Deck 6: Selection and Placement

Question 1

The correlation coefficient is zero for a perfect positive relationship.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: A correlation coefficient expresses the strength of the relationship in numerical form. A perfect positive relationship (as one set of numbers goes up, so does the other)equals +1.0; a perfect negative relationship (as one goes up, the other goes down)equals -1.0.

Question 2

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 protects individuals with physical disabilities, but not those with mental disabilities.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)of 1991 protects individuals with physical and mental disabilities (or with a history of the same), and requires that employers make "reasonable accommodation" to disabled individuals whose handicaps may prevent them from performing essential functions of the job as currently designed.

Question 3

Reliability refers to the measuring instrument rather than to the characteristic itself.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: Reliability refers to the measuring instrument rather than to the characteristic itself. Reliability can be estimated in several different ways and most of these rely on computing a correlation coefficient.

Question 4

As per the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the burden of proof always lies with the person who faces discrimination.

Question 5

Experience-based items ask what the person is likely to do when confronting a certain hypothetical situation in the future.

Question 6

The size of the sample on which the correlation is based has no role in achieving statistical significance.

Question 7

A concurrent validation assesses the validity of a test by administering it to people already on the job and then correlating test scores with existing measures of each person's performance.

Question 8

The degree to which a measure is free from random error refers to its reliability.

Question 9

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 protects individuals from discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions.

Question 10

A physical ability test measures balance but not coordination.

Question 11

A measure can be valid without being reliable.

Question 12

Reliability is defined as the degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one context extends to other contexts.

Question 13

Much of the work in personnel selection involves measuring characteristics of people to determine who will be accepted for job openings.

Question 14

The more reliable, valid, and generalizable a selection method is, the more utility it will have.

Question 15

The utility of any given test generally increases as the selection ratio gets higher.

Question 16

Validity is necessary but not sufficient for generalizability.

Question 17

Content validity is achieved primarily through a process of expert judgment.

Question 18

Validity is the extent to which performance on the measure is related to performance on the job.

Question 19

Compliance of executive orders is monitored by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Question 20

The inability to use content validation in small sample settings makes it generally less applicable than criterion-related validation.

Question 21

Work-sample tests are not job-specific and their generalizability is high.

Question 22

The extent to which performance on the measure is related to performance on the job is called:

A)reliability.
B)validity.
C)generalizability.
D)utility.
E)authenticity.

Question 23

Which of the following validation strategies is most likely to be adversely affected by the restriction of range problem that results due to current employees being homogeneous?

A)Predictive validation
B)Concurrent validation
C)Content validation
D)Secondary validation
E)External validation

Question 24

Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates a perfect positive relationship?

A)+1.0
B)-1.0
C)0
D)+10
E)-6.67

Question 25

_____ validation is a validity study that seeks to establish an empirical relationship between test scores taken prior to being hired and eventual performance on the job.

A)Content
B)Predictive
C)Concurrent
D)Subjective
E)Logical

Question 26

A large-scale independent review of validity studies suggests that paper-and-pencil honesty tests cannot predict both theft and other disruptive behaviors.

Question 27

_____ is defined as the degree to which a measure is free from random error.

A)Reliability
B)Validity
C)Generalizability
D)Utility
E)Correlation

Question 28

The Polygraph Act in 1988 permitted the use of polygraphs in employment screening.

Question 29

One of the concerns regarding the use of drug tests in a workplace is the undue invasion of privacy.

Question 30

Predictive validation is superior to concurrent validation because:

A)predictive valuation involves contribution from many individuals.
B)job applicants often have no information about organizational culture.
C)job applicants are more motivated than an organization's employees.
D)the effort needed for predictive valuation is lesser than concurrent valuation.
E)the time taken for predictive valuation is lesser than concurrent valuation.

Question 31

Employees with high conscientiousness tend to be lethargic and ill-disciplined.

Question 32

The _____ is a measure of the degree to which two sets of numbers are related.

A)utility score
B)standard deviation
C)correlation coefficient
D)validity score
E)generalizability coefficient

Question 33

Which of the following statements is true regarding reliability and validity?

A)Reliability and validity are directly proportional to each other.
B)Reliability and validity are inversely proportional to each other.
C)Reliability of a measure is essential for it to have any validity.
D)Reliability and validity are independent of each other.
E)Reliability is a necessary and sufficient condition for validity.

Question 34

Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates a perfect negative relationship?

A)-10
B)-6.67
C)+1.0
D)-1.0
E)0.0

Question 35

Star Inc., an engineering firm, has come up with a new technical test to assess the knowledge of interviewees. To assess the validity of the test, it requests its present employees to take the test and match it with their performance in the organization. Which of the following types of validation has Star Inc. used to test the validity of its new technical test?

A)Predictive validation
B)Content validation
C)Concurrent validation
D)Face validation
E)Logical validation

Question 36

When assessing the reliability of a measure, one might be interested in knowing how scores on the measure at one time relate to scores on the same measure at another time. This is called:

A)test-interdependency.
B)test-retest reliability.
C)mutual exclusivity.
D)test utility.
E)test generalizability.

Question 37

Which of the following steps can help an organization increase the reliability of its interview process?

A)Using a single interviewer instead of multiple interviewers
B)Basing tests on the people who are already working
C)Providing raters with standardized training
D)Avoiding the use of common formats to rate candidates
E)Basing tests on people who were most successful in earlier interviews

Question 38

Which of the following is the most accurate definition of concurrent validity?

A)It is an estimate of whether a validity test appears to measure a certain criterion.
B)It is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems in a validity test are representative of situations at work.
C)It assesses the validity of a test by administering it to people already on the job and then correlating test scores with existing measures of each person's performance.
D)It seeks to establish an empirical relationship between test scores taken prior to being hired and eventual performance on the job.
E)It refers to the degree to which a measure is correlated with other measures that it is theoretically predicted to correlate.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is true of the reliability of a measurement?

A)A measurement is said to be reliable when only two iterations are involved in measurement.
B)Reliability refers to the measuring instrument rather than to the characteristic itself.
C)It is not dependent on the attributes of the measuring instruments used.
D)Reliability indicates the degree to which two objects are related to each other.
E)It indicates the extent to which performance on the measure is related to performance on the job.

Question 40

If there is a substantial correlation between test scores and job-performance scores, _____ validity has been established.

A)criterion-related
B)content
C)construct
D)procedural
E)subject

Question 41

Which of the following acts explicitly prohibits the granting of preferential treatment to minority groups?

A)The Civil Rights Act of 1964
B)The Tenure of Office Act of 1867
C)The Judiciary Act of 1801
D)The Third Liberty Bond Act of 1918
E)The Civil Rights Act of 1991

Question 42

The Americans with Disabilities Act _____.

A)protects individuals with physical disabilities but not mental disabilities
B)does not require an organization to make accommodations that cause undue hardship
C)demands affirmative action to increase representation of minorities
D)does not require that employers make reasonable accommodation for disabled individuals
E)requires organizations to make all accommodations necessary to ensure that individuals with disabilities are represented in the company

Question 43

A test that has _____ validity exposes the job applicant to situations that are likely to occur on the job, and then tests whether the applicant currently has sufficient knowledge, skill, or ability to handle such situations.

A)criterion-related
B)probabilistic
C)predictive
D)content
E)concurrent

Question 44

Rollerbeam Inc., a provider of engineering services, is looking to hire several maintenance engineers. Rollerbeam's HR department checks with the company's engineering department to confirm that the scenarios mentioned in the test are plausible real world scenarios maintenance engineers might face. Which of the following types of validation is Rollerbeam's HR team performing?

A)Concurrent validation
B)Predictive validation
C)Content validation
D)Criterion-related validation
E)Subjective validation

Question 45

Content validation:

A)seeks to establish an empirical relationship between test scores taken prior to being hired and eventual performance on the job.
B)refers to the degree to which a measure is free from internal defects of standardization.
C)is performed by demonstrating that the questions or problems posed by a test are a representative sample of the kinds of situations or problems that occur on the job.
D)is an estimate of whether a test appears to measure a certain criterion.
E)assesses the validity of a test by administering it to people already on the job and then correlating test scores with existing measures of each person's performance.

Question 46

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act does NOT:

A)permit business necessity as a ground to avoid a guilty verdict.
B)protect younger workers.
C)allow for jury trials.
D)allow punitive damages.
E)permit promotions based on performance.

Question 47

Federal Auto Corp. (FAC)is looking for experienced ergonomic design engineers and wants to keep training costs to a minimum. The upper management instructs its HR team to develop a test that would test the design and ergonomic knowledge of the potential engineering candidates. This test is a _____ valid test.

A)predictive
B)subjective
C)criterion-related
D)content
E)concurrent

Question 48

When a company provides evidence from previous criterion-related validity studies conducted in other situations to show that a specific test is a valid predictor for a specific job performance, it is trying to prove the test's:

A)reliability.
B)utility.
C)variance.
D)generalizability.
E)legality.

Question 49

The degree to which the information provided by selection methods enhances the bottom-line effectiveness of the organization is known as the selection method's:

A)reliability.
B)validity.
C)generalizability.
D)utility.
E)legality.

Question 50

The _____ allows the individual filing the complaint to have a jury decide whether he or she may recover punitive damages (in addition to lost wages and benefits)for emotional injuries caused by the discrimination.

A)Civil Rights Act of 1871
B)Age Discrimination in Employment Act
C)Americans with Disabilities Act
D)Civil Rights Act of 1991
E)Civil Rights Act of 1964

Question 51

Which of the following forms of validation becomes relatively more attractive as the sample available for validation becomes smaller?

A)Predictive validation
B)Concurrent validation
C)Content validation
D)External validation
E)Criterion-related validation

Question 52

The _____ defines employers' explicit obligation to establish the business necessity of any neutral-appearing selection method that has had adverse impact on groups specified by the law.

A)Rehabilitation Act of 1973
B)Patriot Act
C)Civil Rights Act of 1991
D)Volstead Act
E)No-FEAR Act of 2002

Question 53

The percentage of people chosen relative to the total number of people tested gives the _____ ratio.

A)break-even
B)furlough
C)retention
D)turnover
E)selection

Question 54

The utility of any test generally _____ as the selection ratio gets lower.

A)increases
B)decreases
C)remains the same
D)becomes zero
E)becomes negative

Question 55

Which of the following legislations prohibit discrimination and mandates that employers take affirmative actions to hire qualified minority applicants?

A)The Federal Tort Claims Act
B)The Revenue Act of 1913
C)Executive order 11246
D)The Federal Reserve Act
E)The Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution

Question 56

_____ is defined as the degree to which the validity of a selection method established in one context extends to other contexts.

A)Utility
B)Generalizability
C)Reliability
D)Validity
E)Exclusivity

Question 57

The _____ protects individuals from discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin with respect to hiring as well as compensation and working conditions.

A)False Claims Act
B)Civil Rights Act of 1991
C)Age Discrimination in Employment Act
D)Americans with Disabilities Act
E)Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Question 58

Content validity is achieved primarily through a process of _____.

A)quantitative analysis
B)empirical study
C)statistical analysis
D)procedural study
E)expert judgment

Question 59

In case of _____ validation, it is critical to minimize the amount of inference involved on the part of the judges because their subjective judgment could bias the findings.

A)predictive
B)concurrent
C)content
D)criterion
E)standard

Question 60

As per the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, if any neutral-appearing practice happens to have adverse impact on those over 40, the employer must _____.

A)show business necessity to avoid a guilty verdict
B)make accommodations despite facing hardships
C)facilitate pre-mature retirement for the employees
D)compensate the employee prior to court trials
E)provide special incentives to the suffering employees

Question 61

Executive order 11246 allows the government to:

A)deny payments to individual contractors based on the government's availability of money.
B)eliminate affirmative action to prevent reverse discrimination in governmental jobs.
C)form and implement laws that are not specified in the constitution.
D)suspend all business with a contractor while an investigation is being conducted.
E)undertake affirmative action to ensure representation of African Americans in various jobs.

Question 62

Which of the following is NOT tested in a physical ability test?

A)Balance
B)Flexibility
C)Muscular tension
D)Cognitive skill
E)Muscular power

Question 63

A person who is conscientious will be:

A)talkative, emotionally stable, and unorganized.
B)dependable, organized, persevering, thorough, and achievement-oriented.
C)sociable, content, and intolerant.
D)gregarious, secure, and uncooperative.
E)assertive, nondepressed, and unforgiving.

Question 64

Which of the following concepts is used to describe people who are especially effective in fluid and socially intensive contexts?

A)Crystallized intelligence
B)Fluid intelligence
C)Emotional intelligence
D)Dispositional affect
E)Intelligence quotient

Question 65

Which of the following personality dimensions is associated with sociable, gregarious, assertive, and talkative individuals?

A)Adjustment
B)Extroversion
C)Agreeableness
D)Conscientiousness
E)Openness to experience

Question 66

The concept of _____ suggests that similar groups of people whose scores differ by only a small amount all be treated as having the same score.

A)attribution error
B)probability distribution
C)standard deviation
D)groupthink
E)banding

Question 67

A _____ is defined as a dialogue initiated by one or more persons to gather information and evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for employment.

A)selection interview
B)focused group interview
C)physical ability test
D)cognitive ability test
E)brainstorming session

Question 68

Executive orders are monitored by the:

A)Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
B)Employment Standards Administration of the Department of Labor.
C)Employment and Training Administration.
D)Department of Commerce.
E)Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Question 69

_____ ability concerns the speed and accuracy with which one can solve arithmetic problems of all kinds.

A)Reasoning
B)Technical
C)Quantitative
D)Comprehension
E)Conception

Question 70

The "direct threat" clause is a part of the _____.

A)Civil Rights Act of 1871
B)Rehabilitation Act of 1973
C)No-FEAR Act
D)Lloyd-La Follette Act
E)American with Disabilities Act

Question 71

Which of the following statements is true of situational interviews?

A)Future-oriented interviews are more valid than experience-based interviews.
B)Future-oriented items reduce some forms of impression management such as ingratiation better than experience-based items.
C)Situational interviews require the candidate to perform a piece of work or accomplish a task.
D)These interviews are particularly effective when assessing sensitive issues dealing with the honesty and integrity of candidates.
E)Using multiple interviewers in such interviews leads to more subjective errors than using one interviewer.

Question 72

Which of the following is an example of experience-based situational interview?

A)Ronald was asked how he would resolve a certain technical fault in his workplace.
B)Peter was asked about his reaction if his co-workers indulged in racist behavior.
C)Ron was asked to describe an event where his creativity led to effective problem solving.
D)Jane was asked what steps she would take in case of a power failure in the plant.
E)Harry was asked to describe how he would convince his boss about his new marketing strategy.

Question 73

_____ ability refers to a person's capacity to invent solutions to many diverse problems.

A)Quantitative
B)Reasoning
C)Technical
D)Comprehension
E)Verbal

Question 74

John is open to experiences if he is:

A)content and happy.
B)talkative and expressive.
C)curious and imaginative.
D)dependable and organized.
E)sociable and assertive.

Question 75

Which of the following refers to a person's capacity to understand and use written and spoken language?

A)Verbal comprehension
B)Associative ability
C)Reasoning ability
D)Quantitative ability
E)Interpersonal knowledge

Question 76

_____ categorize individuals by what they are like.

A)Personality tests
B)Minnesota manual dexterity tests
C)Physical ability tests
D)Likert Scales
E)Cognitive ability tests

Question 77

A person who is agreeable in nature will be _____.

A)assertive and gregarious
B)depressed and secure
C)dependable and unorganized
D)courteous and trusting
E)narrow-minded and imaginative

Question 78

Which of the following scenarios is an apt example of a future-oriented situational interview?

A)Ahmad was asked about the most painful decision he had made as a manager.
B)Fernandez was asked about the steps he would take to change the work environment in his office.
C)Emma was asked about the most annoying customer she had ever dealt with.
D)Jacob was asked about the most hated aspect of his previous job.
E)Mathew was asked whether his religious beliefs had ever influenced his decision-making as a manger.

Question 79

Which of the following personality dimensions is typically associated with a person being nondepressed, secure, and content?

A)Adjustment
B)Extroversion
C)Agreeableness
D)Conscientiousness
E)Openness to experience

Question 80

_____ assess main facets such as verbal comprehension, quantitative ability, and reasoning ability.

A)Cognitive ability tests
B)Thematic Apperception tests
C)Personality inventories
D)Raven' Progressive Matrices
E)Rorschach Inkblot tests