Introduction to
Industrial & Organizational Psychology
Prof. Massimiliano Barattucci
Lecture Overview
❖What is I/O Psychology?
❖I/O Psychology as Profession and Field
❖History of I/O Psychology
WHAT IS I/O PSYCHOLOGY?
WHAT IS I/O PSYCHOLOGY?
Psychology
• Is the science of the human behavior, cognitions, emotions, and
motivation.
I/O psychology
• Add the words “as it relates to work”
Dual focus = Organization & Employee
• Efficiency/productivity of organizations
• Health/well-being of employees
Dual nature = Scientist & Practitioner
• Application of the science of psychology to the workplace
• Development/discovery of scientific psychological principles at
work
What is I/O Psychology?
◆I/O Psychology is:
◆The branch of psychology that applies the principles of
psychology to the workplace.
◆The Purpose of I/O Psychology:
◆“to enhance the dignity and performance of human
beings, and the organizations they work in, by
advancing the science and knowledge of human
behavior”
Is it important?
◆[Link]
Is it important?
Typical Day in the life…
◆Work 8 hours
◆Commute to work 1 hour
◆Watch TV 3 hours
◆Sleep 8 hours
◆Eat 2 hours
◆Other 2 hours
Is I/O Important?
Work and Sleep = Major Life Activities
▪ Workers spend the majority of their time doing one
or the other
Millions of Americans Work
▪ Around 153.5 million Americans are part of the
labor force ([Link], 2007).
▪ I/O psychology can impact all of these individuals,
PLUS those around them!
[Link]
companies/2012/full_list/
Organizational Effectiveness = Cheaper Goods
▪ I/O psychologists can help organizations reduce
costs, improve performance/productivity, etc.
I/O AS A PROFESSION
◆Graduate degree NECESSARY
• MA or Ph.D.
◆ M.A. required to get a Ph.D.
• Typically Ph.D. takes 4-5 years to complete
◆Content of graduate training
• Basic psychology
• Research methods (heavy emphasis)
• I/O core content
• Thesis
• Dissertation
• Qualifying Exam
• Internship, Practica experiences
◆Entry requirements
• very competitive for PhD (somewhat less competitive for Masters)
◆ High GRE Scores, High GPA, Prior Research, 3 Letters of Recommendation
• SIOP website for most US programs ([Link])
I/O as a Profession
▪Approx. 4% of Psychologists work within the I/O field
▪I/O Related Organizations
▪ SIOP – “The Governing I/O Organization”
▪ Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
▪ Division 14 of APA (American Psychological Association)
▪ SHRM
▪ Society for Human Resources
▪Are I/O’s licensed like clinical psychologists?
▪ Little reason to get licensed and has no effect on typical I/O jobs
I/O vs. Business Programs
Key Differences
• I/O psychologists rely on application of psychological
principles.
• I/O psychologists focus on the factors in businesses
that affect people.
• I/O psychologists heavily on research, quantitative
methods, and testing techniques for guiding decisions.
MBA Program vs. I/O Program
Typical I/O PhD Courses Typical MBA Courses
•Statistics •Statistics
•Experimental Methodology •Business Research
•Psychometric Theory •Organizational Behavior
•Employee Selection and •Administrative Policy
Placement •Managerial Economics
•Organizational Psychology •Financial Management
•Employee Training and •Marketing Management
Development •Managerial Accounting
•Performance Appraisal
•Job Analysis
Major Activities
◆Personnel Psychology (The “I” in I/O)
▪ Defining and analyzing jobs
▪ Recruiting and selecting employees for jobs
▪ Training employees
▪ Assessing performance
▪ Promoting and retaining employees
▪ Test development and Validation
▪ Legal Issues
◆Organizational Psychology (The “O” in I/O)
▪ Determining how people feel about work
▪ Determining why people act as they do at work
▪ Examining the effects work has on people
▪ Examining the effects people have on one another
▪ How organizations are structured and function
▪ How work is designed
▪ Tool and equipment usage on the job
▪ Examining work relevant health, safety, and well-being issues
I/O AS A PROFESSION
◆Employment
• 4 Main Work Settings:
◆Universities
◆Consulting Firms
◆Industry/Corporations
◆Government Agencies
• Field expanding and becoming more popular
• I/O psychologists often work/consult with
◆MBAs
◆CEOs,
◆VPs,
◆HR staff
◆Healthcare/Health Science Staff (if in Occupational Health Specialty)
I/O AS A PROFESSION
Other
10%
Private Universities
17% 39%
Government
9%
Consulting
Firms
25%
SIOP Activity
Go to web site of the Society for Industrial-Organizational
Psychology (SIOP) at [Link]
Click on “WHAT IS I/O” and read:
Go to the SIOP JobNet and click on “Positions Available”.
Assuming you had the proper training and credentials
discuss the 2 open positions you would find most intriguing
and why.
The History of I/O
History of I/O
◆Early Years (1900s)
◆World War I (1914-1918)
◆Between the Wars (1919-1940)
◆World War II (1941-1945)
◆Toward Specialization (1946-1963
◆Government Intervention (1964-1993)
◆Information Age (1994–Present)
Early 1900s
Merging of two forces: Applying psychology & industrial
engineers improving efficiency
Four Major Figures
◆Walter Dill Scott
• “Psychology of Advertising” 1908
• “Increasing Human Efficiency”
• Contributed WWI to application to Army
Early 1900’s
◆Frederick Taylor
• Engineer focused on redesigning work
• “Principles of Scientific Management” 1911
• Four Principles
◆Science over rule of thumb
◆Scientific selection and training
◆Cooperation over individualism
◆Equal division of work best suited to management and employees
• Known for institutionalizing forced breaks for those handling
heavy iron (half the cost, 3 times the production)
Early 1900’s
◆Lillian (and Frank) Gilbreth
• Lillian - Focused on Stress and fatigue on workers
• Frank - Focused on technical aspects of worker
efficiency
- Lillian’s 1908 speech – called for attention to person
element
• Time & Motion Studies, “therblig”
• Later – invented things like foot pedal trashcan
• “Cheaper by the Dozen”
Early 1900’s
◆Hugo Munsterberg
• Considered the “Father of Industrial Psychology”
• “Psychology and Industrial Efficiency” 1913
• Trolley Car Simulator Creation
◆Systematically studied all aspects of job through
observations
◆Studied what makes good operator
◆Analyzed behaviors and asked questions
◆Basically, he pioneered Job Analysis
World War I (1914-1918)
◆Army Alpha Project (1914 – 1918) –
• Army hires psychologists including Robert Yerkes
• Screen recruits for intelligence
• Army Beta – created for those that were illiterate (30%)
◆Journal of Applied Psychology (1917) – first
I/O journal
• Documented Army Alpha & Beta projects
• Still most prestigious journal in the field
Between the Wars (1919-1940)
◆James Cattell (1921)
• forms Psychological Corporation to provide services to
industry
◆Hawthorne Studies (1924)
• Research by Harvard & MIT
• Led by Elton Mayo
• Conducted at Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric Co.
• Looking for cost effective ways to reduce expenses
• adjusted lighting levels
• Key Finding-
• Found impact of intervention on employee
performance was a result of the intervention itself.
• Hawthorne Effect
• Novelty of intervention influences behavior (i.e., I
observe you working, and you perform better because
of my presence as an observer)
World War II (1941-1946)
◆Army hires I/O psychologists to select & classify
recruits
◆Army General Classification Test (AGCT)
• Group testing, sorted applicants into 5 categories
based on if they could learn duties, etc
Post World War II
◆ Toward Specialization (1946-1963)
▪ Evolved into legitimate area of practice, schools, terminology, etc
◆ Government Intervention (1964-1993)
▪ Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Protected Classes (Gender, Race, Ethnicity
▪ Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
▪ Court Cases (e.g., Griggs vs Duke Power, Dothard vs Rawlinson)
◆ Information Age (1994–Present)
▪ Higher demands for organizations and employees
▪ Greater and more frequent technology improvements
▪ More complex, computer generated statistical analyses are
becoming common (MANOVA, Multilevel Modeling, Structural
Equation Modeling, Item Response Theory, etc.)
▪ Application of cognitive psychology to I/O, specifically performance
appraisal
▪ Increased focus on selection methods (selecting the “right person”
for the job is becoming more important)
▪ Globalization has become an important issue
Reflection Question
Having reviewed the History of I/O and the current
state of the field, where do you think the field will be in
20 years?
• Think of organizational, economic, and
governmental factors that may affect the field
in the next 20 years.
• There are no wrong answers to this question.