UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

(All rights reserved)

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
(LEGON & ACCRA CITY CAMPUS)
BA/BSC LEVEL 400, First Semester: 2023 Academic Year
Course Syllabus for PSYC 457: Industrial Psychology

Course Instructors
Dr. Inusah Abdul-Nasiru Dr. Collins B. Agyemang
Office Location: Dept. of Psychology Main (RM 1) Office Location: Dept. of Psychology Main (RM 2)
Office Hours: Wed. 8:30am -10:30pm Office Hours: Mon. 9:30am- 11:30am
E-mail: iabdul-nasiru@ug.edu.gh Email: cbagyemang@ug.edu.gh

Lectures will be delivered mainly via in-person (Occasionally: Online via

Sakai/Microsoft Teams) based on UG directives
Lecture Time Main Campus
Lecture Time City Campus

Course Description & Objectives

The major concern of the course is to introduce to students the field of psychology that is
concerned with the study and application of psychological principles, theories and
methods in work settings. This field is called Industrial and Organisational (I-O)
psychology, and the focus (this semester) will be on the ‘Industrial’ aspect of the field,
which seeks to better understand and optimize the effectiveness, health, and well-being
of both individuals and organisations.

By the end of this semester, it is expected that students will be able to:
1. Explain the rationale for applying psychology to work;
2. Adopt strategies necessary for studying and understanding human behaviour in the
workplace using theories, principles and methods of psychology;
3. Explain the key areas of I-O psychology discussed in class; and
4. Appreciate how psychology is applied in the workplace to help manage some
behavioural problems.

Course Requirements, Assessment & Grading

Requirements: Students are expected to be physically present for the class (or logged on
for online), and actively participate in class discussions during/throughout the semester.
One strategy to better understand what is being taught in class is to read ahead of the class
using the course outline as a guide, and taking important notes during classes. It is a

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requirement that each student taking this course should have read some psychology, to
prepare him/her to be able to apply with relative ease the concepts, theories, and
principles of psychology, to work settings, and be able to explain behaviour in work
settings.

Assessment and Grading:

There will be a mid-semester examination/project/presentations1*, which will constitute
50% of the total semester’s score for this course. This will be followed by an end-of-
semester examination, which will also be scored over 50%. Grading for this course will
follow the system put in place by the University of Ghana.

In-Class Practitioner(s) Visit(s): Efforts would be made to invite experts or practitioners

in the area of I-O psychology and/or related fields (HR, Entrepreneurship, etc), to share
some thoughts and experiences in their places of work with students.

Students with Special Needs

Reasonable accommodation will be made for students with verifiable special
needs/disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, such students
must register with the Office of Students with Special Needs near the Akuafo Hall Annex
‘A’ on Legon campus.

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty

Students are expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty. In the
unlikely event that plagiarism or another act of academic dishonesty occurs, it will be
dealt with in accordance with the academic misconduct policy as stated in the University
of Ghana’ Code of Student Conduct. For further details on University of Ghana’s policy
on plagiarism, you are advised to kindly go to the following link:
http://www.ug.edu.gh/aqau/sites/aqau/files/images/UG%20Plagiarism%20Policy-
April%202015.pdf (or copy the link and paste in your browser).

1
* The date for Mid-Semester Examination will be announced in class in due course.
January, 2023 Page 2 of 4
 10 Weeks of Teaching: 16th January 2023 to 31st March 2023
Week Important Assigned Readings
No Dates Topics
Definitions/Foundations and Woods & West
Conceptual Issues Overview, History, (2015) Chapts 1&15;
Scope and Definition; Rationale for
Weeks studying Work and Organisational Levy, (2013).
1&2 psychology; Potential Contributions of Chapt. 1;
Work and Organisational Psychologists; Spector, (2006) Chapt
The various sub-fields; The “I” and the 1
“O”. Humanitarian Work Psychology
PREDICTING PERFORMANCE

Recruitment, Selection & Placement, Woods & West (2015)

Some Reasons for predicting performance Chapt 6
Weeks Aamodt, M. G. (2016).
3&4 Validation; Selection Processes & Chapt 4 & 5; McKenna,
Procedures; (2012), Chapt 18
Lowenberg, & Conrad,
Selection Methods/Tools (1998) Chapt 7.
Job Analysis: Background;
Purposes/Uses of Job Analysis; Aamodt, M. G. (2016)
Week 5 Chapt 2; Spector (2006)
Some Methods of collecting Job Analysis Chapt 3;
information. Levy, P. E. (2013),
Chapt. 3
Weeks Employee Training & Development Woods & West (2015)
6&7 The need for employee training in Chapt 7
Organisations; Aamodt, M. G. (2016)
Pre-Training: Assessing Training Needs; Chapt 8;
Levy, P. E. (2013),
Training forms and methods; Transfer of Chapt. 8
Training (Transfer of Learning) McKenna, E. (2012),
Chapt. 19
Post-training: Evaluating Training
Programmes

Performance Measurement & Woods & West (2015)

Weeks Management Chapt 8
8&9 Definition and Distinction: Performance Levy, P. E. (2013),
Management & Appraisal; The Chapt. 5; Muchinsky,
Benefits/Uses of Performance Appraisals. P. M (2012).. Chapt 7

Week Safety, Stress and Health at Work Woods & West (2015)
10 & 11 Occupational Health and Safety; Chapt 10
Understanding Stress at work Spector, (2006) Chapt
Accidents & Safety at Work 11

January, 2023 Page 3 of 4

Reading List
Aamodt, M. G. (2016). Industrial and Organisational Psychology: An Applied Approach. 8th
Edition. Boston: Cengage Learning

McKenna, E. (2012). Business psychology and organisational behaviour. (5th Ed) New
York: Psychology Press.

Muchinsky, P. M (2012). Psychology Applied to Work: An Introduction to Industrial and

Organizational Psychology, Tenth Edition.

Olson-Buchanan, J., Bryan, L. K. & Thompson, L. F. (2013). Using Industrial-

Organizational Psychology for the Greater Good: Helping Those Who Help
Others. (The Organizational Frontier Series, A Publication of the Society for
Industrial and Organizational Psychology).
Saal, F. E. & Knight, P. A. (1995). Industrial/Organisational Psychology: Science and Practice
(2nd Ed). California: Brooks/Cole

Spector, P. E. (2012). Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Research and Practice, 6th

ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

*Woods, S.A. & West, M. A. (2015). The Psychology of Work and Organizations. (2nd
Ed). Cengage Learning

* Required Textbook for the course

Students could consult any other current book/article on the topics in this outline.

Enjoy the course!

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