Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Introduction to the World of Work

Copyright Paul E. Spector, All rights reserved, March 15, 2005

 Learning Objectives
Define I/O psychology.
Describe the major activities of I/O psychologists.
Summarize the history of the I/O field.
Explain the importance of research and how it
relates to practice.
 What Is I/O Psychology?
Psychology is the study of humans and behavior
Experimental/basic research
Practical application
I/O has two divisions
Efficiency/productivity of organizations (I)
Satisfaction/well-being of employees (O)
Development and application of the science of
psychology to the workplace
Not to be confused with clinical psychology
 Activities and Settings of I/O
Psychologists
Research
Most are college professors
Much of time spent teaching and doing research
Practice
Consulting firms, government, private corporations
Major focus is application of field to real world
workplaces
Considerable overlap between the two settings, and
most I/O psychologists do both to some extent.
 Percentage of I/O Psychologists
Who Work in Various Settings

Source: Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2006 Member Survey: Overall Report.
 I/O as Profession and Science
Practitioners can belong to firms
Licensure required in some states
I/O Professional Associations
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists (SIOP)
Comprised entirely of I/O psychologists
About 8,200 members, 40% are student affiliates
Academy of Management (AoM)
Very large, majority of members are not psychologists
Other associations are vary by topic or location
Most I/O psychologists do research
Goals can be general (learn new things) or specific (solve an
organizations problem)
Present at conferences and publish in journals
 History of I/O- Early Years
Began early 1900s by experimental psychologists
Hugo Mnsterberg: Psychology and Industrial
Efficiency
Walter Dill Scott: The Theory of Advertising
Frederick Winslow Taylor: Scientific Management
Lillian Gilbreth: Time and motion; Human factors
World War I first mass testing
Health and Munitions Committee in 1915
Robert Yerkes: Army Alpha and Beta tests
 Middle Years to Recent History
Between the wars, psychology helped business
Consulting firms
Hawthorne studies at Western Electric
Roethlisberger & Dickson: Hawthorne Effect
World War II
I and O sides studied
Acceptance by APA of Division 14
Civil rights movement and other legislation
Timeline of Major Events in US
 I/O Psychology Beyond US/UK
I/O interest has exploded over the past 10-15 years
and accelerating
More international authors in research journals
Number of graduate programs increasing rapidly around
the world
Research focus varies by country
Globalization
Technology
American consulting firms have become international,
reflected in names
 What It Takes To Be an I/O
Psychologist
Graduate degree necessary (MA or Ph.D.)
Entry requirements very competitive
GPA and GRE (see textbook appendix)
Communication and statistical skills
Graduate training includes research and practice
PhD programs take longer and have a heavier emphasis
on statistics and research methods
Academic and nonacademic market strong
No longer predominantly males
SIOP was 36.7% female as of 2006
 Median Salaries of I/O
Psychologists in the US in 2009
M.A. $74,500
Ph.D. $105,000
M.A. starting $55,000
Ph.D. starting $75,000
Men $110,000
Women $92,000
Note: Gender difference mostly accounted for by women being more likely to be M.A.
level and being younger. Source: Khanna & Medsker (2007).
 Internet Resources
SIOP
Contains information on all grad programs
Archives professional journal articles
http://www.siop.org
O*Net
The U.S. Dpeartment of Labor job information site
http://online.onetcenter.org
Dr. Paul Spector, this books author
Companion materials for the book
Information on applying to graduate school
http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~spector
 Six Ethical Principles from
APA Code
Competence
Integrity
Professional and Scientific Responsibility
Respect for Peoples Rights and Dignity
Concern for Others Welfare
Social Responsibility
Humanitarian Work Psychology
Geographic areas with extreme poverty can also
benefit from I/O
Global Task Force for Humanitarian Work Psychology
Work with the UN or local governments
Assess community needs
Program evaluation
Help humanitarian agencies with human resources