Industrial-Organizational Psychology
INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Definition
Industrial-Organizational Psychology: A branch of psychology that studies how human behavior and psychology affect work and how they, in turn, are affected by work.
Employment Sectors
Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychologists work in various fields, including:
Academia
Government
Consulting firms
Business
Areas of Industrial-Organizational Psychology
1. Industrial Psychology
Studies job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and how to match them.
Focuses on hiring and maintaining employees.
Considers issues of legality and discrimination in hiring.
2. Organizational Psychology
Studies interactions between people in organizations and their effects on productivity.
Interested in worker satisfaction, motivation, commitment, management and leadership styles, social norms, and role expectations.
Considers harassment and workplace violence.
3. Human Factors Psychology
Studies how workers interact with the tools of work and how to design those tools to optimize productivity, safety, and health.
Also known as Ergonomics in Europe.
Tools of work may include interaction with machines, workstations, information displays, and the local environment (e.g., lighting).
Historical Development
Early 20th Century
Notable figures:
James Cattell: Founded the Psychological Corporation, a psychological consulting firm.
Hugo Munsterberg: Authored "Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" (1913), covering employee selection, training, and advertising.
Walter Dill Scott: Applied psychology to advertising, management, and personnel selection; published early works on psychology in business.
World War I
Robert Yerkes: Organized the development of methods for screening enlisted men.
Developed the Army Alpha Test to measure mental abilities.
Collaborative work with Scott and Walter Bingham focused on developing selection methods for officers.
Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Effect
Conducted studies (1929-1932) at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works.
Explored interpersonal relations, motivation, and organizational dynamics.
Found that changes made during studies increased productivity leading to the discovery of the Hawthorne Effect, where performance improves under observation.
Kurt Lewin (1930s)
Researched leadership styles, team structure, and dynamics.
Coined the term group dynamics.
Frederick Taylor
Pioneer in scientific management.
Author of "The Principles of Scientific Management" (1911), which analyzed management styles, personnel selection, and training.
Lilian Gilbreth
Known as the Mother of Modern Management.
Focused on efficiency improvements and employee fatigue.
Innovated domestic appliances like foot-pedal garbage cans.
Selecting Employees
Job Advertising
Job Analysis: Describing tasks and worker characteristics required for the job.
Task-Oriented: Detailed tasks performed for the job.
Worker-Oriented: Describes required worker characteristics (e.g., knowledge, skills, abilities).
O*Net: Database for job analyses across different occupations.
Candidate Analysis and Testing
Involves testing, interviews, and work samples.
Personality Tests: Identify traits to match candidates with roles for optimal performance.
Other tests include IQ tests, integrity tests, and physical tests.
Interviews
Impacted by social factors and body language (similarity to interviewer, nonverbal cues).
Unstructured Interview: Varies between candidates, unspecified questions.
Structured Interview: Standardized questions for all candidates with a set rating system, more effective in predicting job performance.
Training
Orientation
Initially educates new employees on company policies and culture.
Mentoring
Experienced employees guide newcomers.
Research indicates mentoring increases protégés' job satisfaction and career advancement.
Evaluating Employees
I-O psychologists design performance appraisal systems aiming for fair evaluations.
Performance Appraisals: Measure employee success and motivate performance improvement.
360-Degree Feedback Appraisal: Involves various stakeholders rating performance provides multiple perspectives.
Bias & Protection in Hiring
Discriminatory hiring based on group membership (e.g., age, religion) is illegal.
Legal restrictions on employers inquiring about age during interviews.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC)
Enforces laws against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, etc.
Legislative Protections
Equal Pay Act: Mandates equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964): Prohibits unfair treatment based on race or color.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978): Protects against discrimination for pregnant workers.
Americans with Disabilities Act: Disallows discrimination against individuals with disabilities; expanded to include conditions like alcoholism and obesity.
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ): Allows certain qualifications that may legally limit employment based on religion, national origin, age, or sex.
Job Satisfaction
Influenced by cognition (thoughts) and affect (feelings) about work.
Factors impacting job satisfaction include:
Autonomy
Work Content
Communication
Financial Rewards
Growth and Development
Promotion
Coworker Relationships
Supervision and Feedback
Workload
Work Demands
Job Stress
Results from specific occupational stressors.
Common stressors include:
Filling multiple roles
Role ambiguity
Poor career progress
Job insecurity
Lack of control over work outcomes
Isolation
Work overload
Discrimination and harassment
Threats to Job Security
Downsizing: Reduction of employees for efficiency; I-O psychologists help manage communication and support.
Corporate Mergers: Combine organizations; often results in overlap and redundancy in functions.
Work-Family Balance
Balancing work and family demands causes conflicts.
Research identifies three sources of conflicts:
Time devotion conflicts
Strain from work impacting family obligations
Work behavior conflicts with family requirements
Strategies to decrease conflict:
Home support
Workplace flexibility, understanding supervisors, and the option for telecommuting.
Management & Organizational Structure
Douglas McGregor (1960)
Integrated scientific management with human relations; proposed Theory X and Theory Y.
Management Styles
Theory X: Believes people dislike work; managers must control and punish.
Theory Y: Believes people enjoy work and seek responsibility; managers and employees can collaborate for success.
Goals, Teamwork & Work Teams
Team-Based Approach
Work is often structured within teams, bringing together varied skills.
Effective teams may struggle against:
Social loafing
Poor communication
Conformity effects
Team Halo Effect: Teams succeed while individual failures are noted.
Team Diversity
Pros of diversity: broader skill sets; potential performance boosts in gender-balanced teams.
Types of teams include problem resolution, creative, and tactical teams.
Organizational Culture
Comprises values, visions, hierarchies, norms, and employee interactions.
Culture layers (Ostroff, Kinicki & Tamkins, 2003):
Observable artifacts
Espoused values
Basic assumptions
Diversity Training: Aims to enhance teamwork and reduce prejudice.
Sexual Harassment
Definition: Unwanted sexual behavior adversely affecting job status or creating a hostile environment.
Types:
Quid Pro Quo: Offering rewards for sexual favors.
Threats to withhold rewards upon refusal.
Hostile Environment: Offensive workplace conditions.
Violence in the Workplace
Definition: Threats or acts of violence against workers, can be internal or external.
Warning signs include intimidation, threats, and behavioral changes among coworkers.
Human Factors Psychology
Focuses on human-machine interface in the workplace, enhancing safety and efficiency.
Studies areas such as attention, cognitive engineering, and task analysis.
Workplace Safety
Advocates for checklists to reduce accidents and implementing time limits on operating machinery.