Question 1

A smoker who claims that the habit is not as dangerous as antismoking messages suggest, saying "My grandmother smokes and she's in her 80s," is attempting to increase cognitive dissonance.

Accepted Answer

All cigarette smokers are repeatedly exposed to information that smoking is hazardous to health. But many smokers dismiss the habit as not being as risky as the antismoking messages suggest in an attempt to reduce (not increase) cognitive dissonance.

Question 2

The glass ceiling is a concept that applies to women, but not to minorities.

Accepted Answer

The glass ceiling is the metaphor for an invisible barrier preventing women and minorities from being promoted to top executive jobs.

Question 3

Investors who are more likely to buy a stock if they see something about it in the news or if it has a high one-day return provide an example of the recency effect.

Accepted Answer

The recency effect is the tendency to remember recent information better than earlier information. Investors who are more likely to buy a stock if they see something about it in the news or if it has a high one-day return provide an example of the recency effect.

Question 4

Those who have the Type A behavior pattern are involved in a chronic, determined struggle to accomplish more in less time.

Accepted Answer

Those who have the Type A behavior pattern are involved in a chronic, determined struggle to accomplish more in less time. Type A behavior has been associated with increased performance in the work of professors, students, and life insurance brokers. However, it also has been associated with greater cardiovascular activity and higher blood pressure, as well as to heart disease, especially for individuals who showed strong feelings of anger, hostility, and aggression.

Question 5

Internals likely would prefer and respond more productively to incentives such as merit pay or sales commissions.

Accepted Answer

Because internals seem to have a greater belief that their actions have a direct effect on the consequences of that action, internals likely would prefer and respond more productively to incentives such as merit pay or sales commissions.

Question 6

Roberto really enjoys mingling at work functions, both to network for new contacts and simply to share stories with other interesting people. Roberto probably scores high in

Accepted Answer

Extroversion is how outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive a person is, qualities that Roberto appears to possess.

Question 7

Workplace stress diminishes all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Workplace stress diminishes positive emotions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance and increases alcohol and illicit drug use, overeating, and job turnover.

Question 8

Ashish is always coming up with new ideas and seeking funding to explore them. He sees opportunities in the marketplace and wants to be the first person to come up with new products and services that customers want. Ashish, a person who is apt to take initiative and persevere to influence the environment, has a(n) ________ personality.

Accepted Answer

A person who scores well on conscientiousness may be a proactive personality, someone who is more apt to take initiative and persevere to influence the environment.

Question 9

________ is the personality dimension that describes how achievement-oriented and persistent a person is.

Accepted Answer

Conscientiousness is how dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent one is.

Question 10

________ is the personality dimension that describes how intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broad-minded a person is.

Accepted Answer

Openness to experience is how intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broad-minded one is.

Question 11

If you have a(n) ________, you believe you control your own destiny.

Accepted Answer

Locus of control indicates how much people believe they control their fate through their own efforts. If you have an internal locus of control, you believe you control your own destiny. If you have an external locus of control, you believe external forces control you.

Question 12

Lynn has hired two new employees for her team, Jacques and Bailey. Jacques is outgoing and physically attractive, while Bailey is very bright but seems quiet and unsure. Lynn immediately expects Jacques to outperform Bailey at the job. Lynn is likely experiencing the halo effect.

Accepted Answer

The halo effect occurs when we form an impression of an individual based on a single trait, such as being attractive. "Employers (wrongly) expect good-looking workers to perform better than their less-attractive counterparts under both visual and oral interaction," says the research, "even after controlling for individual worker characteristics and worker confidence." Here, Lynn is experiencing the halo effect.

Question 13

Margarita believes that she controls her own destiny. She is a rather shy person who is extremely dependable and responsible, and her coworkers respect her greatly. Margarita has a(n) ________ locus of control and would rate high on the ________ dimension of personality.

Accepted Answer

If you have an internal locus of control, you believe you control your own destiny. Conscientiousness is how dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent someone is.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT one of the Big Five personality dimensions?

Accepted Answer

The Big Five personality dimensions are (1) extroversion, (2) agreeableness, (3) conscientiousness, (4) emotional stability, and (5) openness to experience.

Question 15

________ consists of stable psychological traits and behavioral attributes that give a person his or her identity.

Accepted Answer

Personality consists of the stable psychological traits and behavioral attributes that give a person his or her identity.

Question 16

Odell is frequently nervous, tense, and worried, both at work and at home. He likely scores low on which of the Big Five personality dimensions?

Accepted Answer

Emotional stability refers to how relaxed, secure, and unworried one is. Odell likely scores low on emotional stability.

Question 17

Your supervisor says the company needs you to stay late to meet an important deadline, but your family expects you to be present for your child's birthday party. You are experiencing role overload.

Accepted Answer

This is role conflict, not role overload. Role conflict occurs when one feels torn by the different expectations of important people in one's life. Example: Your supervisor says the company needs you to stay late to meet an important deadline, but your family expects you to be present for your child's birthday party.

Question 18

At a recent sales meeting, Kyle blamed his poor sales numbers on bad luck, unclear sales targets, and unfair sales territories. Kyle is engaged in self-serving bias.

Accepted Answer

In self-serving bias, people tend to take more personal responsibility for success than for failure.

Question 19

Jamal feels flushed and his heart starts to beat faster when he hears his coworkers describe customers as ignorant. This response is his emotional regulation.

Accepted Answer

Emotional regulation is when you pause and reflect, allowing you to react in a less emotional manner. Since Jamal feels flushed and his heart is beating faster, he is experiencing an emotional trigger.

Question 20

An example of a self-fulfilling prophecy is a server who expects some poorly dressed customers to be stingy tippers, who therefore gives them poor service, and so gets the result he expected-a much lower tip than usual.

Accepted Answer

The self-fulfilling prophecy, also known as the Pygmalion effect, describes the phenomenon in which people's expectations of themselves or others lead them to behave in ways that make those expectations come true. Expectations are important. An example is a server who expects some poorly dressed customers to be stingy tippers, who therefore gives them poor service and so gets the result he or she expected-a much lower tip than usual.

Quiz 11: Managing Individual Differences and Behaviour: Supervising People As People