These questions were taken directly from the test bank. True or false questions can be especially challenging in OB. Why? Well, because there are few absolutes in OB (remember that contingency anchor from the first chapter?). On the other hand, if you don’t know the material, but still answer the question you have a fifty percent chance of being right (or wrong if you’re a pessimist). That’s the good part.

Here are two true or false questions with some explanatory notes:

1. Motivation is an external force on the person that causes him or her to engage in specific behaviours

The answer is false but, why? Ask yourself, “What part of this question makes it false?” In this case, everything is true, except the part about the force being external. Motivation is an internal force. It originates within the person.

2. Research has found that absenteeism is rarely, if ever, caused by situational factors.

The answer is false. What throws some students off the trail is the word research. For some reason, the word seems to lend an air of legitimacy to an otherwise nonsensical statement. Don't be fooled by that age-old trick.