PSY 3711 1st EditionExam # 2 Study Guide Work PreferencesPerson-environment fit: compatibility between an individual and an environment that occurs when their characteristics are well-matchedDimensions of fitPerson-vocationPerson-jobPerson-organizationPerson-group and Person-supervisorFit by ability, personality traits, and preferencesWork preferences: Enduring individual difference in attraction to or liking of particular aspects of workInterests: preferences for particular work activitiesValues: preferences for particular work outcomesVocational interests: individual’s characteristic pattern of preferences for certain work activities or work environments Structure of interests  RIASECInvestigativeArtisticSocialEnterprisingRealisticConventionalUnderlying dimensions of RIASECData: working with concrete factsIdeas: working with abstract conceptsPeople: interacting with and helping peopleThings: working with tools, machines, and other physical objectsWork values: individual’s characteristic pattern of preferences for certain work outcomes, goals, or objectives (e.g. environment, achievement, status, autonomy, organizational culture, relationships)Environment (P-E fit)Complementary fit  does the environment meet the needs of the person, does the jobprovide tasks that fit their interests, does the job provide the outcomes that the person valuesSupplementary fit  Do the person and environment share the same characteristics, personal goals and organizational goals, personal values and organizational valuesAssessing the environmentPeople based measures: average the scores of the people in the environment  a realistic environment is one where most people have high realistic interestsRatings: ask people to rate the environmentBoth people based measures and ratings score the environment on the same dimensions as peopleInterests and performanceNo interest measures appear to predict performance across all jobsMost interest inventories are designed for career counseling and NOT selectionSelection interest inventories are concerned about finding people who will be highly motivatedWhen and inventory is designed to be used for selection, much stronger validity can be observedInterests are more strongly related to turnover Irrelevant interests are as predictive as relevant interestsValues and P-O fit criterion validityValues have been connected to performance as the major component of person-organization fitP-O fit can be difficult to asses pre-hireThe best way to assess P-O fit is to construct a standardized measure of the organization’s values and ask applicants to respond to themBehavioral assessmentsBehavioral assessments attempt to more directly measure skill to perform job tasksCognitive ability tests, personality tests, interest and values surveys are all signs of performance or its direct determinants Work samples, simulations, assessment centers, situational judgment testsBreadth  how much of a job is captured by the assessment? Fidelity  how realistic are the materials, stimuli, responsesWork samplesWork samples is a much weaker predictor than previously thoughtSample can miss important components of the job or give too much weight to minor tasksCan have poor fidelity (e.g. range shooting vs active shooting)Some tasks can’t be feasibly assessed for real (e.g. hostage situations, surgery)SimulationsApplicants perform tasks in fabricated situations or with facsimiles of task materialsTo be valid, simulations must require accurate behavioral responsesModern assessment center exercisesIn basket: applicant given a series of papers, voicemails, and emails that simulate a typical in-basket. Applicant responds to the messages.  organization, communication, business knowledgeLeaderless group discussions: group of applicants are given a job related topic to discuss.Observed and scored on their performance and contribution to the group. Similar to a typical work meeting.  leadership, business knowledge, innovationRole play: applicant is asked to act out how they would handle a situation Oral presentation: applicant is given a set amount of time to prepare a presentation based on a set of information. Typically this is based on presenting financial results or info for making a specific decision.  communication, time management, business knowledgeBusiness games: simulations that attempt to capture important parts of running a businessValidity of assessment centersValidity of .37 for assessment centers is very misleadingAssessment centers are extremely diverseIf we know nothing about methods used in the AC, we can predict that the AC will have a validity of .37. Validity of assessment centers were variable and strongly moderatedWhat makes AC validity low?Do not use cognitive ability testsDo not use personality testsNot all use structured interviewsPredictors are almost always combined clinically and not mechanicallySituational judgment testsAttempt to assess behavioral responses without the expense of work samples, simulations, or ACsPresent a situation and ask respondents to rate the quality of different possible responsesBit more tailored to specific job situationsBy paper or using videoSJT scoring methodsExpert Judgment (most common)Normative: correct answer is the one most commonly chosen or the average effectiveness ratingEmpirical: Correlate responses with a measure of job performance InterviewConstruct vs. MethodsKinds of interviewsTrait-based: ask questions that are designed to directly tap particular personality traitsUsually used to measure things like drive, vision, creativity, quicknessGenerally sound like standard personality scale itemsItems are often open endedGenerally not very good predictors Interviews are better for getting responses that are more richly detailed and involvedBehavioral: candidate is asked to provide past critical incidents of relevant behaviors or traitsSituational: candidate is asked to describe how they would react to a specific hypothetical situationBehavioral and situational are better than trait based questionsBehavior is usually better than situational except when applicants have very little job experienceQuestion contentBase questions on a job analysisAsk all candidates the same questionsUse the same question order for all candidatesUse better types of questionsLimit prompting, follow-ups, elaborationFor a personnel selection predictor to be useful, it should consistently give the same information about a candidateFor