OUTLINE
INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY
A branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the
workplace
With the purpose of enhancing the dignity and performance of human beings
and the organizations they work in by advancing the science and knowledge
of human behavior
It relies on research, quantitative methods and testing techniques
I/O psychologists are trained to use empirical data and statistics than
clinical judgment to make decisions
Difference from other related fields (ex: HR):
o Application of psychological principles like the use of psychological
tests
o Psychologists examines factors that affects the people in an
organization as opposed to the broader aspects of running an
organization
2 APPROACHES OF ACHIEVING THE GOAL OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY
Industrial approach focuses on determining the competencies needed to
perform a job, staffing the organization with employees who have the
competencies and increasing competencies through training
Organizational approach creates an organizational structure and culture
that will motivate employees to perform well, give them the necessary
information to do their jobs and provide working conditions that are safe and
results in an enjoyable and satisfying work environment
MAJOR FIELDS OF I/O PSYCHOLOGY
Personnel Psychology
o Study of areas such as job analysis, recruitment, selection,
determining salary levels, training employees and performance
evaluation
o Uses tests to select and promote employees
o Construct performance appraisal instruments
Organizational Psychology
o Concerned with the issues of leadership, conflict management,
organizational change, group process within an organization and
job satisfaction
Hugo Munsterberg
Created the Army Alpha Test (German)
Considered to be the Father of Industrial Psychology
He is a popular figure in American Education who applied traditional
psychological method to industrial setting
He published the book: Psychology and Industrial Efficiency which is about
selecting workers, designing work stations and using psychology in sales
He is also famous for his study What makes a safe trolley operator?
World War I
I/O psychology has made its 1st impact
I/O psychologist were employed to test recruits and place armies on
appropriate positions
They used the Army Alpha and Army Beta tests of Mental Ability by
Munsterberg to assess armies
Hawthorne Experiments (Western Electric Company)
Most significant research in I/O psychology which shows enormous
problems of production in relation to efficiency
The study attempted to find out the relationship of lighting or illumination to
employees productivity
Hawthorne Effect the positive change in behavior that occurs at the onset of an
intervention followed by a gradual decline often to the original level of the behavior
prior to the intervention
Criterion deficiency is the degree to which the actual criteria fail to overlap the
conceptual criteria that is, how deficient the actual criteria are in representing the
conceptual ones
Criterion relevance the degree to which the actual criteria and the conceptual
criteria coincide
World War II
The Army General Classification Test (AGCT) was used to assess and
place draftees and assess the skills and abilities of military men
Major Changes in 1980s 1990s
Increase use of fairly sophisticated statistical techniques and methods for
analysis
Criterion contamination the part of the actual criteria that is unrelated to the
conceptual criteria
Bias the extent to which the actual criteria systematically or consistently
measure something other than the conceptual criteria
Error the extent to which the actual criteria are not related to anything at all
JOB ANALYSIS
Is a procedure useful in identifying the criteria or performance dimensions of
a job
Competency Modeling
Does not consider the work being
performed
Competencies apply to all employees;
more universal and abstract than the
KSAOs
Include review sessions and group
meetings of many employees thus
employees readily identify with and relate
to resulting competencies
Links personal qualities of employees to
overall mission of the organization
JOB EVALUATION
Is a useful procedure in determining the relative value of jobs in the
organization which in turn helps determine the level of compensation
Assess the value of each job in an organization
Job analysis describes a job while in a job evaluation you compare jobs in
terms of those things that the organization considers important determinants
of job worth
FORMS OF COMPENSATION:
Direct financial compensation (wages, salaries, bonuses and commissions)
Indirect financial compensation (benefits, leaves, retirement plan)
Non-financial compensation (career development, opportunities for
recognition or advancement)
To determine successful compensation system there should be fairness or equity
2 FORMS OF PAY EQUITY:
External Equity
o Compares the job to the external market
SELECTION TECHNIQUES
Effective selection is essential to recruit people with the right skills and experience to
drive the organisation forward. Employers spend a lot of time and money recruiting
new staff, so it is important that they follow good practice and get it right first time.
(Source)
COVER LETTERS tells the employer that you are enclosing your resume
and would like to apply for a job
Important Contents:
Salutation address the letter to the correct person or
position
Paragraph
1st paragraph contain the fact that your resume
is enclosed, the name of the job you are applying
for and how you know about the job opening
2nd paragraph state that you are qualified for
the job and provide at least three reasons why
3rd paragraph state why you want to work with
the company
Last paragraph contain the information about
how they can reach you.
ABILITY TESTS - used when applicants are not expected to know how to
perform the job at the time of hire
o Cognitive Ability oral and written comprehension, oral and written
expression, numerical facility, originality, memorization, reasoning
and general learning
o Perceptual Ability consist of vision, color discrimination, depth,
depth perception, glare sensitivity, speech clarity and hearing
o Psychomotor Ability test for finger dexterity, manual dexterity,
control precision, multi-limb coordination, response control, reaction
time, arm-hand steadiness, wrist-finger speed and speed of limb
movement
o Physical Ability often used for jobs that require physical strength
or stamina
APPLICANTS EXPERIENCE
o Experience can be measured in 4 ways:
Reference Checks
Interviews
Bio-data a selection method that considers the
applicants life, school, military, community and work
experience
Experience Ratings of applications/resume consider
amount of experience, level of performance demonstrated
during previous experience and how related is the
experience to the current job
PERSONALITY INVENTORIES
o Two Categories of Personality Inventory:
Test of Normal Personality measure the traits exhibited
by the normal individuals everyday life
Basis of Number of Traits and Type of
Personality dimension measured:
INTEGRITY TESTS also called honesty test which tells an employer the
probability that an applicant would steal money or merchandise
o 2 Types of Paper-and-pencil Integrity Test:
Overt Integrity test based on the premise that a persons
attitudes about theft in society as well as previous theft
behavior will predict his future honesty
Personality-based Integrity test were general in that they
tap a variety of personality traits thought to be related to a
wide-range of counterproductive behavior