Industrial-Organizational Psychology

1. Two Major Outcomes in I/O Psychology

• Job Performance: How effectively someone carries out their work responsibilities.

• Job Satisfaction: How content an employee is with their job, work environment, and role.

2. Two Main Causal Factors (Predictors) in I/O Psychology

• Individual differences: Skills, abilities, personality traits.

• Situational/organizational factors: Job design, leadership, culture, resources.

3. Types of Questions I/O Psychologists Ask

• Who will perform well in a particular job?

• How can employees be trained or developed effectively?

• What motivates employees?

• How do organizational factors influence productivity and satisfaction?

4. Signs vs. Samples

• Signs: Indicators that predict potential performance, e.g., test scores, cognitive ability tests.

• Samples: Direct demonstrations of performance in job-relevant tasks, e.g., work simulations, trial projects.

• Use: Both can help select employees; signs are indirect predictors, samples give a realistic preview of performance.

5. Classic Theory of Job Performance

Performance is predicted by:

• Ability (cognitive and physical skills)

• Motivation

• Situational constraints (resources, support, work environment)

6. Cognitive Ability Tests & Job Performance

• Yes, they can predict performance, especially for jobs that require problem-solving, reasoning, or learning.

7. Importance of Tests by Job Complexity

• Cognitive ability tests are more critical for cognitively complex jobs than for routine, simple tasks.

8. Personality & Performance

• Certain traits, especially conscientiousness, are predictive of job performance across many roles.

• Other traits may predict specific outcomes (e.g., extraversion for sales or leadership).

9. Biodata

• Definition: Information about past experiences, achievements, behaviors, and life history.

• Why helpful: Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior in similar contexts.

Personality & Occupational Attainment/Leadership

• Personality traits (e.g., conscientiousness, openness, extraversion) are moderately predictive of career success, leadership emergence, and attainment.

Expert vs. Formulaic Hiring Decisions

• Evidence shows holistic/expert review often underperforms compared to structured, formulaic approaches.

• Using validated selection tools and predictive formulas usually yields better hires than relying on intuition alone

Three Components of Organizational Justice

• Distributive justice: Fairness of outcome allocation.

• Procedural justice: Fairness of decision-making processes.

• Interactional justice: Fairness in interpersonal treatment and communication.

Does Team Personality Matter?

• Yes, the aggregate personality traits of team members can influence team performance, cohesion, and satisfaction.

Key Takeaways from the Lecture

• I/O Psychology blends psychology and business to improve individual and organizational outcomes.

• Job performance and job satisfaction are central outcomes.

• Structured, evidence-based approaches (cognitive tests, personality measures, biodata) outperform intuition in hiring.

• Personality and cognitive ability are important predictors, especially when matched to job demands.

• Fairness, organizational context, and team composition significantly influence performance and satisfaction.