Lecture 1 - What is IO Psych PDF

Lecture 1 Sept. 12, 2024 What is I/O psych? ○ Application of psychology principles and theories to the workplace ○ Study of how people behave and relate at work and how they pe...

Lecture 1 Sept. 12, 2024 What is I/O psych? ○ Application of psychology principles and theories to the workplace ○ Study of how people behave and relate at work and how they perform their jobs What is IO psych ○ Industrial Job analysis Training Selection Performance About the institution, productivity, streamlining, understanding what is needed to do this job, what skills and knowledge is needed; what type of training do we need to build those skills and knowledge; more about task, jobs, environment, skills, training, measuring performance, etc; geared toward people running the place ○ Organizational Motivation Work attitudes Leadership Organizational structure and culture More about the people; wellbeing, stress, different theories of leadership; seems common sense ○ Seems like 2 categories, reality is most issues IO psychologist deal with involve some degree of both Low satisfaction and low performance can eb No appraisal assessment = low performance; can be because employees don’t know what they can do to improve themselves How are I/O psychologists trained ○ Society for industrial and organizational psych (SIOP) Every field of psych has an organization like this. They publish monthly journal ○ Training emphasizes the scientist/practitioner model Generators of knowledge (scientists) Consumers of knowledge (practitioners) Should have ongoing availability of knowledge ○ Because so much is happening in the field, there's a lot of emphasis on scientist and practitioner, not one or the other Inevitable for there to be a gap ○ How can we improve this Increasing access; open science – complete revision, before the journals were exclusive ○ IO psychologists typically have a PhD or Masters 2 years (Master’s) to 5-6 years (PhD) Doctorates require dissertation ○ Main goal of graduation in IO psych is to develop competencies Research methods, statistics and data analyst Measurement and assessment Job analysis and classification Employee training  Attitude theory, measurement, and change Work motivation Leadership and management ○ Majority is outside of academia Most IO psychologists choose a career that emphasize research or practice Scientists conduct research at universities, research institutes, and public or private organizations Practitioners typically work in consulting firms, private organizations, or government organizations ○ Generally in private practice (50%) Pre world war I ○ Walter dill scott gave a talk on the psychology of advertising 1901 The birth of IO Published the Theory of Advertising in 1903 ○ Gugo Munsterberg published Psychology and Industrial Efficiency in 1913 ○ At this point psychology was not scientific Roots in medicine and philosophy Decades later was there a push for it to be a science World War I through the 1920s ○ Military personnel work Test to identify if kids needed more help in school At this time, people realize we can measure stuff in people Especially important and put to work in WWI ○ Army alpha and beta mental ability tests Group assessment of intelligence ○ First phd in IO psych Strong vocational interest blank for men The 1930s to WWII ○ Marked by the great depression ○ Hawthorne studies Western electric illumination and productivity studies Western electric wanted to apply this approach to see if they can improve worker productivity Brighten illumination = more alert = work harder? ○ Productivity did increase Dimmed lights = calming = less stress = productivity goes up ○ Productivity did also increase Turns out, whatever they did, productivity did increase because they were finally paying attention to the employees ○ Any intervention probably would lead to increase productivity Light bulbs had nothing to do with it There was this recognition; told them management gave a shit about employees The attention made the change ○ Greater focus on social and psychological conditions of work WWII to the 1960s: back to the military ○ Military research centers emerged  Army research institute emerged (ARI) Air force human resources laboratory (AFHRL) ○ “O” side of IO psych established 60-70s ○ Civil rights movement ○ Emphasis on employees and rights, attitudes, wellbeing ○ APA Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychological 80s to today ○ Cognitive psych is the focus ○ Increase in IO graduate programs ○ Focus on Inclusion and diversity Where does IO psych go from here ○ Addressing sexual harassment in the workplace ○ Diversity, inclusion, and equity ○ Work Life balance interventions and employee wellness ○ AI and machine learning ○ The changing nature of how people work ○ Algorithmic selection systems and people analytics ○ Leadership development and improvement ○ Generational differences (Gen x, millennials, gen z) ○ Automation of jobs and tasks ○ The gig economy and contract work What can IO psych do for you ○ Applications of motivations information to your studies ○ Improved management of stress and well being ○ Application of knowledge in the workplace E.g. leadership, teamwork, work-life balance