Chapter 4: Criteria: Definitions, Measures, and Evaluation

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. A group of people are given a knowledge test regarding what they know about military terms and procedures. If this is given before they join the army, it is called a ______. If given once they are already in the army for a few months, it is called a ______.

A. criterion; predictor

B. predictor; criterion

C. criterion; outcome

D. outcome; criterion

Learning Objective: 4-1: Define and identify criteria--yardsticks used to assess employee success.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Definition
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

2. Cyberloafing, length of service with the company, and taking long breaks all BEST exemplify of what type of criteria?

A. employability

B. ratings of performance

C. lost time

D. quality measures

Learning Objective: 4-1: Define and identify criteria--yardsticks used to assess employee success.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Definition
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Group and individual behaviors

3. As an HR supervisor for a car company, you are trying to predict the number of cars someone will sell each month if hired. In this case, your criterion would be considered a(n) ______.

A. rating of performance

B. counterproductive work behavior

C. quality measure

D. output measure

Learning Objective: 4-1: Define and identify criteria--yardsticks used to assess employee success.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Definition
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

4. The full domain of performance, including all behaviors and results, that defines success on the job is called the ______.

A. contextual performance

B. criterion contamination

C. composite criterion

D. ultimate criterion

Learning Objective: 4-1: Define and identify criteria--yardsticks used to assess employee success.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Job Performance as a Criterion
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

5. Volunteering to help another coworker with a task would BEST be classified as a ______.

A. contextual performance

B. task performance

C. counterproductive work behavior

D. ultimate criterion

Learning Objective: 4-3: Define and measure contextual, task, and counterproductive behaviors.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Static Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Group and individual behaviors

6. When an employee performs well on what is actually in their job description, this is called ______.

A. contextual performance

B. task performance

C. counterproductive work behavior

D. ultimate criterion

Learning Objective: 4-3: Define and measure contextual, task, and counterproductive behaviors.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Static Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

7. Which of the following is NOT an example of a counterproductive work behavior?

A. being intoxicated during work hours

B. gossiping with coworkers

C. missing work because you are sick

D. exaggerating hour worked

Learning Objective: 4-3: Define and measure contextual, task, and counterproductive behaviors.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Static Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Group and individual behaviors

8. According to the reading, employees are most likely to perform at maximum levels under all of the following conditions EXCEPT ______.

A. they accept instructions to improve performance

B. they are incentivized with large rewards

C. they know they are being evaluated

D. the task they are performing is for a short duration

Learning Objective: 4-2: Distinguish the static, dynamic, and individual dimensions of criteria and their implications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Static Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

9. A manager starts valuing oral communication more than written communication in their performance reviews, and thus the performance level changes for employees over time. This BEST represents ______.

A. the changing task model

B. halo effect

C. the changing subjects model

D. intrinsic unreliability

Learning Objective: 4-2: Distinguish the static, dynamic, and individual dimensions of criteria and their implications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Dynamic or Temporal Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Application of knowledge

10. The idea that people doing the same job may be considered equally good at performing a job while making completely different contributions is called ______.

A. static dimensionality

B. temporal dimensionality

C. dynamic dimensionality

D. individual dimensionality

Learning Objective: 4-2: Distinguish the static, dynamic, and individual dimensions of criteria and their implications.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Individual Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

11. An accountant is likely to get two very different performance scores in March compared to September because the nature of their job and amount of downtime has potentially changed. This is an example of ______.

A. lack of discriminability

B. criterion deficiency

C. extrinsic unreliability

D. intrinsic unreliability

Learning Objective: 4-4: Develop criteria that address challenges such as job performance unreliability, unreliability in the observation of performance, and the multidimensionality of performance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Challenge #1: Job Performance (Un)Reliability
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

12. One of the solutions to the unreliability of job performance information is to ______ the scores to canceling out the uncontrollable factors.

A. separate

B. change

C. discriminate

D. aggregate

Learning Objective: 4-4: Develop criteria that address challenges such as job performance unreliability, unreliability in the observation of performance, and the multidimensionality of performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Challenge #1: Job Performance (Un)Reliability
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

13. Which of the following lifespace variables affects levels of performance according to the reading?

A. supervisor–subordinate personality match

B. average market share

C. autonomy

D. leadership

Learning Objective: 4-5: Consider the importance of situational determinants of performance and develop and evaluate criteria using standards such as relevance, sensitivity, and practicality.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Lifespace Variables
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

14. A person has low clarity on what their role in the organization is which leads them to have lower performance levels. This example best fits under what category of performance and situation characteristics?

A. environmental safety

B. extraindividual differences and sales performance

C. environmental/organizational characteristics

D. lifespace variables

Learning Objective: 4-5: Consider the importance of situational determinants of performance and develop and evaluate criteria using standards such as relevance, sensitivity, and practicality.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Environmental and Organizational Characteristics
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

15. The first step of proper criterion development should start with ______.

A. a job analysis

B. a performance review

C. developing measures of actual behavior

D. identification of criterion dimensions

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Steps in Criterion Development
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

16. If a practitioner is more concerned about having a criterion that has good construct validity rather than which ones has purely the most predictive power, this represents which approach for predicting behavior?

A. utility

B. understanding

C. ultimate criterion

D. intrinsic

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Steps in Criterion Development
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

17. Your current performance measure results in all current employees getting near perfect marks (even the underperforming employees). The issue with your measure is that it lacks ______.

A. practicality

B. sensitivity

C. relevance

D. utility

Learning Objective: 4-5: Consider the importance of situational determinants of performance and develop and evaluate criteria using standards such as relevance, sensitivity, and practicality.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sensitivity or Discriminability

Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

18. When a criterion does not cover the entire domain we are hoping to measure, this means that it has ______.

A. criterion deficiency

B. criterion relevance

C. criterion contamination

D. criterion bias

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Criterion Deficiency
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

19. An admissions director reviewing undergraduate GPA to predict success is hoping that measure of performance is measuring knowledge of material and ability to do well in school. However, GPA may also contain factors such as professor liking of the student, whether the student had serious health or personal problems, and the grading scale/level of the university. This means that GPA suffers from ______.

A. criterion deficiency

B. criterion relevance

C. criterion contamination

D. criterion unreliability

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Criterion Contamination
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

20. Which type of criterion contamination is systematic and can potentially correlate with predictor measures?

A. error

B. bias

C. aggregate

D. unreliability

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Criterion Contamination
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

21. A supervisor hires someone based on their very high score on an assessment center measure. While the person works for the company, the supervisor continually remembers their score on the assessment center, which causes them to rate the employee higher on performance than is warranted by actual behavior. Which type of bias is this?

A. bias due to group membership

B. bias due to ratings

C. bias due to lack of sensitivity

D. bias due to knowledge of predictor information

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Bias Due to Knowledge of Predictor Information
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

22. If your main objective is to measure “overall performance/success,” you are most likely going to use ______.

A. ultimate criterion

B. composite criterion

C. individual criterion

D. multiple criteria

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Composite Criterion
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

23. Performance domains are made up of ______ units.

A. behavior–outcome

B. predictor–criterion

C. construct–outcome

D. behavior–construct

Learning Objective: 4-7: Distinguish observed from unobserved criteria and their antecedents.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Research Design and Criterion Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

24. That both the predictor measures and the actual performance domain are accurately representing the underlying psychology domain is called ______.

A. reliability

B. predictive validity

C. face validity

D. construct validity

Learning Objective: 4-7: Distinguish observed from unobserved criteria and their antecedents.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Research Design and Criterion Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

25. There is an assumption (although recently brought under question) that performance criteria follow a ______ distribution.

A. flat

B. normal

C. positively skewed

D. natural

Learning Objective: 4-8: Consider nonnormal distributions of performance and their implications in terms of the presence and production of star performers.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Distribution of Performance and Star Performers
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

26. Recent research by Joo et al. suggests that what percentage of distributions of performance are actually heavy-tailed toward star performers?

A. 25%

B. 50%

C. 75%

D. 100%

Learning Objective: 4-8: Consider nonnormal distributions of performance and their implications in terms of the presence and production of star performers.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Distribution of Performance and Star Performers
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

27. All of the following are suggested as consequences/suggestions based on the presence of star performers EXCEPT ______.

A. retain stars by paying attention to their developmental network

B. minimize situational constraints to allow star performers to emerge

C. keep star performers from rotate across teams so they can perfect their area better

D. give star performers special treatment, but articulate perks to all workers and apply them fairly

Learning Objective: 4-8: Consider nonnormal distributions of performance and their implications in terms of the presence and production of star performers.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Distribution of Performance and Star Performers
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Application of knowledge

28. When developing criteria, which of these analyses would be most helpful?

A. factor analysis

B. dominance analysis

C. regression analysis

D. group difference analysis

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Steps in Criterion Development
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

29. Those that believe that performance criteria are a feedback tool for giving employees specific information about where they do well and can improve would probably use ______.

A. ultimate criterion

B. composite criterion

C. individual criterion

D. multiple criteria

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Composite Criterion versus Multiple Criteria
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

Short Answer

1. What is the definition of criteria? What are some concrete examples of criteria?

Learning Objective: 4-1: Define and identify criteria--yardsticks used to assess employee success.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Definition
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

2. Define both task and contextual performance.

Learning Objective: 4-1: Define and identify criteria--yardsticks used to assess employee success.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Static Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

3. Name and briefly define at least three challenges to criterion development discussed in the chapter.

Learning Objective: 4-4: Develop criteria that address challenges such as job performance unreliability, unreliability in the observation of performance, and the multidimensionality of performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Challenges in Criterion Development
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

4. Briefly describe the current thoughts in the literature about the dimensionality of job performance.

Learning Objective: 4-4: Develop criteria that address challenges such as job performance unreliability, unreliability in the observation of performance, and the multidimensionality of performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Challenge #3: Dimensionality of Job Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

5. Briefly explain how environmental safety can affect performance levels in an organization.

Learning Objective: 4-5: Consider the importance of situational determinants of performance and develop and evaluate criteria using standards such as relevance, sensitivity, and practicality.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Environmental Safety
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

6. Define criterion relevance and why it is important for criterion to have it from an ethical/legal sense.

Learning Objective: 4-5: Consider the importance of situational determinants of performance and develop and evaluate criteria using standards such as relevance, sensitivity, and practicality.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Relevance
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Application of knowledge

7. Define bias based on group membership and describe some of the ways it might occur.

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Bias Due to Group Membership
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Application of knowledge

Essay

1. Define the behavior-based and results-based definitions of job performance. Provide some of the relative arguments for each, and whether the two can coexist and how.

Learning Objective: 4-1: Define and identify criteria--yardsticks used to assess employee success.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Job Performance as a Criterion
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Application of knowledge

2. Temporal dimensionality states that criteria are dynamic in three potential ways. Define those three ways and provide some evidence/information to elaborate on each.

Learning Objective: 4-2: Distinguish the static, dynamic, and individual dimensions of criteria and their implications.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Dynamic or Temporal Dimensionality
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Application of knowledge

3. Define composite criterion and multiple criteria. Give some arguments for and against approach, and discuss either which you think is better to use and/or how the argument can be resolved.

Learning Objective: 4-6: Develop criteria that will minimize the detrimental impact of criterion deficiency and contamination and choose whether to use composite or multiple criteria.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Composite Criterion versus Multiple Criteria
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Application of knowledge