Industrial/Organizational Psychology - Quick Reference

Definition and Purpose

• Definition: a branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace.
• 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).
• Distinguishing factor: application of psychological principles; IO psychology relies on research, quantitative methods, and testing techniques rather than intuition.
• Decision-making: empirical data and statistics; scientist-practitioner model.
• Societal perspective: can improve quality of life by increasing employee effectiveness, which can reduce costs and improve product quality.

Major Fields and Approaches

• Industrial approach: determine the competencies needed for a job, staff with those competencies, and increase competencies through training.
• Organizational approach: design organizational structure and culture to motivate performance, provide necessary information, and ensure safe, enjoyable work/life environment.
• A. Personnel Psychology: job analysis, recruiting, selection, salary levels, training, performance evaluation.
• B. Organizational Psychology: leadership, job satisfaction, motivation, organizational communication, conflict management, organizational change, group processes.
• C. Ergonomics/Human Factors: workplace design, human–machine interaction, ergonomics, fatigue and stress.

Brief History of IO Psychology

• $1903$: Walter Dill Scott wrote The Theory of Advertising; psychology first applied to business.

• $1910$: Hugo Münsterberg wrote Psychology and Industrial Efficiency; English publication 1913.

• $1911$: Scott published Increasing Human Efficiency in Business.

• $1918$: IO psychology made a major impact during World War I; Army Alpha (for readers) and Army Beta (for nonreaders).

• $1920$: Thomas Edison created a $163$-item knowledge test for $900$ applicants.

• $1921$: First Ph.D. in IO psychology awarded to Bruce Moore and Merrill Ream at Carnegie Tech.

• $1930s$: IO psychology expands beyond personnel issues; Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth study motion to improve productivity and reduce fatigue.

• Hawthorne Studies (at Western Electric) and the Hawthorne Effect: behavior changes due to attention/observation.

• $1960s$: Civil rights legislation increases focus on fair selection; rise of sensitivity training and T-groups.

• $1970s$: Advances in organizational psychology; theories of employee behavior; Skinner’s $1971$ Beyond Freedom and Dignity popularizes behavior modification.

• $1980s$–$1990s$: four major changes
  1) sophisticated statistical techniques
  2) application of cognitive psychology to industry
  3) focus on work–family/leisure effects
  4) renewed focus on employee selection methods

• Other changing factors: workforce demographics, global economy, unemployment, flexible schedules, family-friendly policies, elder-care, flatter structures, urban-to-suburban shifts, rising health-care costs; organizational downsizing, diversity, aging workforce, stress, and interventions like TQM, reengineering, and empowerment.

• $2000s$: rapid advances in technology shape IO psychology.

• Employment settings: IO psychologists typically work in one of four settings

  • Colleges and universities
  • Consulting firms
  • Private sector
  • Public sector

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree can lead to HRM roles, but a master’s or Ph.D. broadens opportunities.
• Master’s in IO psychology: $1$–$2$ years after bachelor’s degree.
• Psychologist (general path):
  • Master’s in Psychology ($2$–$3$ years)
  • Clinical internship ($200$ hours)
  • Pass BLEPP or licensure examination
  • About $3$–$5$ years of area-specific experience
  • Certification by PAP
  • May conduct psychotherapy
• Internship: practical work experience (paid or unpaid)
• Practicum: practical experience (paid or unpaid) outside formal internship

Research in IO Psychology

• Why conduct research?

  • Answer questions and inform decisions
  • Integrate research with everyday practice
  • Common sense is often wrong

• Sources of information:

  • Journals: articles detailing methods and results
  • Trade magazines: professional topics; fewer methodological details
  • Magazines: broader, less scientific content

• Research settings:

  • Laboratory research: high control but limited external validity
  • Field research: conducted in natural settings

• Ethics in research:

  • Informed consent: participants’ permission to be part of a study
  • Institutional Review Boards (IRBs): ensure ethical treatment and confidentiality
  • Debriefing: informing participants about study purpose after the study

• Considerations in Conducting Research
  1) Ideas, hypotheses, and theories

  • Hypothesis: $educated ext{ prediction}$ about the answer to a research question
  • Theory: $systematic ext{ set of assumptions}$ about the cause and nature of behavior
    2) Literature reviews
    3) Location of the study
    4) Research method
  • Experiments: manipulate one or more independent variables; random assignment to conditions
  • Experimental Research: $IV$, $DV$, Experimental Group, Control Group
  • Quasi-experiments: IV not manipulated or nonrandom assignment
  • Archival research: use of previously collected data

• Sampling Techniques

  • Full enumeration
  • Probability Sampling: $Simple ext{ Random}$, $Purposive$, $Convenience$, $Snowball$
  • Non-probability sampling

Ethics in IO Psychology

• Debriefing: informing the subject about the purpose and other relevant information after participation
• Type A dilemma: high uncertainty about right/wrong; no single best solution; both positive and negative consequences
• Type B dilemma (rationalizing dilemmas): know what’s right but choose the solution most advantageous to oneself