2. WHAT IS I/O PSYCHOLOGY?
Textbook definition:
“Application of psychological principles and theories to the workplace”
What I tell my peers:
Study of how people get along at work and are able to perform effectively.
Evaluate behavior and motives in the workplace.
The study of psychopathology within occupational context.
The optimization of procedures and regulations regarding the human capital.
Understand how, why, when, where, what employees deliver in the
workplace.
3. WHAT IS I/O PSYCHOLOGY?
Subareas within I/O
Industrial or personnel psychology
HR stuff: recruitment, job analysis, selection, training, performance appraisal, compensation, employment law
(Title VII of CRA)
KSAs job performance
Organizational psychology
Micro: motivation, leadership, teams, worker attitudes, safety & well-being, work-family
Macro: org theory, culture, org development & change
4. WHAT IS I/O PSYCHOLOGY?
Subareas within I/O
Human factors & ergonomics
Modifying equipment & env to fit workers
5. WHAT IS I/O PSYCHOLOGY?
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
www.siop.org
Division 14 of the American Psychological Association (APA)
Good overviews…
Textbooks by the two Pauls
6. WHAT IS I/O PSYCHOLOGY?
Psychology is the science of human behavior
I/O psychology is the science of human behavior at
work
Dual focus
Efficiency/productivity of organizations
Health/well-being of employees
Dual nature
Application of the science of psychology to the
workplace
Development/discovery of scientific psychological
principles at work
7. SPECIFIC AREAS OF CONCERN
Recruiting and selecting employees for jobs
Training employees
Assessing performance
Defining and analyzing jobs
Determining people feel about work
Determining why people act as they do at work
Effects work has on people
Effects people have on one another
How organizations are structured and function
Designing work
Designing tools and equipment
Employee Health and Safety
8. I/O AS A PROFESSION
Graduate degree necessary (MA or Ph.D.)
Content of graduate training
Basic psychology
Research methods (heavy emphasis)
I/O content
Thesis, Dissertation
Qualifying exam
Internship, practice
Entry requirements very competitive
SIOP website for most US programs (www.siop.org)
Employment
Little or no unemployment
Academic and nonacademic market strong
Field expanding and becoming popular
9. PERCENTAGE OF I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS WHO
WORK IN VARIOUS SETTINGS IN 1960 AND
2001 (USA)
Setting 2001 1960
Consulting firms 32% 28%
Government 7% 11%
Private
companies
15% 35%
Universities 38% 26%
Other 8%
Note: Trend away from private companies in favor of consulting firms and academia.
10. MEAN SALARIES OF I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS IN THE US IN 2000
M.A. $67,000
Ph.D. $90,000
Top 10% $200,000 or more
Professors $73,000
Companies $100,000
New Ph.D. $60,000
Men $93,000
Women $77,000
Note: Gender difference mostly accounted for by women being more likely to be
M.A. level and being younger. Source: Katkowski, D. A., & Medsker, G. J. (2011).
11. I/O PSYCHOLOGY AROUND THE
WORLD
At one time I/O was almost entirely American
I/O interest has exploded over the past 10-15
years and accelerating
American consulting firms have become
international, reflected in names
DDI--Developmental Decisions Inc. to International
PDI--Personnel Decisions Inc. to International
Number of graduate programs increasing
rapidly around the world
12. COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST I/O GRADUATE
PROGRAMS
Country Number of
programs
Country Number of
programs
U.S. 124 France 4
Germany 11 New Zealand 4
Australia 7 Spain 4
Canada 7 Turkey 4
England 7 Korea 3
Belgium 5 Nigeria 3
China 5 Puerto Rico 3
Netherlands 5
13. THE MOST POPULAR I/O RESEARCH TOPICS IN EIGHT
COUNTRIES
Country Topics
Canada Career development, Employee
selection, job stress, leadership
England Employee selection, gender, job stress,
leadership, turnover
Germany Job Stress, motivation, training, work
environment
India Job satisfaction, job stress, motivation,
organizational level
Israel Career development, job satisfaction,
motivation, performance appraisal,
values
Japan Career development, job stress,
leadership, motivation
Scandinavi
a
Gender, job stress, shift work,
unemployment
United
States
Career development, employee
selection, leadership, performance
14. HISTORY OF I/O
Began early 1900s
World War I first mass testing
Between wars psychology helping business: I side
Hawthorne studies impact of social aspects: O side
World War II: Psychology and the war effort
Civil rights movement: Job relevance
Technological change
17. LEADING HISTORICAL FIGURES
Hugo Münsterberg: Psycho lo g y and IndustrialEfficie ncy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eejQygFqPIQ
Walter Dill Scott: The Theory of Advertising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JmeGwEvom4
Frederick Winslow Taylor: Scientific Management
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNfy_AHG-MU
Robert Yerkes: Army Alpha and Beta tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS-uGpSP4x4
Lillian Gilbreth: Time and motion; Human factors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9vIhPszb2I
Roethlisberger & Dickson: Hawthorne Studies
19. PROSPECTS FOR I/O FIELD
Rapidly growing
New areas/topics
Attracting more graduate students
More graduate programs
More psychologists in the world
Job market strong: Academic and applied
Area of psychology making an impact on the world
Relevant to anyone who works
Interdisciplinary connections
Business, engineering, health fields, other areas of psychology
20. WHO ARE I/O
PSYCHOLOGISTS?
Two general groups
Academics
Professors in research- and teaching-oriented universities and colleges
Example departments: psychology, management, industrial relations, quantitative sciences, occupational health
& safety
Major activities
Teaching courses, conducting research, writing and presenting research papers, attending conferences,
mentoring students, performing university and professional service
21. WHO ARE I/O
PSYCHOLOGISTS?
Two general groups
Practitioners
HR and organizational specialists in consulting, private, and public organizations
Major activities
Job analysis, diagnosis, surveying employees, designing and administering selection & performance appraisal
systems, training, developing psychological tests, implementing and evaluating OD & change, data analysis
“Other” category
Research institutes, think tanks (e.g., RAND)
23. WHO ARE I/O
PSYCHOLOGISTS?
Scientists AND practitioners
Understanding and evaluating research necessary for good practice…
…and awareness of practical problems necessary for good research
I/Oers are thieves!
We “borrow” from social, cognitive, developmental, clinical, and other areas of
psychology
24. WHERE DO YOU GO TO
BECOME AN
I/O PSYCHOLOGIST?
Grad school!!!
Top PhD programs
Minnesota, Michigan State, Illinois (UIUC), Akron, Bowling Green, Penn State, George Mason, South Florida,
Maryland
Good PhD programs (just a sampling!)
Central Florida, Florida Tech, Georgia Tech, Colorado State, Portland State, San Diego State
Want to be a Canuck? Waterloo, Western Ontario, Calgary, Guelph, St. Mary’s
25. WHERE DO YOU GO TO
BECOME AN
I/O PSYCHOLOGIST?
Typical grad school timeline
Lots of course work in years 1 and 2
MA thesis completed in year 2 or 3
Varies in formality by program
Internship?
Comprehensive exams in year 3
Dissertation in years 4 and 5
Proposal and defense meetings
26. WHERE DO YOU GO TO
BECOME AN
I/O PSYCHOLOGIST?
Other considerations…
PhD or MA program?
Psychology or business?
Application req’ts may vary (GRE vs. GMAT)
Coursework varies (social vs. strategy)
More stats and RM courses in psych
PhD in business is 100% research-focused
Thesis not typical in business
Funding better in business
Short-term vs. long-term considerations
27. WHEN SHOULD YOU BEGIN
THINKING ABOUT GRAD
SCHOOL IN I/O
PSYCHOLOGY?The sooner the better!
Stuff to think about early on
Relevant coursework
I/O (duh!), stats, research methods, tests & measures, social, personality, motivation, cognitive, OB/HR
Research experience
Honor’s thesis, RA
Experience is more important than topic
Interact with faculty, grad students
Be active (not passive)
Attend brownbags
Involvement in professional societies (Psi Chi, SIOP)
28. WHY SHOULD YOU
CONSIDER GETTING A
DEGREE IN I/O
PSYCHOLOGY?Applied field
There will always be practical problems to solve!
Company restructuring & downsizing
Workplace diversity
Variety of job possibilities
Academic positions in multiple departments
Internal and external consulting
Private and public organizations
Any combination of the above
29. WHY SHOULD YOU
CONSIDER GETTING A
DEGREE IN I/O
PSYCHOLOGY?Variety of research topics
Attitudes, emotions, behavior (social)
Learning, memory, heuristics (cog)
Employee aging, retirement (develop)
Employee counseling, coaching (clinical)
Data analysis, test development (quant)
Field is growing
More and more I/O and mgmt dept’s
Out with the old, in with the new…
30. REFERENCES
Lebreton, J. M., Hargis, M. B., Griepentrog, B., Oswald, F. L., & Ployhart, R. E. (2007).
A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH FOR EVALUATING VARIABLES IN
ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH AND PRACTICE. Personnel Psychology, 60(2), 475-
498. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00080.x
McHugh, M. L., & Villarruel, A. M. (2003). Descriptive Statistics, Part I: Level of
Measurement. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 8(1), 35. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
Organization Development. (2004). In Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Retrieved
from
http://www.credoreference.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/entry/estappliedpsyc/organiz
ation_development
SADRI, G., & BOWEN, R. (2011). Meeting EMPLOYEEE requirements: Maslow's
hierarchy of needs is still a reliable guide to motivating staff. Industrial Engineer: IE,
43(10), 44-48.
Shen, J., Chanda, A., D'Netto, B., & Monga, M. (2009). Managing diversity through
human resource management: an international perspective and conceptual framework.
International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 20(2), 235-251.
doi:10.1080/09585190802670516
Spector, P. E. (2008). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice