INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL

PSYCHOLOGY OUTLINE
MAJOR FIELDS OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY

 Personnel Psychology
o Study of areas such as job analysis,
INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY
recruitment, selection, determining
 A branch of psychology that applies the
salary levels, training employees and
principles of psychology to the workplace
performance evaluation
 With the purpose of enhancing the dignity
o Uses tests to select and promote
and performance of human beings and the
employees
organizations they work in by advancing
o Construct performance appraisal
the science and knowledge of human
instruments
behavior
 It relies on research, quantitative methods
 Organizational Psychology
and testing techniques
o Concerned with the issues of leadership,
 I/O psychologists are trained to use
conflict management, organizational
empirical data and statistics than clinical
change, group process within an
judgment to make decisions
organization and job satisfaction
 Difference from other related fields (ex:
o Conducts surveys of employees’ attitudes,
HR):
usually serving the role of a consultant
o Application of psychological principles like
who makes recommendations on ways
the use of psychological tests
problems can be improved
o Psychologists examines factors that affects
o Develop organization-wide programs like
the people in an organization as opposed
team building, restructuring, employees
to the broader aspects of running an
empowerment to improve employee
organization
performance

2 APPROACHES OF ACHIEVING THE GOAL OF
I/O PSYCHOLOGY

 Industrial approach – focuses on
determining the competencies needed to
perform a job, staffing the organization
with employees who have the
competencies and increasing
competencies through training
 Organizational approach – creates an
organizational structure and culture that
will motivate employees to perform well,
give them the necessary information to do
their jobs and provide working conditions
that are safe and results in an enjoyable
and satisfying work environment
 Ergonomics/Human Factors
o Concentrate on workplace design,
human-machine interaction, ergonomics,
physical fatigue and stress
IMPORTANT EVENTS AND PEOPLE IN THE
HISTORY OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY
1870s – Appendage of organizational psychology to
industrial psychology
William Bryan
 A psychologist who studied the skills of
telegraphers as they use the Morse code
 (1st force) He stressed out examining real
skills used in everyday life
 (2nd force) Desires of industrial engineers
to improve productivity of industrial
employees evolve
1910 – Industrial Psychology came to be a special
area of psychology
Walter Dill Scott
 1903 he published his 1st book: “Theory of
Advertising” emphasizing on the need of
psychology in advertising
 1911 published his 2nd book: “Increasing
Human Efficiency in Business” which is
about tactics, loyalty and human efficiency
Frederick Taylor
 An engineer considered to be the Father
of Scientific Management who sought to
improve industrial efficiency
 One of his important works is the
“Principles of Scientific Management”
Lillian Moller Gilbreth
 A female psychologist who pioneered in
industrial management techniques
 Her works are concerned with the human
aspect of time management
 She was the 1st to recognize the effects of
stress and fatigue among workers
 1908 she gave a speech to industrial
engineers pointing out that human beings
is the most important aspect of the
industry but have not receive any
attention
Hugo Munsterberg
 Created the Army Alpha Test (German)
 Considered to be the Father of Industrial
Psychology
 He is a popular figure in American
Education who applied traditional
psychological method to industrial setting
 He published the book: “Psychology and
Industrial Efficiency” which is about
selecting workers, designing work stations
and using psychology in sales
 He is also famous for his study “What
makes a safe trolley operator?”
World War I
 I/O psychology has made its 1st impact
 I/O psychologist were employed to test
recruits and place armies on appropriate
positions
 They used the “Army Alpha” and “Army
Beta” tests of Mental Ability by
Munsterberg to assess armies
Hawthorne Experiments (Western Electric
Company)
 Most significant research in I/O
psychology which shows enormous
problems of production in relation to
efficiency
 The study attempted to find out the
relationship of lighting or illumination to
employees’ productivity
Hawthorne Effect
– the positive change in behavior that occurs at
the onset of an intervention followed by a
gradual decline often to the original level of
the behavior prior to the intervention
The Psychological Corporation
 Founded in 1921 by James Cattell
 With the purpose of advancing psychology
and promote its usefulness to the industry
 As the largest publisher of psychological
test it also served as the “clearing house”
in order to protect against quacks and to
provide the list of psychologists who can
render services
World War II
 The “Army General Classification Test”
(AGCT) was used to assess and place
draftees and assess the skills and abilities
of military men
Major Changes in 1980s – 1990s
 Increase use of fairly sophisticated
statistical techniques and methods for
analysis
 New interest in the application of
cognitive psychology to the industry
Increased interest in the effects of work on
family life and leisure activities
 I/O psychology developed new methods of
selecting employees