CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Learning Objectives
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
A. Organizations are important. We interact with them almost everyday. Examples
include government, military, corporations, restaurant chains, 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). Even YOUR organization (e.g., creating the application form, assigning
salary and benefits, designing your training).
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
D. I/O psychology is an eclectic field that borrows concepts, ideas, 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 3)
, A. Psychology is the science of human 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, employee selection and 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.
D. I/O psychology is an applied field concerned with the development and application of
scientific principles to the workplace.
3. Activities and Settings of I/O Psychologists (Slide 4)
A. Two major settings, research and practice, 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% 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 5-
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
effectiveness and functioning of organizations. They do this by researching and/or
implementing methods of selecting the right people for a job, training of people to do
jobs better, designing jobs so that they can be done more effectively, designing
organizations so that they function better, and changing organizations so they are
healthier places for people to work.
4. I/O Psychology as a Profession (Slide 6)
A. 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. 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 (not
psychology) in general. There are also state and regional associations. Many I/O
psychologists are also involved with the recently formed Society For Occupational
Health Psychology (SOHP), which focuses on issues of employee health, safety, and
well-being. I/O psychologists from around the world are members of European and
International organizations.
5. I/O Psychology as a Science (Slide 6)
A. Research is a major activity of I/O psychology, particularly that of college professors.
Research might be conducted for specific organizations 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 ideas. However, most research appears in scientific journals. Each article
, sent in is examined by experts who point out problems and suggest revisions. Only
10-20% of submitted articles end up being published in the best journals.
6. History of the Field of I/O Psychology (Slides 7-9)
A. (Slide 7) Began in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s when experimental psychologists
began applying psychological principles to problems of organizations. Major focus
was job performance and organizational efficiency in the US, and fatigue and health
in the UK.
a. The founding fathers 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. Another major influence: Frederick Winslow Taylor, an engineer who
studied employee productivity. He developed Scientific Management for
production workers in factories (1911). The Principles of Scientific
Management are still considered valuable in guiding organizational
practices. 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 levels of performance.
c. Another influence on I/O psychology came from the work of a husband and
wife team, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, who also authored Cheaper by the
Dozen. They studied the most efficient ways of performing tasks through
research known as time and motion studies. The time and motion studies
involved measuring the time it takes for people to complete tasks in
various ways. For example, is it faster to move a lever from the “up”
position to “down” position or vice versa? The goal was to develop more
efficient ways of working. The work of the Gilbreths’ is credited with
serving as the foundation for the field of human factors, the study of how
to best design technology for people.
Learning Objectives
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
A. Organizations are important. We interact with them almost everyday. Examples
include government, military, corporations, restaurant chains, 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). Even YOUR organization (e.g., creating the application form, assigning
salary and benefits, designing your training).
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
D. I/O psychology is an eclectic field that borrows concepts, ideas, 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 3)
, A. Psychology is the science of human 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, employee selection and 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.
D. I/O psychology is an applied field concerned with the development and application of
scientific principles to the workplace.
3. Activities and Settings of I/O Psychologists (Slide 4)
A. Two major settings, research and practice, 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% 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 5-
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
effectiveness and functioning of organizations. They do this by researching and/or
implementing methods of selecting the right people for a job, training of people to do
jobs better, designing jobs so that they can be done more effectively, designing
organizations so that they function better, and changing organizations so they are
healthier places for people to work.
4. I/O Psychology as a Profession (Slide 6)
A. 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. 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 (not
psychology) in general. There are also state and regional associations. Many I/O
psychologists are also involved with the recently formed Society For Occupational
Health Psychology (SOHP), which focuses on issues of employee health, safety, and
well-being. I/O psychologists from around the world are members of European and
International organizations.
5. I/O Psychology as a Science (Slide 6)
A. Research is a major activity of I/O psychology, particularly that of college professors.
Research might be conducted for specific organizations 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 ideas. However, most research appears in scientific journals. Each article
, sent in is examined by experts who point out problems and suggest revisions. Only
10-20% of submitted articles end up being published in the best journals.
6. History of the Field of I/O Psychology (Slides 7-9)
A. (Slide 7) Began in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s when experimental psychologists
began applying psychological principles to problems of organizations. Major focus
was job performance and organizational efficiency in the US, and fatigue and health
in the UK.
a. The founding fathers 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. Another major influence: Frederick Winslow Taylor, an engineer who
studied employee productivity. He developed Scientific Management for
production workers in factories (1911). The Principles of Scientific
Management are still considered valuable in guiding organizational
practices. 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 levels of performance.
c. Another influence on I/O psychology came from the work of a husband and
wife team, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, who also authored Cheaper by the
Dozen. They studied the most efficient ways of performing tasks through
research known as time and motion studies. The time and motion studies
involved measuring the time it takes for people to complete tasks in
various ways. For example, is it faster to move a lever from the “up”
position to “down” position or vice versa? The goal was to develop more
efficient ways of working. The work of the Gilbreths’ is credited with
serving as the foundation for the field of human factors, the study of how
to best design technology for people.
