Imagine that you could use any one technique you wanted to identify employees for your company. You know that certain personality types do better at certain jobs. How will you find the right people for your company?
A. Do genetic screening on the applicant’s parents to determine his/her personality traits.
B. Have trained psychoanalysts use projective tests with applicants.
C. Use a well-established Big 5 measure of personality on applicants.
D. Gather information about the environment in which the applicant was raised when he/she was a child.
C. Use a well-established Big 5 measure of personality on applicants.
Personality is only partially due to genetic factors. Additionally, behavioral geneticists have not yet been able to identify the specific genetic markers related to specific personality traits. Thus, genetic screening (or any sort, but especially of the parents) is not going to provide reliable information about an applicant.
Projective tests have been shown to be more useful as a diagnostic tool than as a categorization or assessment, partially because of the typically low levels of reliability (and thus low levels of predictive validity) they have.
The environment is clearly a partial predictor of personality in adulthood, but the text makes clear (with the examples of non-twins raised together ) that while there are often similarities in children raised in the same environment, there are also substantial differences.
Established Big 5 inventories have been shown to have high reliability and validity, and to predict performance in many types of jobs. They are thus the best bet for assessing personality of potential employees. While it is true that some people are able to “fake” on these tests, validity scales can reduce the impact of faking. Additionally, faking successfully requires the applicant to know what personality type the employer is looking for, which is often not the case.
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Jesse's cat has been conditioned that the electric can opener signals the arrival of food, and the cat will run to the kitchen every time it hears the can opener. But Jesse then participates in a project at school where he must open 50 cans of beans and cook them. By the time Jesse gets halfway through the cans, he notices that the cat has disappeared. In this case, the can opener is no longer associated with the presentation of food. __________ to the can opener has occurred.
A. Sensitization B. Habituation C. Extinction D. Spontaneous recovery
Defensiveness, ambushing, and self-preoccupation are
a. justified when the person really deserves the behavior. b. are uncommon barriers to effective communication. c. psychological factors that contribute to noise. d. none of these.
Teachers in a school are interested in finding a psychological test that predicts future achievement. Which statement best reflects what is known about the existence of such a test? a. Few psychologists believe that there is a test that can do what the teachers want
b. Projective tests do a good job of predicting achievement; IQ tests predict social competence. c. There is debate about whether IQ tests can predict achievement. d. There is no doubt that IQ tests can predict achievement.
ISLE 11.1 Sound Localization ExperimentClick on the above link to work though the ISLE activity. Once you've completed the activity, navigate back and answer the following question.Jay participates in the experiment included in the exercise. On one trial, a sound is presented slightly to the left, but Jay responds that he did not hear it to the left. In signal detection terms, Jay's response is a ______.
A. correct rejection B. hit C. miss D. false alarm