Lecture Notes for
Industrial and
Organizational
Psychology Research
and Practice, 7e Paul
Spector (All Chapters)
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,CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Learning Objectives (Slide 2)
After covering this material, your students should be able to:
1. Define I-O psychology.
2. Describe the major activities of I-O psychologists.
3. Summarize the history of the I-O field.
4. Explain the importance of research and how it relates to practice.
Suggested Lecture Outline
1. Introduction (Slide 3)
A. Organizations are important. We interact with them almost everyday. Examples include
government, military, corporations, restaurants, factories, utilities, universities, and hospitals
B. Organizations must run smoothly. I/O psychologists help companies solve employee-related
problems. Examples include selecting the right candidate (e.g., AT&T uses assessment
centers to identify the best managers) or improving employee safety (e.g., the U.S. Postal
Service developed procedures to reduce assaults by employees).
C. I/O psychology has two aspects. Research- usually done by professors- study the human
side of organizations. Practice- usually done by consultants- apply scientific research to
answer organizational questions. Both rely on evidence gained through research, and not (for
example) gut instinct or anecedotes.
D. I/O psychology is an eclectic field that borrows techniques and theories from other
disciplines. Experimental psychology provides the historical basis, and other influential fields
include industrial engineering, management, social psychology and sociology.
2. What is I/O Psychology? (Slide 4)
A. Psychology is the science of human (and other animal) behavior, cognition, emotion and
motivation. Psychology can be divided into different specializations. Experimental
psychology is concerned with basic psychological science. Applied psychology deals with
the application of scientific principles to practical problems. I/O psych is concerned with both
science and application.
B. Industrial/Organizational psychology has two major divisions
a. Industrial (or Personnel) Psychology is concerned with the appropriate use of
people or “human resources,” and grew out of the management perspective of
organizational efficiency. Personnel psych emphasizes efficient job design,
recruitment, selection, training, and performance appraisal.
b. Organizational Psychology is concerned more with understanding behavior and
enhancing the well being of employees in the workplace. O psych grew out of the
human relations movement in organizations. Topics of interest include employees’
attitude and behavior, job stress and supervision practices.
c. The two divisions often overlap and cannot be easily distinguished.
C. I/O psychology does not deal directly with employees’ emotional or personal problems. To
illustrate, problems such as alcoholism at work or job training for people with PTSD falls
under the domain of clinical psychology, which is psychology’s largest applied area.
3. Activities and Settings of I/O Psychologists (Slide 5)
A. Two major settings, research and practice, overlap and are equally important.
a. Research provides the principles that can be applied in practice. Practice
involves the use of psychological principles (identified through research) to solve
real world problems (such as poor performance). Although settings can be
categorized as either practice or research, there is overlap in the activities of the
two.
b. Research settings are usually colleges and universities, which employ about 38%
1
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, of I/O psychologists. Researchers teach, write and present papers, do consulting,
write textbooks, supervise students, develop courses, keep up with their field, and
provide information to the public. (Slide 6- Figure 1.1)
c. Practice settings include consulting firms, government, military, and private
corporations. Consulting firms provide I/O services to organizations that hire them.
Practitioners analyze the nature of a job, conduct analyses to determine solutions
to organizational problems, conduct surveys of employee opinions, design
performance appraisal systems, design employee selection systems, design
training programs, develop psychological tests, evaluate the effectiveness of
organizational practices, and implement organizational changes. They may also
teach a class or do research.
B. In general, the efforts of I/O psychologists are directed toward enhancing the functioning of
organizations through research and implementation.
4. I/O Psychology as a Profession (Slide 7)
A. IO psych is the fastest growing field. In some ways I/O psychology is like accounting or
law; consulting firms sell their services as accountants do. Some states in the U.S./countries
require I/O psychologists be licensed.
B. The major professional association of I/O psychologists is the Society for Industrial and
Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Many I/O psychologists also members of the Academy of
Management, which has a broader focus on management (business perspective) in general.
There are also international, state, and regional associations. Many I/O psychologists are
also involved with the recently formed Society For Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP,
pronounced “so hip”), which focuses on issues of employee health, safety, and well-being.
5. I/O Psychology as a Science
A. Research is a major activity of I/O psychology to solve a particular problem or as a
means to simply understand organizational phenomena such as employee theft or turnover.
B. Research results can be presented at conferences. For example, more than 4,000
practitioners and researchers meet annually at SIOP’s conference to share research and
discuss solutions for organizational problems. However, most research in scientific journals.
A professor’s career typically depends on disseminating their research findings in scientific
journals. Each article sent in is examined by experts who point out problems and suggest
revisions. Only 5-10% of submitted articles end up being published in the best journals.
6. History of the Field of I/O Psychology (Slides 8-10)
A. (Slide 8) Began in the late 1800’s when experimental psychologists began applying
psychological principles to problems (job performance and org efficiency in the US, fatigue &
health in the UK) of organizations.
a. The founders of I/O psychology were experimental psychologists. Hugo
Munsterberg wrote the first I/O textbook in 1913, Psychology and Industrial
Efficiency. He was especially interested in employee selection and the use of
psychological tests. Walter Dill Scott was interested in same topics as
Munsterberg, but also the psychology of advertising, on which he wrote a text, The
Theory of Advertising, in 1903.
b. Frederick Winslow Taylor was an engineer who studied employee productivity.
His pioneering principles of Scientific Management for factory workers (1911) are
still considered valuable, maybe even common sense. They include:
1. Each job should be carefully analyzed so that the optimal way of doing
tasks can be specified.
2. Employees should be selected according to characteristics that are
related to job performance. Managers should study existing employees to
find out what personal characteristics are important.
3. Employees should be carefully trained to do their job tasks.
4. Employees should be rewarded for their productivity to encourage high
2
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, levels of performance.
c. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, who also authored Cheaper by the Dozen, studied the
most efficient ways of performing tasks through time and motion studies. These
measure how long it takes for people to complete tasks in varying ways. For
example, is it faster to move a lever from the “up” to “down” or vice versa? This
work served as the foundation for the field of human factors, the study of how to
best design technology for people (e.g., Lillian invented the foot pedal trash can).
d. During World War I, the military began to use I/O psychology. The Health and
Munitions Committee (UK) in 1915 bolstered employee health, safety, and
productivity to combat production shortages. In 1917, US psychologists led by
Robert Yerkes developed the Army Alpha and Army Beta group tests for mental
ability. This was the first large-scale application of psychological testing to place
individuals into jobs, and provided the foundation for the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude
Test).
B. Middle years (Slide 9)
a. Between the two wars, organizations grew in size and began hiring I/O
psychologists to solve their employee problems (usually productivity). Charles
Myers co-founded the NIIP (National Institute of Industrial Psychology) in the UK to
improve efficiency and working conditions, modeled after the HMC. In the US,
James McKeen Cattell founded the most well known consulting firm, called
Psychological Corporation. It is still in existence today as Harcourt Assessment.
b. The Hawthorne studies at Western Electric had a critical effect on IO psych in the
US. Previously, researchers were focused wholly on productivity and organizational
efficiency (I side). While attempting to study these factors, researchers found that
other factors, such as social aspects, also affected employee behavior and
performance. (The British already knew this and researched these topics.) These
studies launched the organizational (O) side.
1. The best known study is Roethlisberger & Dickson (1939), an
investigation of lighting-level effects. While researching the ideal light level
for performance, they found that productivity increased regardless of the
brightness. Hawthorne Effect—knowledge of being in an experiment
causes performance to increase.
c. World War II stimulated both I and O, and problems that were examined included
recruit selection, placement, training, morale, performance appraisal, team
development, and equipment design.
1. As a result of the war and the contributions of applied psychologists to
the war effort, the APA reversed its decision to exclude I/O psychologists
(based on the partially applied nature) and Division 14 (Industrial and
Business Psychology) was established in 1944. In 1970, Division 14 of the
APA formally changed its name to the Division of Industrial and
Organizational Psychology. This division is currently known as the Society
for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and has at least
8,000 members.
C. Recent years
a. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 required changes in employment practices, affecting
how organizations hire and treat employees. The Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) of 1990 extended protection against discrimination to people with
disabilities. I/O psychologists are called upon to research, prevent, and remedy
discrimination.
D. For a table summarizing important events, see Figure 1.2 (Slide 10)
7. I/O Psychology Beyond the US and UK (Slide 11)
A. I/O psychology began and had most of its early development in the U.S., and to some extent
the UK, but is now worldwide. In the 1960’s, 5% of authors publishing in top US journals
were non-US, and in the 2000’s these journals had 25% non-US authors. There has been an
3
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Industrial and
Organizational
Psychology Research
and Practice, 7e Paul
Spector (All Chapters)
Downloaded by: tutorsection | Want to earn $1.236
Distribution of this document is illegal extra per year?
,CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Learning Objectives (Slide 2)
After covering this material, your students should be able to:
1. Define I-O psychology.
2. Describe the major activities of I-O psychologists.
3. Summarize the history of the I-O field.
4. Explain the importance of research and how it relates to practice.
Suggested Lecture Outline
1. Introduction (Slide 3)
A. Organizations are important. We interact with them almost everyday. Examples include
government, military, corporations, restaurants, factories, utilities, universities, and hospitals
B. Organizations must run smoothly. I/O psychologists help companies solve employee-related
problems. Examples include selecting the right candidate (e.g., AT&T uses assessment
centers to identify the best managers) or improving employee safety (e.g., the U.S. Postal
Service developed procedures to reduce assaults by employees).
C. I/O psychology has two aspects. Research- usually done by professors- study the human
side of organizations. Practice- usually done by consultants- apply scientific research to
answer organizational questions. Both rely on evidence gained through research, and not (for
example) gut instinct or anecedotes.
D. I/O psychology is an eclectic field that borrows techniques and theories from other
disciplines. Experimental psychology provides the historical basis, and other influential fields
include industrial engineering, management, social psychology and sociology.
2. What is I/O Psychology? (Slide 4)
A. Psychology is the science of human (and other animal) behavior, cognition, emotion and
motivation. Psychology can be divided into different specializations. Experimental
psychology is concerned with basic psychological science. Applied psychology deals with
the application of scientific principles to practical problems. I/O psych is concerned with both
science and application.
B. Industrial/Organizational psychology has two major divisions
a. Industrial (or Personnel) Psychology is concerned with the appropriate use of
people or “human resources,” and grew out of the management perspective of
organizational efficiency. Personnel psych emphasizes efficient job design,
recruitment, selection, training, and performance appraisal.
b. Organizational Psychology is concerned more with understanding behavior and
enhancing the well being of employees in the workplace. O psych grew out of the
human relations movement in organizations. Topics of interest include employees’
attitude and behavior, job stress and supervision practices.
c. The two divisions often overlap and cannot be easily distinguished.
C. I/O psychology does not deal directly with employees’ emotional or personal problems. To
illustrate, problems such as alcoholism at work or job training for people with PTSD falls
under the domain of clinical psychology, which is psychology’s largest applied area.
3. Activities and Settings of I/O Psychologists (Slide 5)
A. Two major settings, research and practice, overlap and are equally important.
a. Research provides the principles that can be applied in practice. Practice
involves the use of psychological principles (identified through research) to solve
real world problems (such as poor performance). Although settings can be
categorized as either practice or research, there is overlap in the activities of the
two.
b. Research settings are usually colleges and universities, which employ about 38%
1
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, of I/O psychologists. Researchers teach, write and present papers, do consulting,
write textbooks, supervise students, develop courses, keep up with their field, and
provide information to the public. (Slide 6- Figure 1.1)
c. Practice settings include consulting firms, government, military, and private
corporations. Consulting firms provide I/O services to organizations that hire them.
Practitioners analyze the nature of a job, conduct analyses to determine solutions
to organizational problems, conduct surveys of employee opinions, design
performance appraisal systems, design employee selection systems, design
training programs, develop psychological tests, evaluate the effectiveness of
organizational practices, and implement organizational changes. They may also
teach a class or do research.
B. In general, the efforts of I/O psychologists are directed toward enhancing the functioning of
organizations through research and implementation.
4. I/O Psychology as a Profession (Slide 7)
A. IO psych is the fastest growing field. In some ways I/O psychology is like accounting or
law; consulting firms sell their services as accountants do. Some states in the U.S./countries
require I/O psychologists be licensed.
B. The major professional association of I/O psychologists is the Society for Industrial and
Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Many I/O psychologists also members of the Academy of
Management, which has a broader focus on management (business perspective) in general.
There are also international, state, and regional associations. Many I/O psychologists are
also involved with the recently formed Society For Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP,
pronounced “so hip”), which focuses on issues of employee health, safety, and well-being.
5. I/O Psychology as a Science
A. Research is a major activity of I/O psychology to solve a particular problem or as a
means to simply understand organizational phenomena such as employee theft or turnover.
B. Research results can be presented at conferences. For example, more than 4,000
practitioners and researchers meet annually at SIOP’s conference to share research and
discuss solutions for organizational problems. However, most research in scientific journals.
A professor’s career typically depends on disseminating their research findings in scientific
journals. Each article sent in is examined by experts who point out problems and suggest
revisions. Only 5-10% of submitted articles end up being published in the best journals.
6. History of the Field of I/O Psychology (Slides 8-10)
A. (Slide 8) Began in the late 1800’s when experimental psychologists began applying
psychological principles to problems (job performance and org efficiency in the US, fatigue &
health in the UK) of organizations.
a. The founders of I/O psychology were experimental psychologists. Hugo
Munsterberg wrote the first I/O textbook in 1913, Psychology and Industrial
Efficiency. He was especially interested in employee selection and the use of
psychological tests. Walter Dill Scott was interested in same topics as
Munsterberg, but also the psychology of advertising, on which he wrote a text, The
Theory of Advertising, in 1903.
b. Frederick Winslow Taylor was an engineer who studied employee productivity.
His pioneering principles of Scientific Management for factory workers (1911) are
still considered valuable, maybe even common sense. They include:
1. Each job should be carefully analyzed so that the optimal way of doing
tasks can be specified.
2. Employees should be selected according to characteristics that are
related to job performance. Managers should study existing employees to
find out what personal characteristics are important.
3. Employees should be carefully trained to do their job tasks.
4. Employees should be rewarded for their productivity to encourage high
2
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, levels of performance.
c. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, who also authored Cheaper by the Dozen, studied the
most efficient ways of performing tasks through time and motion studies. These
measure how long it takes for people to complete tasks in varying ways. For
example, is it faster to move a lever from the “up” to “down” or vice versa? This
work served as the foundation for the field of human factors, the study of how to
best design technology for people (e.g., Lillian invented the foot pedal trash can).
d. During World War I, the military began to use I/O psychology. The Health and
Munitions Committee (UK) in 1915 bolstered employee health, safety, and
productivity to combat production shortages. In 1917, US psychologists led by
Robert Yerkes developed the Army Alpha and Army Beta group tests for mental
ability. This was the first large-scale application of psychological testing to place
individuals into jobs, and provided the foundation for the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude
Test).
B. Middle years (Slide 9)
a. Between the two wars, organizations grew in size and began hiring I/O
psychologists to solve their employee problems (usually productivity). Charles
Myers co-founded the NIIP (National Institute of Industrial Psychology) in the UK to
improve efficiency and working conditions, modeled after the HMC. In the US,
James McKeen Cattell founded the most well known consulting firm, called
Psychological Corporation. It is still in existence today as Harcourt Assessment.
b. The Hawthorne studies at Western Electric had a critical effect on IO psych in the
US. Previously, researchers were focused wholly on productivity and organizational
efficiency (I side). While attempting to study these factors, researchers found that
other factors, such as social aspects, also affected employee behavior and
performance. (The British already knew this and researched these topics.) These
studies launched the organizational (O) side.
1. The best known study is Roethlisberger & Dickson (1939), an
investigation of lighting-level effects. While researching the ideal light level
for performance, they found that productivity increased regardless of the
brightness. Hawthorne Effect—knowledge of being in an experiment
causes performance to increase.
c. World War II stimulated both I and O, and problems that were examined included
recruit selection, placement, training, morale, performance appraisal, team
development, and equipment design.
1. As a result of the war and the contributions of applied psychologists to
the war effort, the APA reversed its decision to exclude I/O psychologists
(based on the partially applied nature) and Division 14 (Industrial and
Business Psychology) was established in 1944. In 1970, Division 14 of the
APA formally changed its name to the Division of Industrial and
Organizational Psychology. This division is currently known as the Society
for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and has at least
8,000 members.
C. Recent years
a. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 required changes in employment practices, affecting
how organizations hire and treat employees. The Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) of 1990 extended protection against discrimination to people with
disabilities. I/O psychologists are called upon to research, prevent, and remedy
discrimination.
D. For a table summarizing important events, see Figure 1.2 (Slide 10)
7. I/O Psychology Beyond the US and UK (Slide 11)
A. I/O psychology began and had most of its early development in the U.S., and to some extent
the UK, but is now worldwide. In the 1960’s, 5% of authors publishing in top US journals
were non-US, and in the 2000’s these journals had 25% non-US authors. There has been an
3
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