Ch1 PSY16

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
SOCIETY FOR INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

 The professional organization that represents I/O psychologists in the United States
 14th division of the American Psychological Association
 Approximately 4% of all psychologists work in the I/O area.
INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
 An area of scientific study and professional practice that addresses psychological concepts and
principles in the work world.
I/O Psychology has other names in different countries:
 United Kingdom – Occupational Psychology
 European Countries – Work and Organizational Psychology
South Africa – Industrial Psychology
 Two sides of I/O psychology:
1. Science – scientific inquiry concerned with the advancing knowledge about people at work
2. Practice – application of knowledge to solve real problems; uses research findings to hire
better employees, reduce absenteeism, improve communication, increase job satisfaction, and
solve countless other problems.
 Scientist-practitioner model
A model or framework for education in an academic discipline based on understanding
the scientific principles and findings evidenced in the discipline and how they provide the basis
for the professional practice.
FIELDS OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY

 Selection and Placement
 Concerned with developing assessment methods for selection, placement and promotion
of employees.
 Involved in studying jobs and determining to what degree tests can predict performance
in those jobs.
 Concerned with the placement of employees and identifying those jobs that are most
compatible with an individual’s skills and interests.
 Training and Development
Identify employee skills that needs to be enhanced to improve job performance.
Areas of Training:
 technical skills enhancement
 managerial development programs
 training of all employees to work together effectively
 Performance Appraisal
 This is the process of identifying criteria or standards for determining how well
employees are performing their jobs.
 Involves measuring the performance of work teams, units within the organization, or the
organization itself.
 Organizational Development
The process of analyzing the structure of an organization to maximize the satisfaction and
effectiveness of individuals, work groups, and customers.
 Quality of Worklife
• Concerned with the factors that contribute to a healthy and productive workforce.
• Involves redesigning jobs to make them more meaningful and satisfying to the people
who perform them.
 Ergonomics
It is concerned with designing tools, equipment, and machines that are compatible with
human skills.
PRINCIPAL WORK SETTINGS OF I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS
Work Settings
Universities Consulting firms

39% 35%
Government Industry
6% 20%
THE HISTORY OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY: THE EARLY YEARS

 Walter Dill Scott
• a psychologist, was persuaded to give a talk to some Chicago business leaders on the
need for applying psychology to advertising.
• The Theory of Advertising (1903), dealt with suggestions and arguments as means of
influencing people.
• The Psychology of Advertising (1908), was aimed at improving human efficiency with
such tactics as imitation, competition, loyalty, and concentration.
• Influencing Men in Business and Increasing Human Efficiency in Business (1911)
• During WW1, Scott was instrumental in the application of personnel procedures in the
army.
 Frederick W. Taylor
• The Principles of Scientific Management (1911)
• According to Van De Water (1997) reported these principles as:
1. Science over rule of thumb
2. Scientific selection and training
3. Cooperation over individualism
4. Equal division of work best suited to management and employees
 Lillian Moller Gilbreth
• Pioneered industrial management techniques.
• Concerned with the human aspects of time management.
• She was among the first to recognize the effect of stress and fatigue on workers.
 Hugo Munsterberg
• Interested in applying traditional psychological methods to practical industrial problems.
• Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913) was divided into three parts: selecting
workers, designing work situations, and using psychology in sales.
• Most renowned studies involved the determining what makes a safe trolley car operator.
• Considered as the founder of industrial psychology by most writers.
THE HISTORY OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY: WORLD WAR I
 Robert Yerkes
• President of the American Psychological Association (1917)
• Developed the Army Alpha and Army Beta Tests along with other psychologist.
Army Alpha Test – an intelligence test used for the selection and placement of military
personnel.
Army Beta Test – a nonverbal intelligence test to assess illiterate military recruits.
 1917 - the oldest and most representative journal in the field of I/O psychology – the Journal of
Applied Psychology – began publication.
 1924 – a series of research studies which refocused the interest of I/O psychologists on how work
behavior manifests itself in an organizational context – Hawthorne Studies.
THE HISTORY OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY: WORLD WAR II
 Walter Bingham
• Chair of the advisory committee on classification of military personnel (1941).
• Developed a test along with the committee members that could sort new recruits into five
categories based on their ability to learn the duties and responsibilities of a soldier
– Army General Classification Test.
POINTS TO PONDER.
Answer the following questions. Submit your paper through our learning management systems.
1. Why do you think that the most popular model in learning IOP is the scientific-practitioner
model?
2. Among the six fields of IOP, which interests you the most? Why?
3. Which field do you think should be the focus of each of the work settings for IO
psychologists?

Ch1 PSY16

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Ch1 PSY16

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

SOCIETY FOR INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

FIELDS OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY

PRINCIPAL WORK SETTINGS OF I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS

Universities Consulting firms

THE HISTORY OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY: THE EARLY YEARS

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