essay on occupational psychology

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Occupational health psychology.

• Sharon Clarke Sharon Clarke University of Manchester
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.21
• Published online: 26 March 2019

Occupational health psychology is concerned with improving the quality of work life and protecting and promoting the safety, health, and well-being of workers. Research and theoretical development in this area of psychology has focused on a number of core areas, particularly the study of workplace stress, health and safety at work, workplace aggression and bullying, work–life balance, and impact of the organization of work on health and well-being, including flexible work and new technology. Researchers have devoted attention to understanding the causes and mechanisms linking work design and organizational factors to health, safety, and well-being in the workplace, as well as developing interventions to improve work conditions and promote well-being. While much of this work has focused on alleviating negative effects (e.g., preventing disease and injury and reducing stress symptoms), positive psychology has influenced researchers to examine motivating effects that create the conditions for personal growth and learning (e.g., job crafting, thriving at work, and work engagement).

• occupational health psychology
• occupational stress
• workplace aggression
• work–life balance
• flexible working

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Occupational Psychology Outlook

Occupational Psychology Outlook (OPO) is a peer-reviewed publication of the Division of Occupational Psychology.

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Call for papers

Occupational Psychology Outlook (OPO) aims to:

• provide a bridge between research and practice, bringing the two together in a single publication that contains research and conceptual papers, practitioner papers, review papers and a range of other content
• cover the five subject domains of occupational psychology, as well as ethics and professional skills
• highlight hot topics and trends
• publish evidence of best practice and content that is relevant for learning, continuing development, and professional standards
• enable new and established authors to publish, and generate opportunities for others as reviewers and editorial board members
• publish content about careers and celebrate success, reporting noteworthy developments within the division and the profession
• create space for opinion along with a right to reply from different perspectives

Scheduled Publication Frequency

• Three/four times a year from 2023 onwards
• Psychology Editor: Dr Pirashanthie Vivekananda-Schmidt
• Interim editor: Dr Andrew Clements
• Editorial Manager: Nicki Dennis

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Occupational Psychology Outlook (OPO) is the new peer-reviewed publication of the Division of Occupational Psychology.

OPO aims to provide a bridge between research and practice, bringing the two together in a single publication that contains research and conceptual papers, practitioner papers, review papers and a range of other content.

We invite papers that report good science and practice, discuss emerging trends that we need to influence or react to, debate ethical issues, and more.

Each issue will aim to incorporate the five areas of occupational psychology: psychological assessment; leadership, engagement and motivation; work design, organisational change and development; wellbeing at work; and learning, training and development.

Submissions

Submissions should be no longer than 5,000 words (not including references).

If you think your proposed paper should have greater word count, you are encouraged to discuss this with the editor in advance.

Submissions must demonstrate an ability to support professional development and/or advancement of science or practice.

Entries that appear primarily to promote an individual or business etc. will be rejected.

Statement about Ethical considerations of submitted work

Authors are reminded that Occupational Psychology Outlook will only publish articles that confirm they   adhere to the Principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) with regards to Ethical Standards. In particular, please note that Occupational Psychology Outlook requires confirmation that there has been appropriate oversight to ensure ethical practice that is in accordance with current legislation with regard to data management if your submission is related to data from people, animals,  records of personal data and anonymised human tissues. 

If you are not connected to an established ethics committee and your study contains data from people, animals, records of personal data, or anonymised human tissues please provide a statement explaining what ethical considerations were taken into account and how this was overseen.

Research articles will provide short summaries of ethically approved research projects, following the typical structure of introduction, method, results, and discussion.

This includes the option of summarising MSc dissertations or submitting summaries of  research that has been published elsewhere.

Authors may consider placing focus on aspects of the research that have not been previously addressed in publications – for example context that shaped the research, organisational impacts resulting from the research, and reflections on working with participants, etc.

Submissions must consider implications for practice as well as future research.

Practice entries will be summaries of activities undertaken with organisations and/or individuals.

A critical approach will make submissions valuable, e.g., by considering what worked and what did not work, why this seemed to be the case, etc.

Discussing the context of the work is likely to be beneficial to readers.

Clear implications for practice are required – this may include practical advice for working with particular types of organisations and/or populations,  design of interventions, etc.

However, authors may also identify research questions that emerge from the work.

Practice submission structures are more flexible than research submissions, but authors are encouraged to provide clear background, implementation, and evaluation, as well as reference to relevant research.

Submissions must demonstrate evidence-based practice, drawing on relevant theory to inform the background and discussion of outcomes.  Trainee occupational psychologists are particularly welcome to submit examples of their practice.

While research and practice entries will be based on activities undertaken by the author/s, commentaries provide a flexible way for authors to contribute to important discussions.

For example,  by highlighting important trends, e.g., in industry, research, technology etc., and how these may shape practice and research.

Authors may also make a 'call to action', e.g. identifying an area of practice or research that appears to have been neglected by our profession.

The scope of focus can be broad, e.g,. industry or practice in general, or may be specific, e.g., highlighting an emerging challenge in an industry.

Commentaries from individuals outside the profession are welcomed, e.g., stakeholders with a view on how occupational psychologists and allied professionals can support their activities.

Debate style articles provide scope for authors to make more contentious arguments, albeit still rigorous in using evidence where appropriate.

This might, for example, include debates on aspects of ethical guidance that need to be introduced or enhanced, perceived 'best practice' that could or should be improved – or even consigned to history, 'fringe topics' that should be more central to the curriculum, political perspectives, etc.

Please note that while radical arguments are welcome, they must still conform to BPS ethical and legal standards.

NB: Debate articles are submitted with the understanding that the editorial board will put out a call for responses where a paper is accepted for publication.  Contributors will have the right to a further response.

Page 1 should include Title, names of authors, corresponding author (please include two possible email addresses to ensure we can reach you), word count. Follow with a page break. Don't include author details on following pages.

Page 2 – Title plus abstract (of under 250 words) and up to five key words. Follow with a page break.

Page 3 onwards – main body of paper.

Research papers should follow the format of Introduction, Methods (including details of ethical considerations and approvals), Results, and Discussion.

Practice papers should broadly follow a structure of background, implementation, and evaluation.

The strongest OPO papers give information about limitations of methodology (whether research or practice), give advice to others considering similar work, consider the professional/practical implications of their findings, and suggest future routes for research or practice.

Commentary and debate papers may adopt a structure of the author(s) choice, but it is important to ensure the argument can be followed by readers.

The review process

Occupational Psychology Outlook (OPO) is a peer-reviewed  publication. We use a double-blind process.

After submission, your paper will be assigned to a reviewer.

OPO reviewers have varied backgrounds and areas of expertise. We try to match your submission with someone with knowledge of your area.

Submissions are usually reviewed in approximate chronological order of receipt.

You will usually receive one of four responses:

• Not suitable
• Suitable but requiring major revisions
• Suitable but requiring minor revision
• Suitable without further revision

The degree to which your revisions are directed will depend on the extent of the reviewers' comments.

If you are asked to resubmit we require a submission as a word document with tracked changes to alert us to where the revisions are in the text.

We also require an accompanying letter or email with a bullet pointed list of how you have addressed each of the requests for change made by the reviewer.

Authors may wish to discuss the suitability of their contribution with the editors before submitting, and at this point, advice could be provided as to length, structure etc.

We welcome new writers (at any career stage).  We are developing a group of writing coaches who can support new writers through the submission process.

Please feel free to contact the editorial manager at  [email protected]  if you have a paper you would like to go through an initial screening and advice process before being formally submitted for review.

You can download issues of the OPO on BPS Explore .

We invite articles that contribute to our understanding of occupational psychology as both science and practice.  We particularly encourage writers to consider the connections between science and practice, e.g. evidence based practice and practice based research.

Occupational Psychology Outlook publishes papers across the five core areas of occupational psychology.  Illustrative examples are provided below, these are not intended to constrain writer creativity.

Psychological assessment

• Job selection processes in relation to equality, diversity, and inclusion
• Developments in personality research, e.g. new measurement strategies
• Work adjustments based on psychological assessment
• Ethical issues,  e.g. who decides what will be assessed, how should assessments be used?

Leadership, engagement and motivation

• Leadership development interventions
• Employee relations surveys
• Organisational reward strategies
• Ethical issues, e.g. uses of power, distributions of rewards

Work design, organisational change and development

• The changing work environment, and how organisations can respond
• Physical and social work environment
• Changing organisational cultures
• Ethical issues, e.g. who decides how work is designed?

Wellbeing at work

• Individual differences and wellbeing (e.g. coping styles, risk factors)
• Wellbeing interventions in practice
• Emerging threats and opportunities
• Ethical issues, e.g. competing obligations to stakeholders, supporting the supporters

Learning, training and development

• Emerging learning, training, and development needs, e.g. in specific professions or sectors
• Approaches to learning needs analysis
• Making learning more effective
• Ethical issues, e.g. power relations in workshop activities, who sets the learning agenda?

Please submit your papers to [email protected] . Details about format and style are under the Information for contributors tab. 

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Emerging issues in occupational health psychology.

Author Contributions

Institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

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Share and Cite

León-Pérez, J.M.; Shoss, M.K.; Ferreira, A.I.; Giorgi, G. Emerging Issues in Occupational Health Psychology. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 , 18 , 11621. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111621

León-Pérez JM, Shoss MK, Ferreira AI, Giorgi G. Emerging Issues in Occupational Health Psychology. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health . 2021; 18(21):11621. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111621

León-Pérez, Jose M., Mindy K. Shoss, Aristides I. Ferreira, and Gabriele Giorgi. 2021. "Emerging Issues in Occupational Health Psychology" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 21: 11621. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111621

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What Is Industrial Psychology? 10 Examples and Theories

With such an enormous chunk of our lives dedicated to working, we must learn to use that time wisely.

Industrial psychology can help; it examines our identity and behavior in the work environment by asking key questions (Riggio, 2017):

How can we redesign a job to make it more efficient and engaging? What makes some roles so stressful? What makes someone a good manager?

This article explores what we mean by industrial psychology, the theories behind it, and how we apply them in the workplace.

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This Article Contains:

What is industrial psychology, 4 real-life examples of industrial psychologists, 6 theories of industrial psychology, applying industrial psychology in the workplace, 6 masters degrees, courses, and training options, fascinating industrial psychology books, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all employees loved their jobs so much that they couldn’t wait to get to work? And what if staff were so well suited to their role that their performances were outstanding?’ (Aamodt, 2010).

The answer is obvious: yes . While it may be unlikely to happen all the time and for everyone, a happy and productive workforce is the ultimate goal of industrial psychology (Aamodt, 2010).

Industrial psychology focuses on areas of employment and organizational processes that create an environment for success, including (Rogelberg, 2007):

• Team and organizational effectiveness
• Employee recruitment and promotion
• Individual differences, measurement, and testing
• Training and development (including coaching)
• Performance management (appraisal and improvement)
• Workplace health (stress and safety)
• Employee attitudes and satisfaction
• Compensation and benefits

Employee motivation

• Employee harassment and bullying

What do industrial psychologists do?

Industrial psychologists apply the theories and principles of psychology to the workplace in an attempt to “enhance the dignity and performance of human beings, and the organizations they work in, by advancing the science and knowledge of human behavior” (Rucci, 2008, p. 17).

In turn, a practitioner adopts various principles and theories, including (Aamodt, 2010):

• Social learning theory to build training and development programs and incentive plans
• Social psychology to create working groups to understand and reduce employee conflict
• Motivational and emotional theories to meet the psychological needs of employees and increase their satisfaction at work

While industrial psychologists are engaged in areas similar to human resource managers, they often differ in techniques and rationale. For example, industrial psychologists rely on psychological testing, behavioral interviews, and work data. On the other hand, human resources departments typically adopt unstructured interviews to progress staff selection and promotion (Aamodt, 2010).

Industrial vs organizational psychology

Most texts combine or alternate between the terms industrial and organizational psychology and offer no distinction (Aamodt, 2010; Rogelberg, 2007; Riggio, 2017).

However, the two overlapping terms do indeed differ, albeit slightly. While industrial psychology focuses on the people at work, often exploring individual differences and their effect on performance, organizational psychology attempts to understand their role in the organization and its function in society (Samiksha, n.d.).

In this article, we use the two terms synonymously.

A brief history of the field

Early in the 20th century, when the field of psychology was still very new, a few psychologists turned their attention to work behavior. Prior to the First World War, Hugo Munsterberg began working on improving staff selection for streetcar operators. At the same time, Walter Dill Scott, a pioneer of industrial psychology, studied salespersons and the psychology of advertising (Riggio, 2017).

Frederick Taylor, an engineer, suggested using science to understand work behavior. He became the founder of the scientific management movement and the originator of time-and-motion studies, successfully improving the efficiency of many manual roles and tasks.

However, more complex, modern tasks are less suited to the approach, as they can be performed in multiple ways depending on the context and desired outcome, such as computer coding, marketing, or design (Riggio, 2017).

It wasn’t until after the Second World War that industrial psychology received more widespread attention, pushed along by legislation changes, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

By the 2000s, the most significant change to employees and industrial psychologists was the rapid rise and advances in technology, particularly the speed and volume of communication and the ability to connect with anyone worldwide instantly (Aamodt, 2010).

Today, “industrial/organizational psychology is one of the fastest growing areas of psychology” (Riggio, 2017, p. 13).

With predicted employment in this field set to increase dramatically, we find industrial psychologists in some of the world’s largest companies, including (Riggio, 2017):

• Ford Motor Company
• Xerox Corporation
• United Airlines

Examples of roles include the following (Riggio, 2017):

• Dr. C began his career by assessing employee work satisfaction for a telecommunications company before joining a large consulting firm to conduct and analyze staff surveys and manage organizational development programs.
• Having worked for a large consulting firm, Dr. R now runs his own practice specializing in personnel selection and recruitment, marketing, and attitude surveys, and is an expert witness in labor-related legal cases.
• Dr. O is an assistant director for a chain of fast-food restaurants, researching new locations and organizing customer satisfaction surveys.
• Mr. K is director of human resources for a biomedical company and oversees benefits, compensation, and employee selection, and sets up special human resource programs for his employees.

While it is impossible to talk about the typical role of industrial psychologists, their work remains underpinned by psychology’s theory, practice, and principles.

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Industrial psychology uses a broad range of psychological theories to better understand employees, organizations, and their interactions (Aamodt, 2010).

Below, we look at a selection of theories that apply to the field of industrial psychology regarding motivation and employee satisfaction.

“Psychologists have postulated that some employees are more predisposed to being motivated than are others” (Aamodt, 2010, p. 328). In other words, some staff will always be more motivated than others, despite either recognition or reward.

Here is a small sample of theories commonly applied in industrial psychology:

• Self-regulation theory This theory suggests that “employees monitor their own progress toward attaining goals and then make the necessary adjustments; that is, they self-regulate” (Aamodt, 2010, p. 342)
• Expectancy theory “The individual chooses to behave in accordance with the alternative that she or he associates with the highest subjective expected utility” (Rogelberg, 2007, p. 235). The possible outcomes of behavior are factored against the probability of a particular performance level, and the higher the score, the greater the employee’s motivation.
• Equity theory Focuses on the causes and consequences of individuals’ perceived fairness in relationships with others. It suggests our job satisfaction and motivation are related to how well we believe we are being treated compared with others (Rogelberg, 2007; Aamodt, 2010).

There are other theories, and most likely, an employee’s current level of motivation is best understood through an integrated view.

Job satisfaction

Organizational commitment and job satisfaction  have been widely studied in organizational psychology and appear highly correlated. Both are important to the employee and the employer as they affect commitment to the job and the organization, including attendance and positive behavior at work (Aamodt, 2010).

Several theories focus on the factors involved in job satisfaction, including:

• Individual difference theory This theory suggests that “some variability in job satisfaction is due to an individual’s personal tendency across situations to enjoy what she does” (Aamodt, 2010, p. 367). Therefore, for some, roles don’t matter; every task motivates and satisfies them.
• Discrepancy theory Job satisfaction requires certain employee values, expectations, and needs to be met. When not addressed, employee satisfaction suffers.
• Social learning theory The social learning theory suggests that employees observe the degree of happiness of those nearby and then model them.

Industrial psychology is fascinating because it impacts us all in a significant area of our lives; work. And, as such, it includes theories and practices taken across multiple fields of psychology.

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The following areas are crucial to the success and wellbeing of the individual and the organization.

As a result, they receive considerable focus from industrial psychologists in the workplace.

Human resource planning

“The best organizations continually evaluate their human resource needs and plan their hiring and staffing in order to meet their companies’ business goals.”

Riggio, 2017, p. 92

Human resource professionals and the field of industrial psychology need to focus on the following closely related processes (Riggio, 2017):

• Talent inventory Assessing employees’ knowledge, skills, abilities, and how they are used
• Workforce forecasting Planning future organizational requirements, including volume and skill sets
• Control and evaluation Constantly evaluating the effectiveness of industrial psychology programs and interventions

Employee recruitment requires an understanding of the nature of the job and the critical employee characteristics needed. Getting the right candidate for the job increases job performance and reduces staff turnover.

Performance appraisal

Job performance is measured against criteria used to assess successful or unsuccessful performance levels: objective performance criteria (such as the number of units made or products sold) and subjective performance criteria (judgments or ratings of other employees, including their manager).

Organization development

Industrial psychology focuses its attention on organizational development with the aim of understanding and helping an organization change, managing and avoiding layoffs, and recognizing the importance of employee culture (Aamodt, 2010).

Managing and providing input to the most appropriate (and necessary) organization-wide transformation can improve performance. Such change may arise out of governmental regulations or external market pressures.

Positive changes can arise from an organization looking at its own practices and policies and asking questions, such as:

Why are we doing this? Does it add value, increase productivity, or improve customer service? Can it be done better by another team, individual, or even outsourced?

Ultimately, the correct change performed at an appropriate time and considering the employee, customer, and organization can have far-reaching benefits, yet it must be handled carefully.

How to become an industrial psychologist – Careers24

There are plenty of study options available to begin or develop as an industrial psychologist. Take time and care to find the most appropriate for the career you wish to pursue.

8 Requirements of industrial psychologists

Many industrial psychologist positions within businesses require a master’s degree, while academic teaching positions in colleges and universities typically expect a doctorate.

Hard skills required to be an industrial/organizational psychologist include (Brogaard, 2021):

• Analytical skills
• Problem-solving abilities
• Research skills
• Administrative skills

Soft skills include:

• Interpersonal skills
• Conflict management
• Communication skills
• Teamwork abilities

3 Degree programs to consider

Many of the routes to becoming an industrial/organizational psychologist involve a bachelor’s degree in psychology before completing a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology.

Examples include the following:

Master’s degree (MA) in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, University of New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.

This flexible course curriculum provides opportunities for research and internship.

Find out more on their website .

Master’s degree (MSc) in Organizational Psychology, UNICAF University, Malawi/Zambia/Uganda/Zimbabwe

The master’s degree is taught with real-world application in mind and focuses on how to understand the organization’s human resources.

Master’s degree (MS) in Human Factors and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Wright State University, Ohio, U.S.

With a range of audio-visual equipment, observation rooms, and 20,000 square feet dedicated to psychological research, this is a well-equipped campus.

3 Best Online Courses

Many educational institutes offer advanced training in industrial psychology online, including:

Master’s degree (MA) in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, George Mason University, Virginia, U.S.

Focus areas include personnel selection, quantitative analysis, organizational health, leadership , and work and family issues.

Master of Applied Industrial/Organizational Psychology (MAIOP), Colorado State University, Colorado, U.S.

Particular areas of interest include improving the quality of work environments, analyzing the effectiveness of workplace programs, and identifying training and development needs.

Master’s degree (MS) in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Bellevue University, Nebraska, U.S.

The following books all provide insights into industrial psychology that are helpful and practical for anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating discipline:

Industrial/Organizational Psychology: An Applied Approach – Michael Aamodt

This readable book includes theory, case studies, and numerous diagrams to aid understanding of complex topics.

Find the book on Amazon .

Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology – Jeffrey Conte and Frank Landy

Including many color photographs and explanatory diagrams, this is a must for both students and professionals wishing to learn more about this fascinating field.

Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology – Ronald Riggio

This concise yet thorough evidence-based text provides essential communication to undergraduates and beyond.

We have many resources throughout our website to help professionals in the field of industrial psychology.

To help, check out the following free worksheets and exercises:

• Social Problem Solving: Step by Step This worksheet is a useful tool to help an individual or team define a problem, generate multiple possible solutions, and then select and evaluate the best solution to enact.
• Workplace Strength Cards This set of cards can be used as part of an icebreaker or team exercise to help workers identify their strengths and times they use them in their work. For more on using these cards, check out our dedicated article – Printable Strength Cards for Therapists and Coaches .
• Stress Decision Framework This worksheet helps organizational decision-makers put decision-making in context, illustrating that it is usually best to aim for good enough decisions, not perfect ones.
• Workplace Mindfulness This set of questions helps workers adopt a state of loving-kindness to themselves and others, helping to decrease stress and improve workplace satisfaction.

A successful business requires an appropriate focus on both the organization and its employees. It is crucial to find the best people for the right jobs and then empower them to perform well through appropriate training and development (Riggio, 2017).

Understanding what motivates people to work, how to manage stress arising from job demands , and why employees behave as they do can help produce a happy and productive workforce (Aamodt, 2010).

The many and varied focuses and roles held by industrial psychologists make for a fascinating and broad field of study for either existing professionals or students considering their career options. Whether engaged in workforce forecasting or evaluating existing programs and interventions, the opportunity to support growth and change within an organization is extensive.

Use this article to introduce yourself to some of the background, real-life examples, and theories behind industrial psychology. And consider your role in helping people become better equipped for the challenges and opportunities they face across their working lives.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Work & Career Coaching Exercises for free .

• 80,000 Hours. (n.d.). 80000hours.org . Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://80000hours.org/
• Aamodt, M. G. (2010). Applied industrial/organizational psychology . Thomson/Wadsworth.
• Aamodt, M. G. (2015). Industrial/organizational psychology: An applied approach (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Brogaard, B. (2021, October 13). How to become an I-O psychologist . Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.psychology.org/careers/industrial-organizational-psychologist/
• Conte, J. M., & Landy, F. J. (2019).  Work in the 21st century: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology (6th ed.). Wiley.
• Riggio, R. (2017). Introduction to industrial and organizational psychology (7th ed.). Routledge.
• Rogelberg, S. G. (2007). Encyclopedia of industrial and organizational psychology . SAGE.
• Rucci, A. J. (2008). I-O psychology’s “core purpose”: Where science and practice meet. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist , 46 (1), 17–34.
• Samiksha, S. (n.d.). Difference between industrial psychology and organizational psychology . Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/industrial-psychology/difference-between-industrial-psychology-and-organizational-psychology/29497

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This course is very interesting and motivated. It plays a very big role in the world largest company as an industrial psychologist. It makes to understand what motivates people to work, how to manage stress arising from job demands, and why employees behave as they do can help produce a happy and productive workplace.

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13.1 What Is Industrial and Organizational Psychology?

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Understand the scope of study in the field of industrial and organizational psychology
• Describe the history of industrial and organizational psychology

In 2019, people who worked in the United States spent an average of about 42–54 hours per week working (Bureau of Labor Statistics—U.S. Department of Labor, 2019). Sleeping was the only other activity they spent more time on with an average of about 43–62 hours per week. The workday is a significant portion of workers’ time and energy. It impacts their lives and their family’s lives in positive and negative physical and psychological ways. Industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology is a branch of psychology that studies how human behavior and psychology affect work and how they are affected by work.

Industrial and organizational psychologists work in four main contexts: academia, government, consulting firms, and business. Most I-O psychologists have a master’s or doctorate degree. The field of I-O psychology can be divided into three broad areas ( Figure 13.2 and Figure 13.3 ): industrial, organizational, and human factors. Industrial psychology is concerned with describing job requirements and assessing individuals for their ability to meet those requirements. In addition, once employees are hired, industrial psychology studies and develops ways to train, evaluate, and respond to those evaluations. As a consequence of its concern for candidate characteristics, industrial psychology must also consider issues of legality regarding discrimination in hiring. Organizational psychology is a discipline interested in how the relationships among employees affect those employees and the performance of a business. This includes studying worker satisfaction, motivation, and commitment. This field also studies management, leadership, and organizational culture, as well as how an organization’s structures, management and leadership styles, social norms, and role expectations affect individual behavior. As a result of its interest in worker wellbeing and relationships, organizational psychology also considers the subjects of harassment, including sexual harassment, and workplace violence. Human factors psychology is the study of how workers interact with the tools of work and how to design those tools to optimize workers’ productivity, safety, and health. These studies can involve interactions as straightforward as the fit of a desk, chair, and computer to a human having to sit on the chair at the desk using the computer for several hours each day. They can also include the examination of how humans interact with complex displays and their ability to interpret them accurately and quickly. In Europe, this field is referred to as ergonomics.

Occupational health psychology (OHP) deals with the stress, diseases, and disorders that can affect employees as a result of the workplace. As such, the field is informed by research from the medical, biological, psychological, organizational, human factors, human resources, and industrial fields. Individuals in this field seek to examine the ways in which the organization affects the quality of work life for an employee and the responses that employees have towards their organization or as a result of their organization’s influence on them. The responses for employees are not limited to the workplace as there may be some spillover into their personal lives outside of work, especially if there is not good work-life balance. The ultimate goal of an occupational health psychologist is to improve the overall health and well-being of an individual, and, as a result, increase the overall health of the organization (Society for Occupational Health Psychology, 2020).

In 2009, the field of humanitarian work psychology (HWP) was developed as the brainchild of a small group of I-O psychologists who met at a conference. Realizing they had a shared set of goals involving helping those who are underserved and underprivileged, the I-O psychologists formally formed the group in 2012 and have approximately 300 members worldwide. Although this is a small number, the group continues to expand. The group seeks to help marginalized members of society, such as people with low income, find work. In addition, they help to determine ways to deliver humanitarian aid during major catastrophes. The Humanitarian Work Psychology group can also reach out to those in the local community who do not have the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to be able to find gainful employment that would enable them to not need to receive aid. In both cases, humanitarian work psychologists try to help the underserved individuals develop KSAs that they can use to improve their lives and their current situations. When ensuring these underserved individuals receive training or education, the focus is on skills that, once learned, will never be forgotten and can serve individuals throughout their lifetimes as they seek employment (APA, 2016). Table 13.1 summarizes the main fields in I-O psychology, their focuses, and jobs within each field.

Link to Learning

Find out what I-O psychologists do on the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) website—a professional organization for people working in the discipline. This site also offers several I-O psychologist profiles.

The Historical Development of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology had its origins in the early 20th century. Several influential early psychologists studied issues that today would be categorized as industrial psychology: James Cattell (1860–1944), Hugo Münsterberg (1863–1916), Walter Dill Scott (1869–1955), Robert Yerkes (1876–1956), Walter Bingham (1880–1952), and Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1972). Cattell, Münsterberg, and Scott had been students of Wilhelm Wundt, the father of experimental psychology. Some of these researchers had been involved in work in the area of industrial psychology before World War I. Cattell’s contribution to industrial psychology is largely reflected in his founding of a psychological consulting company, which is still operating today, called the Psychological Corporation, and in the accomplishments of students at Columbia in the area of industrial psychology. In 1913, Münsterberg published Psychology and Industrial Efficiency , which covered topics such as employee selection, employee training, and effective advertising.

Scott was one of the first psychologists to apply psychology to advertising, management, and personnel selection. In 1903, Scott published two books: The Theory of Advertising and Psychology of Advertising . They are the first books to describe the use of psychology in the business world. By 1911 he published two more books, Influencing Men in Business and Increasing Human Efficiency in Business . In 1916 a newly formed division in the Carnegie Institute of Technology hired Scott to conduct applied research on employee selection (Katzell & Austin, 1992).

The focus of all this research was in what we now know as industrial psychology; it was only later in the century that the field of organizational psychology developed as an experimental science (Katzell & Austin, 1992). In addition to their academic positions, these researchers also worked directly for businesses as consultants.

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the work of psychologists working in this discipline expanded to include their contributions to military efforts. At that time Yerkes was the president of the 25-year-old American Psychological Association (APA) . The APA is a professional association in the United States for clinical and research psychologists. Today the APA performs a number of functions including holding conferences, accrediting university degree programs, and publishing scientific journals. Yerkes organized a group under the Surgeon General’s Office (SGO) that developed methods for screening and selecting enlisted men. They developed the Army Alpha test to measure mental abilities. The Army Beta test was a non-verbal form of the test that was administered to illiterate and non-English-speaking draftees. Scott and Bingham organized a group under the Adjutant General’s Office (AGO) with the goal of developing selection methods for officers. They created a catalogue of occupational needs for the Army, essentially a job-description system and a system of performance ratings and occupational skill tests for officers (Katzell & Austin, 1992). After the war, work on personnel selection continued. For example, Millicent Pond researched the selection of factory workers, comparing the results of pre-employment tests with various indicators of job performance (Vinchur & Koppes, 2014).

From 1929 to 1932 Elton Mayo (1880–1949) and his colleagues began a series of studies at a plant near Chicago, Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works ( Figure 13.4 ). This long-term project took industrial psychology beyond just employee selection and placement to a study of more complex problems of interpersonal relations, motivation, and organizational dynamics. These studies mark the origin of organizational psychology. They began as research into the effects of the physical work environment (e.g., level of lighting in a factory), but the researchers found that the psychological and social factors in the factory were of more interest than the physical factors. These studies also examined how human interaction factors, such as supervisorial style, increased or decreased productivity.

Analysis of the findings by later researchers led to the term the Hawthorne effect , which describes the increase in performance of individuals who are aware they are being observed by researchers or supervisors ( Figure 13.5 ). What the original researchers found was that any change in a variable, such as lighting levels, led to an improvement in productivity; this was true even when the change was negative, such as a return to poor lighting. The effect faded when the attention faded (Roethlisberg & Dickson, 1939). The Hawthorne-effect concept endures today as an important experimental consideration in many fields and a factor that has to be controlled for in an experiment. In other words, an experimental treatment of some kind may produce an effect simply because it involves greater attention of the researchers on the participants (McCarney et al., 2007).

Watch this video of first-hand accounts of the original Hawthorne studies to learn more.

In the 1930s, researchers began to study employees’ feelings about their jobs. Kurt Lewin also conducted research on the effects of various leadership styles, team structure, and team dynamics (Katzell & Austin, 1992). Lewin is considered the founder of social psychology and much of his work and that of his students produced results that had important influences in organizational psychology. Lewin and his students’ research included an important early study that used children to study the effect of leadership style on aggression, group dynamics, and satisfaction (Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939). Lewin was also responsible for coining the term group dynamics , and he was involved in studies of group interactions, cooperation, competition, and communication that bear on organizational psychology.

Parallel to these studies in industrial and organizational psychology, the field of human factors psychology was also developing. Frederick Taylor was an engineer who saw that if one could redesign the workplace there would be an increase in both output for the company and wages for the workers. In 1911 he put forward his theory in a book titled The Principles of Scientific Management ( Figure 13.6 ). His book examines management theories, personnel selection and training, as well as the work itself, using time and motion studies. Taylor argued that the principal goal of management should be to make the most money for the employer, along with the best outcome for the employee. He believed that the best outcome for the employee and management would be achieved through training and development so that each employee could provide the best work. He believed that by conducting time and motion studies for both the organization and the employee, the best interests of both were addressed. Time-motion studies were methods that aimed to improve work by dividing different types of operations into sections that could be measured. These analyses were used to standardize work and to check the efficiency of people and equipment.

Personnel selection is a process used by recruiting personnel within the company to recruit and select the best candidates for the job. Training may need to be conducted depending on what skills the hired candidate has. Often companies will hire someone with the personality that fits in with others but who may be lacking in skills. Skills can be taught, but personality cannot be easily changed.

One of the examples of Taylor’s theory in action involved workers handling heavy iron ingots. Taylor showed that the workers could be more productive by taking work rests. This method of rest increased worker productivity from 12.5 to 47.0 tons moved per day with less reported fatigue as well as increased wages for the workers who were paid by the ton. At the same time, the company’s cost was reduced from 9.2 cents to 3.9 cents per ton. Despite these increases in productivity, Taylor’s theory received a great deal of criticism at the time because it was believed that it would exploit workers and reduce the number of workers needed. Also controversial was the underlying concept that only a manager could determine the most efficient method of working, and that while at work, a worker was incapable of this. Taylor’s theory was underpinned by the notion that a worker was fundamentally lazy and the goal of Taylor’s scientific management approach was to maximize productivity without much concern for worker well-being. His approach was criticized by unions and those sympathetic to workers (Van De Water, 1997).

Gilbreth was another influential I-O psychologist who strove to find ways to increase productivity ( Figure 13.7 ). Using time and motion studies, Gilbreth and her husband, Frank, worked to make workers more efficient by reducing the number of motions required to perform a task. She applied these methods not only to industry but also to the home, office, shops, and other areas. She investigated employee fatigue and time management stress and found many employees were motivated by money and job satisfaction. In 1914, Gilbreth wrote the book, The Psychology of Management: The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching, and Installing Methods of Least Waste , and she is known as the mother of modern management. Some of Gilbreth’s contributions are still in use today: you can thank her for the idea to put shelves inside refrigerator doors, and she also came up with the concept of using a foot pedal to operate the lid of trash can (Gilbreth, 1914, 1998; Koppes, 1997; Lancaster, 2004). Gilbreth was the first woman to join the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1926, and in 1966 she was awarded the Hoover Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Taylor and Gilbreth’s work improved productivity, but these innovations also improved the fit between technology and the human using it. The study of machine–human fit is known as ergonomics or human factors psychology.

From World War II to Today

World War II also drove the expansion of industrial psychology. Bingham was hired as the chief psychologist for the War Department (now the Department of Defense) and developed new systems for job selection, classification, training, and performance review, plus methods for team development, morale change, and attitude change (Katzell & Austin, 1992). Other countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, likewise saw growth in I-O psychology during World War II (McMillan, Stevens, & Kelloway, 2009). In the years after the war, both industrial psychology and organizational psychology became areas of significant research effort. Concerns about the fairness of employment tests arose, and the ethnic and gender biases in various tests were evaluated with mixed results. In addition, a great deal of research went into studying job satisfaction and employee motivation (Katzell & Austin, 1992).

The research and work of I-O psychologists in the areas of employee selection, placement, and performance appraisal became increasingly important in the 1960s. When Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VII covered what is known as equal employment opportunity. This law protects employees against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, as well as discrimination against an employee for associating with an individual in one of these categories.

Organizations had to adjust to the social, political, and legal climate of the Civil Rights movement, and these issues needed to be addressed by members of I/O in research and practice.

There are many reasons for organizations to be interested in I/O so that they can better understand the psychology of their workers, which in turn helps them understand how their organizations can become more productive and competitive. For example, most large organizations are now competing on a global level, and they need to understand how to motivate workers in order to achieve high productivity and efficiency. Most companies also have a diverse workforce and need to understand the psychological complexity of the people in these diverse backgrounds.

Today, I-O psychology is a diverse and deep field of research and practice, as you will learn about in the rest of this chapter. The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) , a division of the APA, lists 8,000 members (SIOP, 2014) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics—U.S. Department of Labor (2013) has projected this profession will have the greatest growth of all job classifications in the 20 years following 2012. On average, a person with a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology will earn over $80,000 a year, while someone with a doctorate will earn over $110,000 a year (Khanna, Medsker, & Ginter, 2012).

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I/O Psychology Provides Workplace Solutions

Understanding I/O Psychology

From the outside, it’s easy to assume that the sole determinant of a successful business is profitability. After all, profitability paves the way for growth and keeps a business competitive. However, profitability is often dependent on multiple factors: a good product; teams that communicate well; and employees who are motivated, well-trained and committed to the company goals. Success is also tied to a business’ ability to identify and resolve workplace issues at both the individual and organizational level. Enter I/O psychology.

I/O psychology is the scientific study of human behavior in the workplace. It focuses on assessing individual, group and organizational dynamics and using that research to identify solutions to problems that improve the well-being and performance of an organization and its employees.

I/O psychologists look at questions such as: How are decisions made? How effective is communication? How do team members interact and collaborate? Knowing the answers to these questions and many others help business owners assess where to change systems and dynamics to make their company function better.

I/O Psychology Applied

I/O psychologists are experts in the design, implementation and analysis of psychological research. They apply their findings in a variety of ways to help solve human and organizational problems in the workplace such as:

• Identifying training and development needs;
• Optimizing the quality of work life;
• Formulating and implementing training programs and evaluating their effectiveness;
• Coaching employees and organization leaders;
• Developing criteria to evaluate performance of individuals and organizations; and
• Assessing consumer preferences, customer satisfaction and market strategies.

As scientist-practitioners, I/O psychologists receive specialized training in the science of human behavior in the workplace . This training provides them with a deep knowledge of issues that are critical to business success. Some work in corporate America in positions dealing with worker productivity, employee training and assessment, and human resources, while others make their careers in academia.

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