Definition of work psychology
study of people and their behaviour at work and of the organisations they work in
What are the 2 main aims of work psychology
Promote invidivdual, and group EFFECTIVNESS
well-being and satisfaction of people working in it severed by an organisation
The 5 stages of the scientific method
observe patterns / regularities in the word
develop possible explanation ( theory)
from the explanation, develop a specific prediction ( hypothesis )
test prediction
evaluate the explanation and refine if needed
What is the psychological view of talent management ?
focus on scientifically differentiating between people, identifying things that contribute to success
What is the non- psychological view of talent management
focus on employee turnover, succession planning , development i.e having the right people in the right place at the right time
The main goal of talent management for work psychologist is …?
how can we make the best decisions
What is the main goal of non- psychological talent management
what decisions need to be made
A strategic approach to talent management needs to..?
identify pivotal positions
develop talent pool ( internal & external)
create a differentiated HR architecture
How can we identify talent ?
use a scientific approach to identify what needs to be measured , develop reliable and vaild measurements that can be used to distinguish between people fairly
What is job analysis ?
defines and describes the job
i.e identifies knowledge , skills and behaviours to do with job preformance
What is a common technique to select people
Interview
What are some issues with the interview process ?
relies on interviewer’s judgment, subject to bias and distortions
How can we overcome interview bias ?
create standardised/ structured interviews
make assessment criteria clear
written record and justification of decisions
interview training ( main key to overcoming bias )
What is a psychometric test?
a test to measure ability or personality, is a standardised test. Test shows how much a particular person is similar or different to others
The big 5 model of personality
O : openness
C : conscientiousness
E : Extroversion
A: agreeableness
N: neurotism
C + N are good predictions of overall work performance
What is a behaviourally anchored rating scale ?
It’s where certain behaviours are ranked on a scale to work out how someone is doing for example
late to start work and causes other delays
….
slow to start work , but didn’t hold anyone else up
…
starts work on time and meets deadlines for others
What is a behavioural observation scale ?
It measures performance by rating the frequency of specific work behaviours , higher employee statisfation with these scales as it’s not subjective to mangers opinion
What is Quantitative data ?
countable / measurable , related to numbers
fixed and universal
data gathered by measuring / counting
analysis through stats
What is qualitative data ?
descriptive , relating to words and language
dynamic and subjective
gathered through obersvation , focus groups , and interviews
analysis through grouping data through themes
What are the pros of a likert scale ?
it makes analysing more straight forward i.e we know that 7 is a strong postive response
it is self report and quick to collect data
What are the cons of a likert scale ?
it doesn’t allow me he same in depth response as qualitative methods such as interviews
neutral reponses ( i.e 4) can be hard to interpret
What are some measures to access performance , and which approach do we want to take ?
output criteria ( this is the one we want to take )
personal qualities
compendencies
What is output criteria ?
It has the clearest relation to performance i.e quantity ( sales volumes ) and quality ( number of errors made )
How to we assess personal qualities in relation to performance , and why is this approach not ideal
This is often done through appraisals which are based on judgements on the person and not performance itself
How do we access competencies in terms of preformance
They are based on observable behaviours that indicate certain levels of performance
can be used to select candidates for a role , access current employees performance and evaluate development needs
Why is using a rating scale not ideal when measuring performance ?
it’s open to interpretation of what “ poor” and “ meets expectations “ means
What is an intrinsic reward ?
some activities are inherently rewarding i.e you feel rewarding just by doing / completing the task. For example they provide self reward like opportunities for personal growth , increased modivation
What is an Extrinsic reward
Gain recognition or external benefit for effort i.e bonuses , raises , promotions ect
Brecklers 3 components of attitudes
cognitive - statement of evaluation or belief about an object
affective - how we feel about the object
behavioural - actions based that attitude
Theories of motivation
intensity ( how much effort put into task)
Direction ( what do we channel our efforts towards )
persistence ( how long do we keep going ? )