Industrial and organizational psychology
From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)
Industrial and organizational psychology (or I/O psychology) is also known as occupational psychology (in the United Kingdom) and work psychology (from the German, Arbeitspsychologie).
Industrial and organizational psychology is the study of the behavior of people in the workplace. Industrial and organizational psychology attempts to apply psychological results and methods to aid workers and organizations.
Industrial and organizational psychologists use psychological testing to measure the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics of people for a variety of employment-related purposes, such as selection for hiring or promotion, training and development, or measuring employee satisfaction. Historically, the job analysis has been the traditional means by which the essential characteristics associated with any particular position are identified. A thorough job analysis takes time, resources and money but its benefits tend to out weigh the costs, especially when the position is of great importance, such as an executive position in a major corporation.
It is a fairly diverse field incorporating aspects of fields such as clinical psychology, social psychology, and psychometrics as well as broader social studies such as organizational theory, law, and gender issues, etc.
Many industrial and organizational psychologists specialize in one of the following aspects: psychometrics; time and motion studies; labor law; personnel selection; training; leadership selection, coaching and development; organizational design and change. Some I/O psychologists are academic (working in both business and psychology departments) or non-academic researchers, while many others are engaged in practice, holding positions such as:
- executive coach
- diversity consultant
- legislative compliance officer
- labor relations specialist
- human resources specialist
- process improvement consultant
- manager of selection and training.
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Related disciplines
- Consulting Psychology
- Industrial engineering
- Total quality management
- Psychometrics
- Social psychology
- Labor and industrial relations
- Organizational development
- Personality psychology
- Organizational behavior
Milestones in industrial and organizational psychology
- Hawthorne studies at Western Electric
- U.S. Army Project A
See also
- Industrial sociology
- List of human resource management topics
- List of psychological topics
- How Occupation and Employment can affect Identity
- Important publications in Industrial and organizational psychology
Key works in industrial and organizational psychology
- Handbook Of Research Methods In Industrial And Organizational Psychology, by Steven G. Rogelberg
- Two volume Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology, edited by Neil Anderson, Deniz S. Ones, Handan K. Sinangil, and Chockalingam Viswesvaran
- Handbook of Psychology, Industrial and Organizational Psychology by Walter C. Borman, Daniel R. Ilgen, Richard J. Klimoski, Irving B. Weiner
- California School of Organizational Studies Handbook of Organizational Consulting Psychology, edited by Rodney L. Lowman
External links
- Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, United States
- The Industrial Psychology Research Centre, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
--Angel 17:05, 5 June 2006 (CDT)
