LESSON 1: Introduction to I/O Psychology PDF

LESSON 1: Introduction to I/O Psychology ABOUT THE LESSON: For a typical company, the most important thing is profit. Investors don’t invest because a company is too fancy or popular; they invest because of returns and dividends. Every organization is driven by profit. You must provide high...

LESSON 1: Introduction to I/O Psychology ABOUT THE LESSON: For a typical company, the most important thing is profit. Investors don’t invest because a company is too fancy or popular; they invest because of returns and dividends. Every organization is driven by profit. You must provide high-quality goods and services to get high-quality income, and high-quality income directly depends on high achievers. Understanding human psychology is necessary to help employees achieve maximum results, stay motivated, and achieve goals. This chapter will provide us the knowledge about the emergence of industrial-organizational psychology as a field, the historical background, the proponents, and key highlights of this field of knowledge in the field of psychology. At the end of the lesson, you will be able to: LO1. Trace the history of I/O Psychology LO2. Define Industrial Psychology and distinguish it from organizational psychology LO3. Discuss the factors that led to the emergence of Industrial Psychology as an independent field of science LO4. Identify the different research methods employed by Industrial Psychologists LEARNING OUTPUTS/REQUIREMENTS: Essay Activity LESSON TIME ALLOTMENT: 3 hours LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Essay Activity Teacher to do a check on the knowledge of the students about the role and functions of the human resource department based on what they have heard or read about it. Also, to get the ideas of the students of the importance of psychology in the field of Human Resource.  Introduction to I/O Psychology According to the American Psychological Association the specialty of industrial- organizational psychology (also called I/O psychology) is characterized by the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and the work place. The specialty focuses on deriving principles of individual, group and organizational behavior and applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work. Industrial/organizational psychology is a branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace. The purpose of I/O psychology is “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). Industrial organizational psychology is the study of the dynamics of individuals, groups, and organizations in the workplace. These dynamics can be different in different workplaces. By using scientific methods to study human behavior in the workplace, psychologists can determine the level of team communication, whether employees invest in the company and how happy people are at work, as well as their productivity, efficiency and absenteeism. The importance of industrial psychology is based largely on the ability of these professionals to quickly assess companies, identify productivity and efficiency barriers, and formulate plans to solve these problems. Differences Between I/O and Business Programs application of psychological principles examine the factors that affect people in the organization, rather than managing the broader aspects of the organization. reliance on the scientist-practitioner model Major Fields of I/O Psychology 1. Personnel Psychology 2. Organizational Psychology 3. Human Factors/Ergonomics Personnel Psychology Learn and practice in areas such as job analysis, hiring applicants, selecting employees, determining salary levels, training employees, and evaluating employee performance Choose existing tests or create new tests that can be used to select and promote employees Comprehensive understanding of analyzing each employee’s job and is usually assigning monetary value for each position Establish performance evaluation tools to evaluate employee performance Check various methods that can be used to train and develop employees Organizational Psychology Pay attention to issues such as leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation, organizational communication, conflict management, organizational change, and team processes within the organization Execute surveys of workers' attitudes to get information about what the workers believe are an organization’s strengths and weaknesses Act as a consultant, an organizational psychologists make suggestions for improvement methods in problem areas Implement a corporate plan to improve employee performance Human Factors/Ergonomics Focus on the design of the workplace, the interaction of employees and machines, ergonomics, as well as stress and physical fatigue Coordinate with professionals like engineers and other professionals to make the workplace more safe and efficient Design the best way to draw a map, creating the most pleasant workplace structure, and investigating the best work schedule Brief History of I/O Psychology Given the relatively short existence of the field of psychology itself (since 1879), it is not surprising that the history of I / O psychology is relatively short. Interestingly, the term "industrial psychology" was rarely used before the First World War. On the contrary, the most used terms in this field are "economic psychology", "business psychology" and "employment psychology" (Koppes & Pickren, 2007).  I / O psychology had its first major impact during WWI. The test is completed primarily through the Army Alpha and Army Beta mental ability tests. The alpha test is for recruits who can read and the beta test is for recruits who cannot read. The most intelligent recruits are assigned to officer training, while the infantrymen are even less intelligent. Army Alpha and Army Beta Tests In a team of 40 psychologists, Yerkes was able to develop two different intelligence tests. The first test, Alpha, is a written test consisting of true/false and multiple-choice questions to assess abilities such as following instructions, arithmetic, and analogy. The Army Alpha Test is used to determine whether recruits can read in English and also to evaluate soldiers so that they can be assigned to tasks or training commensurate with their capabilities. The Army Beta test was developed for men who have limited literacy skills and cannot answer written tests. Use pictures and other symbols to provide test instructions, and use mazes, pattern recognition, and image completion for testing. Psychologists try to make the test quite comparable. Soldiers were awarded a letter grade, and those who achieved the lowest grade were deemed unfit for the mission. Men who received higher-level letters were assigned simple tasks. The men who earn points in the distribution perform normal soldier duties. The person with the highest score is trained as an officer. The classification system provided by the test was considered very useful at the time because it was able to make selection decisions for a large number of men. By the end of World War I, 1.75 million people had been tested using Army Alpha or Army Beta testing. As a result of the test, 8,000 men were dismissed for being unfit for service, and nearly two-thirds of the 200,000 officers were selected for their positions. The first two most interesting figures in I / O psychology were the couple partnership of Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth. They were one of the first scientists to increase productivity and minimize fatigue by studying the movements used by employees. (Below are some notable events in the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Source: Aamodt, Michael G (2016). Industrial and Organizational Psychology (8th ed.). Cengage Learning)  In the 1930s, when the results of Hawthorne Studies were published, psychologists began to pay more attention to the quality of the work environment and the attitudes of employees. A Hawthorne study conducted at Western Electric Company in the Chicago area showed that employee behavior is complex, and that interpersonal communication between managers and employees plays a huge role in employee behavior. The Hawthorne research was originally designed to investigate issues such as the impact of lighting levels, working hours, wages, temperature, and rest time on employee performance. To the researchers' surprise, actual working conditions did not affect productivity as expected. That is, sometimes productivity increases after working conditions deteriorate, and sometimes productivity decreases after working conditions improve. After interviewing the employees and studying the matter further, the researchers realized that the employees had changed their behavior and became more efficient because they were receiving research and attention from the managers. This situation is now commonly known as the Hawthorne effect. Perhaps the main contribution of the Hawthorne study is that it motivates psychologists to pay more attention to interpersonal relationships in the workplace and to explore the impact of employee attitudes (Olson, Verley, Santos & Salas, 2004). The 1980s and 1990s brought four major changes to I / O psychology. The first involves an increased use of statistical techniques and rather complex analytical methods. This change is obvious when you compare magazine articles written in the 1960s with magazine articles written since 1980. The second change involves a new interest in applying cognitive psychology to industry. In the 1980s and early 1990s, many articles addressed performance appraisal issues by examining the thought processes used by managers in conducting performance appraisals. The third change is that people are increasingly interested in the impact of work on family life and leisure activities (McCarthy, 1998). Although stress has long been of interest to psychologists, it was in the last two decades of the 20th century that employee stress was noticed, especially stress that led to violence in the workplace. The last major change in the 1980s and 1990s occurred when I / O psychologists renewed their interest in developing methods for selecting employees. However, in the mid-1980s, the courts became less strict and a wider variety of screening tools were developed and used. Examples of these tools include cognitive ability tests, personality tests, biological data, and structured interviews. Other changes that had a major impact on I / O psychology during the 1980s and 1990s included large-scale organizational layoffs, increased attention to diversity and gender issues, an aging workforce, increased attention to the impact of stress and more attention to effects. Organizational development interventions are increasingly emphasized as total quality management (TQM), reengineering, and employee empowerment. Hugo Munsterberg The term “founding father” of I/O psychology is usually associated with Hugo Munsterberg of Harvard University. His 1913 book on Psychology and Industrial Efficiency, is considered to be the first textbook in I/O psychology. Source: Aamodt, Michael G (2016). Industrial and Organizational Psychology (8th ed.). Cengage Learning Research in I/O Psychology Why should an investigation be conducted? Answering questions and making decisions: save money for the company Research and daily life: provide ideas about innovation and change Common sense is often wrong: provide a basis Precautions when conducting research (ideas, assumptions, and Theory) 1. What to investigate 2. Propose a hypothesis 3. Choose a theory Literature review Literature review can be done in many ways, the most common is: use subject indexes such as PsycINFO and Infotrac, browse journals, and search for related articles And ask other researchers (Tubré, Bly, Edwards, Pritchard and Simoneaux, 2001). Journals consist of articles written by researchers that directly report research results. Articles in Trade Magazines are usually written by professional writers with experience in a specific field. The main audience for trade magazines are professionals in the field. Location of the Study Laboratory Research. A disadvantage of laboratory research is the external validity or universality of the results for organizations in the "real world". Field research. Field research has the opposite problem with laboratory research. Field research has clearly gained something in terms of external validity, and loses control of external variables (internal validity) that are not of interest to researchers. Research Method to Be Used Experiment. It is the most powerful of all research methods because it is the only method by which cause-and-effect relationships can be determined. Two characteristics define an experiment: 1. Manipulate one or more independent variables and 2. Subjects are randomly assigned to the experiment and control conditions. The employees who have received training are collectively referred to as the experimental group, and the employees who have not received the training are collectively referred to as the control group. Quasi-experiments. It is used when experimenting by manipulating most variables is not possible. Archival Research. Archival research involves using previously collected data or records to answer a research question. Surveys. Another method of conducting research is to ask people their opinion on some topic. Meta-Analysis. Meta-analysis is a statistical method of reaching conclusions based on previous research. With meta-analysis, the researcher goes through each article, determines the effect size for each article, and then finds a statistical average of effect sizes across all articles. A meta- analysis results in one number, called the mean effect size, which indicates the effectiveness of some variable. Subject Samples. Probability vs. Non-probability sampling. Running the Study With all of these decisions made, it's finally time to start the research and collect the data. To ensure that data is collected impartially, it is important that all instructions for subjects are presented in a standardized and understandable manner. After completing the topic with her participation, she should be interviewed or informed of the purpose of the experiment and given the opportunity to ask questions about her participation. Statistical Analysis Correlation. It is necessary to discuss a particular statistic - the correlation - because it is so widely used in I / O psychology and throughout this book. Correlation is a statistical procedure that allows the researcher to determine the relationship between two variables. Why doesn't the correlation coefficient indicate a cause-and-effect relationship? Because a third variable, an intervening variable, usually explains the relationship between two variables. Group Sharing Teacher to ask the students on the learnings and reflections that they have after the discussion of the topic. Encouraging the students to share their key takeaways on the topic discussed. Question and Answer Teacher to ask the students as to how the learnings that they acquire will be able to help them in their future careers as Human Resource Professionals. Written Work (Essay Activity) Instructions: Discuss why do organizations prefer Psychology Majors or Graduates to be the priority staff in the Human Resource Department? References: Aamodt, Michael G (2016). Industrial and Organizational Psychology (8th ed.). Cengage Learning Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2015). Human Resource Management (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.