CHAPTER 13 PYSC

What is Industrial-Organizational Psychology? 

• Definition:  A Branch of psychology that studies how human behavior and psychology affect work and how they are affected by work. 

• Work Environments for I/O Psychologists: 

• Academia 

• Government 

• Consulting firms 

• Business 

Areas of Industrial-Organizational Psychology 

Industrial Psychology 

• Studies job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and how to match them 

• Studies employee training and performance appraisal 

• Focuses on hiring and maintaining employees 

• Considers issues of legality regarding discrimination in hiring 

Organizational Psychology 

• Studies interactions between people working in organizations and the effects of those interactions on productivity 

• Interested in: 

• Worker satisfaction 

• Motivation 

• Commitment 

•  Management and leadership styles 

• Social norms and role expectations 

• Considers harassment and workplace violence 

Historical Overview 

Early 20th Century 

• Key Figures: 

• James Cattell 

• Hugo Munsterberg 

• Walter Dill Scott 

• Cattell founded the Psychological Corporation, a psychological consulting company 

• Munsterberg's notable work includes "Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" (1913), focused on employee selection, training, and advertising 

• Scott was an early advocate for applying psychology to advertising, management, and personnel selection, publishing the first books on psychology's use in the business world 

World War I 

• Robert Yerkes organized a group that developed the Army Alpha test for screening and selecting enlisted men 

• Walter Scott and Walter Bingham organized efforts to develop selection methods for officers 

1929-1932 

• Elton Mayo conducted studies at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works 

• Explored interpersonal relations, motivation, and organizational dynamics 

• Investigated how human interaction factors influenced productivity 

• Researchers noted that changes made to variables resulted in increased productivity 

Hawthorne Effect 

Definition 

• The increase in performance of individuals who are noticed, watched, and paid attention to by researchers or supervisors 

Key Insights 

• Employees performed better when researchers or supervisors observed and interacted with them 

• Suggested that productivity increased due to changes in performance when individuals are being observed 

Sample of Topics of Interest in I/O Psychology 

1. Employee Selection and Assessment 

2. Training and Development 

3. Performance Appraisal 

4. Motivation and Job Satisfaction 

5. Leadership and Management 

6. Counterproductive Work Behavior 

Employee Selection and Assessment 

Step 1: Job Analysis 

• Accurate description of the task/job: 

• Task-oriented: Lists in detail the tasks to be performed for the job 

• Worker-oriented: Describes characteristics required of the worker to successfully perform the job (e.g., knowledge, skills, abilities) 

• O*Net: A database of previously compiled job analyses for various jobs and occupations 

Step 2: Candidate Analysis and Testing 

• Involves testing, interviews, and work samples or exercises 

• Personality tests: Identify candidate personality characteristics that align with good job performance 

• Other tests may include IQ tests, integrity tests, and physical tests such as drug tests or physical fitness assessments 

Interviews 

Influencing Factors 

• Social factors and body language influence interview outcomes (e.g., degree of similarity between applicant and interviewer) 

Types of Interviews 

• Unstructured Interview: 

• Different questions for different candidates 

• Questions unspecified beforehand 

• Structured Interview: 

• Same questions for every candidate 

• Questions prepared in advance 

• Standardized rating system for each response 

• More effective at predicting subsequent job performance 

Personality Testing is used for... 

• Employed for: 

• Employment and job training 

• Criminal cases and custody battles 

• Assessing psychological disorders 

Self-Report Inventories 

• Objective personality tests: Often use multiple-choice items or numbered scales (e.g., Likert scales) 

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): 

• Widely used personality inventory originally designed to assist in diagnosing psychological disorders 

Likert Scales Example 

• Self-description: 

• I am easygoing. 

• I have high standards. 

• I enjoy time alone. 

• I work well with others. 

• I dislike confrontation. 

• I prefer crowds over intimacy. 

MMPI True/False Example 

1. I like gardening magazines. 

2. I am unhappy with my sex life. 

3. I feel like no one understands me. 

4. I think I would enjoy the work of a teacher. 

5. I am not easily awakened by noise. 

Projective Tests 

• Rely on projection (defense mechanism) to assess unconscious processes 

• Participants shown ambiguous images are asked to tell a story, interpret the image, or complete a sentence, projecting their feelings and impulses onto the stimulus 

Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank Example 

1. I feel… 

2. I regret… 

3. At home… 

4. My mother… 

5. My greatest worry… 

Training & Development 

Orientation 

• Training usually begins with an orientation period during which a new employee learns about company policies, practices, and culture 

• Educates about organizational culture, values, visions, hierarchies, norms, and interaction styles within the company 

Mentoring 

• Experienced employees guide new employees (e.g., through on-the-job training and shadowing) 

• Mentors may be formally assigned or develop informally 

• Research Findings: 

• Mentoring positively affected protégés' compensation and number of promotions compared with non-mentored employees 

• Protégés reported greater career and job satisfaction 

Performance Appraisal 

• I/O psychologists design performance-appraisal systems aimed at decreasing subjectivity and enhancing fairness 

• Performance appraisals: Evaluations of employee success at performing job duties 

• Often utilized to motivate employees to improve performance and expand competencies 

• 360-degree Feedback Appraisal: 

• Involves feedback from supervisors, customers, direct reports, peers, and self-rating 

• Provides multiple perspectives on employee performance 

Workplace Equity and Diversity 

Bias & Protection in Hiring 

• Discriminatory selecting based on group membership (when unrelated to job performance) is illegal 

• Laws exist preventing discrimination based on various factors (e.g., pregnancy, religion, age) 

• It is illegal for potential employers to ask an applicant's age during interviews 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

• Landmark legislation prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin 

• Aims to ensure equal employment opportunities and fair treatment 

• It applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including private employers and various government entities 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 

• Responsible for enforcing federal laws barring discrimination against job applicants or employees based on protected characteristics (e.g., race, color, religion, sex, age, disability) 

Additional Employment Legislation 

• Equal Pay Act: Requires equal pay for men and women performing equal work 

• Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978): Prohibits discrimination against women based on pregnancy, provided they can perform work duties 

• Americans with Disabilities Act: Prohibits discrimination based on disability, a physical or mental impairment limiting major life activities 

• Includes conditions like alcoholism, former drug use, and mental health issues 

• Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ): Requirements essential for certain jobs for which discrimination would apply (e.g., religion, sex) 

Goals, Teamwork & Work Teams 

Team-Based Approach 

• Organizations may delegate work to teams 

• Work Team Definition: A group of individuals within an organization given a specific task to accomplish collaboratively 

• Brings diverse skills and experiences 

• Team Halo Effect: Teams receive credit for success, while individuals receive blame for failures 

Teams and Gender Diversity 

Pros & Cons 

• Cons: Diversity can exacerbate communication and interpersonal dynamics 

• Pros: Diversity can enhance a team's skill set 

• Study by Hoogendoom, Oosterbeek, & van Praag (2013): Gender-balanced teams outperformed predominantly male teams, but the mechanisms behind this improvement were not determined 

Types of Teams 

1. Problem resolution teams – created to address specific issues 

2. Creative teams – aimed at developing innovative solutions 

3. Tactical teams – focused on executing well-defined plans 

4. Research teams – assess how geographically dispersed groups function via digital communication 

Organizational Culture 

Definition 

• Organizational Culture: The values, visions, hierarchies, norms, and employee interactions governing an organization 

• Influences how an organization operates and makes decisions 

Three Layers of Organizational Culture 

• Observable Artifacts: Symbols of language, narratives, and practices reflecting cultural assumptions 

• Espoused Values: Beliefs endorsed by management or the organization 

• Basic Assumptions: Underlying unobservable and often unquestioned beliefs 

• Diversity Training: Aims to enhance teamwork by educating participants about cultural differences and reducing prejudice 

Assessing Organizational Culture 

• Students assess their organization by listing cultural aspects 

• Share findings in small groups for further discussion 

• Encourage selecting organizations with which they have long-term connections 

Addressing Organizational Culture 

• Develop recommendations to change and improve an organization’s culture based on assessment results 

• Identify desired changes and justify them 

• Outline approaches for implementing changes (considering the three culture aspects) 

• Determine which aspects of culture may be easier or more challenging to change and discuss reasons 

• Provide recommendations to leaders for sustainable cultural changes 

Employee Motivation and Job Satisfaction 

Job Satisfaction 

• Results from cognitive and affective evaluations of work 

• Influenced by the nature of the work, individual personality, and cultural factors 

• Measured via questionnaires assessing global and specific job satisfaction factors 

Job Stress 

• Arises from specific stressors in jobs causing negative health outcomes and performance degradation 

Common Stressors Include: 

• Multiple roles 

• Role ambiguity 

• Lack of career progress 

• Job insecurity 

• Limited control over work outcomes 

• Isolation 

• Work overload 

• Discrimination 

• Harassment 

• Bullying 

Work-Family Balance 

• Work-family balance: Managing work and family responsibilities 

• Sources of Work-Family Conflicts by Greenhaus & Beutell (1985): 

• Time devoted to work conflicts with fulfilling family requirements 

• Strain from work impacts family obligations 

• Specific work behaviors hinder family roles 

• Decreasing Conflicts: 

• Home support (emotional/practical) is crucial 

• Workplace support, such as understanding supervisors and telecommuting, can ease conflicts 

• Controlled studies show telecommuting may exacerbate conflicts instead of alleviating them 

Management & Organizational Structure 

Douglas McGregor (1960) 

• Merged scientific management and human relations into concepts of leadership behavior 

• Scientific Management: Analyzing workflows to improve efficiency and labor productivity 

• Identified two distinct management styles: 

• Theory X: Managers believe workers are inherently lazy and unproductive, requiring control and punishment 

• Theory Y: Managers view workers as naturally industrious and creative problem solvers, needing minimal supervision 

Theory X vs. Theory Y 

Comparison of Management Styles 

Leadership Approaches 

Donald Clifton’s Research 

• Focused on leveraging individual strengths for organizational benefit 

• Promotes Strength-Based Management: Aligning employee strengths for growth 

Bass (1985) Leadership Styles 

1. Transactional Leadership: 

1. Focuses on supervision and organizational goals through rewards and punishment 

2. Maintains organizational status quo 

2. Transformational Leadership: 

1. Characterized by: 

1. Charismatic role models 

2. Optimism concerning goal attainment 

3. Encouragement of critical thinking/problem solving 

4. Individual consideration for followers, aiming for organizational change 

Counterproductive Work Behavior 

Sexual Harassment 

• Organizations have policies defining sexual harassment and procedures for reporting and addressing it 

• Definition: Sexually-based behavior that is unwanted, adversely affects employment status, obstructs job performance, or creates a hostile work environment 

Types of Sexual Harassment 

• Quid pro quo: Exchange of sexual favors for organizational rewards, including threats to withhold rewards 

• Hostile environment: Conditions creating intimidation (e.g., offensive language, sexually explicit content) 

Violence in the Workplace 

• Definition: Any violence or threat against workers, occurring inside or outside the workplace 

• Ranges from verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide 

• Warning Signs: Intimidation, threats, equipment sabotage, sudden changes in behavior 

• Key Triggers: Feelings of unfair treatment or disrespect 

Procedural Justice 

• The perception of fairness concerning the processes determining outcomes in conflicts among employees 

• Research by Greenberg & Barling (1999): Identified predictors of workplace violence related to prior aggression and alcohol consumption, as well as perceptions of injustice