can be divided into specialized jobs and departmental functions.



drive	Nonhuman equivalent of motives and needs.



duties	Groups of similar tasks; each duty involves a segment of work that is directed at one of the general goals of a job.



ecology model	Underlying model for life history biodata instruments. Proposes that the events that make up a person's history represent choices made by the individual to interact with his or her environment. These choices can signal abilities, interests, and personality characteristics.



effective leadership	Leader changes a follower's behavior, resulting in both leader and follower feeling satisfied and effective.



effectiveness	The evaluation of the results of performance; often controlled by factors beyond the actions of an individual.



"80 percent" or "4/5ths" rule	Guideline for assessing whether there is evidence of adverse impact. If it can be shown that a protected group received less than 80 percent of the desirable outcomes (e.g., job offers, promotions) received by a majority group, the plaintiffs can claim to have met the burden of demonstrating adverse impact.



electronic performance monitoring	Monitoring work processes with electronic devices; can be cost effective and has the potential for providing detailed and accurate work logs.



emotion	An affect or feeling, often experienced and displayed in reaction to an event or thought and accompanied by physiological changes in various systems of the body, often intense enough to disrupt thought processes.



emotional exhaustion	Type of burnout that occurs when individuals feel emotionally drained by work.



emotional intelligence (EI)	A proposed kind of intelligence that is focused on our awareness of our own and others' emotions.



emotional intelligence quotient (EQ)	Parallels the notion of intelligence quotient (IQ); a score on a test of emotional intelligence.



emotional labor	Regulation of one's emotions to meet job or organizational demands. Such regulation can be achieved through surface acting and deep acting.



emotional stability	Displaying little emotion or showing the same emotional response in various situations.



emotion-focused coping	Type of coping that involves reducing the emotional response to a problem by avoiding, minimizing, or distancing oneself from the problem.



employee assistance program (EAP)	Counseling provided by an organization to deal with work stress, alcohol or drug difficulties, and problems stemming from outside the job; originally developed by organizations to address alcohol and drug problems, but subsequently broadened to include stress management interventions.



employee comparison methods	Form of evaluation that involves the direct comparison of one person to another.



engineering approach to safety	Approach that assumes an individual will engage in an action that might lead to injury unless the environment prevents that action.



episodic change	Organizational change characterized as infrequent, discontinuous, and intentional; often launched with fanfare, with senior leaders clearly articulating pathways to change and disseminating information about the process and desired end state.



EQ	Abbreviation for emotional intelligence quotient.



Equal Pay Act of 1963	Law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages or benefits, where men and women perform work of similar skill, effort, and responsibility for the same employer under similar working conditions.



equality norm	Definition of fairness based on the view that people should receive approximately equal rewards; most common foundation for defining fairness in Scandinavian and Asian countries.



equity theory	Motivational theory developed by Adams suggesting that individuals look at their world in terms of comparative inputs and outcomes. Individuals compare their inputs and outcomes with others (e.g., peers, co-workers) by developing an input/outcome ratio.



equivalent forms reliability	Form of reliability calculated by correlating measurements from a sample of individuals who complete two different forms of the same test.



ERG theory	Alderfer's theory of human needs that proposes that human needs are best thought of as arranged in three levels: existence, relatedness, and growth.



ergonomics	The study of the physical demands of work such as reaching, stretching, lifting, and carrying.



ethnocentrism	A multinational model in which the values of the parent company predominate.



ethnographically informed design	Type of user-centered design that takes into account power relationships, tacit knowledge of the organization and its procedures, and organizational climate and culture.



eustress	Type of stress that provides challenges that motivate individuals to work hard and meet their goals.



evolutionary/ecological approach	Approach that adopts a biological model and concentrates on explaining why some types of organizations thrive and diversify, while others atrophy and disappear.



exhaustion	A stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome in which overall resistance drops and adverse consequences (e.g., burnout, severe illness, and even death) can result unless stress is reduced.



expatriate	Manager or professional assigned to work in a location outside of his or her home country.



expectancy	An individual's belief that a particular behavior (e.g., effort, hard work) will lead to a particular outcome (e.g., a promotion).



expectancy framework	Approach in which employees expectations about the relationship between how much effort they expend and how well they perform are important to employee motivation and learning.



experience	Direct participation in, or observation of, events and activities that serves as a basis for knowledge.



experimental control	Characteristic of research in which possible confounding influences that might make results less reliable or harder to interpret are eliminated; often easier to establish in laboratory studies than in field studies.



experimental design	Design in which participants are randomly assigned to different conditions.



expert performance	Performance exhibited by those who have been practicing for at least 10 years and have spent an average of four hours per day in deliberate practice.



expert witness	Witness in a lawsuit who is permitted to voice opinions about organizational practices.



external criteria	Criteria that assess whether changes as a result of training occur when trainees are back on the job.



extrinsic satisfaction	Concerns aspects of satisfaction that are extrinsic, or external, to job tasks, such as pay or benefits.



facet satisfaction	Information related to specific facets or elements of job satisfaction.



fairness	A value judgment about actions or decisions based on test scores.



false negative	Decision in which an applicant was rejected but would have performed adequately or successfully. The decision is false because of the incorrect prediction that the applicant would not have performed successfully and negative because the applicant was not hired.



false positive	Decision in which an applicant was accepted but performed poorly. The decision is false because of the incorrect prediction that the applicant would have performed successfully and positive because the applicant was hired.



feedback	Knowledge of the results of one's actions; enhances learning and performance in training and on the job.



feedback loop	Connection between knowledge of results and the intermediate states that occur between goal commitment and performance.



fidelity	The extent to which the task trained is similar to the task required on the job.



field theory	Kurt Lewin's approach proposing that various forces in the psychological environment interacted and combined to yield a final course of action.



fight-or-flight reaction	Adaptive response to stressful situations exhibited by animals and humans in which they choose to either fight or attempt to escape.



Five Factor Model (FFM)	A taxonomy of five personality factors, comprised of conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, and openness to experience.



fixed band system	System in which candidates in lower bands are not considered until higher bands have been completely exhausted.



fixed shift	Workers are permanently assigned to a particular shift.



flextime	Schedule in which individual workers are given discretion over the time they report to work and the time they leave work on a given day.



Flynn effect	The phenomenon in which new generations appear to be smarter than their parents by a gain of 15 points in average intelligence test score per generation; named after the political scientist who has done extensive research on the topic.



forced choice format	Rating format that requires the rater to choose two statements out of four that could describe the ratee.



forced distribution rating system	System requiring evaluators to place employees into performance categories based on a predetermined percentage of employees in different categories (low, moderate, high).



frame-of-reference (FOR) training	Rater training based on the assumption that a rater needs a context or "frame" for providing a rating; includes (1) providing information about the multidimensional nature of performance, (2) ensuring that raters understand the meaning of the anchors on the scale, (3) engaging in practice rating exercises of a standard performance by means of videotape, and (4) providing feedback on practice exercises.



frustration-aggression hypothesis	Argues that frustration leads to aggression, a hypothesis which ultimately was found to be too broad when it became clear that aggression was only one possible response to frustration and that not everyone responded to frustration with aggression.



full-range theory of leadership	Hierarchical model that ranges from laissez-faire leadership through transactional leadership to transformational leadership.



functional personality at work	The way that an individual behaves, handles emotions, and accomplishes tasks in a work setting; a combination of Big Five personality factors.



"g"	The abbreviation for general mental ability.



General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)	A nearly identical response sequence to almost any disease or trauma (e.g., poisoning, injury, psychological stress); identified by Hans Seyle.



general mental ability	The nonspecific capacity to reason, learn, and solve problems in any of a wide variety of ways and circumstances.



generalizability theory	A sophisticated approach to the question of reliability that simultaneously considers all types of error in reliability estimates (e.g., test-retest, equivalent forms, and internal consistency).



generalize	To apply the results from one study or sample to other participants or situations.



generalized compliance	Behavior that is helpful to the broader organization, such as upholding company rules.



geocentrism	A multinational model in which a new corporatewide policy is developed to handle issues in a way that creates a global perspective.



Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE)	A large-scale cross-cultural study of leadership that involves the efforts of 170 social scientists and management researchers in over 60 countries.



goal setting	Motivational approach in which specific, difficult goals direct attention and improve performance in training and on the job.



goal-setting theory	Approach proposed by Locke and colleagues in which the general concept of a goal is adapted to work motivation. A goal is seen as a motivational force, and individuals who set specific, difficult goals perform better than individuals who simply adopt a "do your best" goal or no goal at all.



g-ocentric model	The tendency to understand and predict the behavior of workers simply by examining "g"; coined by Sternberg and Wagner (1993).



graphic rating scale	Scale that graphically displays performance scores that run from high on one end to low on the other end.



graphology	A technique that presumes that traits can be assessed from various characteristics of a person's handwriting; also known as handwriting analysis.



great man/great woman theory	Theory developed by historians who examined the life of a respected leader for clues leading to his or her greatness; often focused on a galvanizing experience or an admirable trait (persistence, optimism, or intelligence) that the leader possesses to a singular degree.



group dynamics	Approach that grew out of the application of Kurt Lewin's field theory to industry.



group polarization	The tendency for groups to make more extreme decisions (e.g., more cautious or more risky) than those made by individuals.



group test	Test that can be administered to large groups of individuals; often valuable in reducing the costs (both in time and money) of testing many applicants.



groupthink	A mode of thinking engaged in by people deeply involved in a cohesive group and when group members' desire for agreement overrides their motivation to appraise alternative courses of action realistically.



halo error	Error that occurs when a rater assigns the same rating to an employee on a series of dimensions, creating a halo or aura that surrounds all of the ratings, causing them to be similar.



hands-on performance measurement	Evaluation that requires an employee to engage in work-related tasks; usually includes carefully constructed simulations of central or critical pieces of work that involve single workers.



hardiness	A set of personality characteristics that provide resistance to stress. Hardy individuals feel in control of their lives, have a sense of commitment to their family and their work goals and values, and see unexpected change as a challenge.



Hawthorne effect	Refers to a change in behavior or attitudes that was the simple result of increased attention.



Hawthorne studies	Research done at the Hawthorne, Illinois, plant of the Western Electric Company that began as attempts to increase productivity by manipulating lighting, rest breaks, and work hours. This research showed the important role that workers' attitudes played in productivity.



high performance work practices	Practices that include the use of formal job analyses, selection from within for key positions, merit-based promotions, and the use of formal assessment devices for selection.



hobo syndrome	Refers to the tendency of some workers to be more prone to change jobs than others.



horizontal culture	A culture that minimizes distances between individuals.



hostile working environment sexual harassment	Harassment that occurs when a pattern of conduct, which is perceived as offensive and is related to sex or gender, unreasonably interferences with work performance.



hostility	Type A behavior pattern subcomponent associated with increased secretion of stress hormones as well as increased risk of coronary heart disease and other long-term, harmful health outcomes.



human engineering or human factors psychology	The study of the capacities and limitations of humans with respect to a particular environment.



human error	The view that if humans can be taken out of the system, the threat of accidents will be greatly reduced; often used as an explanation for a catastrophic accident.



human factors	Approach that uses knowledge of human capabilities and limitations to design systems, organizations, jobs, machines, tools, and consumer products for safe, efficient, and comfortable human use; synonymous with human factors engineering or human factors psychology.



Human Relations Movement	The results of the Hawthorne studies ushered in this movement, which focused on work attitudes and the newly discovered emotional world of the worker.



human relations theory	Approach that adds a personal or human element to the study of organizations; considers the interrelationship between an organization's requirements and the characteristics of its members.



human resources management (HRM)	Practices such as recruiting, selection, retention, training and development of people (human resources) in order to achieve individual and organizational goals.



human-computer interface (HCI)	The interaction between a human and a computer.



hurdle system	A noncompensatory strategy in which an individual has no opportunity to compensate at a later assessment stage for a low score in an earlier stage of the assessment process.



hurry sickness	Severe and chronic feelings of time urgency that negatively affect one's lifestyle.



hygiene needs	Lower-level needs described in Herzberg's two-factor theory, which proposed that meeting these needs would eliminate dissatisfaction, but would not result in motivated behavior or a state of positive satisfaction.



hypothesis	Prediction about relationship(s) among variables of interest.



idealized influence	Leaders display conviction, emphasize trust, take stands on difficult issues, emphasize the importance of commitment and purpose, and are aware of the ethical consequences of their decisions.



impatience/irritability (II)	Type A behavior pattern subcomponent that reflects intolerance and frustration resulting from being slowed down.



incremental validity	The value in terms of increased validity of adding a particular predictor to an existing selection system.



indicators	Quantitative measures of how well each objective is being met in the ProMES approach.



individual assessment	Situation in which only one candidate (or a very few) is assessed on many different attributes.



individual differences	The dissimilarities between or among two or more people.



individual test	Test that can be given only on an individual basis.



individualism/collectivism	The degree to which individuals are expected to look after themselves compared to remaining integrated into groups.



individualist culture	A culture that values the individual more than the group.



individualized consideration	Leaders deal with others as individuals; consider individual needs, abilities, and aspirations; listen attentively; and advise, coach, and teach.



industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology	The application of psychological principles, theory, and research to the work setting.



inferential statistics	Statistics used to aid the researcher in testing hypotheses and making inferences from sample data to a larger sample or population.



informal training	Training experiences that occur outside of formal training programs; can include specific job assignments, experiences, and activities outside work.



in-group members	Followers who have high-quality relationships with their leader and high latitude for negotiating their work roles.



initiating structure	Type of behavior identified in the Ohio State Leadership Studies; included behavior in which a supervisor organizes and defines group activities and his or her relation to the group.



input component	Component that provides information to a human or computer.



input/outcome ratio	Ratio that results when employees compare their inputs and outcomes to those of others (e.g., peers, co-workers) to determine if they are being treated equitably.



input-process-output model of team effectiveness	Model that provides links among team inputs, processes, and outputs, thereby providing a way to understand how teams perform and how to maximize their performance.



inputs	The training, effort, skills, and abilities that employees bring to or invest in their work.



inspirational motivation	Leaders articulate an appealing vision of the future, challenge followers with high standards, talk optimistically with enthusiasm, and provide encouragement and meaning for what needs to be done.



instinct	Inborn tendency that is thought to direct behavior.



instrumentality	The perceived relationship between performance and the attainment of a certain outcome.



integrity	The quality of being honest, reliable, and ethical, as in an employee.



intellectual stimulation	Leaders question old assumptions, values, and beliefs; stimulate new ways of doing things, and encourage expression of ideas and reasons.



intelligence	The ability to learn and adapt to an environment; often refers to general intellectual capacity, as opposed to cognitive ability or mental ability which often refer to more specific abilities such as memory or reasoning.



intelligence quotient (IQ)	The measure of intelligence obtained by giving a subject a standardized "IQ" test. The score is obtained by multiplying by 100 the ratio of the subject's mental age to chronological age.



intelligence test	Instrument designed to measure the ability to reason, learn, and solve problems.



interactional justice	Type of justice concerned with the sensitivity with which employees are treated; associated with the extent to which an employee feels respected by the employer.



intercultural sensitivity	The ability to interpret events in the same way as those from other cultures.



interests	Preferences or likings for broad ranges of activities.



intermittent reward	System in which only a portion of correct responses are rewarded.



internal consistency	Form of reliability that assesses how consistently the items of a test measure a single construct. Affected by the number of items in the test and the correlations among the test items.



internal criteria	Criteria that assess trainee reactions to and learning in the training program; generally assessed before trainees leave the training program.



interpersonal competence	Includes social awareness and social skills such as the ability to resolve conflict and foster a spirit of cooperation.



interpersonal conflict	Negative interactions with co-workers, supervisors, or clients which can range from heated arguments to subtle incidents of unfriendly behavior.



interpersonal justice	Justice that focuses on the respectfulness and personal tone of the communications surrounding the evaluation, particularly the feedback and performance planning that follows the evaluation.



intrinsic satisfaction	Concerns aspects of satisfaction that are central, or intrinsic, to the job or work itself such as responsibility.



introspection	Early scientific method in which the participant was also the experimenter, who would record his or her experiences in completing an experimental task; considered very subjective by modern standards.



IQ	Abbreviation for intelligence quotient.



job analysis	A process used by I-O psychologists to develop an understanding of a job by identifying the duties of the job and the human attributes necessary to perform them.



job control	Component of Demand-Control model that refers to a combination of autonomy in the job and discretion for using different skills.



job demand	Component of demand-control model that refers to the workload or intellectual requirements of the job.



Job Descriptive Index (JDI)	One of the most extensively researched and documented job satisfaction instruments; assesses satisfaction with five distinct areas of work: the work itself, supervision, people, pay, and promotion.



job embeddedness	Refers to the many and varied types of commitment that individuals feel toward co-workers, teams, organizations, and careers.



job enrichment	A motivational approach that involves increasing the responsibility and interest level of jobs in order to increase the motivation and job satisfaction of employees performing those jobs.



job evaluation	A method for making internal pay decisions by comparing job titles to one another and determining their relative merit by way of these comparisons.



job ladder or job family	Cluster of positions that are similar in terms of the human attributes needed to be successful in those positions or in terms of the tasks that are carried out in those positions.



job maturity	A subordinate's job-related ability, skills, and knowledge.



job psychograph	Early form used in a job analysis to display the mental requirements of the job.



job rotation	Approach that involves moving employees to various departments or areas of a company, or to various jobs within a single department.



job satisfaction	Positive attitude or emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experience.



job withdrawal	Represents an individual's willingness to sever ties to an organization and the work role; includes intentions to quit or retire.



judgmental performance measure	Evaluation made of the effectiveness of an individual's work behavior, most often by supervisors in the context of a yearly performance evaluation.



justice hypothesis of workplace violence	Hypothesis that proposes that some violent acts can be understood as reactions by an employee against perceived injustice.



just-in-time (JIT) production	System that depends on the detailed tracking of materials and production so that the materials and human resources necessary for production arrive just in time. Central to the reduction of waste in lean production processes.



knowledge	A collection of specific and interrelated facts and information about a particular topical area.



knowledge test	Test that assesses the extent to which individuals understand course or training materials; also administered for licensing and certification purposes.



KSAOs	Individual attributes of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that are required to perform job tasks successfully, grouped as follows: knowledge-a collection of discrete but related facts and information about a particular domain which is acquired through formal education or training, or accumulated through specific experiences; skill-a practiced act; ability-The stable capacity to engage in a specific behavior; and other characteristics-personality variables, interests, training and experience.



laissez-faire leadership	The lowest level of leadership identified by Bass who contrasted it with transactional leadership and transformational leadership.



large batch and mass production organization	An organization that produces large numbers of discrete units, often using assembly-line operations.



layoff	Job loss due to employer downsizing or reductions in the workforce; often comes without warning, or with a generic warning that the workforce will be reduced.



leader	The individual in a group given the task of directing and coordinating task-relevant group activities or, in the absence of a designated leader, carries the primary responsibility for performing these functions in the group.



leader development	Training that concentrates on developing, maintaining, or enhancing individual leader attributes such as knowledge, skills, and abilities.



leader emergence	The study of the characteristics of individuals who become leaders, thereby examining the basis on which they were elected, appointed, or simply accepted.



leader-member exchange (LMX) theory	Leadership theory that proposed that leaders adopt different behaviors with individual subordinates and that the particular behavior pattern of the leader develops over time and depends to a large extent on the quality of the leader-subordinate relationship.



leadership development	Training that concentrates on the leader-follower relationship and on developing an environment in which the leader can build networked relationships among individuals that enhance cooperation and resource exchange in creating organizational value.



leadership effectiveness	The study of which behaviors on the part of a designated leader (regardless of how that position was achieved) lead to an outcome valued by the work group or organization.



lean production	Method that focuses on reducing waste in every form including overproduction, lengthy waiting times for materials, excessive transportation costs, unnecessary stock, and defective products.



learning	A relatively permanent change in behavior and human capabilities that is produced by experience and practice.



learning criteria	Measures that assess how much was learned in the training program.



learning organization	Company that emphasizes continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and personal mastery.



leniency error	Error that occurs with raters who are unusually easy in their ratings.



level of specificity	A method used to gauge experience according to task, job, and organizational characteristics.



"life-cycle" of a leader-follower relationship	Describes recent versions of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory that include a dynamic process in which the task of the leader is to drive the relationship from a tentative first-stage relationship to a deeper, more meaningful one.



limited rationality	The inability of humans to reason and make decisions in perfectly rational ways.



linear	Relationship between two variables that can be depicted by a straight line.



linear programming	A type of programmed instruction in which all trainees proceed through the same material.



locus of control (LOC)	A construct that refers to the belief of individuals that what happens to them is under their control (internal LOC) or beyond their control (external LOC).



long-term versus short-term orientation	The extent to which members of a culture expect immediate rather than delayed gratification of their material, social, and emotional needs.



Lordstown syndrome	Act of sabotage named after a General Motors plant plagued with acts of sabotage, including workers' intentional dropping of nuts and bolts into an engine, or neglecting to anchor parts to a car body appropriately.



low personal accomplishment	A type of burnout in which individuals feel they cannot deal with problems effectively and understand or identify with others' problems.



management by objectives (MBO)	A concept introduced in the mid-1950s to define and measure employee performance; proposed a plan to direct the efforts of workers and managers through a plan that includes objectives and methods to meet those performance objectives.



masculinity/femininity	The distribution of emotional roles between the genders with the masculine role perceived as "tough" and the feminine role as "tender."



Maslow's need theory	Theory that proposed that all humans have a basic set of needs that express themselves over the life span of the individual as internal "pushes" or drives; identified five basic need sets: physiological, security, love or social, esteem, and self-actualization.



massed practice	Conditions in which individuals practice a task continuously and without rest.



mastery orientation	Orientation in which individuals are concerned with increasing their competence for the task at hand; they view errors and mistakes as part of the learning process.



matrix organization	Organization in which individuals have dual reporting relationships: reporting to a project (product) manager and to a home department (functional) manager.



mean	The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution; obtained by summing all of the scores in a distribution and dividing by the sample size.



measure of central tendency	Statistic that indicates where the center of a distribution is located. Mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency.



measurement	Assigning numbers to characteristics of individuals or objects according to rules.



measurement modes	The unit of measurement used to assess experience.



mechanistic approach	Approach to work design and redesign that is used to increase productive efficiency through the modification of tasks or equipment.



mechanistic organization	An organization that depends on formal rules and regulations, makes decisions at higher levels of the organization, and has small spans of control.



median	The middle score in a distribution.



mental ability	The capacity to reason, plan, and solve problems; cognitive ability.



Mental Measurements Yearbook	A widely used source that includes an extensive listing of tests as well as reviews of those tests.



mental test	An instrument designed to measure a subject's ability to reason, plan, and solve problems; an intelligence test.



merit or equity norm	Definition of fairness based on the view that the people who work hardest or produce the most should get the greatest rewards; most common foundation for defining fairness in the United States.



meta-analysis	A statistical method for combining and analyzing the results from many studies to draw a general conclusion about relationships among variables.



metric	A standard of measurement; a scale.



microculture	Occurs when a work group develops its own view of a particular culture (e.g., safety) in an organization.



Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)	A commonly used job satisfaction instrument that assesses particular aspects of work (e.g., achievement, ability utilization) as well as scores for extrinsic satisfaction and intrinsic satisfaction.



mixed standard scale	Method of performance rating that is like a checklist, except that it includes behavioral expectation statements like those found in BARS scales; includes three statements for each dimension that describe good, average, and poor performance.



mode	The most common or frequently occurring score in a distribution.



modesty bias	Occurs when raters give themselves lower ratings than are warranted.



mood	Generalized state of feeling not identified with a particular stimulus and not sufficiently intense to interrupt ongoing thought processes.



motivation	Concerns the conditions responsible for variations in intensity, quality, and direction of ongoing behavior.



motivational approach to work place safety	Approach to work design and redesign that is used to increase worker satisfaction and reduce turnover through modification of motivational levels.



motivational approach to work design	Approach that assumes that a worker is capable of behaving safely, but may choose not to, so the worker must be motivated to behave safely.



Motivational Trait Questionnaire (MTQ)	A questionnaire that provides a standardized method of assessing six distinct aspects of general performance motivation.



motivator needs	Higher-level needs described in Herzberg's two-factor theory, which proposed that meeting such needs resulted in the expenditure of effort as well as satisfaction.



motor abilities	The physical functions of movement, associated with coordination, dexterity, and reaction time; also called psychomotor or sensorimotor abilities.



Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)	Self-report instrument used in the development and validation of the theory of transformational leadership.



multinational staffing	Procedures that involve staffing for organizations in more than one country.



multiple correlation coefficient	Statistic that represents the overall linear association between several variables (e.g., cognitive ability, personality, experience) on the one hand, and a single variable (e.g., job performance) on the other hand.



multiple hurdle system	Constructed from multiple hurdles so that candidates who do not exceed each of the minimum dimension scores are excluded from further consideration.



multiple regression analysis	Analysis that results in an equation for combining test scores into a composite based on the correlations among the test scores and the correlations of each test score with the performance score.



muscular endurance	The physical ability to continue to use a single muscle or muscle group repeatedly over a period of time.



muscular power	The physical ability to lift, pull, push, or otherwise move an object; unlike endurance, this is a one-time maximum effort.



muscular tension	The physical quality of muscular strength.



musculoskeletal disorders	Disorders of the lower back and upper extremities (arm, shoulder, wrist) which are the most commonly studied injuries related to workplace safety.



National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)	One of two federal agencies established to maintain and enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Act; responsible for conducting research on safety and work stress.



need	Internal motivation that is thought to be inborn and universally present in humans.



need norm	Definition of fairness based on the view that people should receive rewards in proportion to their needs.



negative affectivity (NA)	Characteristic in which individuals are prone to experience a diverse array of negative mood states (e.g., anxiety, depression, hostility, and guilt).



negative valence	A continuum of unfavorable personality characteristics running from normal to abominable.



nonexperimental design	Design that does not include any "treatment" or assignment to different conditions.



nonlinear	Relationship between two variables that cannot be depicted by a straight line; sometimes called "curvilinear" and most easily identified by examining a scatterplot.



norm group	The group whose tests scores are used to compare and understand an individual's test score.



normative commitment	An element of commitment representing an obligation to remain in the organization.



norming	Comparing a test score to other relevant test scores.



norm-referenced cut score	Cut score that is based on some index of the test-takers' scores rather than any notion of job performance.



norms	The informal and sometimes unspoken rules that teams adopt to regulate members' behavior.



*ONET**	Abbreviation for Occupational Information Network.



objective performance measure	Usually a quantitative count of the results of work such as sales volume, complaint letters, and output.



observational design	Design in which the researcher observes employee behavior and systematically records what is observed.



occupational commitment	Commitment to a particular occupational field; includes affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the occupation.



occupational health psychology	Field that involves the application of psychology to improving the quality of work life, and to protecting and promoting the safety, health, and well-being of workers.



*Occupational Information Network (ONET)**	A collection of electronic databases, based on well-developed taxonomies, that has updated and replaced the D.O.T.; expert computer systems have been developed to allow the databases to be combined in ways that will facilitate person-job matches.



Occupational Safety and Health Act	Federal law passed in 1970 to ensure, as far as possible, that every working man and woman in the nation has safe and healthful working conditions.



Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)	One of two federal agencies established to maintain and enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Act; plays a regulatory role in terms of establishing and enforcing health and safety standards.



on-the-job training	Training that involves assigning trainees to jobs and encouraging them to observe and learn from more experienced employees.



opponent process theory	Theory of job satisfaction that proposes that every emotional reaction is accompanied by an opposing emotional reaction.



organic organization	An organization that has a large span of control, less formal procedures, and decision making at middle levels.



organization	A group of people who have common goals and who follow a set of operating procedures to develop products and services.



organizational analysis	Component of training needs analysis that examines organizational goals, available resources, and the organizational environment; helps to determine where training should be directed.



organizational chart	A diagram of an organization's structure.



organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)	Behavior that goes beyond what is expected.



organizational development (OD)	Action-oriented approach providing techniques that work to help a client organization grow or change.



organizational fit model	Model that accounts for the way people choose jobs by examining the match between the personality and values of the individual and the organization.



organizational justice	Type of justice that is composed of organizational procedures, outcomes, and interpersonal interactions.



organizational psychology	Field of psychology that combines research from social psychology and organizational behavior and addresses the emotional and motivational side of work.



outcomes	The compensation, satisfaction, and other benefits employees derive from their work.



out-group members	Members who have low-quality relationships with their leader and little latitude for negotiating their work roles.



output component	Component that receives information from a human or computer and converts that information to action.



overall satisfaction	An overall assessment of job satisfaction that results either from mathematically combining scores based on satisfaction with specific important aspects of work or a single overall evaluative rating of the job.



overt integrity test	Test that asks questions directly about past honesty behavior (e.g., stealing) as well as attitudes toward various behaviors such as employee theft.



paired comparison	Technique in which each employee in a work group or a collection of individuals with the same job title is compared with each other individual in the group on the various dimensions being considered.



paper and pencil test	One of the most common forms of industrial testing that requires no manipulation of any objects other than the instrument used to respond.



part learning	Training approach in which subtasks are practiced separately and later combined.



participative behavior	Behavior identified in the Michigan Leadership Studies; allows subordinates more participation in decision making and encourages more two-way communication.



participatory design	Design adopted in usability engineering that is stated in user-directed terms.



path-goal leadership theory	Leadership theory proposed by House and his colleagues that includes both the characteristics of the subordinate and the characteristics of the situation. It assumes that the leader's responsibility is to show the subordinate the path to valued goals.



path-goal motivation theory	First formal work motivation theory to suggest that people weighed options before choosing among them (Georgopolus, Mahoney, & Jones, 1957). Reasoned that if a worker saw high productivity as a path to the goal of desired rewards or personal goals (e.g., a pay increase or promotion, or increased power, prestige, or responsibility), that worker would likely be a high producer.



peer reviewed	Process in which research is subjected to scientific scrutiny by peer researchers who evaluate the research and consider plausible alternative explanations.



people skills	A nontechnical term that includes negotiating skills, communication skills, and conflict resolution skills.



perceptual-motor abilities	Physical attributes that combine the senses (e.g., seeing, hearing, smell) and motion (e.g., coordination, dexterity).



perceptual-motor approach	Approach to work design and redesign that is used to reduce errors or accidents through knowledge of perceptual motor skills and abilities.



performance	Actions or behaviors that are relevant to the organization's goals and measurable in terms of each individual's proficiency.



performance components	Types of performance that may appear in different jobs and that result from the determinants of performance. John Campbell and colleagues identified eight performance components, some or all of which can be found in every job.



performance management	System that emphasizes the link between individual behavior and organizational strategies and goals by defining performance in the context of those goals; jointly developed by managers and the people who report to them.



performance orientation	Orientation in which individuals are concerned about doing well in training and being evaluated positively.



performance test	Test that requires the individual to make a response by manipulating a particular physical object or piece of equipment.



person analysis	Component of training needs analysis that identifies which individuals within the organization should receive training and what kind of instruction they need.



"person as godlike" metaphor	Metaphor that suggests that people are perfectly rational and intentional rather than automatic or reflexive.



person-as-intentional approach	Motivational approach that assumes individuals are intentional in their behavior.



"person as judge" metaphor	Metaphor in which an individual seeks information about the extent to which the person and others are perceived as responsible for positive and negative events. The person looks for evidence of intent in the actions of others and considers those intentions in choosing a personal course of action.



"person as machine" metaphor	Metaphor that suggests that people's behaviors and actions are reflexive and involuntary and are performed without conscious awareness.



"person as scientist" metaphor	Metaphor that suggests that people are active information gatherers and analysts who seek knowledge and understanding as a way of mastering their environment.



personality	An individual's behavioral and emotional characteristics, generally found to be stable over time and in a variety of circumstances; an individual's habitual way of responding.



personality based integrity test	Test that infers honesty and integrity from questions dealing with broad constructs such as conscientiousness, reliability, and social responsibility and awareness.



Personality-Related Position Requirements Form (PPRF)	A job analysis instrument devoted to identifying personality predictors of job performance.



person-job (P-J) fit	Extent to which the skills, abilities, and interests of an individual are compatible with the demands of the job.



personnel approach	Approach that emphasizes the selection of particular groups of individuals identified by individual difference characteristics, or that provides training to overcome potential risk factors prevalent in some individuals.



personnel measure	Measure typically kept in a personnel file, including absences, accidents, tardiness, rate of advancement, disciplinary actions, and commendations or notes of meritorious behavior.



personnel psychology	Field of psychology that addresses issues such as recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal, promotion, transfer, and termination.



person-organization (P-O) fit	Extent to which the values of an employee are consistent with the values held by most others in the organization.



physical abilities	Bodily powers such as muscular strength, flexibility, and stamina.



physical fidelity	The extent to which the training task mirrors the physical features of the task performed on the job.



policy capturing	Technique that allows researchers to code various characteristics and determine which weighed most heavily in raters' decision making.



polycentrism	A multinational model in which the values of the local company are accepted.



polygraph	Machine that measures a person's physiological reactions. Approach assumes that when people are being dishonest, their physiological reactions will signal that they are being deceptive; often known as a "lie detector" test.



positive affectivity (PA)	Characteristic in which individuals are prone to describe themselves as cheerful, enthusiastic, confident, active, and energetic.



positive reinforcement	Occurs when desired behavior is followed by a reward, which increases the probability that the behavior will be repeated.



positive valence	A continuum of favorable personality characteristics running from normal to exceptional.



power approach	An approach to leadership that examines the types of power wielded by leaders.



power distance	The degree to which less powerful members of an organization accept and expect an unequal distribution of power.



power motive	Motive to attain control or power that results from people learning that the exercise of such control over others or the environment is pleasing.



power test	Test that has no rigid time limits; enough time is given for a majority of the test takers to complete all of the test items.



predictive validity design	Criterion-related validity design in which there is a time lag between collection of the test data and the criterion data.



predictor	The test chosen or developed to assess attributes (e.g., abilities) identified as important for successful job performance.



pretest posttest control group design	Design that generally includes random assignment of participants to conditions, a control group, and measures obtained both before and after training has occurred.



primary prevention strategy	Stress prevention strategy concerned with modifying or eliminating stressors in the work environment.



problem-focused coping	A type of coping directed at managing or altering a problem causing the stress.



procedural justice	Perceived fairness of the process (or procedure) by which rewards are distributed, decisions made, or evaluations conducted.



procedural knowledge	Knowing how to perform a job or task; often developed through practice and experience.



process emotion	Emotional reaction that can result from a consideration of the tasks one is currently doing.



production team	Team that consists of frontline employees who produce tangible output.



productivity	The ratio of effectiveness (output) to the cost of achieving that level of effectiveness (input).



programmed instruction	Approach in which trainees are given instructional materials in written or computer-based forms that positively reinforce them as they move through the material at their own pace.



progression hypothesis	Hypothesis that there is a progression of withdrawal behaviors that start with tardiness, increase to absenteeism, and eventually result in a decision to quit or retire.



progressive muscle relaxation	Stress management technique to relax the muscles, by moving through each major muscle group in the body, thereby helping to progressively relax the entire body.



project team	Team created to solve a particular problem or set of problems and disbanded after the project is completed or the problem is solved; also called an ad hoc committee, a task force, or a cross-functional team.



ProMES	The Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System, a motivational approach that utilizes goal setting, rewards, and feedback to increase motivation and performance.



prospective emotion	Emotional reaction that can result from a consideration of the tasks one anticipates doing.



protection model	Model for addressing diversity that identifies disadvantaged and underrepresented groups and provides special protections for them.



psychological diversity	Refers to differences in underlying attributes such as skills, abilities, personality characteristics, attitudes, beliefs, and values; may also include functional, occupational, and educational backgrounds.



psychological fidelity	The extent to which the training task helps trainees to develop the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) necessary to perform the job.



psychological maturity	The self-confidence and self-respect of a subordinate.



psychometric training	Training that makes raters aware of common rating errors (central tendency, leniency/severity, and halo) in the hope that this will reduce the likelihood of errors.



psychometrician	A psychologist trained in measuring characteristics such as mental ability.



psychometrics	The practice of measuring a characteristic such as mental ability, placing it on a scale or metric.



psychomotor abilities	The physical functions of movement, associated with coordination, dexterity, and reaction time; also called motor or sensorimotor abilities.



qualitative methods	Methods that rely on observation, interview, case study, and analysis of diaries or written documents and that produce flow diagrams and narrative descriptions of events or processes.



quality circle	Work group arrangement that typically involves 6 to 12 employees who meet regularly to identify work-related problems and generate ideas to increase productivity or product quality.



quantitative methods	Methods that rely on tests, rating scales, questionnaires, and physiological measures, and that yield numerical results.



quasi-experimental design	Design in which participants are assigned to different conditions, but random assignment to conditions is not possible.



quid pro quo sexual harassment	Harassment that involves direct requests for sexual favors-for example, when sexual compliance is mandatory for promotions or retaining one's job.



ranking	Employees are ranked from top to bottom according to their assessed proficiency on some dimension, duty area, or standard.



rating errors	Inaccuracies in ratings that may be actual errors or intentional or systematic distortions.



rational economic model	Model that accounts for the way people choose jobs that views the individual as an accountant who sums potential economic losses and gains in making the best choice.



rational psychological model	Model that accounts for the way people choose jobs that infers a bookkeeper mentality on the part of the applicant, but also includes calculations that depend on psychological factors.



reaction criteria	Measures of trainee impressions of the training program.



realistic job preview (RJP)	Technique for providing practical information about a job to prospective employees; includes information about the task and context of the work.



rebalance	Stage in the freeze-rebalance-unfreeze continuous change process. This phase is intended to reframe what has happened and produce a cognitive framework that gives change a deeper meaning.



refreezing	Third stage in the process of changing an organization in which the new attitudes and values of individuals are stabilized.



regiocentrism	A multinational model which has a blend of the values of the parent organization and the local company.



regression line	Straight line that best "fits" the scatterplot and describes the relationship between the variables in the graph; can also be presented as an equation that specifies where the line intersects the vertical axis and what the angle or slope of the line is.



reinforcement theory	A theory that proposes that behavior depends on three simple elements: stimulus, response, and reward. If a response in the presence of a particular stimulus is rewarded (i.e., reinforced), that response is likely to occur again in the presence of that stimulus.



relational demography	Refers to the relative makeup of various demographic characteristics in particular work groups.



relations-oriented behavior	Type of behavior identified by University of Michigan researchers as an important part of a leader's activities; similar to consideration in the Ohio State model.



reliability	The consistency or stability of a measure.



research design	Design that provides the overall structure or architecture for the research study; allows investigators to conduct scientific research on a phenomenon of interest.



resigned work satisfaction	Satisfaction associated with a reduced work effort and a reduced willingness to change or adapt.



resistance	Stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome in which the body copes with the original source of stress, but resistance to other stressors is lowered.



resource theory	Theory proposing that an organization must be viewed in the context of its connections to other organizations. The key to organizational survival is the ability to acquire and maintain resources.



results criteria	Measures of how well training can be related to organizational outcomes such as productivity gains, cost savings, error reductions, or increased customer satisfaction.



retrospective emotion	Emotional reaction that can result from a consideration of the tasks one has already completed.



revery obsession	Australian psychologist Elton Mayo proposed that this mental state resulted from the mind-numbing, repetitive and difficult work that characterized U.S. factories in the early 20th century, causing factory workers to be unhappy, prone to resist management attempts to increase productivity, and sympathetic to labor unions.



RIASEC	The acronym for Holland's (1973) model of vocational interests which proposes six interest types: Realistic-asocial, conforming, frank, genuine, hard-headed, materialistic, natural, normal, persistent, practical, self-effacing, inflexible, thrifty, uninsightful, uninvolved; Investigative-analytical, cautious, critical, complex, curious, independent, intellectual, introspective, pessimistic, precise, rational, reserved, retiring, unassuming, unpopular; Artistic-complicated, disorderly, emotional, expressive, idealistic, imaginative, impractical, impulsive, independent, introspective, intuitive, nonconforming, original, sensitive, open; Social-ascendant, cooperative, patient, friendly, generous, helpful, idealistic, empathic, kind, persuasive, responsible, sociable, tactful, understanding, warm; Enterprising-acquisitive, adventurous, agreeable, ambitious, domineering, energetic, exhibitionistic, excitement-seeking, extroverted, flirtatious, optimistic, self-confident, sociable, talkative; and Conventional-careful, conforming, conscientious, defensive, efficient, inflexible, inhibited, methodical, obedient, orderly, persistent, practical, prudish, thrifty, unimaginative.



risky-shift phenomenon	The tendency for groups to make more risky decisions than individuals; related to the more general phenomenon of group polarization.



role	The expectations regarding the responsibilities and requirements of a particular job.



role ambiguity	Stressor that occurs when employees lack clear knowledge of what behavior is expected in their job.



role conflict	Stressor that occurs when demands from different sources are incompatible.



role overload	Stressor that occurs when an individual is expected to fulfill too many roles at the same time.



role stressors	Collective term for stressors resulting from the multiple task requirements or roles of employees.



rotating shift	Workers are moved from shift to shift over a certain period of time.



routing test	The preliminary test used in computer adaptive testing that identifies a test taker's approximate level of ability before providing additional questions to refine the test taker's position within that ability level.



sabotage	Acts that damage, disrupt, or subvert an organization's operations for personal purposes of the saboteur by creating unfavorable publicity, damage to property, destruction of working relationships, or harming of employees or customers.



safeguard	Part of the engineering approach to safety; acknowledges that although a hazard cannot be designed out of an environment, guards can be put in place that will eliminate the possibility of an injury.



safety culture	Type of culture in an organization that can range along a continuum from a strong emphasis on safety to disregard for it.



scatterplot	Graph that is used to plot the scatter of scores on two variables. Used to display the correlational relationship between two variables.



science	Approach that involves the understanding, prediction, and control of some phenomenon of interest.



Scientific Management	A movement based on principles developed by Frederick W. Taylor who suggested that there was one best and most efficient way to perform various jobs.



score banding	Approach in which individuals with similar test scores are grouped together in a category or score band, and selection within the band is then made based on other considerations. The logic is that if two individuals have similar, but not identical, scores, it is likely that the differences are a result of measurement error rather than true differences in the attribute being measured.



screen in test	A test used to add information about the positive attributes of a candidate that might predict outstanding performance; tests of normal personality are examples of screen in tests in the employment setting.



screen out test	A test used to eliminate candidates who are clearly unsuitable for employment; tests of psychopathology are examples of screen out tests in the employment setting.



secondary prevention strategy	Stress prevention strategy that involves modifying responses to inevitable demands or stressors.



selection ratio (SR)	Index ranging from 0 to 1 that reflects the ratio of positions to applicants; calculated by dividing the number of positions available (i.e., the number of hires to be made) by the number of applicants.



self-efficacy	The belief in one's capability to perform a specific task or reach a specific goal; also, the belief that one can overcome obstacles and accomplish difficult tasks.



self-esteem	A positive self-worth or self-concept that is an important resource for coping.



self-presentation	A person's public face or "game face."



self-regulation	Process by which individuals take in information about behavior, and make adjustments or changes based on that information. These changes, in turn, affect subsequent behavior (e.g., strategies, goal commitment).



sensorimotor abilities	The physical functions of movement, associated with coordination, dexterity, and reaction time; also called psychomotor or motor abilities.



sensory abilities	The physical functions of vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and kinesthetic feedback (e.g., noticing changes in body position).



settlement discussions	Discussions that are often conducted by the parties in a lawsuit in an attempt to reach a mutually satisfying resolution of the complaint before proceeding with all of the other steps that lead to a trial.



severity error	Error that occurs with raters who are unusually harsh in their ratings.



sexual harassment	Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates a hostile work environment. See also quid pro quo sexual harassment and hostile working environment sexual harassment.



shared mental model	Organized way for team members to think about how the team will work; helps team members understand and predict the behavior of their teammates.



shift work	The scheduling of work into temporal shifts; common in particular occupational groups such as nurses, blue-collar workers, and public safety personnel.



simulator	Teaching tool designed to reproduce the critical characteristics of the real world in a training setting that produces learning and transfer to the job.



situational interview	Asks the interviewee to describe in specific and behavioral detail how he or she would respond to a hypothetical situation.



situational judgment test	Commonly a paper and pencil test that presents the candidate with a written scenario and asks the candidate to choose the best response from a series of alternatives.



Six Sigma systems	An approach to quality management that provides training for employees and managers in statistical analysis, project management, and problem-solving methods to reduce the defect rate of products.



skew	The extent to which scores in a distribution are lopsided or tend to fall on the left or right side of the distribution.



skill-based outcome	A type of learning outcome that concerns the development of motor or technical skills.



skills	Practiced acts, such as shooting a basketball, using a computer keyboard, or persuading someone to buy something.



sliding band system	System that permits the band to be moved down a score point (or to slide) when the highest score in a band is exhausted.



small batch organization	An organization that produces specialty products one at a time.



social desirability	The desire to be appealing to others.



social learning theory	A cognitive theory that proposes that there are many ways to learn, including observational learning which occurs when people watch someone perform a task and then rehearse those activities mentally until they have an opportunity to try them out.



social loafing	Reduced motivation and performance in groups that occurs when there is a diminished feeling of individual accountability or a reduced opportunity for evaluation of individual performance.



social support	The comfort, assistance, or information an individual receives through formal or informal contacts with individuals or groups.



social undermining	Behaviors such as a leader's criticism that indicate a dislike for another individual, as well as actions that tend to present an obstacle to that individual's goal-directed behavior.



socialization	The process by which a new employee becomes aware of the values and procedures of the organization.



Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)	An association to which many I/O psychologists, both practitioners and researchers, belong. Designated as Division 14 of the American Psychological Association (APA).



sociotechnical approach	Approach that uncovered a number of dramatic changes in the social patterns of work that accompanied technological change; developed at Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in England in the late 1940s.



Solomon four-group design	A rigorous evaluation design that includes random assignment of participants to four groups, pretests for training and control groups, and posttests for all four groups.



span of control	Refers to the number of positions or people reporting to a single individual-the width-in an organization.



speed test	Test that has rigid and demanding time limits such that most test takers will be unable to finish the test in the allotted time.



staffing decisions	Decisions associated with recruiting, selecting, promoting, and separating employees.



stamina	The physical ability to supply muscles with oxygenated blood through the cardiovascular system; also known as cardiovascular strength or aerobic strength or endurance.



standard deviation	A measure of the extent of spread in a set of scores.



standard error of measurement (SEM)	Statistic that provides a measure of the amount of error in a test score distribution. The function of the reliability of the test and the variability in test scores.



Stanford-Binet test	A well-known intelligence test designed for testing one individual at a time. Originally developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon in 1905, the Binet-Simon test was updated starting in 1916 by Lewis Terman and colleagues at Stanford University, which led to the test's current name.



statistical artifacts	Characteristics (e.g., small sample size, unreliable measures) of a particular study that distort the observed results. Researchers can correct for artifacts to arrive at a statistic that represents the "true" relationship between the variables of interest.



statistical control	Using statistical techniques to control for the influence of certain variables. Such control allows researchers to concentrate exclusively on the primary relationships of interest.



statistical decision making	Combines decision-making information according to a mathematical formula.



statistical power	The likelihood of finding a statistically significant difference when a true difference exists.



statistical significance	Indicates that the probability of the observed statistic is less than the stated significance level adopted by the researcher (commonly p5.05). A statistically significant finding indicates that, if the null hypothesis were true, the results found are unlikely to occur by chance, and the null hypothesis is rejected.



strains	Reaction or response to stressors.



stress hormone	Chemical (e.g., adrenalin, noradrenalin, epinephrine, or cortisol) released in the body when a person encounters stressful or demanding situations.



stress inoculation	Common type of stress management training that usually combines primary prevention and secondary prevention strategies.



stress management training	A training program useful for helping employees deal with workplace stressors that are difficult to remove or change.



stressors	Physical or psychological demands to which an individual responds.



structure	Refers to the formal way that an organization is designed in terms of division of labor, delegation of authority, and span of control; represented by the number of levels-the height-in an organization.



structured interview	Interview that consists of very specific questions that are asked of each candidate; includes tightly crafted scoring schemes with detailed outlines for the interviewer with respect to assigning ratings or scores based on interview performance.



subgroup norming	Approach that involves developing separate lists for individuals within different demographic groups, then ranking the candidates within their respective demographic group.



subject matter expert (SME)	Employee (incumbent) who provides information about a job in a job analysis interview or survey.



successful leadership	Follower changes his or her behavior as a function of the leader's effort.



surface acting	A type of emotional labor that consists of managing or faking one's expressions or emotions.



survey design	Research strategy in which participants are asked to complete a questionnaire or survey.



tacit knowledge	Action-oriented, goal-directed knowledge, acquired without direct help from others; colloquially called "street smarts".



task analysis	Component of training needs analysis that examines what employees must do to perform the job properly.



task performance	The proficiency with which job incumbents perform activities that are formally recognized as a part of their job.



task-oriented behavior	Type of behavior identified by University of Michigan researchers as an important part of a leader's activities; similar to initiating structure from the Ohio State studies.



task-oriented job analysis	Approach that begins with a statement of the actual tasks as well as what is accomplished by those tasks.



taxonomy	An orderly, scientific system of classification.



team	An interdependent collection of individuals who work together toward a common goal and who share responsibility for specific outcomes for their organizations.



team composition	Refers to the attributes of team members, including skills, abilities, experiences, and personality characteristics.



team coordination training	Training that involves teaching team members about sharing information, managing conflict, solving problems, clarifying roles, and making decisions; used to help team members learn to employ the resources of the entire team effectively.



team leader training	Training the team's leader in conflict resolution and team coordination.



team-role theory	Belbin's proposal that effective teams contain a combination of individuals capable of working in nine team roles; used by organizations and management consultants in Europe and Australia to assess and develop teams.



telecommuting	Accomplishing work tasks from a distant location using electronic communication media.



termination for cause	Situation in which an individual is fired from an organization for a particular reason. The individual has usually been warned one or more times about a problem, and either cannot or will not correct it.



tertiary prevention strategy	Stress prevention strategy focused on healing the negative effects of stressors.



test	An objective and standardized procedure for measuring a psychological construct using a sample of behavior.



test battery	A collection of tests that usually assesses a variety of different attributes.



test-retest reliability	Form of reliability calculated by correlating measurements taken at time one with measurements taken at time two.



Theory X	Approach developed by McGregor to described the contrasting beliefs that managers hold about their subordinates. Theory X managers believe that subordinates must be controlled to meet organizational ends.



Theory Y	The contrasting approach developed by McGregor. Theory Y managers believe that subordinates would be motivated to meet goals in the absence of organizational controls.



think-aloud protocol	Approach used by cognitive psychologists to investigate the thought processes of experts who achieve high levels of performance. An expert performer describes in words the thought process that he or she uses to accomplish a task, and an observer/interviewer takes notes and may ask some follow-up questions.



360 degree feedback	The process of collecting and providing an employee with feedback that comes from many sources including supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers, and suppliers.



time and motion studies	Studies that broke every action down into its constituent parts, timed those movements with a stopwatch, and developed new and more efficient movements that would reduce fatigue and increase productivity.



time horizon	Cultural dimension that affects whether managers and employees focus on short-term or long-term goals.



time urgency	Type A behavior pattern subcomponent that refers to the feeling of being pressured by inadequate time.



TIP (The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist)	Quarterly newsletter published by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology; provides I-O psychologists and those interested in I-O psychology with the latest relevant information about the field.



Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964	Federal legislation that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, which define what are known as protected groups. Prohibits not only intentional discrimination, but also practices that have the unintentional effect of discriminating against individuals because of their race, color, national origin, religion, or sex.



total quality management (TQM)	Approach that proposes a unique way of organizing productive effort by emphasizing team-based behavior directed toward improving quality and meeting customer demands.



trainee motivation	The extent to which trainees are interested in attending training, learning from training, and transferring the skills and knowledge acquired in training back to the job.



trainee readiness	Refers to whether employees have the personal characteristics necessary to acquire knowledge from a training program and apply it to the job.



training	The systematic acquisition of skills, concepts, or attitudes that results in improved performance in another environment.



training evaluation	Approach that involves the systematic collection of descriptive and judgmental information that can be used to make effective training decisions.



training needs analysis	A three-step process of organizational, task, and person analysis; required to develop a systematic understanding of where training is needed, what needs to be taught or trained, and who will be trained.



trait approach	Approach that attempts to show that leaders possessed certain characteristics that nonleaders did not.



transactional leadership	Process by which leaders show followers how they can meet their personal goals by adopting a particular behavior pattern. The leader develops social contracts with followers in which certain behaviors will be rewarded.



transfer of training	The degree to which trainees apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained in training to their jobs.



transfer of training climate	Workplace characteristics that either inhibit or facilitate the transfer to the job of what has been learned in training.



transformational leadership	Concept that describes the behavior of inspirational political leaders who transform their followers by appealing to nobler motives such as justice, morality, and peace.



triangulation	Approach in which the researchers seek converging information from different sources.



true negative	Decision in which an applicant was rejected and would have performed poorly if he or she were hired. The decision is true because of the correct prediction that the applicant would not be a good performer and negative because the applicant was not hired.



true positive	Decision in which an applicant was accepted and performed successfully. The decision is true because of the correct prediction that the applicant would be a good performer and positive because the applicant was hired.



trust	A belief about how a person or an organization will act on some future occasion.



two-factor theory	Herzberg's theory proposed that there were really two basic needs, not five as suggested by Maslow, and that they were not so much hierarchically arranged as independent of one another.



Type A behavior pattern (TABP)	A set of characteristics exhibited by individuals who are engaged in a chronic struggle to obtain an unlimited number of poorly defined things from their environment in the shortest period of time. Characteristics or subcomponents of TABP include hostility, achievement strivings, impatience/irritability, and time urgency.



ultimate criterion	An ideal measure of all of the relevant aspects of job performance.



uncertainty avoidance	The extent to which members of a culture feel comfortable in unpredictable situations.



unfreezing	First stage in the process of changing an organization in which individuals become aware of their values and beliefs.



Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures	Official government guidelines designed to assist employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, and licensing and certification boards to comply with federal requirements prohibiting employment practices that discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.



unstructured interview	Interview that includes questions that may vary by candidate and that allow the candidate to answer in any form he or she may prefer.



usability engineering	Approach that involves an iterative process in which a basic system is designed and then redesigned with input from users.



user friendliness	Positive characteristic of machines, tools, and consumer products that are designed to be comfortable, easy to use, and compatible with human capacities and limitations.



user-centered design	Approach to human-computer interaction research that focuses on the user during system development.



utility analysis	A technique that assesses the economic return on investment of human resource interventions such as staffing or training.



valence	The strength of a person's preference for a particular outcome.



validity	The accurateness of inferences made based on test or performance data; also addresses the issue of whether a measure accurately and completely represents what was intended to be measured.



validity coefficient	A correlation coefficient between a test score (predictor) and a performance measure (criterion).



value model	Model for addressing diversity in which each element of an organization is valued for what it uniquely brings to the organization.



value theory	Job satisfaction theory proposed by Locke, in which the relative importance of a particular job aspect to a given worker influenced the range of that worker's responses to it.



variability	The extent to which scores in a distribution vary.



vertical culture	A culture that accepts and depends upon distances between individuals.



VIE theory	Motivation theory that assumes individuals will rationally estimate the relative attractiveness and unattractiveness of different rewards or outcomes (valence), the probability that performance will lead to particular outcomes or rewards (instrumentality), and the probability that effort will lead to performance (expectancy).



virtual team	Team that has widely dispersed members working together toward a common goal and linked through computers and other technology.



virtual-collaboration behaviors	Behaviors used in virtual team interactions that include exchanging ideas without criticism, agreeing on responsibilities, and meeting deadlines.



virtual-communication skills	Skills used in virtual team interactions that include rephrasing unclear sentences or expressions so that all team members understand what is being said, acknowledging the receipt of messages, and responding within one business day.



virtual-socialization skills	Skills used in virtual team interactions that include soliciting team members' feedback on the work process used to accomplish team goals, expressing appreciation for ideas and completed tasks, and apologizing for mistakes.



vocational interest	A preference or liking for a particular activity or setting (as in a job or occupational setting).



voice	The possibility of challenging, influencing, or expressing an objection to a process or outcome.



walk-through testing	Method that requires an employee to describe to an interviewer in detail how to complete a task or job-related behavior. Employee may literally walk through the facility (e.g., a nuclear power plant) answering questions as he or she actually sees the displays or controls in question.



weighted checklist	Checklist that includes items that have values or weights assigned to them that are derived from the expert judgments of incumbents and supervisors of the position in question.



welfare-to-work program	Program that requires individuals to work in return for government subsidies.



"West versus the Rest" mentality	Tendency for researchers to develop theories that are relevant to U.S. situations with less concern about their applicability in other countries.



whole learning	Training approach in which the entire task is practiced at once.



withdrawal behaviors	Behaviors such as absenteeism, turnover, tardiness, and retirement that may be different manifestations of a larger construct called withdrawal.



work diary	Job analysis approach that requires workers and/or supervisors to keep a log of their activities over a prescribed period of time.



Work Profiling System (WPS)	PC-based job analysis instrument that can be used to streamline the job analysis process, reducing costs to the organization, minimizing distractions to the SMEs, and increasing the speed and accuracy of the process.



work sample test	Assessment procedure that measures job skills by taking samples of behavior under realistic joblike conditions.



work withdrawal	Includes lateness and absenteeism and represents an attempt by the individual to withdraw from work but maintain ties to the organization and the work role.



worker-oriented job analysis	Approach that focuses on the attributes of the worker necessary to accomplish the tasks.



work-family balance	Area of research that investigates whether the satisfaction that one experiences at work is in part affected by the satisfaction that one experiences in nonwork and vice versa.



work-family conflict	Conflict that occurs when workers experience conflict between the roles they fulfill at work and in their personal lives.



work-life balance	Area of research that investigates whether the satisfaction that one experiences at work is in part affected by the satisfaction that one experiences in nonwork and vice versa, particularly to the extent that one environment has demands that conflict with the other.

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