UAPP 2053 Organizational Psychology - Lecture 1 Introduction

UAPP 2053 Organizational Psychology

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture Outline

- What is Industrial Organizational Psychology?

- Definitions

- I/O Psychologists

- History of I/O Psychology

What is I/O Psychology?

- Industrial/industry

· Industry (from Latin industrius, “diligent, industrious”), is the segment of economy concerned with the production of goods and services.

· Industry began in its present form during the 1800s, aided by technological advances, and it has continued to develop to this day.

- Psychology

· Psychology (from Greek, “psyche”, soul, and science, “logos”) is both an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.

- Industrial and organizational psychology (also known as I/O psychology) concerns the application of psychological theories, research methods, and intervention strategies to workplace issues.

- I/O include the government agencies and private companies – provide most of the goods and services.

- Produce – automobiles, clothing, electronics, food, furniture, etc.

- Two aspects of I/O field

· The study of the human side of organizations.

· The application of the principles and findings of the research.

- I/O psychology, in brief, is concerned with the scientific structuring of organizations and of work to improve the productivity and quality of life.

- Scientific objective of I/O psych;

· The study and understanding of all aspects of behavior at work – conduct research and publish the results.

· Why?

Definitions

- Guion (1965) defines Industrial and Organizational Psychology as “the scientific study of the relationship between man and the world of work:… in the process of making a living”.

- Blum and Naylor (1968) define it as simply the application or extension of psychological facts and principles to the problems concerning human beings operating within the contexts of business and industry”.

- Riggio (2003) defines I/O psych as… the branch of psychology that is concerned with the study of behavior in work settings and the application of psychology principles to change work behavior.

- Broadly speaking, I/O Psychologists are concerned with human behavior in work contexts.

- The applied side of I/O Psychology is concerned with utilizing knowledge gathered from scientific inquiry “to solve real problems in the world of work”.

- Example problems include hiring better employees, reducing absenteeism, improving communication, and increasing job satisfaction.

I/O Psychologists

- I/O psychologists are scientists, consultants, teachers, and often, something of a combination of all three of these.

- I/O psychologists don various titles depending upon their places of employment, specializations, and interests.

- For example, many professors do consulting work for organizations outside of their employing institution.

- A number of I/O psychologists employed in research organizations or private industry choose to teach in colleges and universities on an adjunct basis.

History of I/O Psychology

- 20^th century-early psychologist dabbled in the study of work behavior.

· Hugo Munsterberg – experimental psychologist; interested in the design of work and personnel selection for jobs.

· Walter Dill Scott – interested in studying salesperson and the psychology of advertising.

· Frederick W. Taylor – engineer; believed that scientific principles could be applied to help increase worker efficiency and productivity – time and motion studies.

Ø His team implemented the principles of scientific management and revolutionized several physical labor jobs by making accepted work procedures more efficient and productive.

Ø However, his philosophy was quite narrow and limited.

- World War I and 1920s

· Robert Yerks – president of APA – create intelligent tests for army recruits (Alpha and Beta test) or WWI.

· 1920s – tremendous industrial growth – the first doctoral degree in industrial psychology in 1921 and psychologist started to work in industries as consultants and researchers.

- 1930s and World War II

· U.S. economy slumped down, Elton Mayo, Harvard psychologist conducting series of experiments at manufacturing plant in Hawthorne, Illinois – about effects of physical work environment on worker productivity – Hawthorne Effect.

· WWII – Army General Classification Test – to generate recruits into categories based on their abilities to learn military duties and responsibilities.

- The post war years and the modern era

· Testing, selection, and the evaluation of employees – journal.

· New topics on I/O psychology – motivation, job attitudes, organizational stress, group processes, goal setting, etc.

- I/O psychology today

· The changing nature of work.

· Expanding focus on human resources.

· Increasing diversity of the workforce.

· Increasing globalization of business.