INDUSTRIAL

INDUSTRIALPSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
PYH
PYH581
581
 PSYCHOLOGY
Its Meaning…

The word psychology is derived from two Greek words-

Psyche +Logos, which means Soul + study of
Hence, initially it was defined as the study of soul
Then it was defined as the study of mind
In the middle of 19th century, with the establishment of the first Scientific
(experimental) laboratory by Wilhelhm Wundt in 1879 at Leipzig, Germany,
Psychology was defined as the Scientific study of ‘conscious experiences’.
Since, then it is treated as a scientific subject which takes into account the
laws and principles to understand its content
 Meaning……
The method which was used by Wundt to understand conscious
experiences was “Introspection”. This method was introduced by
Wundt's student Titchner.
Today, Psychology is defined as-
The scientific study of behavior and mental Processes of any living being
 Psychology as Science
Psychology is regarded as science because just as science is a systematic and
controlled study of any phenomenon, so is psychology a very systematic and
controlled study of behavior.
It has all the characteristics of science, as follows-
Objective
systematic
controlled
Factual, logical
definiteness
replicable
generalization
verifiability
validity
universality
 
Meaning and Areas of Applied Psychology

When we use the psychological laws and principles in the other areas of
behavioural study, we call it applied psychology.
WHAT IS APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY?
Applied Psychology is the "professional application of psychological
knowledge to the solution of problems associated with human
behaviour" (Graham Davey in Applied Psychology).
Just as Psychology is the scientific study of human behaviour, Applied
Psychology is the professional application of psychological knowledge to
the solution of problems associated with human behaviour.
 
Meaning and Areas of Applied Psychology
A famous Harvard professor, Hugo Munsterberg, whose contribution in the field
of applied psychology is remarkable, wrote a book, Psychotechnik, in which
he made three distinctions between-
Theoretical Psychology
Applied psychology
Psychotechnics
Theoretical Psychology is the pure or general psychology
Applied psychology deals with the explanations of past events and the facts of
other sciences by psychological laws and principles. For e.g., we want to
apply psychology to physics of light / colour etc. The psychological
phenomena of ‘brightness’ or ‘loudness’ correspond to the physical aspect
of ‘amplitude’.
Psychotechnics is the application of psychology to the solution of practical
problems. For example, laws of mathematics are used to construct electric
machines for lighting purpose.
 Areas of Psychology…
 Psychology can be divided into two broad areas-
 Pure or general psychology- It is concerned with the laws and principles in
the study of its basic subject matter like- Learning, motivation, memory,
perception, physiology, development etc
 Applied Psychology- is concerned with the application of these laws and
principles in other areas of behavioral study like-
industrial psychology, clinical psychology, consumer psychology, geo
psychology, environmental psychology, sports psychology, community
psychology, health psychology, neuro-psychology, legal psychology,
criminal psychology, forensic psychology etc.
 Areas of Applied Psychology

1. Educational Psychology: psychology as applied to educational practice and related research

2. Clinical Psychology: the branch of psychology responsible for understanding and treating
mental health problems.
3. Counselling Psychology: the application of psychological knowledge generally to therapeutic
practice
4. Industrial Psychology: is concerned with the study of behaviour at any work place
5. Engineering/Occupational Psychology: the professional application of psychological
knowledge to organisations to make them better places in which to work.
6. Forensic Psychology: the application of psychological knowledge within the criminal justice
system.
7. Consumer Psychology: the study of human responses to product and service-related
information and experiences.
8. Health Psychology: the professional application of psychological knowledge to the solution of
problems associated with human health behaviour.
 Areas of Applied Psychology….
1. Criminal psychology : the application of psychological knowledge within the criminal
behaviour
2. Military Psychology : the application of psychological knowledge within the defence
services
3. Sport & Exercise Psychology: a profession dealing with sport and physical performance
requiring knowledge of factors that can facilitate and enhance sporting performance.
4. Neuropsychology: the study of the structure and function of the brain related to
psychological processes and behaviours.
5. Environmental Psychology: the study of the interrelationships between the physical
environment and human behaviour.
6. Community Psychology: the branch of psychology dealing with relationships between the
individual and community and their wider society.
7. Geo Psychology
8. Political Psychology
9. Legal/Law Psychology
 INDUSTRIAL
INDUSTRIALPSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY

Applied Psychology has been most closely identified with the application of
psychology in business and industry.
The ‘Journal of Applied Psychology’, established in 1917, was largely concerned
with industrial Psychology. In 1920’s, textbooks and courses entitled ‘Applied
Psychology’ began to appear.

They covered problems of personnel selection, efficiency of work and

advertising.
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Industrial psychology may have gotten its start on December 20, 1901 by Dr.
Walter Dill Scott. But the honor of being the first industrial psychologist has
been awarded to Hugo Munsterberg.
It is exceedingly difficulty to apply a date to the founding of any discipline.
Hugo Munsterberg, a Harvard Professor, in his book entitled, ‘Psychology and
Industrial Efficiency’ 1913, included personnel selection and efficiency of work
as two areas of study. He outlined the possible use of Psychology in business and
industry.
Another pioneer in applied Psychology was ‘Walter Dill Scott’. He did a lot of
research on personnel selection. In 1908, he wrote a book ‘Psychology of
Adverting’. In 1919, he founded ‘The Scott Company’, a consulting firm devoted
to industrial psychology.
After a lot of development and resorting of areas, it is currently called the field of
Industrial and Organizational Psychology (I/O Psychology)
During World War 1 (1914-18)psychologists were quite active in the war
effort, developing group tests for army recruits and aiding in the development
of procedures for the selection 0f officer personal.
During the post-World War 1 years industry first began to show an interest in
the discipline of industrial psychology.
Without much question World War 2 (1939-45)was a major factor in the
growth of psychology in industry.
Although the American Association for Applied Psychology was formed in 1937
as the official organization of industrial psychology (it later became Division
14 of the APA).
History Cont….
Notable development in applied psychology since World War 2 was the
establishment of other separate division of the APA devoted to various
aspects of the field:
1. The division of Military Psychology (Division 19).
2. The Society of Engineering Psychologists, a division of APA (Division
21).
3. The Division of Consumer Behaviour (Division 23).
4. While the percentage of joint membership in these divisions and
division 14 is high.
The 1980s and 1990s brought four major changes to I/O psychology.
 The first involved an increased use of fairly sophisticated statistical
techniques and methods of analysis.
This change is evident if one compares journal articles written in the 1960s
with those written since 1980. More recent articles use such complex
statistical techniques as path analysis, structural equation modeling, meta-
analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and causal modeling.
Prior to the 1970s, simpler statistical techniques such as t-tests and analysis
of variance (ANOVA) were used (unless you are wearing a pocket protector or
have taken a statistics course, these methods probably are not familiar to
you).
 A second change concerned a new interest in the application of cognitive
psychology to industry. For example, articles written about performance
appraisal in the 1970s primarily described and tested new methods for
evaluating employee performance.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, however, many articles approached the
performance appraisal issue by examining the thought process used by
managers when they conduct such appraisals. interest in developing
methods to select employees.
 The third change was the increased interest in the effects of work on
family life and leisure activities (McCarthy, 1998). Though stress had long
been of interest to Hawthorne studies A series of studies, conducted at the
Western Electric plant in Hawthorne, Illinois, that have come to represent
any change in behavior when people react to a change in the environment.
Hawthorne effect When employees change their behavior due solely to the
fact that they are receiving attention or are being observed. It was during
the last two decades of the twentieth century that employee stress—
especially stress resulting in workplace violence—received attention.
The final major change in the 1980s and 1990s came about when I/O
psychologists took a renewed interest in developing methods to select
employees.
MEANING OF INDUSTRIAL
MEANING OF INDUSTRIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
Tiffin and McCormick (1971) defines-
“Industrial Psychology is concerned with the study of human behaviour in those
aspects of life that are related to production, distribution, and use of goods
and services of the civilization”.
According to Harrell, T.W. (1976),
“Industrial psychology is a complicated study of a number of things, but it is
always primarily the study of people as individuals or in groups- in the work
situations”.
 
 INDUSTRIAL
INDUSTRIALPSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY

According to American Psychological Association (API)-

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.

According to Blum and Naylor

‘Industrial psychology is simply the application or extension of psychology facts
and principles to the problem concerning human beings operating within the
context of business and industry’,
Specialized Knowledge

Specialized knowledge and training in the science of behavior in the

workplace requires-
in-depth knowledge of organizational development,
attitudes,

career development,
decision theory,
human performance and human factors,
consumer behavior,
small group theory and process,
criterion theory and development,
 job and task analysis and individual assessment.
 In addition,the specialty of industrial-organizational psychology requires
knowledge of ethical considerations as well as statutory, administrative, and
case laws and executive orders as related to activities in the workplace
 Problems Addressed

The specialty of Industrial / Organizational Psychology addresses issues of-

 recruitment,
selection and placement,
training and development,
performance measurement,
workplace motivation and reward systems,
quality of work life,
structure of work and human factors,
 organizational development and
consumer behavior.
 Skills and Procedures Utilized
I/O Psychologists are scientist-practitioners who have expertise in the
design, execution and interpretation of research in psychology and who
apply their findings to help address human and organizational problems in
the context of organized work.
I/O psychologists:
 Identify training and development needs;
 Design and optimize job and work and quality of work life;
 Formulate and implement training programs and evaluate their
effectiveness;
 Coach employees;
 Develop criteria to evaluate performance of individuals and
organizations;
 Assess consumer preferences, customer satisfaction and market
strategies.
SCOPE
SCOPEOF
OFI/O
I/OPSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
According to McCollum-
1. PERSONAL SELECTION: Selection of employees, executives for various
jobs and developing the instruments of personal selection by conducting
relevant research.
2. PERSONAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: Developing the methods of the
appraisal of the performance of the employees, executives etc. Helping
employees for better adjustment themselves or their environment.
3. HUMAN ENGINEERING: Setting and suggesting changing innovations in the
designs of machines, equipment and operations, with a view to achieving
greater ease in operation, with least possible expenditure of human
energy.
4. WORK ENVIRONMENT: Activities concerned with lessening worker fatigue
improving environment conditions such as lighting, ventilation, working
arrangements etc. with a view in maximizing efficiency.
5. MANAGEMENT: Activities involving development of management skills and other
activities.
6. ACCIDENT PREVENTION & SAFETY MEASURES
7. LABOUR RELATIONS
8. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
9. MAN-MACHINE SYSTEM
● Scientific selection of workers’—Industrial psychology offers a whole
arrangement of tests such as systematic depth interviews and psychological
tests of intelligence, aptitude, skills, abilities and interest the personnel
characteristic etc. By these tests candidates are measured and properly
selected and placed on the job.
● Proper division of work—One of the scopes of industrial psychology is the
work should be properly divided according to the abilities, skills and
aptitude of the workers so they may feel comfortable and satisfied. It may
also lead higher production.
Minimizing the wastage of human efforts—Industrial psychology tries to
minimize the wastage of human power. It studies psychological factors
causing fatigue or accident and give feasible suggestions to prevent them.
The techniques of motivation and morale are used for this purpose.

Promoting labour welfare—It promotes the welfare of the labour by

introducing adequate working environment through which job satisfaction,
work efficiency increases and also state the provisions of higher incentives.
Enhancement of human relations—Human relations are the relation among
individuals in an organization and the group behaviour that emerge from their
relations. Most of problems arise in the industries are connected to human
relation. If workers' feel ease with the surrounding then automatically they
get motivated and productivity will be higher. Industrial psychology has made
significant contribution in framing the techniques of leadership, worker
participation, communication etc.
Developing industrial relations—Industrial psychology studies the attitude of
the employer and employees. Individuals differ from each others in their
thoughts, thinking, behaviour and other parameters. Therefore, different
measures may be adopted in solving the problem relating to each individual
like transfers, promotions, grievances etc. This helps in developing industrial
relationship among workers' and management.
Increase production—It helps in attaining the major objective of the organization that
to get the best output from the existing resources. The production is automatically
increased if proper selection is made, the work will be properly distributed,
accident prevention and safety measures suggested. This will improve and promote
individual as well as industrial relations.
American Psychologist Association, Division of Industrial Psychology, The
psychologist industry, Washington, D.C., 1959 cited seven major areas which
comprised the content area of industrial psychology. These were:
 (1) Selection and testing. (2) Management development.
 (3) Counseling.
 (4) Employee motivation. (5) Human engineering.
 (6) Marketing research. (7) Public relations research
 The scope of Engineering Psychology is divided into three broad areas-
1.Work methods:
 It includes the following areas of study-
 Work and fatigue
 Monotony and boredom
 Work schedules
 Time and motion studies
 Accidents
2.The working environment:
 It includes the following areas of study-
 Music
 Noise
 Illumination
 Atmospheric conditions
 Environmental Factors
  
3. Equipment design:
 It includes the following areas of study-
 Human factors in human design
 Spatial layout
 display problems
 control problems
 Man-machine system
METHODS
METHODSOF
OFUNDERSTANDING
UNDERSTANDING
BEHAVIOUR
BEHAVIOUR
1. INTROSPECTION
2. OBSERVATION [PARTICIPATIVE & NON-PARTICIPATIVE]
3. INTERVIEW
4. CASE STUDY
5. SURVEY METHOD
6. CLINICAL METHOD
7. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD