INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

• Workforce is evolving
• APA's definition of I/O Psychology

  The specialty of industrial-organizational psychology is characterized by the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and the workplace. The specialty focuses on deriving principles of individual, group and organizational behavior and applying
• I/O Psychology


  Branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the workplace
• Principles of I/O Psychology applied to the workplace

  • Principles of learning are used to develop training programs and incentive plans
  • Principles of social psychology are used to form work groups and understand employee conflict
  • Principles of motivation and emotion are used to motivate and satisfy employees
• Work ethic


  When there's no consequence for poor work ethic and there's no reward for good work ethic, there will be no motivation to work
• What should I learn in I/O Psychology? Making the psyche be efficient at work
• I/O Psychologists


  • Relies extensively on research
  • Are trained to use empirical data and statistics
  • Are not clinical psychologist who happen to be in industry and they do not conduct therapy for workers
  • Difference w/others: Reliance on the scientist-practitioner model
• Areas of Industrial Psychology

  • Job analysis
  • Recruitment
  • Selection
  • Performance Appraisal
  • Training and development
• Personnel Psychology


  The field of study that concentrates on the selection and evaluation of employees. Study and practice in such areas as analyzing jobs. Professionals working in these areas choose existing tests and analyze jobs to obtain a complete
• Organizational Psychology


  The field of study that investigates the behavior of employees within the context of an organization. Concerned with the issues of leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation. Conduct survey and implement organization-wide programs designed to improve employee
• Human Psychology/Ergonomics


  A field of study concentrating on the interaction between humans and machines. Concentrate on workplace human machine interaction. Frequently work with engineers and other technical professionals to make the work-place safer and more efficient. Sample activities in this subfield have included designing the optimal wat to draw a map.
• WW1: Army alpha- can read, Army beta-cannot read
• Why conduct research


  Answering questions and making decisions, Research and Everyday Life, Common sense is often wrong
• Hypothesis


  An educated prediction about the answer to a research question
• Theory


  A systematic set of assumptions regarding the cause and nature of behavior
• External validity/ Generalizability:

  The extent to which research results can be expected to hold true outside the specific setting in which they were obtained
• Field research


  Research conducted in a natural setting as opposed to a laboratory
• Informed consent


  The formal process by which subjects give permission to be included in a study
• Institutional review boards


  A committee designated to ensure the ethical treatment of research subjects
• Cause and effect relationship

  The result of a well-controlled experiment about which the researcher can confidently state that the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable
• Experiment


  A type of research in which the independent variable is manipulated by the experimenter
• Manipulation


  The alteration of a variable by an experimenter in expectation that the alteration will result in a change in the dependent variable
• Independent variable


  The manipulated variable in an experiment
• Dependent variable


  The measure of behavior that is expected to change as a result of changes in the independent variable
• Experimental group


  In an experiment, the group of subjects that receives the experimental treatment of interest to the experimenter
• Control group


  A group of employees who do not receive a particular type of training so that their performance can be compared with that of employees who do receive training
• Quasi-experiments


  Research method in which the experimenter either does not manipulate the independent variable or in which subjects are not randomly assigned to conditions
• Archival research


  Research that involves the use of previously collected data
• Survey


  A method of conducting research is to ask people their opinion on some topic. It can be conducted via mail, personal interviews, phone, email and the Internet
• Effect size


  Used in metanalysis, a statistic that indicates the amount of change caused by an experimental manipulation
• Mean effect size


  A statistics that is the average of the effect sizes for all studies included in the analysis
• Correlation coefficients


  A statistic resulting from performing a correlation that indicates the magnitude and direction of a relationship
• Difference score


  A type of effect used in meta-analysis that is signified by the letter d and indicates how many standard deviations separate the mean score for the experimental group from the control group
• Practical significance


  The extent to which the results of a study have actual impact on human behavior
• Random sample


  A sample in which every member of the relevant population had an equal chance of being chosen to participate in the study
• Convenience sample


  A nonrandom research sample that is used because it is easily available
• Random assignment


  The random, unbiased assignment of subjects in a research sample to the various experimental and control conditions
• Debriefed


  Informing the subject in an experiment about the purpose of the study in which he or she was a participant and providing any other relevant information
• Correlation


  A statistical procedure used to measure the relationship between 2 variables
• Intervening variable


  A 3rd variable that can often explain the relationship between 2 other variables