ORGANIZATIONAL

PSYCHOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
WHAT'S PSYCHOLOGY TO
YOU!!
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PSYCHOLOGY IN EVERYDAY
LIFE
Get motivated
Improve leadership skills
Be a better communicator
Learn to understand others
Make more accurate decisions
Improve your memory
Become more productive
Be healthier

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What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical, state,
mental state, and external environment.
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical, state,
mental state, and external environment.
Scientific study requires several things:
1. Theoretical framework
2. Testable Hypotheses
3. Empirical evidence
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical, state,
mental state, and external environment.
Behavior and mental processes include overt,
observable instances but also include subtle kinds
of instances, like brain activity.
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical, state,
mental state, and external environment.
Humans and many other creatures included in the
scientific study of behavior and mental processes
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical state,
mental state, and external environment.
Physical state relates primarily to the organisms
biology - most especially the state of the brain and
central nervous system
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical state,
mental state, and external environment.
Mental state does not have to be conscious - can
study mental states in many creatures without their
conscious awareness - and can be studied in terms of
brain activity.
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical state,
mental state, and external environment.
All organisms function in an environment that is
constantly presenting them with problems and
challenges that must be solved.
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organisms physical state,
mental state, and external environment.
Most people think of psychology as the study of
differences between people, but it also includes the
study of similarities between people.
Scope of Psychology
Broad enough to cover every aspect of our lives: memory, social
judgments, recognition, obesity, violence, stress, and many more.
It encompasses nature & cause of our every behavior, feelings,
motives and thoughts.
Its important role in solving human problems specially in this rapidly
changing world.
Behavior is so complex and so personal that its scientific study
posses a lot of challenges.

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Sub-fields of Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Counseling
Educational Psychology
Environmental Psychology
Forensic Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Social Psychology
Sports Psychology
Health Psychology
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Goals of Psychology
Four basic goals:
To describe how people & living being behave.
To understand (explain) the causes of each behavior.
To predict how people will behave under certain conditions.
To control or influence behavior through knowledge & control of
its causes.
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Goals of Psychology
Four basic goals: examples
A child throwing tantrums in mall.
A consumer buying a specific brand of tea/shampoo
A mother taking care of her children
A manager being bossy!!
A shy person!!
An employee being disobedient
An advertising person making an ad strategy.
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BASIC and APPLIED
RESEARCH
Basic Research: research conducted for the
purpose of advancing knowledge rather than
for practical application (typically three
goals: description, explanation, prediction)
Applied Research: research for the purpose
of solving practical problems (typically the
fourth goal: to control behavior)
Difference between Psychologists &
Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists: They are physicians who
specialize in the treatment of psychological
disorders. Not all psychiatrists have extensive
training in psychotherapy, but as MDs they
can prescribe medications
Clinical psychologists: They have PhDs
mostly. They are experts in research,
assessment, and therapy, all of which is
verified through a supervised internship.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Introduction to the World of Work

Organizational Psychology (OP)
OP is the science of human behavior at work
Efficiency/productivity of organizations
Health/well-being of employees
Development/discovery of scientific psychological
principles at work

SPECIFIC AREAS OF CONCERN
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
History of I/O
Began early 1900s
World War I first mass testing
Between wars psychology helping business: I side
Hawthorne studies impact of social aspects: O side
World War II: Psychology and the war effort
Civil rights movement: Job relevance
Technological change


Significant Psychologists
Hugo Munsterberg development of vocational tests for
selection.
James Cattell developed a measure the mental test
meant to assess a variety of intellectual capacities and to
highlight the differences in a group.
Walter D. Scott father of I/O psychology his work
on psychology of advertising. (rational or emotional
buyers)


Development of the field
Army Alpha & Army Beta two intelligence tests
developed in World War I. (placement and selection
purpose)
Hawthorne Studies (1920s)
World War II mental health assessment, counseling and
engaged with engineers to design military equipment
Engineering Psychology.
The Human Relations Movement study of job training,
supervision, working conditions etc.
Civil Rights Act (1964) selection processes challenged
and discrimination was addressed.
Prospects for I/O Field
Rapidly growing
New areas/topics
Attracting more graduate students
More graduate programs
More psychologists in the world
Job market strong: Academic and applied
Area of psychology making an impact on the world
Relevant to anyone who works
Interdisciplinary connections
Business, engineering, health fields, other areas of psychology

Organizational Psychological
Perspectives
Five perspectives to understand any behavior
at work
Biological Perspective
It considers biological factors in the study of behavior
How nerve cells joined together to function biologically
How the inherited characteristics influence behavior
How the functioning of body affects hopes, fears
Which behavior are instinctual
Its contribution is broad in studying work related stress,
fatigue factor, designing machines & tools, work
agronomics, safety & health issues at work place etc
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Psychodynamic Perspective
It believes that behavior is motivated by inner forces and conflicts over
which we have little or no awareness or control e.g. dreams & slips of
tongue result of unconscious psychic activity
Sigmund Freud was a Viennese physician who laid its foundation in
early 1900s.
Focus was on unconscious determinants of behavior
It application is in the areas of aggressive behavior at work place,
counter productive behaviours, conflicts among employees,
discrimination, etc
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Cognitive Perspective
It focuses on how people think, understand & know about the world.
Emphasis is on learning how people comprehend & represent the
outside world within themselves. How our ways of thinking about
world influence our behavior.
Its OP application is in the areas of group dynamics, conflicts,
thinking, memory, learning, decision making, problem solving, etc
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Behavioral Perspective
John B. Watson (1920s)started behavioral approach.
It focuses on observable behavior that can be measured objectively.
Watson stressed that complete understanding of behavior can be done
by studying & modifying environment in which people operate.
Its areas of influence at work place are job satisfaction, reward system,
perceptions, marketing & advertising etc
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Humanistic Perspective
It suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop and be
in control of their lives & behavior. Each of us has capacity to seek &
reach fulfillment.
Carl Rogers & Maslow leading humanistic psychologists people
will strive to reach their full potential, if given the opportunity.
The emphasis is on free will the ability to make free decisions about
ones own behavior & life.
Free will is opposed to determinism which sees behavior as caused or
determined by things beyond a persons control.
It is applied in areas of individual differences, biases, etc
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Psychological Perspectives an
example
Behaviour can be viewed from different viewpoints using
these perspectives
Each will have a different explanation for behaviour
Aggression towards supervisor
Consumers behavior
WHY I/O PSYCHOLOGIST
CONDUCT RESEARCH?
I/O research areas
To study different work place behaviors
To determine the causes/reasons behind certain behaviors
To determine the jobs satisfaction & motivation factors at
work
To determine the problem at work
To bridge the gap between job requirement & performance
To get right people for right job!
Restructuring variables human, design, job
Planning & strategy in terms of HRM


RESEARCH METHODS IN
PSYCHOLOGY
What is Scientific Thinking?
What is the difference between these two statements?
1. I like Fords better than Hondas.
2. Fords are better than Hondas.
3. Fords are the best in the world and Hondas do not exist; they are
a conspiracy of the Japanese government.
And what about this statement?
What is Scientific Thinking?
1. Critical thinking - assess claims on the basis of well-supported reasons and
evidence - not on emotional or anecdotal reasoning.
2. Involves asking questions - one of the most important is, WHY?
3. Involves defining terms - must be clear and concrete
4. Involves examining evidence - Let me have my opinion! doesnt count
5. Involves analyzing assumptions and biases - scientific thinkers do not take
anything as proven fact and work hard to overcome their own biases in
thinking
6. Involves avoiding emotional reasoning - do not let gut feelings replace clear
thinking - emotional conviction does not settle arguments
7. Involves avoiding oversimplification - the obvious answer is often wrong and
misleading - do not argue based on own anecdotal evidence
8. Involves consideration of other interpretations - the best interpretations are
supported by the most evidence and explain the most variables
What is Scientific Thinking?
9. Involves tolerating uncertainty - sometimes evidence is unclear or does not
even exist
10. Involves asking questions that can be tested in this world
Scientific Attitudes
Understanding behavior rely on scientific methods
of research in psychology.
Three attitudes:
Curiosity - Whys?
Skepticism - evidence
Open-mindedness - conclusions may differ
from their beliefs
Scientific method is an approach used by
psychologists to systematically acquire knowledge
& understanding about behavior and other areas of
interest.
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The Scientific Method
Form of critical thinking based on careful
measurement and controlled observation
The Scientific Method (cont)
Six Basic Elements
Observation
Defining a problem
Proposing a hypothesis (an educated
guess that can be tested)
Gathering evidence/testing the hypothesis
Publishing results
Building a theory

Some Terms
Hypothesis testing: Scientifically testing the
predicted outcome of an experiment or an
educated guess about the relationship
between variables
Operational definition: Defines a scientific
concept by stating specific actions or
procedures used to measure it
Theory
Theory: A system of ideas that interrelates
facts and concepts, summarizes existing
data, and predicts future observations
A good theory must be falsifiable (i.e.,
operationally defined) so that it can be
disconfirmed
Some important terms
Sample & Population
Small number of people which represent the
characteristics of the population.
Variables
Behaviors, events, or other characteristics
which can change or vary in some way.


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Fig. 1-2, p. 20
Scientific method
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Identify
Questions
Of
Interest
Carry out
Research

Operationalize
Hypothesis

Select a research
Method

Collect a data

Analyze a data
Formulate an
Explanation


Specify a
theory


Develop a
hypothesis
The Case
In March 1964, a young woman named Kitty was stabbed
repeatedly & raped by a knife-wielding assailant as she
returned from work to her New York City apartment. The
3 am attack lasted about 30 minutes, during which her
screams and pleas for help were heard by 38 of her
neighbors. Many went to their windows to find out what
was happening. Yet nobody helped her and by the time
anyone called the police, she had died.
The incident drew attention from a shocked public and
people expressed outrage over bystander apathy and
peoples refusal to get involved. In New York City
people reacted with disbelief and even shame to this
murder.
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Darley & Latane
Scientific understanding
Question of interest (observation)
Kitty incident. Why did no one help?
Form hypothesis
If multiple bystanders are present, THEN diffusion of
responsibility will decrease bystanders likelihood of
intervening.
Test hypothesis
Create emergency in controlled setting
Manipulate number of bystanders
Measure helping
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Scientific understanding
Analyze data
Helping decreases as the perceived number of
bystanders increases. (hypothesis is supported)
Further research & theory building
Additional studies support the hypothesis. Theory of
Social Impact is developed.
New hypothesis derived from the theory
The theory is then tested directly by deriving new
hypothesis and conducting new research.
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Observations to Forming
hypothesis
Observation 1
Employees who are exposed to highly stressful conditions lose
concentration.
Observation 2
Shoppers pick up new packages more than old ones!
Observation 3
A new employee would found to be well dressed and more
punctual than old employees.
Observation 4
Employees who are flexible show quick adjustment to the
environment.
Observation 5
People avoid bargaining in bigger malls.

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Observations to Forming
hypothesis
Hypothesis 1
Employees tend to perform low in highly stressful conditions.
Hypothesis 2
Shoppers prefer new packaging over old ones.
Hypothesis 3
Newer employees are more conscious of their outlook than old
ones! (gender).
Hypothesis 4
Employees who are flexible are quick learners hence high
performers.
Hypothesis 5
People tend to accept the high prices of products in malls than in
smaller stores!

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Psychological Research
Methods of data collection:
Qualitative
Gathers information that is not in numerical form. For example, diary
accounts, open-ended questionnaires, unstructured interviews and unstructured
observations.
Data is typically descriptive data and as such is harder to analyze than
quantitative data.
Includes focus groups, in-depth interviews, and reviews of documents for
types of themes
Quantitative
Gathers data in numerical form which can be put into categories, or in
rank order, or measured in units of measurement; used to construct
graphs and tables of raw data.
Surveys, structured interviews & observations, and reviews of records
or documents for numeric information


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Difference
Qualitative
Primarily inductive process
used to formulate theory or
hypotheses
More subjective. More in-
depth information on a few
cases
Text-based , no statistical tests
Unstructured or semi-
structured response options
Can be valid and reliable:
largely depends on skill and
rigor of the researcher
Time expenditure lighter on
the planning end and heavier
during the analysis phase
Less generalizable

Quantitative
Primarily deductive process
used to test pre-specified
concepts/hypotheses that make
up a theory
More objective: provides
observed effects (interpreted
by researchers) on a problem
or condition
Number-based, statistical tests
are used.
Fixed response options
Can be valid and reliable:
largely depends on the
measurement /instrument used
Time expenditure heavier on
the planning phase and lighter
on the analysis phase
More generalizable
Psychological Research
Meta Analysis
Naturalistic Observation
Experimental Research
Survey and interview Research
The Case Study and focus group
Correlational Research

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Meta Analysis/Archival Research
Research in which existing data such as census documents,
college records or newspaper clippings, previous studies
are examined to test a hypothesis.
Advantages:
It is an inexpensive means of testing a hypothesis.
Faster way
Disadvantages:
The data may not be in the form which can be used to
test the hypothesis fully.
The information could be incomplete or haphazard.

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Naturalistic Observation
Research in which investigator simply observes some
naturally occurring behavior and does not make a change
in the situation.
Advantage:
We get the first hand knowledge of what people do in
their natural situations but lack of control is the biggest
drawback.
Disadvantages:
Furthermore, if people realize that they are being
observed, they may change their natural response.
Researcher is passive & simply records whatever is
happening


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Survey Research
Research in which people chosen to represent some larger population
are asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts or
attitudes.
Advantages:
Straightforward way of finding out what people think, do, feel by
asking them directly.
Survey methods have become highly sophisticated enabling us to
make inferences.
Quick, easy, cost efficient
Disadvantages:
People may not give their true responses.
Accuracy of sample is also very important factor.


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Interviews


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Typically involves a face-to-face meeting in which a researcher
(interviewer) asks an individual a series of questions.
Allows the interviewer to observe verbal & non-verbal behavior
Allows follow-up questions and clarifications
Advantage: Allows for a wider range of responses
Disadvantage:
Time consuming
No cause-and-effect relationships can be inferred

The Case Study
An in-depth intensive investigation of an individual or
small group of people.
Case study often involve psychological testing a
procedure in which carefully designed set of questions is
used to gain insight into the personality of the individual or
group being studied.
It is used not only to gain insight about the individual but
to understand the general behavioral patterns of people.

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Focus Groups
Focus Group Interviews
A group of people who discuss a subject under
direction of a moderator.
Mostly done by marketers and sociologists to learn about the consumer
insights and serious social issues.
Correlational Research
It examines the relationship between two sets of variables
to determine whether they are associated or correlated
The strength or direction of the relationships between the
two variables are represented by a mathematical score
correlation that range from +1.0 to -1.0
Positive, Negative or zero correlation

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Experimental Research
It examines the causal relationship
Investigating the relationship between two (or more) variables
by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a
situation & observing the effects of that change on the other
aspects of the situation.
The change that experimenter deliberately produces in a
situation is called the experimental manipulation.

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Research MethodsExperimental
(Continued)

Key features of an experiment:

Independent variable (factor that is manipulated)
versus dependent variable (factor that is
measured)

Experimental group (receives treatment) versus
control group (receives no treatment)
Experimental Research
The manipulation implemented by the experimenter is called
treatment
Random assignment of participants participants
characteristics have equal chance to be distributed across the
various groups
Significant Outcome meaningful results (statistical
procedures)
Replication the repetition of research using different
procedures, settings, people in order to increase confidence in
prior findings.
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Does TV increase
aggression? Only an
experiment can
determine cause &
effect.
Research MethodsExperimental
(Continued)
Potential researcher problems:

Experimenter bias (researcher influences the
research results in the expected direction)

Ethnocentrism (believing one's culture is typical of
all cultures)


Art of Prediction
Research MethodsExperimental
(Continued)
Potential participant problems:

Sample bias: research participants are unrepresentative of
the larger population

Participant bias: research participants are influenced by the
researcher or experimental conditions
Research MethodsExperimental
(Continued)
Separating Fact from Fiction
Be skeptical/doubtful!
Consider the source of information
Ask yourself, Was there a control group?
Look for errors in distinguishing between
correlation and causation (are claims based
on correlational results yet passed off as
causations?)

Separating Fact from Fiction
(cont)
Be sure to distinguish between observation
and inference (e.g., Robert is crying, but do
we know why he is crying?)
Beware of oversimplifications, especially
those motivated by monetary gain
For example is not proof!

The Barnum Effect
Barnum effect: Tendency to consider
personal descriptions accurate if stated in
general terms
Always have a little something for everyone.
Make sure all palm readings, horoscopes,
etc. are so general that something in them
will always apply to any one person!

The Science of Psychology:
Ethical Guidelines
Ethical Guidelines for Human Research
Participants:
Informed consent
Voluntary participation
Restricted use of deception
Debriefing
Confidentiality
Alternative activities
The Science of Psychology:
Ethical Guidelines (Continued)
Rights of Nonhuman Participants: Advocates
believe nonhuman research offers significant
scientific benefits. Opponents question these
benefits & suggest nonhuman animals cannot
give informed consent.
General Guidelines: Psychologists must
maintain high standards for both human &
nonhuman animal research.
The Ethics of research
American Psychological Association 1992 developed strict
ethical guidelines aimed at protecting participants:
Protection of participants from physical or
mental harm
The right of privacy
Complete voluntary participation
Informing participants about the nature of
procedures prior to their participation
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