PSYCH101: Introduction to Psychology

10a. Define the subfield of industrial/organizational psychology and explain its history

• What is the subfield of industrial/organizational psychology?
• How has this subfield developed?

The subfield of industrial/organizational psychology (or I/O psychology) applies psychological principles to a workplace setting. In other words, I/O psychologists study how human behavior impacts work and how work affects people.
 
This subfield dates back to the early 20th century, when American psychologists began to apply psychological principles to the workplace.

• Walter Dill Scott (1869–1955), an American psychologist, is credited with applying these principles to marketing, management, advertising, and employee selection.
• Millicent Pond (1889–?), an American employment researcher, studied employee selection in relation to job performance and was among the first to develop pre-selection employment selection tools.
• Elton Mayo (1880–1949), an Australian psychologist, focused on organizational dynamics. His work led to the discovery of the Hawthorne effect, the phenomenon in which employees are more productive when they are observed.
• Kurt Lewin (1890–1947), a German-American psychologist, coined the term group dynamics and explored group relations in workplace settings.
• Frederick Taylor (1856–1915), an American mechanical engineer, focused on design aspects of the workplace, which led to the subfield of human-factor psychology.
• Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1972), an American psychologist, applied psychological principles to employee fatigue and time management stress.

To review, see Industrial-Organizational Psychology, I/O Psychology, and More on I/O Psychology.
 

10b. Differentiate between industrial and organizational psychology and the real-life applications of each

• How does industrial psychology differ from organizational psychology?
• What types of tasks do industrial vs. organizational psychologists undertake?

We can break the subfield of I/O psychology down into industrial and organizational psychology (note that these terms are not interchangeable).
 
Industrial psychology focuses on job analysis, such as describing and measuring a task or a job. Industrial psychologists are often tasked with writing job requirements, interviewing and hiring employees, training new employees, evaluating performance, and assuring an organization abides by equality laws.
 
Organizational psychology is concerned with the social aspects of work life, such as ensuring job satisfaction, examining the effectiveness of different leadership or management styles, exploring work-family balance options, and conducting diversity training.
 
To review, read I/O Psychology.
 

10c. Explain how human-factors psychology relates to industrial/organizational psychology

• What is human-factors psychology? How does it relate to I/O psychology?
• What type of work does a human-factors psychologist do?

Human-factors psychology is a third specialization within the realm of I/O psychology. This subfield has its roots in design and engineering and is concerned with how employees interact with workplace tools and environments.
 
For example, human-factors psychologists might redesign an office space to allow more space for interaction or more room for quiet, focused activities. Human-factors psychologists also focus on workplace safety, such as by developing checklists or similar procedures.
 
To review, read Human Factors Psychology and Workplace Design.
 

Unit 10 Vocabulary

Be sure you understand these terms as you study for the final exam. Try to think of the reason why each term is included.

• group dynamics
• Hawthorne effect
• human-factors psychology
• industrial/organizational psychology
• industrial psychology
• organizational psychology