Industrial-Organizational Psychology and
Other Branches of Applied Psychology
for Introductory Psychology
By Aaron U. Bolin
Arkansas State University
Survey Questions for this Chapter
  • What can you do with a degree in psychology?

  • Why would anyone want to study Applied psychology?

  • Industrial/Organizational psychology

  • What does psychology have to say about work?

  • What is the best way to match workers to jobs?

  • What is the best way to design, manage, and lead businesses and other organizations?

  • Why do some people have high levels of motivation while others do just enough to keep from getting fired?

  • What exactly is leadership?

  • How can we improve human productivity and reduce errors?

  • Forensic psychology

  • How do the police and other law enforcement officials use psychology?

  • Sport psychology

  • Does hiring a sport psychologist improve a team’s chance of winning?

  • Consumer psychology

  • Can psychology be used to influence and manipulate how people spend their money?

  • Military psychology

  • Can psychology be used as a weapon?

  • How does someone become an applied psychologist?

Chapter Overview
What can you do with a degree in psychology? Those of you who are majoring in psychology or are planning on majoring in psychology have certainly heard this question many times from your friends and family. Many people mistakenly assume that psychologists are all clinicians who try to find the hidden meaning in everything that other people do and say. Of course, this stereotype of psychologists is not entirely false; a small number of psychologists do earn a living by offering psychoanalytic services. However, you have undoubtedly realized that the field of psychology is much more diverse than the clinician stereotype suggests, with many different areas of specialization. Even so, you might still have trouble answering the question about what psychologists do. This chapter is designed to help you answer that question by giving you more information about a very special group of psychology specialties that collectively make up the field of applied psychology.
Applied psychology: the branch of psychology that is concerned with using the principles of psychological science to solve real-life problems. / Applied psychology is the branch of psychology that is concerned with using the principles of psychological science to solve real-life problems. Applied psychologists have used the principles of learning to train pigeons to help locate lost boaters wearing life preservers, the principles of social psychology to improve coordination on sport teams, and the principles of perception to improve the cockpit control panels of jumbo jet airliners. Although the definition of applied psychology could technically encompass clinical and counseling psychology, these specialties within psychology are typically considered separate branches of psychology. For our purposes, the term Applied psychology will only refer to the following areas of specialization within psychology: industrial/organizational psychology, forensic psychology, sport psychology, consumer psychology, and military psychology. Together, we will discuss each of these specialty areas in turn. Figure 1 shows the relationships among the different areas of applied psychology.
Figure 1. Branches of Applied Psychology /
Why would anyone want to study Applied Psychology? The answer to this question depends a lot on the characteristics of the person who asks it. Many people study applied psychology just to get through a classroom assignment. Some people study applied psychology for the money. Applied psychology can be a very financially rewarding career choice. Other people study applied psychology because they want to make a contribution to society. As we will see in the rest of this chapter, applied psychologists contribute to society in numerous capacities: by making workers more productive, by making industry safer, by catching criminals, by strengthening the military, etc. Still others study applied psychology out of a burning curiosity and a love of learning. Applied psychologists are in a constant search for new information about how people function, how to solve interesting problems, and how to take psychology out of the laboratory and into our lives. In addition to all of these reasons, you should study applied psychology because of the profound impact it has on your life. You cannot go to work, drive a car, turn on the television, or browse the Internet without being affected by applied psychology.
Figure 2. Applied Psychology 12-Month Median Salary by Degree and Position in 2001 /
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
What does psychology have to say about work? After all, most people spend more of their time at work than they do engaged in any other activity. Sigmund Freud, one of the founders of psychology, believed that work was central to the human experience. In his book Civilization and Its Discontents (1962), Freud made his now famous statement, “To do well, normal human beings must be able to love and to work.” Of course, love and work are not always separate endeavors. Many people love their work and office romances are on the rise. Industrial/Organizational psychology is the branch of psychology that is interested in work and working.
Industrial/Organizational psychology: The branch of applied psychology that is concerned with the application of psychological methods and research findings to the world of work and human performance / Specifically, Industrial/Organizational psychology (which is usually abbreviated as I/O Psychology) is the branch of applied psychology that is concerned with the application of psychological methods and research findings to the world of work and human performance. I/O Psychology is a very diverse and complex field. In its broadest sense, I/O Psychology encompasses a wide variety of topics including (but not limited to) employment policies and laws, worker satisfaction, leadership, employee health, workplace design, and workplace safety. In general, I/O psychologists are interested in helping workers to be more productive and efficient, to be safer and more accurate, to be happier and more satisfied, and to get a higher rate of return for their efforts.

William James / Brief History and Overview of I/O Psychology
The history of I/O psychology reaches back to the very beginnings of psychology in the United States. I/O psychology and other branches of applied psychology originated as an outgrowth of the functionalist movement in psychology. The functionalists were interested in the adaptive value of human behavior. In other words, the functionalist wanted to find a practical use for the principles of psychology; they wanted to find solutions for real-life problems. William James (1890), who was a functionalist, was the first to suggest the need for psychological study of the workplace.

Hugo Münsterberg / Many psychologists picked up on James’ suggestion and became early pioneers in I/O psychology. Frederick Taylor (1911) and Hugo Münsterberg (1913) were among the first psychologists to apply the principles of psychological science specifically to the world of work. Taylor advocated a scientific approach to managing employees, while Münsterberg did research on employee testing, eye witness testimony, and job placement. Other pioneers in I/O psychology included Lillian Gilbreth (who helped develop and refine time-and-motion studies), G. Stanley Hall (who founded the Journal of Applied Psychology in 1917), Robert Yerkes (who helped develop two of the first intelligence tests in 1917), and Walter Dill Scott (who founded the first psychological consulting company in 1919 and also helped found consumer psychology).
Personnel psychology: The branch of industrial/organizational psychology that is concerned with employee testing, selection, placement, retention, performance, and training.
Theory X: an approach to management that is based on the assumptions that employees are lazy, do not like to work, and are only motivated by financial rewards. / In the early years, I/O psychology had a very narrow focus. I/O psychology in the time period before the end of World War I focused mostly on issues related to personnel psychology. Personnel psychology is the branch of I/O psychology that is concerned with employee testing, selection, placement, retention, performance, and training. Many I/O psychologists at this time believed that workers were ignorant of proper work methods, disliked work, were only motivated by money and job security, preferred to be told what to do, and were just plain lazy. This system of beliefs about employees has come to be known as the Theory X approach.
I/O psychologists with a Theory X approach usually told managers that they should be very strict, should closely monitor employee performance, should diligently enforce policies and procedures, and should carefully match employees to jobs. A modern example of a Theory X approach to management that you may be familiar with is an army drill sergeant. A drill sergeant never smiles, follows all of the policies and procedures, is very strict in his/her management style, and does not seem to be having any fun while he/she trains new army recruits.
Theory Y: an approach to management that is based on the assumptions that workers enjoy autonomy, are willing to accept responsibility, and that people are not naturally passive or lazy.
Organizational psychology: The branch of industrial/organizational psychology that is concerned with job satisfaction, motivation, organizational climate and culture, leadership, communication, and other social processes in organizations. / Of course, not all I/O psychologists had such a pessimistic view of employees. I/O psychologists with a Theory Y approach assumed that workers enjoyed autonomy and responsibility and were naturally hard working. Managers were encouraged to smile, to treat workers with respect, to break the rules to get the job done, and to be easy-going in their management styles.
The Theory Y approach grew out of the work of another pioneer in I/O psychology, Elton Mayo. In a series of famous experiments that began in 1924 and are now known as the Hawthorne studies, Mayo and his associates discovered that people would work harder and more efficiently if they were treated with respect, if their opinions were valued, and if someone was likely to notice their improved performance. Mayo also discovered that people go to work for many reasons and that money and job security were not necessarily the only things that motivated employee performance. Mayo’s discoveries helped to increase the interest of I/O psychologists in organizational psychology. Organizational psychology is the branch of I/O psychology that is concerned with job satisfaction, organizational climate and culture, leadership, communication, and other social processes in organizations.
Human-factors psychology: The branch of industrial/organizational psychology that is concerned with the multiple factors that influence human performance, efficiency, errors, and injuries and the relationship between these factors and the design of tools, equipment, and machines. / A third branch of I/O psychology is called human-factors psychology. Unlike personnel psychology and organizational psychology, human-factors psychology grew out of the field of engineering. Human-factors psychology is the branch of I/O psychology that is concerned with the multiple factors that influence human performance, efficiency, errors, and injuries and the relationship between these factors and the design of tools, equipment, and machines. Frederick Taylor, one of the founders of human-factors psychology, was trained as an engineer. Human-factors psychology has had a tremendous impact on the efficiency and safety of the modern workplace. For example, human-factors psychology is partly responsible for the now standard practice of putting safety guards on industrial cutting equipment and for designing computer software programs to make them user friendly.
Scientist-Practitioner: an approach to psychology taken by most I/O psychologists that emphasizes their dual roles as both creating scientific knowledge and using that knowledge to solve real-world problems. / Modern I/O Psychology
When taken together, personnel psychology, organizational psychology, and human-factors psychology make up the core discipline of modern I/O psychology. Modern I/O psychology is a very interesting, growing, and financially rewarding field. I/O psychologists are currently among the highest paid psychologists, and the job market for I/O psychologists is expected to grow over the next several decades. Most modern I/O psychologists consider themselves Scientist-Practitioners, an approach to psychology that emphasizes the dual roles of psychologists as both creators of scientific knowledge and users of that knowledge to solve real-world problems. Our discussion of I/O psychology now turns from a focus on the historical roots of the discipline to a more in-depth discussion of specific and more current topics within personnel, organizational, and human-factors psychology.
Box: A Real Want Ad for an I/O Psychologist
Position: I/O Consultant
Experience Desired: Open
Degree Level Desired: MA/MS
When Available: Open
Position Description:
The Consultant position is a critical role within the professional services team requiring both consulting and industrial organizational psychology skills. Successful Consultants are able to work on multiple client projects while coordinating with various internal departments and external clients and maintaining a high level of customer service and quality. Successful Consultants will also be expected to have strong inter-personal, analytical, problem-solving and report development skills, enabling them to develop and deliver outstanding value to clients. The position is based at corporate headquarters, but will require some travel to customer locations, expected to be no more than 30% of the time.
Responsibilities include:
• Developing and delivering quality projects, including job analyses, solutions and validation studies.
• Acting as an internal support to Sales and Professional Services team members.
• Contributing to the on-going development of intellectual property and best practices by identifying new opportunities, collecting data and developing thought leadership content.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will have relevant applied I-O experience and superior inter-personal and written communication skills. You must have an ability to lead and adapt to change, to work effectively with people from different backgrounds and cultures and have a strong customer focus. A professional and fun outlook to achieve individual, team and company goals is a must as well as a strong drive for results!
Masters degree in I-O Psychology or closely related field is required. Strong knowledge of MS Office applications and SPSS or similar statistical packages is also required.
Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Personnel Psychology
Job analysis: a detailed description and analysis of a job that results in a complete list of what needs to be done, the conditions under which the work must be performed, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities that an employee needs to perform the work successfully. / What is the best way to match workers to jobs? I/O psychologists have been conducting research to answer this question for some time. According to I/O psychologists, the process of matching workers to jobs should begin with a thorough job analysis. A job analysis is a detailed description and analysis of a job that results in a complete list of what needs to be done (i.e., job-related tasks), the conditions under which the work must be performed (i.e., the work environment), and the knowledge, skills, and abilities that an employee needs to perform the work successfully.
Job Analysis
Some jobs are relatively easy to analyze. For example, Frederick Taylor was interested in selecting employees to shovel coal into a furnace in a steel mill. Taylor identified one job-related task; the employee was expected to repeatedly get scoops of coal from the coal bin and throw them into a hot furnace. The work environment consisted of extremely hot temperatures and 10-hour days. To perform the work successfully, employees needed the ability to withstand the heat, at least a moderate amount of physical strength, a great deal of endurance, and the willingness to work at a repetitive task for several hours. Other jobs, especially complex jobs such as brain surgeon and CEO, are extremely difficult to analyze. However, the goal of the job analysis is the same for both simple and complex jobs: to specifically state what needs to be done, the nature of the work, and the type of individual who can perform the work successfully.
The job analysis is useful in the process of selecting employees for several reasons. First, the job analysis results can be used to write a job description. A typical job description states the job title, states the nature of the work to be performed, lists the most common tasks performed in the job, and provides a narrative description of the job holder’s responsibilities. Job descriptions are often used when advertising available positions and usually discussed with job applicants during employment interviews. A second use for the job analysis is job evaluation. Job evaluation is the process used to determine how much money to pay each employee. Although I/O psychologists use a variety of job evaluation methods, the general procedure consist of determining the value of each job-related task to the organization and then adding up the value of all tasks listed in the job description to determine the overall value of the position. A third use for the job analysis is to develop worker specifications. The worker specificationis a description of the minimally acceptable employee who could do the job successfully. The worker specification is used as an aid in making selection (i.e., hiring) decisions. The basic idea is for the hiring manager to know what the job requirements are ahead of time so that it is easier to identify those applicants who meet the requirements. In other words, it is easier to pick the best job applicants if you know what you are looking for in advance.
Psychological Tests
Sometimes, whether an applicant meets a job requirement is difficult to determine based solely on things like job applications, resumes, and face-to-face job interviews. To help make hiring decisions when applicant qualifications are difficult to determine, psychological tests are sometimes used to assess job requirements such as cognitive ability, work ethic, and temperament. Most college students have at least a little experience with psychological tests. For example, the ACT and SAT are both psychological tests that are often required for admission to college. The ACT and SAT are both designed to assess the job requirement known as Academic Preparation for College for the position of First-Year College Student. Just as a college admission officer uses the SAT and ACT to select college students, I/O psychologists use psychological tests to select job applicants.