Industrial/ Organizational Psychology Human Factors/Ergonomics

Chapter 1: Introduction to I/O Psychology ● Professionals concentrate on workplace design,

Aamondt human-machine interaction, ergonomics, and
physical fatigue and stress.
Industrial/organizational psychology ● Sample activities have included designing the
● It is a branch of psychology that applies the optimal way to draw a map, designing the most
principles of psychology to the workplace. comfortable chair, and investigating the optimal
work schedule.
“to enhance the dignity and performance of human
beings, and the organizations they work in, by Important Events in I/O Psychology
advancing the science and knowledge of human
behavior” (Rucci, ).
Year Event
● The application of psychological principles is 1903 Walter Dill Scott publishes The Theory of
what best distinguishes I/O psych from related
Advertising
fields typically taught in business colleges.
● I/O psych examines factors that affect the 1911 Walter Dill Scott publishes Increasing
people in an organization as opposed to the Human Efficiency in Business
broader aspects of running an organization such
as marketing channels, transportation 1913 Hugo Munsterberg publishes Psychology
networks, and cost accounting and Industrial Efficiency (German version
● I/O psychology relies extensively on research,
published in 1910)
quantitative methods, and testing techniques.
● I/O psychologists are trained to use empirical 1917 Journal of Applied Psychology first
data and statistics rather than clinical judgment
published
to make decisions.
1918 World War I provides I/O psychologists with
Major Fields of I/O Psychology
the first opportunity for large-scale
employee testing and selection
Personnel Psychology
● Professionals involve study and practice in such 1921 First Ph.D. in I/O psychology awarded to
areas as analyzing jobs, recruiting applicants,
Bruce Moore and Merrill Ream at Carnegie
selecting employees, determining salary levels,
training employees, and evaluating employee Tech
performance.
1932 First I/O text written by Morris Viteles
● Professionals working in these areas choose
existing tests or create new ones that can be 1933 Hawthorne studies published
used to select and promote employees.
1937 American Association for Applied
Organizational Psychology Psychology established
● Professionals involved are concerned with the
issues of leadership, job satisfaction, employee 1945 Society for Industrial and Business
motivation, organizational communication, Psychology established as Division 14 of
conflict management, organizational change, APA with 130 members
and group processes within an organization
● They often conduct surveys of employee 1951 Marion Bills elected as first woman
attitudes to get ideas about what employees president of Division 14
believe are an organization’s strengths and
weaknesses 1960 Division 14 renamed as Society for
Industrial Psychology, membership exceeds
700
 1963 Equal Pay Act passed
Henry Gantt
1964 Civil Rights Act passed. First issue of The ● He was responsible for increasing the efficiency
with which cargo ships were built, repaired, and
Industrial Organizational Psychologist (TIP)
loaded.
published

1970 Division 14 membership exceeds 1,100 Thomas A. Edison

● He understood the importance of selecting the
1971 B.F. Skinner publishes Beyond Freedom and right employees.
Dignity ● He created a 150-item knowledge test that he
administered to over applicants.
1980 Division 14 membership exceeds 1,800 ● The test and passing score were so difficult that
only 5% of the applicants passed!
1982 Division 14 renamed Society for Industrial
and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth
● Among the first scientists to improve
1986 Society for Industrial and Organizational productivity and reduce fatigue by studying the
Psychology (SIOP) holds first annual motions used by workers.
national conference separate from APA ● The efficiency methods they used to raise their
meeting children while having busy careers were the
inspiration for the book and the movie Cheaper
1989 Supreme Court sets conservative trend and by the Dozen
becomes more “employer friendly”
Lillian Moller Gilbreth
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act passed. SIOP ● At her husband's death, she continued her
membership exceeds 2,500 consulting with industry
● As the Great Depression forced companies to
1991 Civil Rights Act of 1991 passed to overcome find ways to reduce costs and be more
1989 conservative Supreme Court decisions productive.
● In 1935, she became a professor of
1997 SIOP celebrates golden anniversary at its management and engineering at Purdue
annual conference in St. Louis University, the first woman to hold such a
position.
2000 SIOP membership exceeds 3,600
Hawthorne Studies
2005 OFCCP and EEOC become more aggressive ● In the 1930s, when the findings were published,
in fighting systemic discrimination psychologists became more involved in the
quality of the work environment, as well as the
attitudes of employees.
Alpha test
● Conducted at the Hawthorne plant of the
● It was used for recruits who could read
Western Electric Company in the Chicago area.
● These studies demonstrated that employee
Beta test
behavior was complex and that the
● Is for recruits who could not read.
interpersonal interactions between managers
and employees played a tremendous role in
The more intelligent recruits were assigned to officer
employee behavior.
training, and the less intelligent to the infantry.
● Initially designed to investigate such issues as
the effects of lighting levels, work schedules,
John Watson
wages, temperature, and rest breaks on
● A pioneer in behaviorism
employee performance.
● Served as a major in the U.S. Army in World
War I
Hawthorne Effect
● Developed perceptual and motor tests for
potential pilots
 ● Employees changed their behavior and became
more productive because they were being
studied and received attention from their
managers.

1980s
● More recent articles use such complex
statistical techniques as path analysis, meta-
analysis, multivariate analysis of variance
(MANOVA), and causal modeling.
● Prior to the 1980s, simpler statistical techniques
such as t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA)
were used