Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology

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Given the natural climate of prehistoric days, humans have found value in numbers. First, as families, then as tribes human beings to organize. The first organizations were more varied and were different from what we think as organizations now, but they are nevertheless organizations. The focal point of this discussion is to show the importance of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology in bringing organization to businesses and the role it has played in improving how people work since its advent.

As an introduction we will define key terminologies including work, psychology, and industrial psychology. The lesson will also show how concepts of psychology have been incorporated in the workplace to improve effectiveness and efficiency and the how the two fields - psychology and business are related. As a conclusion we shall discuss important concepts with I/O psychology including empowerment, motivational theories, job stressors and then demonstrate its application in a real-life experience.

Work refers to the expenditure of effort and energy to achieve a goal. Organizational psychology therefore exists to pave way for numerous decisions that rely on measurement in the workplace e.g., about employee selection, classification, placement, and guidance. These assessments rely on solid measurement of employees' attributes skills, interests, and values.

Psychology, by definition refers to the scientific study of behavior and the mind. The definition contains three elements. The first is that psychology is a scientific enterprise that obtains knowledge through systematic and objective methods of experimentation and observation.

Second is that psychology is the study behavior, which refers to any action or reaction that can be observed or measured - such as the blink of an eye, an increase in heart rate, or the unruly violence that often erupts in a mob.

Third is that psychology is the study of the mind, which refers to both conscious and unconscious mental states. These states cannot actually be seen, only inferred from observable behavior.

I/O psychology is the appliance of psychology concepts to the problems that occur in business, industry, and other organizational settings. An understanding of individual and group psychology is particularly relevant to such areas as decision making, motivation and leadership. I/O is therefore the application of various psychological techniques to the workplace and other organizations.

Psychologists in this field advise businesses and organizations on a variety of subjects: the selection and training of workers; how to promote efficient working conditions and techniques; how to boost employee morale, productivity, and job satisfaction; and the best ways to evaluate performance and create incentives that motivate workers.

I-O psychology first became prominent during World War II (1939-1945), when it became essential to enlist and train the large number of new workers who were needed to meet the expanding demands of industry. The selection of workers for particular jobs is indispensably a problem of discovering the special personalities and aptitudes characteristics needed for the job and of devising tests to determine whether candidates have such aptitudes and characteristics.

The growth of tests of this kind has long been a field of psychological research. ...