Introduction to

Industrial and
Organizational
Psychology
Introduction

OBJECTIVE:
• What exactly is I/O Psychology
• Examples of how it is used in the field
• Benefits of applying psychological concepts to
the workplace
• Ways in incorporating I/O Psychology concepts
to your business strategic plan
 What is I/O Psychology?

• Scientific study of the workplace

• is a branch of psychology that studies how human behavior and

psychology affect work and how they are affected by work

• Applied to workplace issues such as;

talent management
assessment
selection
training
organizational development
performance
work life balance
What is I/O Psychology?
What is I/O Psychology?
Examples of How I/O Concepts are Used

• Creating Assessments
• Designing Training
• Develop Performance Management Systems
Benefits of Applying Psychological
Concepts to the Workplace:

• Increase productivity
• Recruit the right people
• Hire better people
• Increase performance
• Foster a team environment
• Increase motivation and engagement
Benefits of Applying Psychological
Concepts to the Workplace:
Ways to Incorporate I/O Psychology
Concepts to your Business Strategic
Plans:

• Interventions
• Work Life Balance
• Reward Systems
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

• The field of I-O psychology can be divided into three broad areas :
industrial, organizational, and human factors.

• Industrial psychology is concerned with describing job requirements and

assessing individuals for their ability to meet those requirements. In
addition, once employees are hired, industrial psychology studies and
develops ways to train, evaluate, and respond to those evaluations. As a
consequence of its concern for candidate characteristics, industrial
psychology must also consider issues of legality regarding discrimination in
hiring.
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

• Organizational psychology is a discipline interested in how the relationships

among employees affect those employees and the performance of a
business. This includes studying worker satisfaction, motivation, and
commitment.

• This field also studies management, leadership, and organizational culture,

as well as how an organization’s structures, management and leadership
styles, social norms, and role expectations affect individual behavior.
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

• As a result of its interest in worker wellbeing and relationships, organizational

psychology also considers the subjects of harassment, including sexual
harassment, and workplace violence.
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

• Human factors psychology is the study of how workers

interact with the tools of work and how to design those
tools to optimize workers’ productivity, safety, and health.

• These studies can involve interactions as straightforward

as the fit of a desk, chair, and computer to a human
having to sit on the chair at the desk using the computer
for several hours each day.
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology
• They can also include the examination of how humans interact with complex
displays and their ability to interpret them accurately and quickly. In Europe,
this field is referred to as ergonomics.
Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

• Remember!

• Industrial psychology focuses on hiring and maintaining

employees.
• Organizational psychology is interested in employee
relationships and organizational culture.
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

Fields of Industrial Organizational Psychology

Field of I-O Psychology Description Types of Jobs

Industrial Psychology Specializes and focuses on the Personnel Analyst

retention of employees and hiring
practices to ensure the least Instructional
number of firings and the greatest
Designer
number of hiring relative to the
organization’s size. Professor

Research Analyst
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

Fields of Industrial Organizational Psychology

Field of I-O Psychology Description Types of Jobs

Organizational Works with the relationships that HR Research Specialist

Psychology employees develop with their Professor
organizations and conversely that their Project Consultant
organization develops with them. In Personnel
addition, studies the relationships that Psychologist
develop between co-workers and how Test Developer
that is influenced by organizational Training Developer
norms. Leadership Developer
Talent Developer
 Field in Industrial and Organizational
Psychology

Fields of Industrial Organizational Psychology

Field of I-O Psychology Description Types of Jobs

Human Factors and Researches advances and changes in Professor

Engineering technology in an effort to improve the Ergonomist
way technology is used by consumers, Safety Scientist
whether with consumer products, Project Consultant
technologies, transportation, work Inspector
environments, or communications. Research Scientist
Seeks to be better able to predict the Marketer
ways in which people can and will utilize Product Development
technology and products in an effort to
provide improved safety and reliability.
Characteristics of I/O Psychology
Key Pillars of Industrial Psychology
Key Pillars of Industrial Psychology
Key Pillars of Industrial Psychology
The History of I/O
Early 1900s

• Merging of two forces: Applying psychology & industrial engineers

improving efficiency
• Four Major Figures

Walter Dill Scott

• “Psychology of Advertising” 1908
• “Increasing Human Efficiency”
• Contributed WWI to application to Army
Early 1900’s

Frederick Taylor
• Engineer focused on redesigning work
• “Principles of Scientific Management” 1911

• Four Principles
Science over rule of thumb
Scientific selection and training
Cooperation over individualism
Equal division of work best suited to management and employees

• Known for institutionalizing forced breaks for those handling heavy

iron (half the cost, 3 times the production)
 Early 1900’s
Lillian (and Frank) Gilbreth
• Lillian - Focused on Stress and fatigue on workers
• Frank - Focused on technical aspects of worker efficiency
- Lillian’s 1908 speech – called for attention to person element

• Time & Motion Studies, “therblig”

• Later – invented things like foot pedal trashcan

• “Cheaper by the Dozen”

Early 1900’s

Hugo Munsterberg
• Considered the “Father of Industrial Psychology”
• “Psychology and Industrial Efficiency” 1913

• Trolley Car Simulator Creation

Systematically studied all aspects of job through observations
Studied what makes good operator
Analyzed behaviors and asked questions
Basically, he pioneered Job Analysis
World War I (1914-1918)

Army Alpha Project (1914 – 1918) –

• Army hires psychologists including Robert Yerkes
• Screen recruits for intelligence
• Army Beta – created for those that were illiterate (30%)

Journal of Applied Psychology (1917) – first I/O

journal
• Documented Army Alpha & Beta projects
• Still most prestigious journal in the field
Between the Wars (1919-1940)

James Cattell (1921)

• forms Psychological Corporation to provide services to industry

Hawthorne Studies (1924)

• Research by Harvard & MIT
• Led by Elton Mayo
• Conducted at Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric Co.
• Looking for cost effective ways to reduce expenses
• adjusted lighting levels
• Key Finding-
• Found impact of intervention on employee performance was a result of the
intervention itself.
• Hawthorne Effect
• Novelty of intervention influences behavior (i.e., I observe you working, and you
perform better because of my presence as an observer)
World War II (1941-1946)

Army hires I/O psychologists to select & classify recruits

Army General Classification Test (AGCT)

• Group testing, sorted applicants into 5 categories based on if they could learn
duties, etc