Direct influences have a deep impact in the field

Adam Smith

• “Father of Modern Capitalism”

• Studied the capitalistic order of production of concluded that rational self-interest and the division of labor was the way to create wealth

• Trickle-Down Economics: more wealth, wealth trickles down

Karl Marx

• Maintained that because the worker does not own the means of production, he is likely to be exploited for the benefit of the owners

• Workers are exploited; disagreed trickle-down economics

Francis Galton

• his statistical methods were an important part of a major contribution of I/O Psychology testing and selection of people for jobs

• invented T-Test

  • Reason: wants to prove Caucasians are better

  • Racism

• first cousin of Charles Darwin

Founders of the Field

2 experiment psychologists are created for being the main founders of the fields.

Hugo Munsterberg (1862-1916)

• considered by many as “the father of industrial psychology” (student of Wilhelm Wundt)

• particularly interested in the selection of employees and the use of new psychology tests

• In 1913, his book Psychology and Industrial Efficiency addressed such things as personnel selection and equipment design

Walter Dill Scott (1869-1955)

• pioneered the use of psychology principles to produce more effective ads

• His book, “Theory and Practice of Advertising” (1903) was the first of its kind

• In WWI, he classified and placed enlistees, conducted performance job duties and qualifications for over 500 jobs. He received the Distinguished Service Medal from US Army.

Pioneers of I/O

James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944)

• created the Psychological Corporation in 1921, still in existence today. The main purpose was to advance psychology and promote its usefulness to industry. It also served as a place for companies to get reference checks on prospective psychologists.

Walter Vandyke Bingham

• He started the Division for Applied Psychology for Carnegie Institute of Technology -- the first academic program in Industrial Psychology (Krumm, 2001). He headed the Personal Research Federation and directed the Psychological Corporation.

Lilian (1876-1972) and Frank (1868-1924) Gilbreth

• A wife and husband team who combined psychology and engineering to study efficient ways of performing tasks.

• industrial engineers

• Their best contribution was the time and motion study

  • observing a person doing a particular task, stopwatch, and count movements to finish the task

  • Goal: lessen time and lessen actions

• Lilian is one of the first working female engineers holding a Ph.D., she is held to be the first true industrial/organizational psychologist.

• Lilian

  • Doctorate: dissertation, application of psychology in industries

    • ergonomics

Robert Mearns Yerkes (1876-1956)

• During WWI, Robert Yerkes and others offered their services to the Army. Their newly invented psychological tests led to the identification of Army Alpha and Army Beta

  • Army Alpha: an intelligence test developed during WWI and used by the army for soldiers who can read

    • officer material, less chance of dying

  • Army Beta: an intelligence test developed during WWI and used by the army for soldiers who cannot read

    • soldier, higher chance of dying

Did you know?

• That, behaviorism pioneer John B. Watson served as a major in the US army in WWI and developed perceptual and motor test for potential pilots? (Diclemente & Hantula, 2000)

  • Little Albert

  • obsessed with Pavlov’s conditioning

  • application

  • affair with assistant Rosalie Reiner

  • popularized coffee use (ads for Maxwell Houte)

• That, inventor Thomas A. Edison created a 163-item knowledge test that he administered to over 900 applicants? The test and the passing score was so difficult that only 5% of the applicants passed?

Mary Parker Follett (1866-1933)

• A social philosopher, she advocated people-oriented organizations. Her writings focused on groups, as opposed to individuals, in the organizations. Thus, Follett’s theory was a forerunner of today’s teamwork concept and group cohesiveness

• team building (organizational)

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915)

• An engineer, who studied employee productivity, he developed an approach to handling production workers in factories

• Frederick Taylor’s approach to work motivation, called Scientific Management, became popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s

• Concern: efficiency

• “Father of Scientific Management”

• fixed pay does not encourage motivation

  • performance-based rewards

• suggested that

  • Each job should be carefully analyzed so that the optimal way of doing tasks can be specified

  • Employees should be selected )hired) according to characteristics that are related to job performance. Managers should study existing employees to find out what personal characteristics are important.

  • Employees should be trained to do their job tasks.

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

• one of the founding father of I/O Psychology

Elton Mayo (1880-1949)

• “Father of Human Relations”

• His Human Relations Approach countered scientific management. He recognized the “inadequacies of existing scientific management approaches” to industrial organizations, and underlined the importance of relationships among people who work for such organizations.

• not enough to be concerned about efficiency only

Kurt Zadek Lewin (1890-1947)

• considered as the “Father of Modern Social Psychology”

• In 1939, he led the first publication of an empirical study of the effects of leadership styles which initiated arguments for the use of participative management techniques. In 1945, he formed the Research Center for Group Dynamics at MIT to perform experiments in group behavior.

  • Participative Management: allow workers to participate in Management

The Hawthorne Studies

• A series of studies, conducted for 10 years at the Western Electric Plant in Hawthorne, Illinois, initially designed to investigate issues as the effects of lighting levels. Work schedules, wages, temperature, and rest breaks on employee performance.

• The investigation of the impact of illumination did not affect productivity in the predicted manner.

• Researchers realized that the social and psychological conditions of work were often more important than the physical conditions (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939).

• Experiment

  • Experimental group: up for lighting condition = up for productivity

  • Control group: no change in lighting condition = up for productivity

• Hawthorne Effect: When employees change their behavior, due solely to the fact that they are receiving attention or are being observed

  • Listening and paying attention to employees was the key ingredient to increased production

  • The Hawthorne studies inspired psychologists to increase their focus on human relations in the workplace. Issues such as employee attitudes, team development, supervision, group process, work morale, and other organizational phenomena started playing a role in the I/O Field.

1960s to 1990s

1960s

• Civils rights legislation leading to fair selection techniques, sensitivity (T-groups) for managers

  • Sensitivity

    • one of the first organizational interventions

    • facilitator disinterested (relatively objective)

    • process of confrontation or confrontation meeting

1970s

• employee satisfaction and motivation, increased use of behavior-modification in the workplace (Skinner)

1980s and 1990s

• Sophisticated statistical techniques and methods of analysis (path analysis, SEM [Structural Equation Modeling], MANOVA, causal modeling)

• Application of cognitive psychology to industry (i.e., thought process by managers during performance appraisals)

• Effects of work to family life and leisure activities

• Variety of selection instruments (e.g., cognitive ability tests, structured interviews, etc.)

• OD interventions (TQM, reengineering, and employee empowerment)

• Concern for diversity and gender issues

  • Women begin to occupy supervisory roles

• Downsizing

  • many companies are downsizing

2000s

• Internet: Online recruitment and testing, use of social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) to find jobs, eLearning, and distance education as T&D means; cyberspace meetings

  • Open University: modules are given, less meetings

• Demographic Makeup of Workforce: Women increasingly taking managerial roles; Asian American fastest growing segment of US population

• Growth Economy: offshoring, increasing number of expatriates, increased emphasis on service jobs requiring human relations skills

• High employment rates, flexible work schedules, family-friendly work policies, accommodation of child-care and elder-care responsibilities, increasing costs of health-care benefits, etc.