Foundations and Themes & Theories I/O_WK2

Foundations. Week Two Assignment. The Value of Critical Thinking In The Field of Psychology

The value of Critical Thinking in the field of psychology

Overfamiliarity with an idea can lead you to accept the information as true without questioning it. Just like the psychology myth that opposites attract, have you heard these other common psychology myths? Smiling makes you happier. We only use 10 percent of our brain. Memory is like a video recording. People are either left-brained or right-brained.

Have you ever wondered where these ideas  originated and why  so widely believed? Are they completely false or partially true? When you begin to look more closely at ideas and where the information came from,  you have started the critical-thinking process.

Critical thinking is inherent in scholarly work because it forces you to separate opinions and biases from the evidence found in the research literature

In this Assignment, you will examine the value of critical thinking by exploring facts and opinions and how they are distinguished from one to the other.

You’ll identify key traits of each and combine them into a balanced narrative, demonstrating how critical thinking helps evaluate information and build strong arguments.

As a reminder, this Assignment will also be used for your writing skills assessment. While your essay will be evaluated with two sets of rubric elements, the writing skills assessment will NOT count toward your course grade. 

This writing skills assessment helps ensure you receive foundational writing support early in your Walden program. You can use this week’s writing skills rubric feedback to help guide your approach to the writing course you will take next term: SKIL 8002 Enhancing Doctoral Writing Skills. This course is self-paced, ungraded, and tuition-free. It is part of your program requirements and is designed to provide instructional support to help you meet writing expectations in your program. For more information, please visit the  Writing Skills AssessmentLinks to an external site.  web page or contact  [email protected] . 

Learning Resources

This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of this week's assigned Learning Resources.

Required Resources

Readings

· OASIS. (2020, June 29).  Reading a research article assigned as coursework Links to an external site. . Walden University. https://waldenacademicskills.wordpress.com/2020/06/29/reading-a-research-article-assigned-as-coursework

· Walden University. (2015d).  Evaluating resources: Resource typesLinks to an external site. . Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/evaluating This web page provides specific information about evaluating various types of resources.

· Walden University. (2015e).  Foundations – library resources: Identifying & evaluating online resourcesLinks to an external site. . Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/IdentifyingEvaluating This web page gives you an introduction to the types of information you will find in the library databases. It provides tips on how to identify scholarly sources, such as peer-reviewed journal articles, and how to evaluate the reliability of other sources.

· Walden University. (2015g).  Foundations – library resources: Searching & retrieving materials in the databasesLinks to an external site. . Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/SearchingRetrieving This resource is an introduction to finding the sources you need in the Walden library databases.

· Walden University. (2015j).  Publication comparison chart: PublicationsLinks to an external site. . Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/peerreviewvsscholarly This web page defines and contrasts three categories of journals: scholarly, trade, and popular.

· Walden University. (2015i).  Peer review: General informationLinks to an external site. . Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/peer-review This web page provides general information about how to limit periodical searches to peer-reviewed articles and how to verify a periodical is peer reviewed.

· Walden University. (2015f).  Foundations – library resources: Introduction to the Walden University libraryLinks to an external site. . Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/foundationscoursedocs/waldenlibrary The Walden Library an essential resource that will facilitate your success. This web page introduces you to the library’s services and resources.

· Document:  Study Notes: What Is Critical Thinking? (PDF) Download Study Notes: What Is Critical Thinking? (PDF) This Walden Writing Center publication explores various definitions of critical thinking.

· Spreadsheet:  Weekly Schedule (Excel) Download Weekly Schedule (Excel)

One of the most valuable skills you can have as an online student is effective time management. Therefore, we ask that you

· download and save this sample weekly schedule,

· use it to create your own based on your work and personal responsibilities, and

· revisit the schedule at least once a month to ensure that it still reflects your time commitments.

To Prepare for this Assignment:

· Review the readings in this week’s Learning Resources and specifically focus on the critical thinking resources.

· Think of and choose a common psychology myth that you have heard. If you have trouble of thinking of an example, identify one using a general Internet search.

· Remember to use the  Assignment Checklist  Download Assignment Checklistto assist you in completing this assignment.

INSTRUCTIONS: The Assignment (1-page):

· Based on the psychology myth you chose, write a short paragraph that would be considered an opinion and why this is an opinion.

· Search the Walden Library databases for a peer-reviewed article on this same topic. Based on what you learn from the article, write a second paragraph that would be considered a fact and why it would be considered factual. Support your ideas with information cited from the article and include the reference to the article in APA7 format.

· Explain the differences between the two paragraphs. Explain how a reader would know which statement is opinion and which is factual.  Use the Learning Resources to support your rationale.

Week 2. Discussion. Individual Differences. Assessment. Job Analysis. Selection. and Staffing

Job Analysis and Assessment for Candidate Selection

Recognizing that individual knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) differ, it is important for employers to use them to identify candidates that best fit open jobs within an organization. Job Analysis is used to determine KSAs that can in turn be used as criteria in a selection process and subsequent staff for a given position.

For this Discussion, consider a job that you have held, currently hold, or with which you are familiar. What are the crucial knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that someone in this role must possess to be successful in this position? How would you rank these KSAs in order from most to least important? How might you assess candidates for this role if you were the hiring manager? As you think about how you would answer these questions, keep in mind what you’ve learned this week about the role of assessments in I/O psychology, how they are used, and why they are important.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. 

WEEKLY RESOURCES

Required Readings

Job Analysis and Selection

· Beier, M., Young, C., & Villado, A. (2018). Job knowledge: its definition, development, and measurement. In D. S. Ones, N. Anderson, C. Viswesvaran, & H. K. Sinangil (Eds.),  The SAGE handbook of industrial, work, and organizational psychology Links to an external site.  (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 279-298). London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

·

· Note: Chapter 10

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· Viswesvaran, C., & Ones, D. (2018). Non-test methods and techniques used in employee selection. In D. S. Ones, N. Anderson, C. Viswesvaran, & H. K. Sinangil (Eds.),  The SAGE handbook of industrial, work, and organizational psychology Links to an external site.  (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 451-473). London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

· Note: Chapter 15

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· Schmidt, N. (2014). Personality and cognitive ability as predictors of effective performance at work.  Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational BehaviorLinks to an external site. , 1(1), 45–65.

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

Talent Management

· Cappelli, P., & Keller, J. K. (2014). Talent management: Conceptual approaches and practical challenges.  Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational BehaviorLinks to an external site. , 1(1), 305–331.

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· Meyers, M., & Paauwe, J. (2018). Talent management. In D. S. Ones, N. Anderson, C. Viswesvaran, & H. K. Sinangil (Eds.),  The SAGE handbook of industrial, work, and organizational psychology Links to an external site.  (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 517-544). London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

· Note: Chapter 23

· Time Estimate: 60 minutes

· McKinsey & Company. (2024, April 15).  Increasing your return on talent: The moves and metrics that matter Links to an external site. . https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/increasing-your-return-on-talent-the-moves-and-metrics-that-matter

· Time Estimate: 15 minutes

Required Media

· Walden University, LLC. (2019).  Talent management plan: Webbutik Links to an external site.  [CDN media file]. Walden University Blackboard. https://waldenu.instructure.com

· Welcome To Webbutik

· Scroll down for your instructions Instructions and more information.

Webbutik is an online retailer specializing in women’s and men’s apparel and shoes.

Webbutik is an online retailer specializing in women’s and men’s apparel and shoes. Webbutik’s leadership have decided to invest resources to improve the online retail experience for customers in order to stay competitive in the online retail marketplace. Before leaders can invest necessary resources into fixing the company website, they have to address the immediate problem of poor customer service and the impending mass exodus of customer service reps before the holiday season.

The leaders decide to hire a consultant (YOU) to develop a Talent Management Plan for customer service representatives and customer service managers. The Talent Management Plan would detail strategies and approaches to address the following goals:

· Identification and selection of external job candidates for the customer service representative position

· Identification of internal customer service representatives who are high performers and could be developed for managerial positions

· Onboarding new hires

· Training and developing existing customer service representatives

· Improving recruitment and retention of customer service representatives

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 20 minutes.

To prepare for this Discussion:

· Read Chapters 10 and 15 in  The SAGE Handbook and the article, “Personality and Cognitive Ability as Predictors of Effective Performance at Work.” Pay particular attention to the definitions and examples of KSAs, the types of assessments that may be used in the candidate-selection process, and the strengths and limitations of each.

· Based on the Learning Resources you reviewed, consider the role of assessments in I/O psychology.

· Next, identify three of the most important KSAs for a job you have held, currently hold, or one with which you are familiar. Based on the KSAs you identified, consider the combination of assessments you would use to select the best candidate for the job.

INSTRUCTIONS: Post a response to the following:

· Briefly explain in two to three sentences the role of assessments in I/O Psychology, how they are used, and why they are important.

· Describe the job position (including the industry) you selected and provide a list of the three most important KSAs.

· Describe how you would assess potential employees for these KSAs if you were the hiring manager. Assessments could include using interviews, resumes, and personality tests.

· Finally, explain how the assessments you identified would be used in concert to select candidates that best fit the position, and why.