INTRODUCTION

Work psychology also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, or personnel psychology. It is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations.

Work psychologists researches and identifies how behaviors and attitudes can be improved through hiring practices, training programs, and feedback systems.

DEFINING WORK PSYCHOLOGY

Guion(1965) defines work psychology as "the scientific study of the relationship between man and the world of work: in the process of making a living. Blum & Naylor (1968) define it as "simply the application or extension of psychological facts and principles to the problems concerning

human beings operating within the context of business and industry."

ORIGIN
The "industrial" side of IO psychology has its historical origins in research on individual differences, assessment, and the prediction of performance. This branch of the field crystallized during World War I. After the War, the growing industrial base in the US added impetus to work psychology.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
One of the most common question asked by students new to the study of psychology is what is psychology? misconceptions created by popular media as well as the diverse career

paths of those holding psychology degrees have contributed this confusion. Psychology is both an applied and academic field that studies the human mind and behavior. Research in psychology seeks to understand and explain , emotions, thoughts and behavior. Application of psychology include mental health treatment, performance enhancement, selfhelp,ergonomics and many other areas affecting health and daily life.

EARLY PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology evolved out of both philosophy and biology. Discussions of these two subjects date as far back as the early greek thinkers including Aristotle and Socrates. The word psychology is derived from the Greek word psyche, meaning soul or mind.

A SEPARATE SCIENCE

The field and study of psychology was truly born when Wilhelm wundt established the first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. Wundts work was focused on describing the structures that compose the mind. This perspective relied heavily on the analysis of sensation and feelings through the use of introspection, a highly subjective process.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Through psychologys history, a number of different schools of thought have thought have formed to explain human thought and behavior. The following are some of the major schools of thought in psychology. Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Behaviourism Humanism Cognivitism

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
Today, psychologists prefer to use more objective scientific methods to understand, explain and predict human behavior. Psychological studies are highly structured, beginning with a hypothesis that is then empirically tested. Psychology has two major areas of focus Academic psychology Applied psychology Academic psychology focuses on the study of different subtopics within psychology including personality psychology, social psychology and developmental psychology. These psychologist conduct basic research that seeks to expand our theoretical knowledge,while other researchers conduct applied research that seeks to solve everyday problems.

 Applied psychology focuses on the use of different psychological principles to solve real world problems. Examples of applied areas of psychology include forensic psychology, ergonomics and industrialorganizational psychology. Many other psychologists work as therapists, helping people overcome mental, behavioral and emotional disorders.

PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH METHODS

As psychology moved away from its philosophical roots, psychologists began to employ more and more scientific methods to study human behavior. Contemporary researchers employ a variety of scientific techniques including experiments, correlational studieslongitudinal research and others to test, explain and predict behavior.

AREAS OF PSYCHOLOGY

 Psychology is a broad and diverse field. A number of different subfields and specialty areas have emerged. The following are some of the major areas of research and application within psychology: Abnormal Psychology is the study of abnormal behavior and psychopathology. This specialty area is focused on research and treatment of a variety of mental disorders and is linked to psychotherapy and clinical psychology. Biological Psychology, also known as biopsychology, studies how biological processes influence the mind and behavior. This area is closely linked to neuroscience and utilizes tools such as MRI and PET scans to look at brain injury or brain abnormalities. Clinical Psychology is focused on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.

 Cognitive Psychology is the study of human thought processes and cognitions. Cognitive psychologists study topics such as attention, memory, perception, decisionmaking, problem-solving and language acquisition. Comparative Psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior. This type of research can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human psychology.

WORK PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is the science and study of human behavior , whereas work psychology is the study of human behavior at work place. Work psychology has at least two distinct roots. One resides in a pair of traditions that have often been termed 'fitting the man to the job' (FMJ) and 'fitting the job to the man '(FJM). The FMJ tradition manifests itself in employee selection, training and vocational guidance. These

lendeavours have in common an attempt to achieve an effective match between job and person by concentrating on the latter. The FJM tradition focuses instead on the job and in particular the design of tasks, equipment and working conditions which suit a person's physical and psychological characteristics. Industrial and Organizational Psychology (also known as IO psychology), applies psychology to organizations and the workplace. In January 2010 the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) announced that, as a result of a membership vote, it would retain its name and not change it to the Society for Organizational Psychology (TSOP) to eliminate the word "Industrial". "Industrial-organizational psychologists contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance and well-being of its people. An I-O psychologist researches and identifies how behaviors and attitudes can be improved through hiring practices, training programs, and feedback

systems. The scientific study of the relationship between man and the world of work : In the process of making a living define it as "simply the application or extension of psychological facts and principles to the problems concerning human beings operating within the context of business and industry." I-O psychology has historically subsumed two broad areas of study, as evident by its name, although this distinction is largely artificial and many topics cut across both areas. I-O psychology has roots in social psychology; organizational psychologists examine the role of the work environment in performance and other outcomes including job satisfaction and health. I-O psychology is represented by Division 14 of the I-O psychologists are trained in the scientistpractitioner model. The training enables I-O psychologists to employ scientific principles and research-based designs to generate knowledge. They use what they have learned in applied settings to help clients address workplace needs. I-O psychologists are

employed as professors, researchers, and consultants. They also work within organizations, often as part of a human resources department where they coordinate hiring and organizational development initiatives from an evidence-based perspective.

The expression common sense refers to a system of beliefs and skills shared by most people and acquired through mundane experience in absence of special education. Naturally, this concept is too broad. Any meaningful statement should refer not to the whole concept but to some component of it. After all, each component of common sense might very well be an obstacle on its own. The present discussion will be limited to three components of common sense, which will therefore constitute the first three epistemological obstacles to physiological psychology: inflexible realism (i.e., the

tendency to favor primary experience), spiritualism (i.e., the acceptance of transcendental causal agents), and naive humanism (i.e., the placement of humans in a class apart from all other empirical objects)

WHAT IS COMMON SENSE

Common sense means paying attention to the obvious. This is not as easy as it sounds. We all have vivid imaginations, and we tend to get lost in our fantasies When fantasy replaces common sense, life becomes farcical and even tragic. Life is a series of ordinary events that follow the laws of logic and probability. These ordinary events are indifferent to our fantasies and require the careful, accurate navigation of common sense. I learned the lesson of common sense as a thirdyear medical student. I was doing an internal

medicine rotation at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital and working with interns, residents, and attending physicians. One day, on morning rounds, we examined a patient with a black tongue. The intern assigned to that patient had researched all the causes of a black tongue and was eager to demonstrate his new knowledge. As the intern started to lecture us, the attending physician interrupted him and asked the patient if he uses black cough drops. The patient smiled, opened the drawer of his night table, and took out a package of Smith Brothers black cough drops. The intern's face turned red, and we all laughed. The intern was so focused on being a doctor, that he forgot to ask his patient an obvious question. It's been over forty years since I was a third-year medical student, but I still have a vivid

memory of that day and that lesson: use common sense and pay attention to the obvious. My forty years of medical practice have taught me the lesson of common sense again and again. Eventually, I realized that society in general, and modern medicine in particular, lack common sense. This is why societal and medical problems are rarely solved. Let's apply common sense to healthcare KNOWLEDGE + COMMON SENSE = WISDOM KNOWLEDGE - COMMON SENSE = NONSENSE

RESEARCH METHODS IN WORK PSYCHOLOGY

Work psychologists used various techniques in their research on human behavior thoughts and

emotions in the workplace. In considering these methods it is helpful to understand research methods. This strategy depends on the researcher's beliefs about scientific investigation as well as the nature of the phenomena being researched. Research methods are the specific ways in which information is gathered within the overall research strategy. Drawing on Bryman (1989: 29) A number of designs and methods can be identified. There is more than one way of carrying out each method. The methods are discussed below.

RESEARCH METHODS
Questionnaires/psychometric tests Many research projects in work psychology, especially surveys, use one or both of these Questionnaires are often used to assess a person's attitudes, values, opinions, beliefs or Experiences. Psychometric tests are normally employed to measure ability or personalities Questionnaires and tests normally require a person

1. To answer a series of written questions presented on paper or 2. sometimes on a computer screen. Answers are often multiple-choice: that is, the person has to select the most appropriate response from a choice of several. Responses are scored and the score is usually expressed as a number representing, for example, a person's intelligence, extraversion or job satisfaction. Some

questionnaires and tests need to be administered by the researcher in person. Others are designed to be self-explanatory and can be filled in by the respondent without supervision.

INTERVIEW
A work psychologist may conduct one or more interviews, normally with an individual, but sometimes with a small group of people. The work psychologist asks questions and records responses, either by making notes or using a tape recorder. The questions may be specified in advance, in which case it is a structured interview. On the other hand, the interviewer may define only the general topic he or she wishes to investigate and permit the respondent to talk about whatever they wish within PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESMENT This involves measurement of a persons neurological,biological,or psysiological state,as it relates to their psychological functioning. so for example,in a study of work stress, blood sample

may be taken to gauge the concentration of fatty acid in a persons bloodstream. this method of data collection is less common in work psychology than in some other areas of psychology.

OBSERVATION
A work psychologist may observ peoples behavior by stationing him-or herself as unobtrusively as possible, and recording the frequencies, source and timing of behavior. This can be termed as structured observation.alternatively, the work psychologist may participate in the events he or she is studing.for example, king (1992) investigating innovation on a hospital ward whilst also working as a nursing assistant. This is participants observation. Where people are being observed in their workplace, they are normally informed, or asked about it in advanced. Their awareness may itself affect their behavior, but that is usually preferable to the alternatives of secrecy or even deception.obsevation may also include observing

the consequences behavior: For example, a persons work productivity.

ARCHIVAL SOURCES
As Bryman (1989:31) observes. this is strictly a source of data rather than a method of collecting it. Achival information already exist before the work psychologist investigation. Example include: absenteeism data, company accounts, productive records, human resource policy documents, accident statistics and many other to investigate the impact of an event on the functioning of an organization.