Segismundo, Isabelle D.

(2014-55553)
CHAPTER ONE I INTRODUCTION: DEFINITION AND HISTORY
Psychology-scientific study of behavior and mental processes

 Uses systematic scientific methods to understand more about the hows and whys of behavior and human
thought processes
 Many specialty areas each of which focuses on a different aspect of behavior(developmental, cognitive, social)

Industrial/Organizational Psychology-specialty area that studies human behavior in works settings and the application of
psychology principles to change work behavior
 Large undertaking/complicated due to:
- Jobs are complicated
- Work organizations are large and complex
- Workers are physically distant from one another
 Some “fields” to focus in:
- Basic personnel functions
- Psychological processes underlying work behavior
- Group processes in the workplace
- Broader picture
 Two objectives:
- To conduct research in an effort to increase our knowledge and understanding of human work behavior
- To apply that knowledge to improve the work behavior, the work environment and the psychological
condition of workers
 “scientist-practioner model”
- Scientific objective: study and understand all aspects of behavior at work
- Scientists: conduct research and publish the results of these efforts
 Multidisciplinary, cooperative venture
- Includes management, sociology, political science, organizational communication, economics and others
- Have to be aware of recent developments in other fields

THE BEGINNINGS

 Hugo Munsterberg-experimental psychologist who studied the design of work and personnel selection for jobs
 Walter Dill Scott-studied salesperson and psychology of advertising
 Frederick W. Taylor-believed that scientific principles could be applied to the study of work behavior to increase
worker efficiency and productivity
- “one best method” for performing a particular job
- Breaking job down scientifically into measurable component movement and recording the time needed
to perform each movement -> can develop the fastest, most efficient way of performing any task
- Time and motion studies- procedures in which work tasks are broken down into simple component
movements and the movements times to develop a more efficient method for performing the tasks
- Scientific Management-applying scientific principles to increase work efficiency and productivity
- Also incorporated selection of workers based on abilities and use of proper tools
 Frank and Lillian Gilbreth-implemented the principles of scientific management and revolutionized several
physical labor jobs by making the accepted work procedures more efficient and productive
 Limited and quite narrow view- jobs are much more complex, fewer people are engaged in physical labor
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 Scientific management and I/O Psychology are not directly connected
- Scientific Management is used to improve the efficiency of jobs
- I/O Psychology looks beyond efficiency to examine the work procedures and condition on the working
person

WORLD WAR I AND THE 1920s

 Robert Yerkes-created intelligence tests for placement of Army recruits

- Army Alpha and Beta Tests represented the first mass testing efforts
 Began to be involved in the screening and placement of personnel in industry
 Worked directly with industries as consultants and researchers
 1920s-first psychological consulting organizations began

THE GREAT DEPRESSION YEARS AND WORLD WAR II

 1930s-less opportunity for industrial psychologists to work with industries and businesses
 Hawthorne Experiment(Elton Mayo)
- Explored the effects of lighting on worker productivity
- Productivity increases no matter what level the lighting was set at(steady increase in workers’ output
following any change in lighting
- Timing and length of breaks were also studies( same result which was a change in breaks, whether
shorter or longer, more or fewer resulted to a steady increase in worker output)
- Conclusion: workers were affected by knowledge of them being observed
- Hawthorne Effect-changes in behavior occurring as a function of participants’ knowledge that they are
being observed and their expectations concerning their role as research participants
o Could be positive or negative
 Developed the human relations movement- recognized the importance of social factors and “worker morale” in
influencing work productivity
- A harmonious work environment with good interpersonal relationships among coworkers should be a
positive work environment
- Workers in jobs that do not give the satisfaction will turn to the social environment of the work setting
for motivation
 World War II
- Tremendous need for state if the art machinery and the increasing complexity of the machinery was an
impetus for human factors psychology, and training soldiers to operate the equipment
- Called on to improve selection and placemen of military personnel
 Army General Classification Test –aimed to separate recruits into categories based on their abilities to learn
military duties and responsibilities
 Screening tests to select candidates for officer training
 Developed intensive assessment strategies for selecting candidates for dangerous espionage missions

POSTWAR YEARS AND THE MODERN ERA

 Specialty areas began to emerge

 1948-Focus on personnel issues(testing, selection and evaluation of employees)
 Cold Wars(1950s-1960s)-Engineering Psychology(aka human factors psychology/ergonomics)
- Spurred by the growth of the defense industry
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- Helped design control systems(make it easy and sensible to operate)
 1960s-1990s(early)-flourish of research and practice
- Topics such as motivation, goal setting, job attitudes, organizational stress, group processes,
organizational power and politics, organizational development
 Civil Rights Legislation
- Banned discrimination in employment practices
- Forced organizations to take a closer look at the ways people were selected for jobs
- Fairness of employment selection tests and personnel decisions(promotions, compensation and firing)
was looked at
- Followed by legislation for older people and for people with disabilities

INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATION PSYCHOLOGY TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE

“To enhance human well-being and performance in organizational and work settings by promoting the science, practice
and teaching of I/O Psychology”

 First Trend: The changing nature of work

- Jobs and organizations are rapidly changing and evolving
o Organizations are becoming flatter
o Fewer levels of hierarchy
o Being broken up into smaller units
o Greater emphasis on work teams
o People can work in almost any locations(teams can be remote)
- I/O Psychologists have to:
o Helping workers adapt to technological and structural changes
o Redesign jobs for greater efficiency
o Creating new and more flexible organizational structures and work teams
o Helping workers become more engaged, motivated and better able to deal with stresses
- Jobs are becoming complex due to technological advancements and more demanding(requires workers
to process more and more information and to make more decisions)
- Organizational downsizing-strategy of reducing an organization’s workforce to improve organizational
efficiency, productivity and/or competitiveness
o Due to:
 Technological advancements
 Increased efficiency in jobs and elimination of overlapping worker functions
 General reduction in middle-level managers
o Economic downturns tend to increase the number of laid-off workers
o Catastrophic events also affect industries
o Requires organizations to “do more with less”
o Research: some changes in work have led to decreased levels of worker loyalty and
commitment to organizations
- Outsourcing-contracting with an external organization to accomplish tasks that were previously done, or
could be done, within the organization
o Done to increased output and reduce overhead costs associated with personnel needed
to do the task within the organizations
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o I/O Psychologists help understand the effects that the increased used of outsourcing has
on variables
 Second Trend: Expanding focus on human resources
- Increasing concern with the management and maintenance of an organization’s human resources
- More and more concerned about and responsive to the needs of the workers
- Skilled and creative workers are the key to success
- “Talent Management”-reflects the emphasis on the value of the worker and the need to select, care for
and develop workers’ talents
- Organizations have to:
o Compete ferociously to attract and keep the best workers
o Give greater emphasis to areas like employee recruitment and selection procedures
o Offer more enticing benefit programs to attract and retain the best workers
o Retrain older workers to remain contributing members
- Increasingly aging workforce and relatively fewer young people are entering the workforce
- Need for greater focus on personnel issues(recruiting, screening, testing, training, development and
compensation)
- Number of low-skilled jobs is growing(so is the population of low and unskilled workers)
o Challenge: help provide meaningful and rewarding work experiences for these people
and help transition workers from the unskilled to the skilled labor force
- Focus more broadly
o Seeing the worker as the “whole person”
o Looking more and more on individual development
o Recognize the overlap between employees’ work life and home life
 Third Trend: Increasing Diversity and Globalization of the Work Force
- Increasing number of women and ethnic minorities entering the workforce -> greater workplace
diversity
- Diversity in cultures in workplaces will also increases as workers become more internationally mobile
- Workforces will consist of members from different cultures
- Represents a tremendous strength and opportunity
o Opportunity for different viewpoints and perspectives -> organizational creativity and
innovation
o Help an organization understand and reach new markets for products/services
o Help in recruiting and retaining the best workers
o Lead to reduced organizational conflict, greater cooperation among workers and
increased flexibility and innovation
- Demographic and cultural differences can create difficulties if not carefully managed such as:
o Increasing destructive conflict
o Inhibiting team cooperation
o Impeding performance
- Rapid, continuing shift toward a more global economy
o Focus on more and more on the global marketplace
o Increasing need for workers to be trained for working in or with organizations located in
other countries
 Fourth Trend: Increasing relevance of I/O Psychology in policy and practice
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- Helping improve work performance and make the conditions for workers better, more rewarding and
more healthy
- Issues that can be addressed:
o Selecting and developing better organizational leaders
o Improving the lot of workers through fair compensation, flexible work policies and
reducing discrimination in the workplace
o Leveraging workforce diversity and globalization in optimal ways
o Improving performance through optimal management and development of talent
o Helping organizations embrace positive change and be more innovative