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Human Relations for Career & Personal Success, 11e (DuBrin)
Chapter 3 Self-Motivation and Goal Setting
1) A major reason that many people do not attain the goals they have formulated for themselves
is that they ________.
A) lack enough self-discipline
B) feel they were coerced into setting the goals
C) started setting goals too early in life
2) The principle of WIIFM focuses which aspect of motivation?
A) Self-actualization
B) Prosocial behavior
C) Altruism
3) An example of the difference between needs and wants is that Kaitlin has the cognitive need
4) Derek mutters to himself, “What’s in it for me?” before agreeing to help another person shows
that he has overcome the problem of self-interest in motivation.
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5) Jen’s strong need for achievement is characterized by ________.
A) a desire to control others
B) a desire to achieve friendships
C) joy in accomplishment for its own sake
6) José wants to capitalize on need theory in his career planning. A good strategy for José to
implement would be to ________.
A) contact potential employers and ask them what needs their job openings would satisfy
B) identify his needs and then find jobs that would satisfy those needs
C) accept low-paying jobs so he would always be striving for more
D) find a job that would enable him to work from home at least one day per week
7) Being part of the “office gang” most directly satisfies the need for ________.
A) power
B) achievement
C) self-actualization
D) affiliation
8) Anthony has a strong need to be conscientious, so he probably also has a strong need for
________.
A) affiliation
B) achievement
C) risk taking.
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9) Venus wants to become an industry leader in the design of offices. The class of needs she is
attempting to satisfy best fits ________ needs.
A) physiological
B) safety
C) self-actualizing
10) Brett wants to contribute to human welfare, perhaps by help bring drinking water to poor
villages. He therefore exhibits ________.
A) transcendence
B) power
C) order
11) A person with a strong need for order and security would usually dislike hierarchy in an
12) Evidence suggests that workers who have a strong need to be conscientious are likely to be
13) The most difficult group of needs to satisfy in the need hierarchy are the self-actualization
14) A person with strong transcendence needs or B-values would enjoy exploiting other people
15) Alicia is engaged in her work as a KFC store (restaurant) manager. She is therefore likely to
________.
A) engage in conversation while at work
B) set unrealistic goals for members of her crew
C) expect to be receive a big bonus whether or not her store performs well
16) If you are a highly engaged employee, you will most likely ________.
A) help your company attain higher productivity
B) look to your personal life for most of your satisfaction
C) spend a lot of time during the workday surfing the Internet
D) be more concerned about getting promoted than performing well
17) Sean, a customer support manager, notices that his engagement level fluctuates during the
day and week. Good advice for Sean would be ________
A) “It looks like you need a career change.”
B) “You had better change quickly, because constant engagement is necessary to hold onto a
job.”
C) “Don’t worry about it. This type of fluctuation is normal.”
D) “Watch out. Your behavior is quite abnormal.”
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18) Liz, a plant manager, wants to apply self-determination theory to workers at the plant. She
might therefore attempt to ________.
A) encourage workers to pursue external rewards of their choosing
B) assign employees exciting work that meets their needs
C) give out bonuses based on performance
D) assign difficult goals to all employees
19) Workers are the most likely to be engaged when they ________.
A) pursue goals they find to be meaningful
B) are offered bonuses such as gift certificates
C) are threatened with punishment for not being engaged
D) have worked for the organization for more than five years
20) Sandra is the CEO of a company with a representative American workforce. She can
21) Melody is an engaged employee with respect to work, so she is quite willing to help her
22) Unfortunately for management, engaged workers tend to be so self-absorbed and interested
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23) Benson, a tech-support center supervisor, is given considerable breathing room (leeway) in
how to conduct his job, thereby increasing the probability that he will be an engaged worker.
24) According to self-determination theory, employees tend to work the hardest and are the most
engaged when their manager determines the type of work they do, and the methods they must
use to accomplish the work.
25) Barney, a vehicle repossession specialist, increases his goal of how many autos to repossess
next month. Barney will most likely ________.
A) experience a decrease in job satisfaction
B) suffer from job burnout
C) repossess fewer vehicles next month
26) Otto has a strong performing-goal orientation, so he is likely to ________.
A) seek feedback that he is doing a wonderful job
B) be highly absorbed in his work
C) focus on acquiring new skills
D) focus on mastering new situations
27) A person with a learning-goal orientation is strongly interested in demonstrating his or her
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28) Samantha has a performing (or mastery) goal orientation so she learns Mandarin mostly to
29) Tracking your own performance on the job can help increase the motivational impact of your
31) The purpose of developing an action plan in goal setting is to ________.
A) describe a method for reaching the goal
B) establish rewards for attaining the goal
C) establish penalties for not attaining the goal
D) regulate the difficulty of the goal
32) A realistic goal is one that ________.
A) includes money as well as happiness
B) is relatively easy to attain
C) matches the employer’s desires
D) provides the right amount of challenge
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33) An example of two synergistic goals for the owner of a fitness club might be ________.
A) reduce salaries by 15 percent and attract higher-caliber fitness instructors
B) redecorate the club and increase enrollment
C) supervise his or her workers more closely and take longer vacations
34) A major problem noted with goals is that they often ________.
A) create inflexibility in terms of pursuing other activities
B) lead to a build-up in self-efficacy
C) lead to a preoccupation as to how they will be attained
35) A good example of a goal that is likely to be effective is “I will do whatever it takes in terms
of performance to avoid being fired.”
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37) A realistic goal finds a mid-point between no challenge and extraordinary challenge.
38) Brittany demonstrates synergy in goal setting when she establishes the goals of (a) staying in
top shape physically, and (b) winning three hotdog eating contests this year.
39) One problem with goals is that they may lead the goal setter to avoid important activities not
40) A potential problem noted with goals is that many workers will over-extend themselves after
41) Jill rewards herself for doing something right. This is an example of ________.
A) goal setting
B) raising your self-expectations
C) behavior modification
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42) Max decides to use behavior modification to become better motivated to accomplish projects
on time. Max should therefore ________.
A) reward himself when he gets work done on time
B) wear a tee-shirt that says, “Get it Done”
C) place inspirational posters inside his cubicle
D) pump his fist when he stays on schedule
43) An important implication of expectancy theory for self-motivation is that ________.
A) people should acquire the training they need
B) a positive mental attitude is more important than training
C) people should choose their own rewards
D) challenging work is an effective motivator
44) To use the Galatea effect to improve her self-motivation, Sue would have to ________.
A) raise her self-expectations
B) lower her self-expectations
C) set goals after a project has been completed
D) focus mostly on yearly goals
45) According to the expectancy theory of motivation, building your skills relevant to the job
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46) Developing psychological hardiness refers to experiencing a high degree of commitment,
47) A key characteristic of self-disciplined people is that they ________.
A) impose punishment and suffering on themselves
B) rebel against goals set by management
C) find very little joy in working
D) work toward attaining goals without being distracted
48) A key behavior of a self-disciplined person is the ability to ________.
A) find plausible excuses for falling behind schedule
B) say no to every request made of him or her
C) delay gratification now for a bigger future reward
D) never take time off from work
49) Good questions to ask when formulating a personal mission statement are “Who am I?” and
“What am I trying to accomplish in life?”
50) Bart is highly self-disciplined so he is likely to make a lot of excuses for not achieving a goal
so he appears to be a focused individual.