Chapter One

The History of I/O

Psychology

What is I/O Psychology?

Formal Definition:
Application of psychological principles and
theories to the workplace

Defined for your Grandmother:

The study of how people get along with
each other at work and are able to do their
jobs effectively

Industrial vs. Organizational

Industrial Psychology Associated with job
analysis, training, selection, and performance
measurement
Organizational Psychology Deals with
motivation, work attitudes, leadership, and
organizational development
Different from Business Degrees:
Research, Quant Methods, Testing
Factors affecting People in Orgs
The Psychological Perspective

The Training of I/O Psychologists

Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology (SIOP) is the professional
association with which I/O
Psychologists affiliate
www.siop.org

Training approach uses the ScientistPractitioner Model I/O psychologists

are both generators and consumers of
knowledge

Training (contd)
Training focuses on developing diverse
competencies
Competency skills, abilities, and
capabilities that allow people to effectively
perform functions

Most I/O Psychologists have M.A.s or

Ph.D.s
2-5 years of graduate training
Culminating in piece of scholarly research

Competencies of I/O Psychologists

Consulting and
Business Skills
Ethical, Legal, and
Professional Contexts
of I/O Psychology
Fields of Psychology
History and Systems of
Psychology
Research Methods
Statistical
Methods/Data-Analysis

Attitude Theory,
Measurement, and
Change
Career Development
Consumer Behavior
Criterion Theory and
Development
Health Stress in
Organizations
Human
Performance/Human
Factors
Individual Assessment

Competencies (contd)
Individual Differences
Job Evaluation and
Compensation
Job/Task Analysis
Judgment and Decision
Making
Leadership and
Management
Organizational
Development
Organizational Theory

Performance Appraisal
and Feedback
Personnel Recruitment,
Selection, Placement
and Classification
Small Group Theory
and Team Processes
Training: Theory,
Program Design, and
Evaluation
Work Motivation

What I/O Psychologists Do

Careers emphasize science and
research or practice
39% are professors employed by
universities
20% work in private organizations
6% work in public organizations
35% work in consulting firms

The Science and Practice of I/O

Psychology
Primary areas for I/O work:
Selection
Training
Organizational Development
Performance Appraisal
Quality of Work-life (Employee Attitudes)
Human Factors

The History of I/O

Pre WWI
Walter Dill Scott
Wundt student talk in Chicago, 1901
Theory & Practice of Advertising, 1903

1915 Carnegie Tech Division of Applied

Psychology established by Walter VanDyke
Bingham
Scott is its first professor

Hugo Munsterberg Harvard; Psychology and

Industrial Efficiency, 1913

The History of I/O (contd)

WWI through 1920s
Yerkes (President of APA) Development
of the Army Alpha and Beta mental ability
tests
Military uses I/O Psychologists extensively
Bingham and Scott
Bruce V. Moore First I/O Ph.D. from
Carnegie Tech, 1921
10 I/O Psychologists in 1917; 50 in 1929

The History of I/O (contd)

1930s to WWII
Hawthorne Studies
The O-side emerges as research and work
focuses on group processes, worker motivation,
and other organizational phenomena

WWII to mid-1960s
The war again Bingham and Scott
Centers of research emerge like ARI and Lewins
Center for Group Dynamics at MIT
Rapid growth in number and diversity of
universities offering I/O graduate work

Whats Hot since the 1980s?

Cognitive Revolution
Internet Applications to I/O
Work-Family Issues
Teams
Legal Issues
Justice
360-Degree Feedback

I/O and the 21st Century

Issues making I/O increasingly relevant
into the next century
Global Competition: need to ensure we
have a well-trained, competent workforce
to compete favorably with other countries
Downsizing: Technology-based
need to help laid-off workers be competitive
need to help survivors handle diverse jobs

I/O and the 21st Century ( contd)

Flatter Organizational Structures: need to
prepare workers for greater responsibility
and different approach
Increasing Workplace Diversity:need to
help educate and coordinate sensitivity to
differences

Timeline
1892 APA
1935 Hoppock
research on job sat.
1939 DOT
1946 Division 14
founded (Moore 1st
President)
1947 GATB

1954 Critical
Incident Technique
1956 AT&T
Management
Progress Study
1963 BES
1964 CVRA, Title VII

Timeline (contd)
1964 Expectancy
Theory
1969 JDI and PAQ
1975 Principles by
SIOP
1976 Handbook of
I/O
1976 JDS
1977 Meta-analysis

1986 Midyear
Conference
1987 ASA Model of
Organizations
1998 O*NET
1999 Revised
Standards
2002 O*NET ver 4.0
2003 Principles (4th
Ed) by SIOP