Industrial and organizational psychology
Research an practice
Sixth edition
The book is written by: Paul E. Spector
,Chapter 1: Introduction
Industrial/ organizational (I/O) psychologists has two important aspects:
- It involves the scientific study of the human side of organisations.
- Includes the application of the principles and findings of I/O research
Psychology is the science of human (and nonhuman) behaviour, cognition,
emotion and motivation.
Industrial psychology, which was the original name for the field, is the older
branch and tends to take a management perspective of organisational efficiency
through the appropriate use of human resources or people. It is concerned with
issues of efficient job design, employee selection, employee training and
performance appraisal.
Organisational psychology developed from the human relations movement in
organisations. It is concerned with understanding behaviour and enhancing the
well-being of employees in the workplace. Organizational topics include
employee attitudes, employee behaviour, job stress, and supervisory practices.
The major topics of the field, however, cannot easily be characterized as strictly
industrial (I) or organizational (O).
Industrial/organizational psychology is a smaller, but more rapidly growing
psychology subfield that is concerned with the development and application of
scientific principles to the workplace.
History of the field:
Two psychologists are credited with being the main founders of the American i/o
field. Hugo Munsterberg and Walter Dill Scott were both experimental
psychologists and university professors who became involved in applying
psychology to problems of organisations. Munterberg was particularly interested
in the selection of employees and the use of the new psychological tests.
Frederick winslow talor had a major influence on the i/o field. He was an
engineer who studied employee productivity throughout his career during the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Taylor developed what he called
scientific management as an approach to handling production workers in
factories. He suggested the following:
1. Each job should be carefully analysed so that the optimal way of doing
tasks can be specified.
2. Employees should be selected according to characteristics that are related
to job performance
3. Employees should be carefully trained to do their job
4. Employees should be rewarded for their productivity to encourage high
levels of performance.
Another influence from the field of engineering can be seen in the work of Frank
and Lillian Gilbreth, a husband-and-wife team who studied efficient ways of
performing tasks. They combined the fields of engineering and psychology. Their
best known contribution was the time and motion study, which involved
measuring and timing people’s motions in doing tasks with the goals of
developing more efficient ways of working. Although the basic ideas were taylors
the gilbreths refined and use their new technique to help many organisations.
, In the US a number of psychologists was led by Robert Yerkes to offer their
services to the army. The best-known accomplishment of the group was the
development of the Army Alfa and Army Beta group tests for mental ability.
One of the biggest problems of the army was placing new recruits in jobs for
which they were best suited. The newly invested psychological teste seemed to
the psychologists to be an efficient way to solve that problem.
In 1921 in the UK psychologist Charles Myers cofounded the nation institute of
industrial psychology NIIP, an organization devoted to improving efficiency and
working conditions of British employees. Its focus on employee well-being follows
the work of the earlier HMC (health of munitions committee) and characterizes
not only British but also European i/o psychology during the early development of
the field. At the same time Penn State university awarded what many consider
the first American Ph. D. in what was then called industrial psychology to Bruce V.
Moore.
Before the Hawthorne studies (changing light) i/o psychologists focused almost
exclusively on issues of employee productivity and organizational efficiency,
including the assessment of employee abilities and the efficient design of jobs.
World war II had a tremendous stimulating effect on the development of the i/o
field for countries on both sides of the conflict, most notably the US and UK.
Psychologists deal with problems that spanned the entire scope of both I and O
work, including the selection of recruits, placement of recruits in different jobs,
training, morale, performance appraisal, stream development, and equipment
design.
Another event in the US that helped shape the field of I/O psychology was the
passage of the Civil Rights act of 1964. This act set into motion forces that have
had a tremendous impact on how organizations hire and treat employees, and
not only in the U.S. When discrimination against minorities and women became
illegal, organizations had to change many of their employment practices.
SIX ethical principles from the American Psychological Association (APA) code.
Competence, integrity, professional and scientific responsibility, respect for
people’s rights and dignity, concern for other’s welfare, social responsibility.
Research an practice
Sixth edition
The book is written by: Paul E. Spector
,Chapter 1: Introduction
Industrial/ organizational (I/O) psychologists has two important aspects:
- It involves the scientific study of the human side of organisations.
- Includes the application of the principles and findings of I/O research
Psychology is the science of human (and nonhuman) behaviour, cognition,
emotion and motivation.
Industrial psychology, which was the original name for the field, is the older
branch and tends to take a management perspective of organisational efficiency
through the appropriate use of human resources or people. It is concerned with
issues of efficient job design, employee selection, employee training and
performance appraisal.
Organisational psychology developed from the human relations movement in
organisations. It is concerned with understanding behaviour and enhancing the
well-being of employees in the workplace. Organizational topics include
employee attitudes, employee behaviour, job stress, and supervisory practices.
The major topics of the field, however, cannot easily be characterized as strictly
industrial (I) or organizational (O).
Industrial/organizational psychology is a smaller, but more rapidly growing
psychology subfield that is concerned with the development and application of
scientific principles to the workplace.
History of the field:
Two psychologists are credited with being the main founders of the American i/o
field. Hugo Munsterberg and Walter Dill Scott were both experimental
psychologists and university professors who became involved in applying
psychology to problems of organisations. Munterberg was particularly interested
in the selection of employees and the use of the new psychological tests.
Frederick winslow talor had a major influence on the i/o field. He was an
engineer who studied employee productivity throughout his career during the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Taylor developed what he called
scientific management as an approach to handling production workers in
factories. He suggested the following:
1. Each job should be carefully analysed so that the optimal way of doing
tasks can be specified.
2. Employees should be selected according to characteristics that are related
to job performance
3. Employees should be carefully trained to do their job
4. Employees should be rewarded for their productivity to encourage high
levels of performance.
Another influence from the field of engineering can be seen in the work of Frank
and Lillian Gilbreth, a husband-and-wife team who studied efficient ways of
performing tasks. They combined the fields of engineering and psychology. Their
best known contribution was the time and motion study, which involved
measuring and timing people’s motions in doing tasks with the goals of
developing more efficient ways of working. Although the basic ideas were taylors
the gilbreths refined and use their new technique to help many organisations.
, In the US a number of psychologists was led by Robert Yerkes to offer their
services to the army. The best-known accomplishment of the group was the
development of the Army Alfa and Army Beta group tests for mental ability.
One of the biggest problems of the army was placing new recruits in jobs for
which they were best suited. The newly invested psychological teste seemed to
the psychologists to be an efficient way to solve that problem.
In 1921 in the UK psychologist Charles Myers cofounded the nation institute of
industrial psychology NIIP, an organization devoted to improving efficiency and
working conditions of British employees. Its focus on employee well-being follows
the work of the earlier HMC (health of munitions committee) and characterizes
not only British but also European i/o psychology during the early development of
the field. At the same time Penn State university awarded what many consider
the first American Ph. D. in what was then called industrial psychology to Bruce V.
Moore.
Before the Hawthorne studies (changing light) i/o psychologists focused almost
exclusively on issues of employee productivity and organizational efficiency,
including the assessment of employee abilities and the efficient design of jobs.
World war II had a tremendous stimulating effect on the development of the i/o
field for countries on both sides of the conflict, most notably the US and UK.
Psychologists deal with problems that spanned the entire scope of both I and O
work, including the selection of recruits, placement of recruits in different jobs,
training, morale, performance appraisal, stream development, and equipment
design.
Another event in the US that helped shape the field of I/O psychology was the
passage of the Civil Rights act of 1964. This act set into motion forces that have
had a tremendous impact on how organizations hire and treat employees, and
not only in the U.S. When discrimination against minorities and women became
illegal, organizations had to change many of their employment practices.
SIX ethical principles from the American Psychological Association (APA) code.
Competence, integrity, professional and scientific responsibility, respect for
people’s rights and dignity, concern for other’s welfare, social responsibility.
