Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology

Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology

– a branch of psychology that applies psychological principles to the workplace.

Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology

Purpose: to enhance the dignity and performance of human beings and the organizations they work in by advancing the science and knowledge of human behavior (Rucci, 2008).

A: I/O Psychology

Q: What branch of psychology applies psychological principles specifically to workplace settings?

Enhance dignity and performance.

What is the main purpose of I/O Psychology in relation to people and organizations?

People factors.

What does I/O Psychology study in organizations instead of focusing on broad management aspects?

Workplace issues involving people.

What does I/O Psychology primarily emphasize when examining the workplace?

Research and quantitative methods.

What types of methods and approaches does I/O Psychology heavily depend on?

Empirical data and statistics.

What kind of basis does I/O Psychology use for decision-making instead of intuition?

Scientists.

In the Science-Practitioner Model, what role do I/O professionals take when they are conducting research?

A: Practitioners

Q: In the Science-Practitioner Model, what role do I/O professionals take when applying research findings to organizations?

High-quality and effective.

What does the Science-Practitioner Model ensure about the work of I/O professionals in organizations?

A: Industrial Approach

Q: In Industrial-Organizational Psychology, which major field focuses on identifying the competencies required for jobs, staffing employees who possess those competencies, and enhancing their skills through training and development programs?

Organizational Approach.

In the major fields of I/O Psychology, which approach emphasizes creating structures and cultures that motivate employees, provide job information, and ensure safe and satisfying working conditions?

Study and practice areas.

In I/O Psychology, what kinds of activities involve analyzing jobs, recruiting applicants, selecting employees, determining salaries, training, and evaluating performance?

Tests

In employee selection and promotion, what tools do I/O psychologists either select from standardized options or design themselves to assess candidates’ job-related abilities, traits, or skills?

A: Complete job picture
(Keyword: Full job description + value)

Q: In job analysis, what do I/O psychologists aim to obtain for each employee, often assigning monetary values, such as documenting all tasks and responsibilities of a marketing manager?

Performance appraisal instruments.

What do I/O psychologists construct to evaluate employee performance effectively?

Training methods.

In training and development, what do I/O psychologists examine to improve employee skills and growth?

A: Personnel Psychology.

Q: In I/O Psychology, what subfield focuses on studying and practicing areas such as job analysis, recruitment, selection, salary determination, training, and performance evaluation?

A: Organizational Psychology.

Q: In I/O Psychology, which subfield is concerned with leadership, job satisfaction, motivation, communication, conflict management, organizational change, and group processes?

A: Surveys.

Q: In Industrial-Organizational Psychology, which method is commonly used to systematically collect information about employees’ opinions, satisfaction, and perceptions regarding their work and workplace?

A: Consultant.

Q: In addition to research, what role do organizational psychologists commonly serve within organizations?

A: Organization-wide programs.

Q: What type of programs do organizational psychologists implement to improve organizational performance?

A: Human Factors/Ergonomics.

Q: Which subfield of I/O Psychology focuses on workplace design, ergonomics, and human-machine interaction?

A: Fatigue and stress.

Q: What physical concerns do human factors/ergonomics psychologists address in the workplace?

A: Engineers and technical professionals.

Q: With whom do human factors/ergonomics psychologists frequently collaborate to improve safety and efficiency?

A: Walter Dill Scott.

Q: Who first applied psychology to business through the theory of advertising?

A: Hugo Munsterberg.

Q: Who wrote Psychology and Industrial Efficiency?

A: Economic, Business, and Employment Psychology.

Q: What were some of the early names for I/O Psychology?

A: Cattell, Bingham, Watson, Bills, Gilbreth.

Q: Which other early contributors advanced I/O Psychology besides Scott and Munsterberg?

A: Army Alpha (literate), Army Beta (illiterate).

Q: During World War I, what tests did I/O psychologists create for literate and illiterate recruits?

A: Thomas Edison.

Q: Who designed a 163-item knowledge test for over 900 applicants?

A: Frank and Lillian Gilbreth

(Keyword: Time-and-motion studies)

Q: Who studied worker motions to improve productivity and reduce fatigue, such as analyzing bricklayers’ movements to minimize unnecessary hand motions?

A: Hawthorne Studies.

Q: What famous studies showed that employee behavior was influenced by complex factors, especially manager-employee interactions?

A: Hawthorne Effect.

Q: What effect describes employees becoming more productive because they were being studied and received attention from managers?

A: Sensitivity trainings and T-groups.

Q: In the 1960s, what type of trainings were used for managers in response to civil rights legislation?

A: Behavior-modification techniques.

Q: In the 1970s, which organizational methods, based on principles of behavioral psychology, were increasingly adopted to systematically reinforce desired workplace behaviors and improve employee performance through structured rewards and consequences?

A: Statistical techniques, cognitive psychology, and work–family research.

Q: In the 1980s and 1990s, what kinds of methods and areas gained importance in I/O Psychology?

A: Diversified demographics and the global economy.

Q: In the 2000s, what major shifts influenced the role of I/O Psychology?

A: High unemployment rates.

Q: Which economic factor impacts I/O Psychology related to job availability?

A: Flexible work schedules.

Q: In Industrial-Organizational Psychology, what modern workplace trend gives employees more control over their start and end times, or even the structure of their workweek, as part of efforts to improve work-life balance and organizational outcomes?

A: Family-friendly policies.

Q: What type of work policies support employees with family responsibilities?

A: Child-care and elder-care.

Q: What responsibilities are increasingly accommodated in the workplace?

A: Flatter structures.

Q: What type of organizational structure, with fewer management levels, affects I/O Psychology?

A: Shift from urban to suburbs.

Q: What population trend impacts where employees live relative to work?

A: Health-care benefits.

Q: What rising expense significantly impacts organizations and employees?

A: Retirement age.

Q: What potential change related to aging workers may impact organizations?

A: Master’s Program.

Q: What graduate degree in I/O Psychology provides advanced training but is typically shorter in duration?

A: Ph.D.

Q: What doctoral degree in I/O Psychology emphasizes research and is required for many academic and high-level applied positions?

A: Ethical dilemmas.

Q: In I/O Psychology, what term describes ambiguous situations where no rules, policies, or laws apply, requiring personal judgment about right and wrong?

A: Job Analysis.

Q: In I/O Psychology, what process, also called work analysis, serves as the foundation for almost all human resource activities?

A: Job Description.

Q: What is the written result of a job analysis, usually two to five pages, that summarizes tasks and requirements?

A: 2–5 pages, tasks and requirements.

Q: How long is a typical job description, and what does it contain?

A: Determine work activities and requirements.

Q: What is the main purpose of conducting a job analysis?

A: Job Analysis and Job Description.

Q: Together, what two outputs form the basis for many HR activities?

A: Job activities.

Q: What useful lists are yielded by job analyses that can be systematically used to create training programs?

A: Worker mobility.

Q: What rarely used function of job analysis focuses on identifying future positions that an employee could successfully transition into based on their current skills, knowledge, and abilities?

A: Peter Principle.

Q: What principle describes promoting employees until they reach their highest level of incompetence?

A: Performance appraisal instrument.

Q: In addition to training and worker mobility, what important HR tool can be constructed using job analysis?

A: Job classification.

Q: What does job analysis allow HR professionals to create by grouping jobs with similar requirements and duties?

A: Pay levels, transfers, and promotions.

Q: What HR decisions is job classification especially useful for?

A: Job worth.

Q: What can job analysis information be used to determine about a specific position?

A: Optimal performance method.

Q: What does job analysis help identify regarding the execution of a job?

A: Job analysis.

Q: What legally acceptable way ensures job relatedness in employment decisions?

A: Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection.

Q: Which 1978 federal guidelines in the U.S. require employers to conduct thorough job analyses to create valid and non-discriminatory employee selection procedures that comply with federal standards?

A: Organizational problems.

Q: What do job analysts often become aware of while conducting analyses in organizations?

A: “And performs other job-related duties as assigned.”

Q: What phrase in a job description helps counter the excuse, “It’s not my job”?

A: Duties can always be added.

Q: Why must job descriptions be updated regularly?

A: Job Title.

Q: What part of a job description describes the nature of the job and aids in employee selection and recruitment?

A: Provide identity and signal job status/worth.

Q: Besides recruitment, what other two purposes do job titles serve for employees?

A: Job Summary.

Q: What section of a job description should be a brief paragraph summarizing the nature and purpose of the job?

A: Work Activities.

Q: What section of a job description lists the tasks and activities performed by the worker?

A: Tools and Equipment.

Q: What section lists all the tools and equipment used for the job, often used in employee selection and training?

A: Job Context.

Q: In a job description, what section describes the environment in which an employee works, including stress, schedule, demands, responsibility, temperature, coworkers, danger, and other relevant factors?

A: Work Performance.

Q: In a job description, what section outlines standards of performance, describing how an employee will be evaluated and what is expected?

A: Salary grade, exempt status, and compensable factors.

Q: What additional information should a job description include regarding compensation and employment classification?

A: Job Specifications (KSAOs).

Q: What part of a job description lists the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics necessary for success on the job?

A: Incumbents, supervisors, or consultants.

Q: Who typically conducts a job analysis, and who else can perform it besides HR professionals?

A: Training and experience.

Q: Why are consultants often chosen to conduct job analyses?

A: College interns.

Q: What alternative group may also be used for job analysis work?

A: When the job changes significantly.

Q: When should a job description be updated?

A: Job crafting.

Q: What term refers to informal changes employees make in their jobs?

A: Broader accuracy.

Q: Why should all employees participate in a job analysis?

A: Committee-based.

Q: In what type of job analysis do subject matter experts meet in a group to generate tasks, conditions, and KSAOs?

A: Field-based job analysis

Q: Which method involves the analyst directly going into the workplace to interview or observe job incumbents (employees) one by one, in order to capture an accurate picture of real tasks and work conditions?

A: Different employees produce different results.

Q: Why does the selection of participants matter in a job analysis?

A: Different outcomes.

Q: How do high-performing employees affect job analysis outcomes compared to low-performing employees?

A: Differently.

Q: How do more experienced employees rate tasks compared to less experienced employees?

A: Race and gender.

Q: What demographic factors were found to influence job analysis ratings besides experience and performance?

A: Incumbent personality affects rated traits.

Q: In Industrial-Organizational Psychology, why might an incumbent’s personality influence the traits and tasks they rate as important during a job analysis, potentially affecting the objectivity of the results?

A: Jobs can be performed in several way

Q: Why is choosing participants carefully important in job analysis?

A: Minute behaviors vs. general tasks.

Q: What question arises regarding the level of detail in job analysis?

A: Extensive and expensive.

Q: For intricate jobs, what type of efforts are sometimes required to identify optimal performance methods?

A: Formal = job tasks (e.g., filing); Informal = non-job tasks (e.g., coffee).

Q: What distinction exists between formal and informal job requirements?

A: Formal requirements

(Keyword: Official job tasks)

Q: What term describes the official, work-related tasks that are part of a job role, such as typing letters or filing memos for an administrative assistant?

Informal Requirements

– unofficial, often unwritten expectations or tasks that may not be part of the formal job description.
▪ Example: making coffee, picking up the children from school.

A: Major job dimensions, tasks, tools, equipment, and conditions.

Q: When identifying tasks performed in a job analysis, what specific elements must be determined about the tasks, including the conditions and resources involved?

A: Existing information, interviews, observation, job participation.

Q: What are the four primary methods used to gather information when identifying tasks in a job analysis?

A: Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).

Q: In job analysis interviews, who are considered the key participants that provide detailed insights about the job?

A: Individual interviews or SME group conferences.

Q: What are the two formats an interview can take during a job analysis to gather employee input?