Industrial-Organizational Psychology Overview

Agenda of the Session

  1. What is Industrial and Organizational Psychology?

  2. Industrial Psychology: Selecting and Evaluating Employees

  3. Organizational Psychology: The Social Dimension of Work

  4. Human Factors Psychology and Workplace Design

What is Industrial and Organizational Psychology?

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

  • Workplaces: Industrial-Organizational psychologists work in:

    1. Academia

    2. Government

    3. Consulting firms

    4. Business

Areas of Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Industrial Psychology

  • Focus: Studies job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and matching them; also covers employee training and performance appraisal.

    • Focus Areas:

    • Hiring and maintaining employees.

    • Legal issues regarding discrimination in hiring.

Organizational Psychology

  • Focus: Studies interactions between individuals within organizations and how these affect productivity.

    • Personal Aspects:

    • Worker satisfaction, motivation, commitment.

    • Management and leadership styles, social norms, role expectations.

    • Considerations of harassment and workplace violence.

Human Factors Psychology

  • Focus: Studies how workers interact with tools and how to design these tools for optimal productivity, safety, and health.

    • Known as Ergonomics in Europe.

    • Includes interaction with machines, workstations, information displays, and local environment factors like lighting.

Historical Development of Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Early 20th Century Influencers

  • Key Figures:

    • James Cattell, Hugo Munsterberg, Walter Dill Scott: Students of Wilhelm Wundt, researching industrial psychology.

    • Cattell: Founded the Psychological Corporation.

    • Munsterberg: Published "Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" (1913).

    • Scott: Applied psychology to advertising and management. Published the first books on psychology in business (1903).

World War I Influence

  • Robert Yerkes: Developed methods for screening enlisted men, including the Army Alpha test.

  • Scott and Walter Bingham: Formulated selection methods for officers.

Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies

  • Conducted studies from 1929-1932 at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Work focusing on interpersonal relations and motivation.

    • Discoveries: Changes in conditions led to increased productivity.

    • Origin of Organizational Psychology.

Hawthorne Effect

  • Defined as the increase in performance of individuals who are being observed. Suggests productivity changes when people feel they are watched by researchers or supervisors.

Kurt Lewin’s Contributions

  • Researched leadership styles and group dynamics, coining the term "group dynamics." Studied cooperation, competition, and communication.

Frederick Taylor's Principles

  • Scientific Management: Aimed to engineer workplaces to enhance productivity. Authored "The Principles of Scientific Management", focusing on management styles, personnel selection, and training.

Lilian Gilbreth: Mother of Modern Management

  • Explored methods to increase workplace efficiency. Notable for innovations like interior refrigerator shelves and foot-pedal garbage cans. Studied topics such as employee fatigue and job satisfaction.

Selecting and Evaluating Employees

Job Advertising

  • Job Analysis:

    • Task-oriented: Detailed tasks for the job.

    • Worker-oriented: Qualities required for job success.

  • O*Net: A database of job analyses for various occupations.

Candidate Analysis and Testing

  • Methods of evaluation:

    • Testing (e.g., personality tests for job performance matching).

    • Other tests include IQ, integrity, and physical tests (e.g., drug tests).

Interviews

  • Influences of social factors and body language on interview outcomes.

    • Unstructured Interviews: Different questions for each candidate.

    • Structured Interviews: Standardized questions and ratings; more effective in predicting job performance.

Training

  • Orientation: Introduces employees to company culture and policies.

  • Mentoring: Experienced employees guide new hires, positively influencing career satisfaction and advancement.

Evaluating Employees

  • Performance Appraisal Systems: Designed by I-O psychologists to ensure fairness and reduce bias.

  • Performance Appraisals: Evaluation of employee job performance aimed at motivation and competence expansion.

  • 360-degree Feedback Appraisal: Involves multiple perspectives for job performance evaluations.

Bias & Protection in Hiring

  • Selecting candidates based on group membership unrelated to job performance is discriminatory.

    • Laws prevent discrimination based on pregnancy, religion, age, etc.

    • Example: Employers cannot legally inquire about age during interviews.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC)

  • Enforces laws against job discrimination based on race, sex, age, disability, etc.

  • Key legislations:

    • Equal Pay Act: Mandates equal pay for equal work.

    • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964): Prohibits discrimination based on race/color.

    • Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978): Protects pregnant women in the workplace.

    • Americans with Disabilities Act: Prevents discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

    • Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ): Exceptions to standard discrimination laws based on job requirements.

Organizational Psychology: The Social Dimension of Work

Job Satisfaction

  • Definition: Satisfaction results from cognition and emotion regarding work.

    • Influenced by work content, personality, culture.

    • Measured globally or by specific job factors.

Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction

  • Key Factors:

    • Autonomy, work content, communication, financial rewards, personal growth, promotion opportunities, coworker relationships, supervision, workload, and job demands.

Job Stress

  • Causes and consequences of work-related stress:

    • Multiple roles, ambiguity, lack of progress or security, discrimination, harassment.

Threats to Job Security

  • Downsizing: Organizational changes lead to efficiency through workforce reduction.

  • Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions: Lead to structural overlaps and potential job loss.

Work-Family Balance

  • Definition: Balancing work and family demands.

    • Sources of Conflict:

    1. Time constraints

    2. Emotional strain

    3. Behavior challenges

    • Ways to mitigate conflict include home and workplace support, including telecommuting considerations.

Management & Organizational Structure

Douglas McGregor’s Leadership Behavior

  • Theory X and Theory Y Managers:

    • Theory X: Assumes workers are inherently unproductive; requires control.

    • Theory Y: Assumes workers seek productivity; promotes creative problem-solving.

Strength-Based Management

  • Donald Clifton’s Approach: Focus on utilizing individual strengths for growth.

  • Leadership Styles: Transactional (reward/punishment based) vs. Transformational (inspiring and intellectually stimulating).

Team-Based Approach

  • Definition: Structuring organizations into teams to promote delegation of tasks.

    • Teams can display effective collaboration or fall into social loafing and poor communication.

Teams and Gender Diversity

  • Pros and cons of diversity regarding performance and team dynamics.

Types of Teams

  1. Problem Resolution Teams

  2. Creative Teams

  3. Tactical Teams

Organizational Culture

Definition

  • Organizational culture encompasses the values, norms, and employee interactions within an organization.

  • Layers of Organizational Culture:

    1. Observable artifacts: Symbols, languages, narratives, practices.

    2. Espoused values: Beliefs and concepts endorsed by management.

    3. Basic assumptions: Underlying, often unobserved beliefs.

Diversity Training

  • Aims to reduce prejudice and enhance teamwork by educating about cultural differences.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Definition

  • Sexually-based unwanted behavior adversely affecting employment or creating hostile environments.

  • Types of Harassment:

    1. Quid Pro Quo: Offering rewards for sexual favors.

    2. Hostile Environment: Conditions making it difficult for individuals to perform due to intimidating behaviors.

Workplace Violence

Definition

  • Includes threats and violence against workers, stemming from various triggers such as perceived injustices.

  • Warning signs include aggressive behavior, threats, and significant changes in behavior.

Human Factors Psychology and Workplace Design

Overview

  • Focuses on optimizing human-machine interactions, safety, attention, cognitive engineering, task analysis, and cognitive task analysis.

Workplace Safety Measures

  • Utilize checklists to minimize accidents and establish limits on equipment operation time.

The Role of Technology in I/O Psychology

Changing Work Dynamics

  • Impact of technology on organizational structure, managerial roles, and workforce characteristics, highlighting the rise of informational accessibility and the shift towards flexible work arrangements.

Summary Questions for Review

  • What is industrial and organizational psychology? Compare and contrast both sectors.

  • Define human factors psychology and its research areas.

  • Outline the historical progression of I/O psychology.

  • Describe methods used by companies in employee selection.

  • Differentiate structured vs unstructured interview techniques.

  • Examine employee evaluation methods and their implications.

  • Identify laws that protect against discrimination in hiring.

  • Discuss impactful areas within organizational psychology, including job satisfaction, stress, workplace violence, and safety.

  • Analyze the implications of technology advancements in I/O psychology.

Review from Last Class (and Emotions)

Episode 26

  • Focus on EMOTION, STRESS, & HEALTH.

  • Captured sentiments about experiences such as:

    • HATE

    • MONDAYS