Knowledge Survey for PSY180 Fall 2009

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Are you taking this survey at the BEGINNING or the END of the semester?
Beginning of the semester End of the semester

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This is a Knowledge Survey rather than a "test." There are no right or wrong answers. While you will not be graded on this survey, please be very candid in your responses!
By completing this survey, both at the beginning and at the end of the semester, your instructor will be able to gauge your initial level of knowledge and then measure the amount of knowledge you gain during the semester. This information will help your instructor modify and improve the course.
Read each statement carefully and then choose a response based on the following instructions:

Mark A as your response to the item if you are not confident in your skills in the area and do not feel you can adequately demonstrate these skills on a test/essay/research paper.

Mark B as your response to the item if you feel somewhat confident that you are reasonably skilled in the area and can demonstrate these skills at a reasonable level on a test/essay/research paper.

Mark C as your response to the item if you feel very confident that you are highly skilled in the area and can demonstrate these skills at a high level on a test/essay/research paper.

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The following questions are about the methods, practices, and problems of the workplace from the view of psychological research.

A: Not Confident B: Somewhat Confident C: Very Confident
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1. Give a definition of the field of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology.
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2. Explain two historical events that lead to the development of I-O psychology.
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3. Show how I-O psychology matters to you as an employee or as an employer.
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4. Analyze a study in terms of independent and dependent variables.
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5. Interpret what it means when there is a positive, negative, or no correlation between two factors such as job performance and job satisfaction.
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6. Explain, in general terms, the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics and meta-analyses.
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7. Given a set of numbers, calculate the mean, median, and mode.
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8. Compare and contrast normal and skewed distributions
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9. Use the idea of a standard deviation to compare your performance on a test.
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The following questions are about human resources and its role in employee selection, appraisal, and training.

A: Not Confident B: Somewhat Confident C: Very Confident
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1. List the steps involved in the recruitment process.
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2. Explain the importance of conducting a job analysis.
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3. Describe current fair employment practices.
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4. Summarize how individual personality characteristics, values, and skills impact the work environment and organization.
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5. Compare and contrast unstructured, structured, and situational interviews.
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6. Identify at least three categories of skills or traits that psychological tests can measure.
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7. Explain the terms standardization, objectivity and test norms in psychological testing.
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8. Define the terms reliability and validity in psychological testing.
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9. Discuss the limitations of psychological testing.
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10. Compare and contrast at least two different ways for conducting a job performance review or appraisal.
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11. Explain biases that may occur during a job performance appraisal.
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12. List the goals of organizational training programs.
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13. Compare and contrast the psychological issues involved in job training and how people learn.
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14. List at least five different types of job training programs.
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The following questions are about how organizational climate and how we behave in an organization impacts our job performance.

A: Not Confident B: Somewhat Confident C: Very Confident
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1. Compare and contrast the different types of leadership styles.
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2. Explain at least two different theories about leadership.
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3. List the characteristics of successful leaders.
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4. Explain the relationship between power and leadership.
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5. Summarize the issues of diversity in management.
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6. Apply at least three different theories of motivation to your own job performance.
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7. Define job satisfaction and explain how it is measured.
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8. Describe the relationship between job satisfaction, pay, and quality of life at work.
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9. Describe the relationship between job involvement and organizational commitment.
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10. Compare bureaucratic and total quality management organizations.
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11. Describe the process of organization change.
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12. Define the term person-organization fit.
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13. Explain the role of labor unions in the organizations.
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14. List the informal group processes that occur within an organization.
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15. Explain how technological changes may affect what happens in an organization.
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The following questions are about how characteristics of the work place influences job performance.

A: Not Confident B: Somewhat Confident C: Very Confident
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1. Identify features of the workplace that can affect job performance.
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2. List the different types of work schedules.
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3. Explain at least three psychological issues that can affect job performance.
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4. Explain at least three social issues that can affect job performance.
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5. Explain the importance of work safety.
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6. Provide a definition of an accident.
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7. Explain the common causes of accidents.
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8. Explain at least two ways to prevent accidents.
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9. Describe the extent of violence, alcoholism, and drug abuse in the workplace.
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10. Explain how computer use and physical health may affect job performance.
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11. List the physiological effects of stress.
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12. Describe individual differences in how we respond to stress.
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13. Describe the issues related to balancing work and family.
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14. List sources of stress in the work place.
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15. Describe at least three ways an organization can reduce stress in the work place.
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The following questions are about analyzing what happens in the work place and applying principles from the psychology of work to improve worker satisfaction, the work environment, and overall organizational effectiveness.

A: Not Confident B: Somewhat Confident C: Very Confident
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1. Define the term engineering psychology.
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2. Analyze a job or task from the view of a time-and-motion framework.
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3. Explain the idea of a person-machine system.
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4. List how the workspaces and displays may be designed to optimize job performance.
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5. Create an organization or business using at least three principles or techniques form the psychology of work.
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Thank you for completing the Knowledge Survey!

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