HUL403

Psychology &
Human Resource Management

© BT20MEC023 Chouhan Rohit Ramesh

 PORTION

SECTION A

UNIT I
Psychology: definition, history and functions; Types of psychology and branches; Motivation: types
of motives and theory of motivation

UNIT II
Sensation; Perception and subliminal perception; Learning: types and theories

UNIT III
Organisation: types of organisation, organisational development; Personality: theories of personality

SECTION B

UNIT IV
Selection, placement, recruitment; Functions of HRM; Training and types of training

UNIT V
Job analysis; Job evaluation and appraisals; Wage and salary administration

UNIT VI
Leadership: types of leaders, theories of leadership, labour relation and trade union; Stressed
management; MBO; Quality circle; Contemporary global HR practices

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 PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is defined as a science of human behaviour and using psychological constructs and
postulates to solve the human problems. Psychology was born between the cross-breeding of two
disciplines namely philosophy and physiology. From philosophy, the science derived logic, thought
process, beliefs, rationality, normality; and from physiological perspective, psychology derived
bodily functions, functions of the cognitive ability, central nervous system & brain, and other bodily
reactions.

The four functions of psychology:

1. To explain human behaviour
2. To analyse human behaviour
3. To predict human behaviour
4. To control human behaviour

Various branches of psychology:

1. Cognitive psychology
2. Clinical/ Abnormal psychology
3. Guidance and counselling
4. Social psychology
5. Military psychology
6. Organisational behaviour
7. Consumer behaviour
8. Environmental psychology
9. Forensic psychology
10. Industrial psychology

Clinical/ Abnormal Psychology

1. Clinical psychology studies abnormal behaviour patterns and suggests therapies, behaviour
modifications and solutions for the psychological disorders.
2. Two major categories of psychological disorder are;
a. Neuroticism - phobia, stress, issues related to self image, self concept, various types
of phobias, interpersonal relationships
b. Psychoticism - more serious psychological issues like paranoia, delusions,
schizophrenia are being studied in this category
3. Treatments like supportive therapies, psycho-analysis, systematic desensitisation, REBT
(rational emotive behaviour therapy) are some of the therapies which are being used by the
psychologists.

Guidance & Counselling

School psychologists operate in a school environment. They study, identify and suggest solutions in
the learning ecosystem. They study learning disorders (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia),
separation anxiety, bullying behaviour, sexualities. They also execute psychological testing, IQ
testing, personality assessment, and solutions.

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Cognitive Psychology
Deals with major cognitive functions like motor eye-hand coordination, attention, memory, vision,
vigilance search task, and comprehension.

Military Psychology
From selecting appropriate personnel to training and also dealing with rehabilitory post retirement
programmes. Military psychology suggests solutions for the military personnel and the government.

Social Psychology
It covers social cognition, prejudice, stereotypes, trends, propaganda, fashion, fads and behavioural
aspects of different cultures, communities and religion.

Environmental Psychology
It studies the impact of the environment (good and/or bad) on human beings and communities, and
studies the trends in migration, environmental hazards, deforestation, floods, famines, change in
employment pattern and its impact.

Organisational Psychology
Studies the nature, structure of any organisation, types of organisations, hierarchy, span of control,
decision-making and delegation of authority. Organisational behaviour scientists also design and
execute various intervention programmes for organisational development.

Industrial Psychology
Industrial psychology is a branch of psychology which deals with application of psychological
principles, constructs and theories to solve human problems related to the world of work. Functions
of industrial psychology:
1. Selection and placements
2. Training
3. Work environment
4. Human engineering and ergonomics
5. Time and motion studies
6. Labour relations
7. Consumer behaviour and advertising
8. Labour acts
9. Organisational development
10. Personnel management and HRM
11. Work curve studies
12. Wage and salary administration

Selection & Placements

Selection in big organisations usually follow the pattern of series of steps in any selection procedure
1. Initial interview
2. Application blank
3. Psychometric assessment ( aptitude testing, personality assessment, psychomotor abilities
and the test like MMPI, CPI, VBOI)
4. Interview ( Technical + HR )
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 5. Group task or group discussion
6. Medical assessment
7. Final selection
8. Placement

Types of Training
Conventionally training can be divided into two categories:
1. On the job training
2. Off the job training
Further various types of training are as follows:
1. Classroom training
2. Vestibule training
3. Roleplay
4. In Basket training
5. Workshops, seminars, conferences
6. Continuous and refresher training

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory (2-Factor Theory)

1) Hygiene Factors:
a. Though not an intrinsic part of the job, nevertheless related to the conditions under
which the job is performed.
b. The absence of hygiene factors is an issue, but there’s no guarantee whether its
presence will create a positive impact.
c. Salary, interpersonal relationship, policies and administration, supervision, working
conditions, money security, status.
2) Motivation Factors:
a. The factors that have a positive effect on job satisfaction and can often result in an
increase in one’s personal capacity.
b. Job, sense of achievement, recognition for accomplishment, increase in
responsibility, growth and development.
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 PERCEPTION
To process the information, human beings use sense organs; but, this primitive information of
stimuli is not sufficient to get the holistic picture. Therefore, perception refers to giving meaning to
the sensation. It is defined as the selection and organisation of environmental stimuli to provide
meaningful experience for the perceiver.

Factors determining perception:

Individuals receives stimuli from the surroundings
1) Environmental stimuli: these are the objects, people or events in the immediate environment
2) Perceptual selection: external factors (size, intensity, contrast, motion, repetition, novelty,
familiarity) and internal factors (personality, learning, motivation). Learning is the
measurable change in behaviour due to practice and experience.

Factors influencing perception:

1) Perceiver
a. The understanding of what a person interprets when looking at the object will be
influenced by the personal traits of the individual.
b. Influences a person’s perception
c. Unsatisfied needs influence the perception strongly
d. The perceptual process can also be influenced by one’s interest
2) Target
a. What one perceives will generally depend on how one separates the figure from the
ground.
b. At times even physical and time proximity makes one put together objects or targets
even when they are unrelated.
c. At times people have the tendency to perceive people, objects or events that are
similar to each other, also as being grouped together.
3) Situation
a. Time
b. Work environment
c. Social environment
d. Light
e. Heat

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 MIDSEM QUESTIONS
Q.1) Define psychology and explain its functions and importance to engineers.

Q.2) Explain various branches of psychology with appropriate examples.

Q.3) What do you mean by industrial psychology? Discuss the functions of industrial psychology.

Q.4) What do you mean by the term ‘motivation’? Discuss various types of motives.

Q.5) Short notes

a. ERG Theory
b. Expectancy Theory
c. Two Factor Theory

Q.6) Elaborate Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory and also state its limitations.

Q.7) Explain how selection takes place in big organisations. Write about various types of
psychological tests and types of interviews which are being conducted during the selection
procedure.

Q.8) Explain various types of training and state according to you which is the effective method of
training.