Industrial and organizational psychology

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Industrial and Organizational Psychology (also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, work and organizational psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology or talent assessment) applies psychology to organizations and the workplace. "Industrial-organizational psychologists contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance and well-being of its people. An I-O psychologist researches and identifies how behaviors and attitudes can be improved through hiring practices, training programs, and feedback systems."^[1]

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Research methods in I/O psychology 4 Topics in industrial/organizational psychology 4.1 Job analysis 4.2 Personnel recruitment and selection 4.3 Performance appraisal/management 4.4 Individual assessment and psychometrics 4.5 Compensation 4.6 Training and training evaluation 4.7 Occupational health psychology 5 Practicioners 5.1 Graduate programs 5.2 Job outlook 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 Key journals in industrial and organizational psychology 10 External links

[edit] Overview

Guion (1965) defines I/O psychology as "the scientific study of the relationship between man and the world of work:... in the process of making a living" (p. 817). Blum and Naylor (1968) define it as "simply the application or extension of psychological facts and principles to the problems concerning human beings operating within the context of business and industry" (p 4). I/O psychology has historically subsumed two broad areas of study, as evident by its name, although this distinction is largely artificial and many topics cut across both areas. I/O psychology has roots in social psychology; organizational psychologists examine the role of the work environment in performance and other outcomes including job satisfaction and health. I/O psychology is represented by Division 14 of the American Psychological Association.

Common research and practice areas for I/O psychologists include:

• Job analysis
• Personnel recruitment and selection
• Performance appraisal/management
• Individual assessment (knowledge, skills, and ability testing, personality assessment, work sample tests, assessment centers)
• Psychometrics
• Compensation
• Training and training evaluation
• Employment law
• Work motivation
• Job attitudes (e.g., satsfaction, commitment, citizenship and retaliation)
• Occupational health and safety
• Work/life balance
• Human factors and decision making
• Organizational culture/climate
• Organizational surveys
• Leadership and executive coaching
• Ethics
• Diversity
• Job design
• Human resources
• Diversity
• Organizational development (OD)
• Organizational research methods
• Technology in the workplace
• Group/team performance

I/O psychologists are trained in the “scientist-practitioner” model. The training enables I/O psychologists to employ scientific principles and research-based designs to generate knowledge. They use what they have learned in applied settings to help clients address workplace needs. I/O psychologists are employed as professors, researchers, and consultants. They also work within organizations, often as part of a human resources department where they coordinate hiring and organizational development initiatives from an evidence-based perspective.

[edit] History

The "industrial" side of I/O psychology has its historical origins in research on individual differences, assessment, and the prediction of performance. This branch of the field crystallized during World War I, in response to the need to rapidly assign new troops to duty stations. After the War the growing industrial base in the U.S. added impetus to I/O psychology. Walter Dill Scott, who was elected President of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1919, was arguably the most prominent I/O psychologist of his time, although James McKeen Cattell (elected APA President in 1895) and Hugo Münsterberg (1898) were influential in the early development of the field.^[2]. Organizational psychology gained prominence after World War II, influenced by the Hawthorne studies and the work of researchers such as Kurt Lewin and Muzafer Sherif.

[edit] Research methods in I/O psychology

As described above, I/O psychologists are trained in the scientist-practitioner model. I/O psychologists rely on a variety of methods to conduct organizational research. Study designs employed by I/O psychologists include experiments, quasi-experiments, and observational studies. I/O psychologists rely on diverse data sources including human judgments, historical databases, objective measures of work performance (e.g., sales volume), and questionnaires and surveys.

I/O researchers employ both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative methods used in I/O psychology include both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (e.g., correlation, multiple regression, and analysis of variance). More advanced statistical methods employed by some I/O psychologists include logistic regression, multivariate analysis of variance, structural equation modeling, and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM; also known as multilevel modeling). HLM is particularly applicable to research on team- and organization-level effects on individuals. I/O psychologists also employ psychometric methods including methods associated with classical test theory (CTT), generalizability theory, and item response theory (IRT). In the 1990s, a growing body of empirical research in I/O psychology was influential in the application of meta-analysis, particularly in the area of the stability of research findings across contexts. The most well-known meta-analytic approaches are those associated with Hunter and Schmidt (1990, 2004), Rosenthal (1991), and Hedges and Olkin (1985). With the help of meta-analysis, Hunter and Schmidt advanced the idea of validity generalization, which suggests that some performance predictors, specifically cognitive ability tests, have a relatively stable and positive relation to job performance across all jobs. Validity generalization is somewhat controversial although there is broad acceptance of the idea that many selection instruments (e.g., cognitive ability tests, job knowledge tests, work samples, and structured interviews) are generally predictive of performance across a broad range of jobs.

Qualitative methods employed in I/O psychology include content analysis, focus groups, interviews, case studies, and several other observational techniques. I/O research on organizational culture research has employed ethnographic techniques and participant observation to collect data. One well-known qualitative technique employed in I/O psychology is John Flanagan's (1954) critical incident technique, which requires subject matter experts (SMEs) to describe a previous work situation that resulted in a good or bad outcome. Later, the SMEs are asked to provide information about what the actor in the situation could have done differently to influence the outcome. This technique is then used to describe the critical elements of performance in certain jobs and how worker behavior relates to outcomes. Most notably, this technique has been employed to improve performance among aircraft crews and surgical teams, literally saving thousands of lives since its introduction.

I/O psychologists sometimes use quantitative and qualitative methods in concert. For example, when constructing behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS), a job analyst may use qualitative methods, such as critical incidents interviews and focus groups to collect data bearing on performance. Then the analyst would have SMEs rate those examples on a Likert scale and compute inter-rater agreement statistics to judge the adequacy of each item. Each potential item would additionally be correlated with an external criterion in order to evaluate its usefulness if it were to be selected to be included in a BARS metric.

[edit] Topics in industrial/organizational psychology

[edit] Job analysis

Job analysis is often described as the cornerstone of successful employee selection efforts and performance management initiatives. A job analysis involves the systematic collection of information about a job. Job-analytic methods are often described as belonging to one of two approaches. One approach, the task-oriented job analysis, involves an examination of the duties, tasks, and/or competencies required by a job. The second approach, a worker-oriented job analysis, involves an examination of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) required to successfully perform the work. These two approaches are not mutually exclusive. Various adaptations of job-analytic methods include competency modeling, which examines large groups of duties and tasks related to a common goal or process, and practice analysis, which examines the way work is performed in an occupation across jobs.

Job-analytic data are often collected using a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods. The information obtained from a job analysis is can then used to create job-relevant selection procedures, performance appraisals and criteria, or training programs. Additional uses of job-analytic information include job evaluations for the purpose of determining compensation levels and job redesign.

[edit] Personnel recruitment and selection

Personnel recruitment is the process of identifying qualified candidates in the workforce and getting them to apply for jobs within an organization. Personnel selection is the systematic process of hiring and promoting personnel. I/O psychologists trypically work with HR specialists to design recruitment processes (e.g., developing job announcements, placing ads, defining key qualifications to applicants, screening out unqualified applciants), and design personnel selection systems. Personnel selection systems define the processes used to determine the most qualified candidates using evidence-based practices. Personnel selection includes both new hires and promotions. Common selection tools include ability tests (cognitive, physical, psychomotor), knowledge tests, personality tests, structured interviews, biographical data (or "application blanks"), work samples, and other methods that can be linked to job performance through the job analysis.

Personnel selection procedures are usually validated (i.e., shown to be job relevant) using one or more of the following methods: content validity, construct validity, and/or criterion-related validity. I/O psychologists follow professional standards, such as the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's (SIOP) Principles for Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures [4] (the SIOP Principles), and the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (the Standards, jointly published by the American Educational Research). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Uniform Guidelines [5] on Employee Selection Procedures are also an influential document, although they are often criticized as outdated when compared to the current state of knowledge in I/O psychology.

[edit] Performance appraisal/management

Performance appraisal or performance evaluation is the process of measuring an individual's work behaviors and outcomes (performance) against the expectations of the job. Performance appraisal information is commonly used to investigate performance issues within organizations, as a basis for promotion and compensation decisions, to help design and validate personnel selection procedures, and for performance management. Performance management is the process of providing performance feedback relative to expectations and improvement information (e.g., coaching, mentoring). Performance management may also include documenting and tracking the information for organization-wide measurement.

An I/O psychologist would typically use information from the job analysis to determine the performance dimensions for a job, and then construct a rating scale to describe each level performance for the job. Often, the I/O psychologist would be responsible for training organizational personnel how to use the performance appraisal instrument, including ways to minimize cognitive bias when using the rating scale, and how to provide effective performance feedback. Additionally, the I/O psychologist might consult with the organization on ways to use the performance appraisal information for broader performance management initiatives, in addition to conducting any statistical analyses to validate the organization's selection procedures.

[edit] Individual assessment and psychometrics

Individual assessment is the measurement of individual differences. Individual assessment is used within I/O psychology to measure differences between employees that relate to performance on the job, typically as part of the personnel selection process. These assessments include written tests, physical tests, psychomotor tests, personality tests, work samples, and assessment centers.

Psychometrics is the science of measuring psychological variables, such as knowledge, skills, and abilities.

[edit] Compensation

Compensation includes wages or salary, bonuses, pension/retirement contributions, and other perks that can be converted to cash or replace living expenses. I/O psychologists may be brought in to conduct a job evaluation or other study as a procedure to determine compensation levels and ranges. I/O psychologists might also serve as expert witnesses in pay discrimination cases with respect to the relative value of work performed among various protected groups.

[edit] Training and training evaluation

Most people hired for a job are not already versed in the tasks required to perform the job effectively. Similar to performance management, an I/O psychologist would use the job analysis in concert with principles of instructional design to design an effective training program. The training program might include an evaluation at its conclusion to ensure trainees have met the training objectives and can perform the work at an acceptable level. Traning evaluation can also be done at the program level, for example using Donald Kirkpatrick's model.

[edit] Occupational health psychology

Occupational health psychology (OHP) is a relatively new discipline allied with both industrial/organizational psychology and health psychology. The ancestry of OHP includes industrial/organizational psychology, health psychology, and occupational health.^[3] OHP has doctoral programs, journals, and professional organizations. OHP researchers and practitioners identify psychosocial characteristics of workplaces that give rise to health-related problems in workers. The problems OHP addresses are not limited to physical health (e.g., cardiovascular disease^[4]) but also include mental health problems such as depression.^[5] Two examples of workplace psychosocial characteristics that OHP has investigated are (a) the extent to which a worker possesses decision latitude^[6] and (b) the supportiveness of supervisors.^[7] OHP is also concerned with the development and implementation of interventions that can prevent or ameliorate work-related health problems.^[8] Another aim of OHP is to ensure that steps taken to promote healthy workplaces also have a beneficial impact on the economic success of organizations.^[9] OHP is also concerned with workplace incivility^[10] and violence,^[11] work-home carryover,^[12] unemployment^[13] and downsizing,^[14] and workplace safety^[15] and accident prevention.^[16] Two important OHP journals are the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology and Work & Stress. Organizations closely associated with OHP include the Society for Occupational Health Psychology and the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology.

[edit] Practicioners

[edit] Graduate programs

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In many countries it is possible to obtain a bachelor's degree, master's degree, Psy.D., and/or a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology. The types of degrees offered vary by educational institution. There are both advantages and disadvantages to obtaining a specific type of degree (e.g., master's degree) in lieu of another type of degree (e.g., Ph.D.). Some helpful ways to learn more about graduate programs and their fit to one's needs and goals include talking or sitting in on an industrial and organizational psychology course or class; speaking to industrial and organizational psychology faculty, students, and practitioners; consulting with a career counselor; taking a reputable vocational interest survey; and visiting program websites. Regardless of one's needs or goals, admission into industrial and organizational psychology programs can be highly competitive, especially given that many programs accept only a small number of students each year.

[edit] Job outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2007), the job outlook for industrial-organizational psychologists looks promising. Businesses will enlist the services of these psychologists in order to retain employees and maintain good work ethic. Industrial-organizational psychologists specializing in research will conduct studies within companies to aid in marketing research. In 2006, the median annual salary for industrial-organizational psychologists was $86,420 (US). ^[17]

[edit] See also

• Behavioral Risk Management
• Educational Psychology
• Employment Law
• Human Resources Development
• Human resource management
• Industrial sociology
• Occupational health psychology
• Systems psychology

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Key journals in industrial and organizational psychology

• Journal of Applied Psychology
• Personnel Psychology
• Academy of Management Journal
• Academy of Management Review
• Journal of Management
• Human Performance
• The Journal of Organizational Behavior
• Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology [8]
• Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
• Work & Stress
• Academy of Management Perspectives

[edit] External links

• Industrial & organizational psychology at The Psychology Wiki
• Research on Organizations: Bibliography Database and Maps
• Professional I/O Psychologist Network (where you can post your own messages and/or read and reply to others' postings; organized by topic; maintains anonymity via use of avatars)
• Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology
• Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

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