61) Which operant conditioning methods are most commonly employed in organizations?
A) positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement
B) negative reinforcement and punishment
C) positive reinforcement and extinction
D) positive reinforcement and punishment
62) Which of these statements would Google CEO Eric Schmidt be most likely to agree with?
A) Necessity is the mother of invention.
B) You must have room and time to innovate.
C) Desperate people are the most creative people.
D) There is never enough time when you really want to do something.
63) Stuart, an accomplished violinist, wants his eight-year-old daughter Anika to become a
musician. To encourage her to practice, Stuart schedules his own practice sessions in front of
Anika. What social learning strategy does Stuart hope to use here?
A) self-reinforcement
B) self-efficacy
C) observing and modeling
D) negative modeling
64) Glen is coaching ten-year-old Fatima in tennis. He sets out a dish of candies and suggests
that Fatima take one each time she serves an ace during practice. What social learning strategy is
Glen trying to employ?
A) self-reinforcement
B) self-efficacy
C) engaging the emotions
D) modeling
65) Kelly, an elementary school principal, constantly praises her teachers in an attempt to get
them to believe they can improve student performance. What social learning strategy is Kelly
attempting to instill in her staff?
A) self-reinforcement
B) self-efficacy
C) imitation
D) modeling
66) After lackluster performance by the print production group, Priya banned the use of MP3
players on the floor until the numbers improved. When production exceeded goals the following
quarter, she allowed employees to use their music players on the job again. What type of operant
conditioning does this scenario describe?
A) extinction
B) negative reinforcement
C) positive reinforcement
D) self-reinforcement
67) Hector paired Robert, a new technician at his garage, with a long-time employee for the first
two weeks. Is this an effective strategy?
A) No, because the pairing will distract Robert from mastering the work.
B) Yes, because the long-time employee will focus Robert on his goals.
C) No, because modeling one’s behavior on a successful employee rarely improves performance.
D) Yes, because modeling one’s behavior on a successful employee often improves performance.
68) Penelope works in the HR department of a coffee company. She is working with other
managers to restructure jobs and model them along the Job Characteristics model. To avoid
employees from becoming bored in the workplace, which Core Job Dimension should Penelope
focus on?
A) task identity
B) task significance
C) skill variety
D) feedback
69) To give employees a better sense of “ownership” of their job, which Core Job Dimension
should an HR manager work to enhance?
A) task identity
B) task significance
C) feedback
D) autonomy
70) Providing jobs with more intrinsic motivators and more control over how jobs are performed
is an example of ________.
A) job enlargement
B) job enrichment
C) job rotation
D) job expectation increase
71) Brad has been tasked with improving critical psychological states at a sporting goods
company. Brad should strive to increase all of these EXCEPT which one?
A) compensation levels for employees
B) meaningfulness of work
C) responsibility for outcomes of work
D) knowledge of actual results of work activities
72) Which of the following is NOT a key goal of an HR director?
A) increase internal work motivation
B) increase job inequity
C) improve work performance
D) increase work satisfaction
73) Doug’s software firm is partnering with a Chinese company. To better understand his new
partners, Doug needs to apply a great deal of empathy. Which of the following best defines
empathy?
A) the ability to be imitate the behavior of others
B) the ability to feel what others are feeling
C) the ability to affect the way others feel
D) the ability to anticipate the actions of others
74) Which of the following statements does NOT support the need for empathy in multicultural
business situations?
A) Different cultures have different social customs and conventions that may seem strange to an
outsider.
B) Different cultures have different ways to motivate that may seem wrong to an outsider.
C) Language barriers can inadvertently create misunderstandings between people.
D) Motivation is not considered important to managers in most foreign cultures.
75) Which of the following is NOT a typical response by an American worker to a perceived
inequity in which inputs exceed outcomes?
A) Ignore the inequity.
B) Work harder.
C) Work less hard.
D) Attempt to see the situation differently.
76) Though Chinese workers have the same types of reactions to workplace inequities, they tend
to tolerate much more inequity than their American counterparts. This would tend to increase
which of the following responses by a worker to a perceived inequity in which inputs exceed
outcomes?
A) Ask for a raise.
B) Attempt to see the situation differently.
C) Demand more fair treatment.
D) Ask for some nonmonetary reward.
77) To prevent misunderstandings and bad feelings between people from different cultures,
which kind of operant conditioning would a manager do best to avoid?
A) negative reinforcement
B) undeserved positive reinforcement
C) punishment
D) extinction
78) Why does a leader’s creation of a false sense of hope among workers ultimately backfire in
most cases?
A) The sense of hope creates energy and optimism at first, but when workers realize that it is not
sustainable they become bitter and lose motivation.
B) Workers are very suspicious of any kind of hope, so it is best to avoid creating a sense of
hope, even if it is legitimate, because it will just arouse resentment.
C) Creating a false sense of hope usually doesn’t backfire. Leaders who use this approach
generally are successful.
D) Creating a false sense of hope backfires because workers can always tell instantly when hope
is not legitimate, so they instantly reject this approach.
79) A friend tells you that all of the motivation in his life is intrinsic; he has no extrinsic
motivators. How do you evaluate this claim?
A) It sounds reasonable that a person would not get any satisfaction from outside rewards or
approval, so you believe your friend’s claim.
B) Most people have only one kind of motivation — internal or external. So this claim by your
friend is credible.
C) Almost all people have both kinds of motivation. A person may be generally more internally
motivated than externally, but at least some of everyone’s motivation is extrinsic.
D) Most people are exclusively motivated by extrinsic rewards, so the claim by your friend is not
credible because it is rare to find a person who is even partly motivated by internal rather than
external factors.
80) A friend wants to attend an inspirational leadership program. He is very intelligent and a
hard worker. He hopes to develop his skills as an inspirational leader even though he is an
extremely introverted person. Is this a good idea? Explain.
A) Yes, because the friend is highly intelligent and a hard worker, the program is likely to pay
off. Intelligence and hard work are keys to becoming an inspirational leader.
B) Yes, because the friend is an introverted person and a hard worker, the program is likely to
pay off. Introversion and hard work are keys to becoming an inspirational leader.
C) No, because the friend is highly intelligent and a hard worker, the program is not likely to pay
off. Intelligence and ability to work hard are not typically traits found in inspirational leaders.
D) No, because the friend is an introverted person, the program is not likely to pay off.
Extraversion, not introversion, is a key to becoming an inspirational leader.
81) What would be the best way to modify Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory to make it more
credible?
A) Reverse the final two needs. Put self-actualization before esteem.
B) Allow needs to continue to be motivators even after they have been satisfied. Allow higher
order needs to motivate at any time, not just after other needs have been met.
C) Reverse the order of all needs. Put self-actualization first, followed by esteem, love and
belonging, personal safety, and physiological needs; then make each need dependent on the
previous need.
D) Change the term “needs” to “desires.” Rather than a linear hierarchy, structure the “desires”
into a spherical model in which all categories are equal.
82) A men’s high school basketball team has a strong incentive to win because each player will
be awarded a scholarship if the team can win the conference tournament. The trouble is every
player is less than 6 feet tall, and the team has lost almost all of its previous games. What is true
about this team’s likely level of motivation?
A) Valence is high because the scholarship reward is meaningful. Instrumentality is high because
players believe they will receive the reward if they perform. Expectancy is low because there is
little chance that the team will win. Because expectancy is low, motivation is likely to be low.
B) Valence is high because the scholarship reward is meaningful. Instrumentality is high because
players believe they will receive the reward if they perform. Expectancy is low because, being so
short, there is little chance that the team will win. Because expectancy is low, motivation is
likely to be high.
C) Valence is low because the scholarship reward is not meaningful. Instrumentality is high
because players believe they will receive the reward if they perform. Expectancy is high because,
being so short, there is a good chance that the team will win. Because expectancy is high,
motivation is likely to be high.
D) Valence is low because the scholarship reward is not meaningful. Instrumentality is low
because players do not believe they will receive the reward if they perform. Expectancy is low
because, being so short, there is little chance that the team will win. Because all three categories
are low, motivation is likely to be low.
83) In tennis, Moncef is carrying out a regime to improve his mobility by 25% in the next eight
weeks. Does Moncef have SMART goals?
A) Yes, because Moncef’s goals are specific (mobility), measurable (25%), achievable (with
practice), results-based (realistic goal), and time-specific (8 weeks).
B) Yes, because Moncef’s goals are specific (25%), measurable (mobility), achievable (with
practice), results-based (realistic goal), and time-specific (8 weeks).
C) No, because the goals are not time-specific. Eight weeks is too vague a time frame to be
specific.
D) No, because the goals are not measurable. There is no way to measure whether a person’s
mobility in tennis has improved by 25%.
84) Stephan, a talented artist, wasn’t a very hard worker until his girlfriend submitted one of his
drawings to the newspaper and it was published. Suddenly, Stephan began working diligently
around the clock. How can you explain the change?
A) Stephan observed the consequences of the behavior of his girlfriend, and it increased his
motivation.
B) Stephan’s success increased his self-efficacy, the belief that he could succeed, which in turn
increased his motivation.
C) Stephan’s success increased his self-reinforcement, the belief that he could succeed, which in
turn increased his motivation.
D) Stephan’s motivation didn’t actually increase. He just became more aware of the possibilities
for his work.
85) Suppose you are stuck in a job for the next year that is fairly interesting, but you feel that you
are not well-suited to the work. Which strategy would be best to follow?
A) Re-adjust your psychological attitude toward the job. Teach yourself to enjoy your work to
the maximum. Remind yourself that in a year you will be free.
B) Do your job, but remember to tell your manager on a daily basis that you are not well-suited
for it. Then perhaps you can get transferred.
C) Try not to get sucked into liking the job. Once you “surrender” you may find yourself stuck
with this job permanently.
D) Threaten to quit unless a better position is found for you. If your boss calls your bluff, back
off.
86) Do you think that a person working on an assembly line can experience being in “flow”?
87) Bonaventure Agata of CSL Behring says that a person needs to love what he or she does. Is it
possible for all workers to love their work? Explain.
88) Explain why improving hygiene factors in Herzberg’s two-factor theory can eliminate job
dissatisfaction, but cannot increase job satisfaction.
89) Would the concept of Ubuntu work in the United States? Explain.
90) In a performance review, a manager states that he has a simple way of dealing with cognitive
dissonance: If two facts or ideas conflict, one of them must be wrong. So he simply eliminates
the “wrong” one and thereby eliminates the conflict. How would you evaluate this approach?
91) Simone, who desperately wants a full-time job in journalism, got a low-paying internship
with a respected newspaper. Simone was very happy and doing extremely well in her position
until she learned that this particular internship rarely results in a permanent job after it runs its
course. Analyze Simone’s motivation and prospects for success using expectancy theory.
92) Tom, an electrical contractor, tends to micromanage his workers. This year he has used small
bonus rewards to try to get his employees motivated. The rewards are effective for a short period
of time, and then the workers fall back into old habits. What might Tom do to increase
motivation?
93) Monica has been Raoul’s tennis coach since he was young. Lately she’s been discouraged
with his progress. When she plays matches against Raoul, he seems listless and lacks motivation
because he doesn’t think he can win. What can Monica do to increase Raoul’s motivation?
94) In your opinion, is Michael Phelps’s success based most on the need for achievement,
excellent goal-setting, self-efficacy and self-reinforcement, or some other motivational factor?
Explain.
95) Why do you think Google encourages employees to devote 10 percent of their time and
energy to projects that have nothing to do with the company itself? Does this policy “pay off” for
Google? Explain.