INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY/

ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
BPF 1123

By:
Associate Professor Dr. Mohd.Ghani
bin Awang

Director
UMP Publication
019-9973327
CHAPTER 1
Introduction:
Definitions and History

Introduction to
Industrial/Organizational
Psychology by Ronald Riggio
What is Industrial/
Organizational Psychology?
 Psychology is the study of behavior
and mental processes.

 4 aspects;
1. Scientific,
2. Behavior,
3. Individual and
4. mental
Psychological perspective

 Psychodynamic perspective – Sigmund Freud

 Behaviorist – Watson, Skinner
 Humanistic – Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow
 Cognitive – Jean Piaget
 Biological perspective – gene, brain & nervous
system
 Socio-cultural perspective – Class culture -
Bruner.
The Science and Practice of
Industrial/Organizational Psychology

 I/O psychology has two objectives:

1. To conduct research in an effort
to increase our knowledge and
understanding of human work
behavior.
2. To apply that knowledge to improve
work behavior, the work
environment, and the psychological
conditions of the worker.
INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL
(I/O) PSYCHOLOGY

 Industrial/organizational (I/O)
psychology is the specialty area within
psychology that is concerned with:
 The study of behavior in work settings.
 The application of psychology
principles to change work behavior
SPECIFIC AREA OF
STUDIES
 Recruiting and selecting employees for jobs
 Training employees
 Assessing performance
 Defining and analyzing jobs
 Determining people feel about work
 Determining why people act as they do at work
 Effects work has on people
 Effects people have on one another
 How organizations are structured and function
 Designing work
 Designing tools and equipment
 Employee Health and Safety
I/O PROFESSION
 Graduate degree necessary (MA or Ph.D.)
 Content of graduate training
 Basic psychology
 Research methods (heavy emphasis)
 I/O content
 Thesis, Dissertation
 Qualifying exam
 Internship, practical
 Entry requirements very competitive
 SIOP website for most US programs (www.siop.org)
 Employment
 Little or no unemployment
 Academic and nonacademic market strong
 Field expanding and becoming popular
The Roots and Early History of
Industrial/Organizational Psychology

 Around the turn of the 20th century, Frederick

Taylor, an engineer, believed that scientific
principles could be applied to the study of
work behavior.
 Scientific management, a movement started
by Taylor, was a method of using scientific
principles to improve the efficiency and
productivity of jobs.
The Roots and Early History of
Industrial/Organizational Psychology

 Taylor developed time-and-motion

studies  procedures in which work
tasks are broken down into simple
component movements timed to
develop a more efficient method for
performing the tasks.
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Today and in the Future
 Four Trends
 First trend: The changing nature of work
• Organizational downsizing refers to the
strategy of reducing an organization’s
workforce to improve organizational
efficiency and/or competitiveness.
 Second trend: Expanding focus on human
resources
• Competition for highly-skilled workers
• Growing number of low-skilled workers in
the service industry
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Today and in the Future

 Third trend: Increasing diversity in

the workforce
• Workforce is becoming more diverse
• Women make up two thirds of all
entering workers in the labor market.
• Ethnic minority group members
make up one third of all entering
workers.
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Today and in the Future

 Fourth trend: Increasing globalization

of business
• More businesses are focusing on the
global economy.
• Potential issues for worker training