1 - I/O Psychology

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Is a branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace.

to enchance the dignity and performance of human beings and the organizations they work in by advancing the science and knowledge of human behavior

The purpose of I/O psychology is:

psychological principles

The application of ____________ is what best distinguishes I/O psychology from related fields typically taught in business colleges.

factors that affect the people in an organization

The main difference between I/O psychology and business fields is that I/O psychology examines _______________ as opposed to the broader aspects of running an organization such as marketing channels, transportation networks, and cost accounting

• research

• quantitative methods

• testing techniques

I/O psychology relies extensively on _____, __________, and __________.

empirical data & statistics

I/O psychologists are trained to use ______ and _______ rather than intuition to make decisions

True

T or F.

I/O psychologists are not clinical psychologists who happen to be in industry, and they do not conduct therapy for workers.

counselors

There are psychologists who work for organizations and help employees with such problems as drug and alcohol abuse, but these are ________ rather than I/O psychologists.

Scientist-Practitioner Model

A factor that helps differentiate I/O psychology from other branches of psychology is the reliance on the __________________

Scientists, Practitioners

That is, I/O psychologists act as ________ when they conduct research and as ________ when they work with actual organizations.

I/O Psychology

can improve the quality of life at levels equal to, and often exceeding, those of fields such as counseling psychology and medicine.

• Personnel Psychology

• Organizational Psychology

• Human Facotrs/Ergonomics

Major Fields of I/O Psychology:

Industrial approach

focuses on determining the competencies needed to perform a job, staffing the organization with employees who have those competencies, and increasing those competencies through training.

Personnel Psychology

The field of study that concentrates on the selection and evaluation of employees

Personnel Psychology

study and practice in such areas as

• analyzing jobs

• recruiting applicants

• selecting employees

• determining salary levels

• training employees

• evaluating employee performance

Personnel Psychology

Professionals working in these areas choose existing tests or create new ones that can be used to select and promote employees.

• These tests are then constantly evaluated to ensure that they are both fair and valid

• complete picture

• monetary values

Personnel psychologists also analyze jobs to obtain a __________ of what each employee does, often assigning _______ ______ to each position.

Performance-Appraisal Instruments

After obtaining complete job descriptions, professionals in personnel psychology construct _____________ _______ to evaluate employee performance.

Organizational Psychology

The field of study that investigates the behavior of employees within the context of an organization

Organizational Psychology

Psychologists involved in ___________ are concerned with the issues of

• leadership

• Job satisfaction

• employee motivation

• organizational communication

• conflict management

• organizational change

• group processes within an organizationl

Organizational Psychologist

often conduct surveys of employee attitudes to get ideas about what employees believe are an organization’s strengths and weaknesses.

Consultant

Usually serving in the role of a ______, an organizational psychologist makes recommendations on ways problem areas can be improved.

Human Factors / Ergonomics

A field of study concentrating on the interaction between humans and machines

Human Factors / Ergonomics

Psychologists in this area concentrate on

• Workplace design

• human machine interaction

• ergonomics

• physical fatigue and stress.

Human Factors / Ergonomics

These psychologists frequently work with engineers and other technical professionals to make the workplace safer and more efficient

• designing the optimal way to draw a map

• designing the most comfortable chair

• investigating the optimal work schedule

Sample activities in Human Factors/Ergonomics have included:

• 1903 - Walter Dill Scott - Theory of Advertising

• 1910 - Hugo Munsterberg - Psychology & Industrial Efficiency

• 1911 - Scott - Increasing Human Efficiency in Business

Various experts disagree about the precise beginning of I/O psychology it is generally thought to have started either: (3)

Theory of Advertising by Walter Dill Scott

in which psychology was first applied to business

• Economic psychology

• Business psychology

• Employment psychology

The term “industrial psychology” was seldom used prior to World War I

• Instead, the common terms for the field were:

World War I

I/O psychology made its first big impact during __________

• Test recruits

• Place them in appropriate positions

Because of the large number of soldiers who had to be assigned to various units within the armed forces, I/O psychologists were employed to: (2)

• Army Alpha

• Army Beta

The testing was accomplished mainly through the _________ and _________ tests of mental ability.

Army Alpha

An intelligence test developed during World War I and used by the army for soldiers who CAN read

Army Beta

An intelligence test developed during World War I and used by the army for soldiers who CANNOT read

Henry Gantt

I/O psychologists, along with engineers such as _________, were responsible for increasing the efficiency with which cargo ships were built, repaired, and loaded

Thomas A. Edison

Though certainly not an I/O psychologist, inventor ______________ understood the importance of selecting the right employees.

163-item, 900 applicants

In 1920, Edison created a ___-item knowledge test that he administered to over ____ applicants.

5%

The test and passing score were so difficult that only _% of the applicants passed.

Frank Gilbreth & Lillian Moller Gilbreth

Two of the most interesting figures in the early years of I/O psychology were the husband and wife team:

motions

The Gilbreths were among the first, if not the first, scientists to improve productivity and reduce fatigue by studying the ______ used by worker.

Hawthorne studies

A series of studies, conducted at the Western Electric plant in Hawthorne, Illinois, that have come to represent any change in behavior when people react to a change in the environment.

• quality of the work environment

• attitudes of employees

When the findings from the famous Hawthorne studies were published, psychologists became more involved in the: (2)

Hawthorne studies

were initially designed to investigate such issues as the effects of lighting levels, work schedules, wages, temperature, and rest breaks on employee performance.

Hawthorne Effect

when employees change their behavior due solely to the fact that they are receiving attention or are being observed.

Hawthorne Effect

After interviewing employees and studying the matter further, the researchers realized that employees changed their behavior and became more productive because they were being studied and received attention from their managers, a condition that is now commonly referred to as the __________

• Increase focus on human relations in workplace

• Explore effect of Employee attitudes

Perhaps the major contribution of the Hawthorne studies was that it inspired psychologists to _________________ and to ___________________