Industrial Psychology- Midterms

Module 1A: Introduction to Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Introduction to Industrial-Organizational Psycholog

i. DEFINITION OF TERMS

INDUSTRIAL/ ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace, to enhance the dignity and performance of human beings and the organization they work in by advancing the science and knowledge of human behavior

ii. DIFFERENCES OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Industrial Psychology

-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

Organizational Psychology

-creates an organizational structure and culture that will motivate employees to perform well, give them the necessary information to do their jobs, and provide working conditions that are safe and result in an enjoyable and satisfying work/ life environment.

III. Major Fields of I/O Psychology

a. Personnel Psychology

-study and practice in such areas as analyzing jobs, recruiting, applicants, selecting employees, determining salary levels, training employees, and evaluating employee performance.

-analyze jobs to obtain a complete picture of what each employee does, often assigning monetary values to each position.

-training department of an organization and are involved in such activities as identifying the organization’s training needs, developing training programs, and evaluating success.

b. Organizational Psychology

-concerned with the issues of leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation, organizational communication, conflict management, organizational change, and group processes within an organization.

-create and conduct surveys of employee attitudes to get ideas about what employees believe is the organization’s strengths and weaknesses.

c. Human Factors/ Ergonomics

-human factors concentrate on workplace design, human-machine interaction, ergonomics, and physical fatigue and stress.

-work with engineers and other technical professionals to make the workplace safer and more efficient

III. HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION

The Early Years (1880–1920)

Before 1880, business owners managed workers with little concern for hiring, training, motivation, or evaluation.

No systematic management theories, task organization, or reporting structures.

No modern business schools; psychology was philosophical, not empirical.

Late 1800s brought significant changes:

I/O psychology emerged as a subdiscipline leading early application process.

Owners hired specialists to manage tasks and employees.

Psychology emerged as a distinct discipline.

Psychologists started applying behavioral insights to management problems.

What Were the Major Forces Shaping Work during the Early Years?

Industrial and Organizational Psychology emerged at the time of the transition of the U. S. economy from an agrarian society to an industrial society. Mass production, the rise of the corporation, consumerism, and massive immigration to the United States marked these early years.

Industrialization and Mass Production

Late 1700s to early 1900s, marked by technological advancements like cotton gin, steam engine, telephone, sewing machine, automobile, incandescent light bulb, and airplane.

a. Adam Smith's Influence: "Wealth of Nations" attributed prosperity to task division principles.

b. Henry Ford's Impact: Introduced the moving assembly line in 1913, boosting productivity and reducing cost

Massive Waves of Immigration

Factories in the booming cities of the United States needed workers. The demand for labor led to a huge wave of immigration of Europeans to the United States (27.5 million immigrants between 1865 and 1918, 89% from Europe) and a movement of farmworkers within the United States to the cities to work in the mills.

Throughout the world, but especially in the United States, technological innovation transformed what had been a predominantly rural and agricultural existence into societies dominated by large cities and manufacturing

Rise of the Corporation

As important as technological innovation, the assembly line, and urbanization was the rise of the large corporation. Prior to the industrial revolution, the dominant work organization was a small entrepreneurial firm in which the owners were the managers.

A new organizational entity emerged to deal more efficiently with the larger scale of operation that characterized industry in the mid- to late 1800s.

Rise of Consumerism

Consumerism is an economic and social phenomenon in which people are driven to purchase more than they need. Consumerism has had critics (e.g., the sociologist Thorstein Veblen (1934/1899) coined the term

Conspicuous Consumerism to refer to irrational buying behavior of people seeking status by means of possessions). Despite the critics, there is no doubt that consumerism fueled the economic growth and increasing prosperity of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Supporters of consumerism argued that the creative waste of money on goods that were luxuries fueled economic progress and raised the living standard of all socioeconomic classes.

The practice of purchasing on installment plans became a popular form of buying. To create the demand that would lead people to go beyond their means in making purchases, advertising and marketing emerged as professions.

Advertising changed from merely informing consumers of the existence of various products to creating the need for these products.

Psychology became the source of ideas for advertising, and early psychologists such as Walter Dill Scott and John B. Watson were pioneers in the study of consumer behavior.

The Founders of I/O Psychology in the 1900s

Walter Dill Scott

-Student of Wilhelm Wundt

-Theory of Advertising: a book considered to be the first dealing with Psychology and aspects of work.

He turned his attention to this area and composed the book The Psychology of Advertising in Theory and Practice in 1903

Hugo Munsterberg

-Father of Industrial Psychology

• Psychology and Industrial Efficiency in 1913.

Robert Mearns Yerkes

• made significant contributions to the field of Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology, particularly in the area of psychological testing and assessment. He played a crucial role in the development and administration of intelligence tests for the U.S. military during World War I, leading to the creation of the Army Alpha and Beta tests that assessed the cognitive abilities of army recruits. His work in psychological testing laid the foundation for the use of standardized assessments in various fields, including the selection and placement of personnel in organizations.

-World War 1 marks the emergence of Industrial Psychology

Alfred Binet: French psychologist, designed the first mental ability test, created the IQ concept.

-IQ Calculation: Mental age / chronological age (obsolete), but cognitive ability testing remains.

-Objective Assessment: Binet aimed to provide fairer assessments than biased teacher judgments.

-Cognitive Test Prototype: Binet's test prototype for mental testing, aimed to avoid stigmatization.

WWI Application: Large-scale psychology application during WWI, processing soldiers.

Psychological Examination of Recruits Committee: Formed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1917.

Army Alpha and Beta Tests: Developed by a committee for literate and illiterate recruits.

Post-WWI: Cognitive ability testing became vital in hiring and college admissions.

Eugenics Movement: Used cognitive ability data for discrimination, racial differences.

Racial Stereotypes: Eugenics claimed racial differences in cognitive ability and attributes.

Transnational Phenomenon: Eugenics movement spread globally, influenced many countries.]

James Mckeen Catell (1921)

-created PSYCHOLOGICAL CORPORATION to advance psychology and promote its usefulness to industry

-served as a place for companies to get a reference check on prospective psychologists

1.Walter Bingham

-started the DIVISION of APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY for CARNEGIE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY the first academic program in Industrial Psycholog

2.Mary Parker Follett

-her theory was a forerunner of today’s teamwork concept and group cohesiveness

-her work focused on groups and advocated people-oriented organizations

3.Frederick Winslow Taylor

-The mastermind of the idea Scientific Management

-Taylor (1910) suggested the following guidelines, which continuing influence today.

-Jobs should be carefully analyzed to identify the optimal way to perform them -Employees should be hired according to the characteristics associated with success at a task

-Employees should be trained at the job they will perform

-Employees should be rewarded for productivity to encourage high levels of performance.

4.Kurt Zadek Lewin (1939)

-led the first publication of an empirical study of the effects of leadership styles, which initiated arguments for the use of participative management techniques.

-ECONOMIC PSYCHOLOGY/ EMPLOYMENT PSYCHOLOGY

Consumer Psychology

-is the study of why people buy things

-Consumer Panel: A consumer panel is a group of individuals selected by a business or organization to provide input and opinion on products and services for research on consumer behavior. Panel members are chosen to be representative of the general population or a target group.

-Diary Panel: A diary panel is a research method used in market research and consumer behavior studies, where participants regularly record their daily activities, thoughts, or experiences in a diary or journal. This method provides insights into individuals' behaviors, preferences, and trends over time.

Frank and Lilian Gilbreth

• pioneers in the field of Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology, focusing on time and motion studies and the principles of scientific management. They made significant contributions to improving work efficiency and productivity by analyzing and optimizing work processes. Their pioneering work laid the foundation for modern ergonomic design and workplace efficiency, influencing the development of techniques for improving worker performance and organizational efficiency.

2.Henry Ford

• made a notable contribution to Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology through his innovations in manufacturing and management practices. He introduced the moving assembly line to automobile production, significantly increasing productivity and revolutionizing mass production. Ford's emphasis on standardized processes, division of labor, and efficient workflow greatly impacted industrial practices, leading to increased efficiency, lower costs, and higher output. His approaches to production and management influenced the development of organizational efficiency principles and practices within the field of I/O psychology.

3.Elton Mayo

-is known for his significant contributions to the field of Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology, particularly through his involvement in the Hawthorne Studies. These studies, conducted at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago, explored the effects of various workplace conditions on employee productivity and behavior. Mayo and his colleagues found that social and psychological factors, such as attention from supervisors and the sense of being part of a group, played a crucial role in influencing employee performance and satisfaction. This led to a shift in focus within I/O psychology, highlighting the importance of human factors, motivation, and social dynamics in organizational settings.

Hawthorne Studies