INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF WORK
www.humanikaconsulting.com

OVERVIEW:
INDUSTRIAL/ ORGANIZATIONAL (I/O)
PSYCHOLOGY
What is I/O Psychology?
I/O Psychology as a Career
History of I/O Psychology

INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
 I/O psychology examines how individual behavior affects, and is
affected by, the physical environment and the organizational
structure of the workplace
 Human factors psychology: how to improve machine design
and function
 Personnel psychology: worker recruitment, testing, and
training
 Organizational psychology: managerial style

The application of psychological principles
to the workplace (anywhere people work)
Help people do their jobs
help employers treat employees fairly
help make jobs more interesting and
satisfying
help workers be more productive
What is I/O psychology?

TREAT EMPLOYEES FAIRLY
Treat people from diverse backgrounds fairly
select people for jobs
provide training
reward promotions/raises
address harassment
What is I/O psychology?

MAKE JOBS MORE INTERESTING/SATISFYING
Design jobs people will find satisfying
rewarding work
safe, efficient work areas (Human Factors)
Motivate employees to perform
Create teams that work well together
combine diverse talents and perspectives
What is I/O psychology?

HELP WORKERS BE MORE PRODUCTIVE
Design work patterns that enhance efficiency
Provide skills training and development
Help to meet the challenges of competition
Move past downsizing
What is I/O psychology?

I/O PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
As a SCIENCE, I/O psychology uses scientific
methodology to research and advance knowledge
about people at work
And as a PRACTICE, I/O psychology is a profession
concerned with the application of psychological
knowledge to solve real-life problems in the world
of work

Science and Practice
Scientist-Practitioner Model: Interaction of scientific
knowledge and application
Practitioner:
Create Plan
Problem
Science:
Turnover Theories
Past Empirical Studies
A call center has a three week training program for new
employees. The average employee quits after three months.

THE MOST POPULAR I/O RESEARCH TOPICS IN EIGHT COUNTRIES
Country Topics
Canada Career development, Employee selection,
job stress, leadership
England Employee selection, gender, job stress,
leadership, turnover
Germany Job Stress, motivation, training, work
environment
India Job satisfaction, job stress, motivation,
organizational level
Israel Career development, job satisfaction,
motivation, performance appraisal, values
Japan Career development, job stress, leadership,
motivation
Scandinavia Gender, job stress, shift work,
unemployment
United
States
Career development, employee selection,
leadership, performance appraisal

MAIN JOURNAL FOR I/O PSYCHOLOGY
 I/O main journal: Journal of Applied Psychology
 Other top journals (NFE)
 Personnel Journal
 Academy of Management Journal
 Academy of Management Review
 Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
 Administrative Science Quarterly
 Journal of Management
 Journal of Organizational Behavior
 Organizational Research Methods
 Journal of Vocational Behavior
(very little cross-fertilization OBM/IO, JOBM
missing from top ten journals - recognized;
rankings in IO)

Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Industrial
Recruitment
Selection
Classification
Compensation
Performance Appraisal
Training
Organizational
Socialization
Motivation
Occupational Stress
Leadership
Group Performance
Organizational Development 12
Organizational Psychology is part of a broader field of
Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
I/O Psychology

ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY/HUMAN FACTORS
Person-machine systems
Working conditions
Equipment, tool, and machine design and
function in recognition of operator limitations in
strength, perception, reaction-time, etc.
I/O Psychology

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Labor-union relations
Employee/employer relations
Cooperation & conflict resolution
Arbitration, negotiation & bargaining
I/O Psychology

VOCATIONAL & CAREER COUNSELING
Career choice, change, and retirement
CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY
Consumer choice and preference for products
Purchasing behavior & decision making
I/O Psychology

 Activities and work settings of I/O psychologists
 Employment in I/O psychology (salary surveys)
 Training for I/O psychology
 Professional involvement of I/O psychologists
 Licensure
16
Overview: Professional Life
of the I/O Psychologist

I/O PSYCHOLOGY AROUND THE WORLD
At one time I/O was almost entirely American
I/O interest has exploded over the past 10-15 years
and accelerating
American consulting firms have become
international, reflected in names
 DDI--Developmental Decisions Inc. to International
 PDI--Personnel Decisions Inc. to International
Number of graduate programs increasing rapidly
around the world

18

WHERE DO I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS WORK?
Dual orientation (science & practice) reflected in principal work settings
of I/O psychologists
Universities
(37%)
Consulting firms
(38%)
Industry (18%)
Gov't (7%)

MEAN SALARIES OF I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS IN THE US IN 2000
M.A. $67,000
Ph.D. $90,000
Top 10% $200,000 or more
Professors $73,000
Companies $100,000
New Ph.D. $60,000
Men $93,000
Women $77,000
Note: Gender difference mostly accounted for by women being more likely to be M.A.
level and being younger. Source: Katkowski, D. A., & Medsker, G. J. (2001).

Professor of . . . Psychology, Management,
Organizational Behavior, Industrial Relations
Staff member, Manager, Dir, VP of . . . Personnel, HR,
Organizational Planning, Personnel Development, OD,
Management Development, Personnel Research,
Employee Relations, Training, Affirmative Action
Management Consultant
Common Job Titles for I/O Psychologists

I/O AS A PROFESSION
 Graduate degree necessary (MA or
Ph.D.)
 Content of graduate training
 Basic psychology
 Research methods (heavy
emphasis)
 I/O content
 Thesis, Dissertation
 Qualifying exam
 Internship, practica
 Entry requirements very
competitive
 SIOP website for most US programs
(www.siop.org)
 Employment
 Little or no unemployment
 Academic and nonacademic market
strong
 Field expanding and becoming
popular

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
RELATED TO I/O PSYCHOLOGY
American Psychological Association
(APA: www.apa.org)
Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP:
www.siop.org)
Academy of Management
(AoM: www. aom.pace.edu)
Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM: www.shrm.org)
American Society for Training and Development
(ASTD: www.astd.org)

LICENSURE FOR I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS
Licensure requirements vary by state
SIOP’s policy – recognize the
requirement and offer guidance
SIOP’s Guidelines for the Education and
Training of I/O Psychologists
Organizational requirements for
licensure
24

HISTORY OF I/O
 Began early 1900s
 World War I first mass testing
 Between wars psychology helping business: I side
 Hawthorne studies impact of social aspects: O side
 World War II: Psychology and the war effort
 Civil rights movement: Job relevance
 Technological change

LEADING HISTORICAL FIGURES
 Hugo Münsterberg: Psychology and Industrial Efficiency
 Walter Dill Scott: The Theory of Advertising
 Frederick Winslow Taylor: Scientific Management
 Robert Yerkes: Army Alpha and Beta tests
 Lillian Gilbreth: Time and motion; Human factors
 Bruce V. Moore: First I/O PhD?
 Roethlisberger & Dickson: Hawthorne Studies

HUGO MUNSTERBERG:
“THE FATHER OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY”
 Pioneered the application
of psychological findings
from laboratory
experiments to practical
matters
 He was the first to
encourage government
funded research in the area
of industrial psyc.

HAWTHORNE STUDIES
Early I/O psychologists studied worker productivity in
the factory
What physical factors (e.g. lighting) govern worker
productivity?
 1924 study conducted at the Hawthorne factory of
Western Electric failed to find that physical environment
factors controlled productivity
 Rather, any changes made increased productivity
 Conclusion: Mere observation of a worker is sufficient to
change their behavior (termed the Hawthorne effect)

HUMAN FACTORS PSYCHOLOGY
The focus of human factors psychology is to improve
the design and function of machines and the work
environment
Humans and machines form an interdependent
system
Machine has displays and controls (displays allow
for human perception, controls allow the human to
control the machine)
Displays and controls can be fine-tuned to prevent
accidents and improve performance

HUMAN-MACHINE INTERACTION

PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY
 Finding the right person for the job:
 Job analysis: What knowledge, skills, and abilities are
required to do the job?
 Candidate selection: Who best matches the job analysis?
 Interview process
 Job training: How is the person trained after hiring?
 Orientation is designed to clue new hires into the new
organization culture

WORKER EVALUATION
Performance evaluation is the formal procedure used
to asses the multidimensional job performance of
employees
Provides feedback on job performance
Can be used to identify training and development
needs
Used to make decisions on promotions, transfers,
and termination

ISSUES IN EVALUATION
 Evaluations can be objective (units sold) or subjective
 Often cannot identify objective criteria
 Subjective evaluations suffer from rater bias
 Halo effect is the tendency to rate a person as too high or
too low based on one outstanding trait
 Halo effect can be countered by having multiple persons
contribute to the evaluation
 The evaluation can be focused on rating behaviors rather
than traits

MYTHS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
It’s a minor problem
Number of complaints are rising
It’s overreported
75% of harassment may be ignored
It’s an expression of sexual desire
Is actually an assertion of power

ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
 The focus of organizational psychology is how interpersonal
relations in the work setting affect productivity
 Managerial style makes a difference:
 Theory X managers believe that employees are lazy, avoid
being productive and have to be prodded to work
 Use quotas and commissions to motivate workers
 Theory Y managers believe that employees like work and can
direct themselves
 Do not use close supervision of employees

WORKER MOTIVATION
I/O psychology has sought answers for what motivates
workers
Goal-setting theory argues that having specific and
difficult goals will lead to higher performance
 Equity theory suggests that workers compare their
contributions and rewards to those of their fellow
workers; if these are out of line, the worker adjusts
output accordingly
Expectancy theory argues that worker motivation is
related to expectancy of outcomes

JOB SATISFACTION
Job satisfaction leads to
Reduced resignations means lower costs to replace
workers
Increased productivity means more output
Improved employee health is a benefit that accrues
to the office and outside the office
Holland argues that job satisfaction is a match
between the personality and their occupation

TIMELINE OF MAJOR EVENTS

PROSPECTS FOR I/O FIELD
 Rapidly growing
 New areas/topics
 Attracting more graduate students
 More graduate programs
 More psychologists in the world
 Job market strong: Academic and applied
 Area of psychology making an impact on the world
 Relevant to anyone who works
 Interdisciplinary connections
 Business, engineering, health fields, other areas of psychology

REFERENCES
 SIOP, 1998, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP
 Spector, E.,P., 2005, Industry and Organization Psychology,
 Huffman, Vernoy & Vernoy, 2000, Psychology in Action, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. 5 edition.