Definition & History I/O Psychology

What is I/O Psychology?• Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology = application

of psychology to the workplace• Scientific study of thinking and behavior at work

What is it that I/O psychologists do?• Study and help implement behavior in organizations, such

as selection, training, appraisal as well as programs that improve motivation and work attitudes

• Approximately ½ of all I/O psychologists work in academic or research settings and ½ in work settings or full-time practice

Industrial vs. Organizational• Industrial psychology

focuses on measurement of job requirements and individuals’ knowledge, skills, abilities, and performance so as to match individuals with suitable jobs

• Organizational psychology is more theoretical considering processes such as motivation and work attitudes, group and organizational climate as well as organizational change and development.

Categorized Competencies

Studying phenomena at higher levels of analysis or focus is called macro research while studying phenomenon that occur at an individual level is called micro research

Scientist vs. Practitioner ModelOne goal is to blend science and practice, but this is difficult to do because the goals, loyalties, and jargon of those in academic (scientific) positions often differ from those of practitioners

What is the goal?

History of I/O Psychology

History of I/O Psychology• Many of the issues important to I/O psychology had

been discussed long before the birth of Psychology– Aristotle, in Politics– Medieval European guilds

History of I/O Psychology– Thomas Hobbes (1651)

advocated strong centralized leadership as a means for bringing "order to the chaos created by man"

– John Locke (1690) outlined the philosophical justification later manifested in the U.S. Declaration of Independence

– Adam Smith (1776), in The Wealth of Nations revolutionized economic and organizational thought

The Early Years (Pre-WW1)• Ironically, the beginnings of the organizational side of

the field can largely be traced to the work of several non psychologists

• Best known of these (1883) Frederick W. Taylor began experiments at the Midvale and Bethlehem Steel plant, which later led to the development of his "scientific management" philosophy

Frederick Winslow Taylor: Father of Scientific Management

• Developed interest in work methods and procedures—an interest leading to development of Scientific Management.

• Worked for several other organizations, and ultimately became one of the first management consultants.

• Published Principles of Scientific Management in 1911

• Died in 1915 at the age of 59

Taylorism or Scientific Management• Taylor observed that workers purposely

operated well below their capacity, called soldiering– Almost universally held belief among workers that

if they became more productive, fewer would be needed & jobs would be eliminated

– Non-incentive wage systems encourage low productivity

– Fear that a good pace will become the new standard

– Reliance on rule of thumb methods rather than optimal work methods determined from study

Time & Motion Studies• Timing sequenced

motions with goal of determining one best way to perform a job

• Pig Iron studies– Taking breaks key to productivity – Workers should be selected according to job fit

• Science of Shoveling- Optimal tools for optimal results

Principles1. Replace rule-of-thumb work methods based on a

scientific study of the tasks (empirical study & specialization)

2. Scientifically select, train, and develop each worker rather than passively leaving them tot rain themselves (recruitment & training)

3. Cooperate with workers to ensure that the scientifically developed methods are being followed (assessment/ evaluation)

4. Those who perform work tasks should be separate from those who design work tasks (division of labor)

Impact to the 20th Century

• At the root of a global revival in theories of scientific management under the moniker of 'corporate reengineering'

• Goal being the eventual elimination of industry's need for unskilled, and later perhaps, even most skilled labor in any form (commoditization)

• Scientifically design work methods for efficiency

• Select the best workers and train in new methods

• Train workers in “one best way”• Reward them for the “one best way”

Scientific Management

Biggest Impact

• Pig iron experiments• Taylor showed that workers

who handled heavy iron ingots could be more productive if they had rest – increased efficiency of work.

• As a consequence – it was charged that Taylor exploited workers

Application of Scientific Management

Fordism• Modern model of mass

production• The assembly line

increased labor productivity tenfold and permitting stunning price cuts

• Involved standardizing a product and manufacturing it by mass means at a price so low that the common man could afford to buy it

Fordism• Displaced predominantly craft-based production in

which skilled laborers exercised substantial control over their conditions of work

• Intensified industrial division of labor• Increased mechanization and coordination of large

scale manufacturing processes (sequential machining operations and converging assembly lines)

• Shift toward the use of less skilled labor performing, tasks minutely specified by management

• Potential for heightened capitalist control over the pace and intensity of work

“Strengths” of Scientific Management

• One of the first formal divisions between workers and managers.• Contribution to efficient production methods, leading to a major

global increase of living standards.• Focus on the individual task and worker level• Direct reward mechanisms for workers rather than pointless

end-of-year profit sharing schemes• Systematic. Early proponent of quality standards• Suggestion schemes for workers, who should be rewarded by

cash premiums• Emphasis on measuring. Measurement enables improvement• Pragmatic and useful in times and circumstances of significant

change

Limitations of Scientific Management• Taylorism can easily be abused to exploit human

beings• Not useful to deal with groups or teams.• Leaves no room for individual preference or initiative.• Overemphasis on measuring. No attention to “soft

factors.”• Mechanistic. Treating people as machines.• Separation of planning function and doing.• Loss of skill level and autonomy at worker level. Not

very useful in current worker in current knowledge worker environments (except as antithesis).

Applying Scientific Management

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The Nameless Psychology

• I/O Psych was nameless at first.–W. L. Bryan… • Stressed importance of studying “concrete

activities and functions as they appear in daily life.”• But not really considered father of I/O Psych

because he was a precursor, before the field was established

When was the nameless named?

• Frank and Lillian Gilbreth– Interested in improving productivity and

efficiency of industrial engineers. – Argued for the use of psychology in the work

lives of industrial engineers. – Led to the merger of psychology with

applied interests.–The nameless was crowned industrial

psychology in 1910.– The “organizational” bit came in the 1970s

Max Weber: Pioneer in the study of Organizational design

• Weber completed influential essays on methods and procedures for studying social behavior, as well as the Protestant ethic.

• Followed by a series of studies on legal institutions, religious systems, political economy, and authority relations

• For organizational psychology, the studies of authority relations were especially significant because out of these came the well-known “principles of bureaucracy.”

Ideal Bureaucracy• Fixed and official jurisdictional areas• Firmly ordered hierarchy of super & subordination• Management based on written records• Thorough and expert training• Official activity taking priority over other activities

and that management of a given organization follows stable, knowable rules

• Envisioned as a large machine for attaining its goals in the most efficient manner possible

"…the more fully realized, the more bureaucracy "depersonalizes" itself, i.e., the more completely it succeeds in achieving the exclusion of love, hatred, and every purely personal, especially irrational and incalculable, feeling from the execution of official tasks"

or"By it the performance of each individual worker is mathematically measured, each man becomes a little cog in the machine and aware of this, his one preoccupation is whether he can become a bigger cog."

History of Organizational Psychology: 1900s

• Based on most historical accounts of the development of the field of I/O psychology, the industrial side of the field was much quicker to develop than the organizational side

• Chronologically, the beginnings of the field of I/O psychology can be traced to work, during the early part of the twentieth century, by pioneers such as Hugo Munsterberg, Walter Dill Scott, and Walter Bingham.

• Most of the work at that time dealt with topics such as skill acquisition and personnel selection

• Very little work dealing with the organizational side of the field was conducted

Hugo MunsterbergPioneer I/O & Clinical Psychology

• Considered as "the father of industrial psychology" pioneered application of psychological findings from laboratory experiments to practical matters

• Influenced applied psychology, especially clinical, forensic & industrial psychology– In 1911 cautioned managers to be

concerned with “questions of the mind...like fatigue, monotony, interest, learning, work satisfaction, and rewards.“

– In 1913 his book Psychology and Industrial Efficiency addressed personnel selection and equipment design

Boston Trolley Car StudiesHugo Munsterberg

Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913)Hugo Munsterberg

Contributions• Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913), which included

theories directly related to Taylor's scientific management. The book contained three parts1. “Best possible man," was a study of the demand jobs made on people,

and the importance of finding people whose mental capabilities made them well-matched for the work

2. “Best possible work," described the psychological conditions under which the greatest output might be obtained from every worker

3. “Best possible effect," examined the necessity of creating the influences on human needs that were desirable for the interests of business.

• Munsterberg's proposals were based on his own evidence from studies involving telephone operators, trolley drivers, and naval officers.

Motivation & Office Behavior

• First to apply principles of psychology to motivation & productivity in the workplace

• Pioneered applying concepts, knowledge and controlled experimental method of psychology to business problems

• Worked with businessmen on problems of salesmanship & personnel

• Instrumental in the application of personnel procedures within the army

• Constructed system used by US Army in WW1 to classify & assign 300K men

Walter Dill Scott

• Introduced psychology as an important element in advertising in his book The Psychology of Advertising in Theory and Practice(1902). He questioned consumers about reactions to various advertisements — (beginning of market research) people were highly suggestible & obedient.

• Two advertising techniques, which involved commands and coupons: 1. Stating a direct command i.e. “Use such and such beauty product”2. Asking consumers to complete a coupon and mail it into the

company• No scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of Scott’s

advertising techniques (there were testimonials), he was critical in psychology’s participation in advertising

Contributions

• Scott was interested in employee attitudes and motivation in production and devised a system, adopted by the army, for classifying personnel and testing officer candidates

• From March 1910 to October 1911, Scott wrote a series of articles entitled The Psychology of Business

• Represented one of the earliest applications of the principles of psychology to motivation and productivity in industry

• Also became instrumental in the application of personnel procedures within the army during World War I

Contributions

• Most influential in getting psychology into the war– proposed ways of screening

recruits for mental deficiency and assigning selected recruits to army jobs

• Investigated soldier motivation, morale, psychological problems of physical incapacity & discipline

• Developed a general intelligence test for assessment of new recruits

Robert Yerkes

WW I (1917-1918)

• Yerkes – most influential in involving psychologists in war.

• Assessment of recruits: Army Alpha & Army Beta

• Scott was researching how to place soldiers in jobs

• Journal of Applied Psychology began

WWI: Testing and Selection

World War I - I/O field catalyst• Robert Yerkes and Walter Dill Scott: – Screening recruits for mental deficiency—Army

Alpha and Beta intelligence tests developed.– Classification of selected recruits into jobs– Performance evaluations of officers– Job Analysis– soldier motivation and morale– Discipline

• (1917): Journal of Applied Psychology began publication

Contribution• Members of the Committee on the Psychological Examination

of Recruits that constructed five alternate forms of the verbal test, (Army Alpha & Army Beta) and a nonverbal test for illiterate and non-English speaking recruits (Dahlstrom, 1985)1. Provided psychometricians with the first group intelligence

tests. 2. The publicity it generated popularized intelligence testing

in the public and private sectors3. The program provided vast amounts of data to serve as

fuel for future controversies over apparent racial differences in intelligence test scores and the supposed decline of America's "national intelligence" (Fancher, 1985)

• With team that made Army Alpha and Beta tests as an Army psychologist during WWI

• Designed a series of aptitude tests as Chairman of the Army National Research Council on Classification of Military Personnel during WWII

• Founded first university department of Applied Psychology (Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1915)

• Helped to popularize intelligence and aptitude testing in industry

Walter V. Bingham

Aptitude Tests

• Could be used to help businesses increase the efficiency of their workforce and to help teachers and counselors direct their students and clients to careers that would make them happy. (Bingham, 1937, p. vii)

• Useful for identifying the types of jobs at which mentally retarded people could be successful (Bingham, 1937 p. 55)

• For example, if it was found that individuals with a mental age of 7 are successful at job X, then test scores could be used to prescreen potential workers (1937, p. 55-56).

• Aptitude tests that served several purposes:1. [sifting] the new arrivals into a few broad groupings with respect to their

ability to learn quickly the duties and responsibilities of a soldier2. selecting men for training as officers3. simplifications of officer-efficiency reporting4. improvement of standardized occupational interviews and tests of

proficiency in a trade5. supplementary [testing] of aptitudes for work which calls for mechanical

ingenuity or other special talents (Quoted from Bingham, 1941, p. 222)

• After WWII, the group intelligence test model was embraced by civilian industry, and the new field of industrial psychology gained popularity

• Business leaders were enthusiastic about the possible fiscal benefits of using standardized tests to select the best workers for each type of job

Contributions

History of Organizational Psychology: 1920s “The Beginning”

• Despite the early work of Taylor and Weber, and others, the vast majority of effort in “Industrial” psychology in the early twentieth century was focused on what were described earlier as industrial topics.

• The event that changed that—an event many see as the beginning of organizational psychology—was the Hawthorne studies

Elton Mayo• First significant call for human

relations movement in the Hawthorne studies– Existence of informal employee

groups & effects on production, importance of employee attitudes, value of a sympathetic and understanding supervisor, & need to treat people as people -- not simply as human capital

– One of the benchmark events in the development of industrial psychology

• 1939 the definitive account of the Hawthorne studies was published

• Definition: A series of experiments in which the output of the workers was observed to increase as a result of improved treatment by their managers

• Named for their site, at the Western Electric Company plant in Hawthorne, Illinois

• Purpose: To examine what effect monotony and fatigue had on productivity and how to control them with variables such as illumination, rest breaks, work hours, temperature, and humidity

Hawthorne Studies

Hawthorne Studies• Collaborative effort between the Western Electric Company and

a group of researchers from Harvard University (1927 and 1932)• Results: – Showed no clear correlation between light level and

productivity the experiments then started looking at other factors.

– Productivity went up at each change.– Finally the women were put back to their original hours and

conditions, and they set a productivity record• Given the time period in which the Hawthorne studies were

initiated (early 1920s), these topics were central to the dominant mode of managerial thought at the time: scientific management

Contradictory to Taylorism• Disproved Taylor's beliefs in three ways:

1. The women had become a team and that the social dynamics of the team were a stronger force on productivity than doing things "the one best way.”

2. The women would vary their work methods to avoid boredom without harming overall productivity

3. The group was not strongly supervised by management, but instead had a great deal of freedom

• Group dynamics and social makeup of an organization were an important force either for or against higher productivity

• Caused the call for greater participation for the workers, greater trust and openness in the working environment & a greater attention to teams and groups in the work place (Human Relations Movement)

Hawthorne Studies: Importance• What made the Hawthorne studies so important to

the field of organizational psychology were the unexpected, serendipitous findings that came out of the series of investigations

• Best known were the findings that came from the illumination experiments:– Specifically, the Hawthorne researchers found that

productivity increased regardless of the changes in level of illumination.

– This became the basis for what is termed the Hawthorne effect, or the idea that people will respond positively to any novel change in the work environment

Hawthorne Effect• A 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

• Subject will improve or modify an aspect of behavior in response to being studied or watched and not in response to any part of the actual study

Hawthorne Effect• May occur when a relatively trivial change is made in a

person’s job, and that person initially responds to this change very positively but the effect does not last long.

• Hawthorne researchers discovered that work groups established and enforced production norms.

• Found that those who did not adhere to production norms met with very negative consequences from other members, and that employees responded very differently to various methods of supervision

Hawthorne Effect

• Overall implication of the Hawthorne studies, which later formed the impetus for organizational psychology, was that social factors impact behavior in organizational settings

• Increase in worker productivity produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out and made to feel important

Hawthorne Studies: 4 Conclusions1. Aptitudes of individuals (Bingham) are imperfect predictors of

job performance. Although they give some indication of physical and mental potential of the individual, amount produced is strongly influenced by social factors

2. Informal organization affects productivity = group life among the workers. Studies also showed that the relations supervisors develop with workers tend to influence the manner in which the workers carry out directives

3. Work-group norms affect productivity: not the first to recognize that work groups tend to arrive at norms of what is a fair day's work; however, they provided the best systematic description and interpretation of this phenomenon.

4. The workplace is a social system made up of interdependent parts

Hawthorne Effect: Real World

• Workers improve their productivity when they believe management is concerned with their welfare and pay particular attention to them

• Productivity can also be explained by paying attention to the workers’ social environment and informal groupings

• World War II (1941-1945) -- tremendous impact on the growth of organizational psychology

• Women were needed to fill many of the positions in factories that were vacated by the men called into military service.

• After World War II in 1948, President Harry S. Truman made the decision to pursue racial integration of the military

• Both events were extremely important because they represented initial attempts to understand the impact of diversity on the workplace

• World War II also served as the impetus for major studies of morale and leadership styles.

History of Organizational Psychology: 1930s-1950s

• Developed an interest in the application of psychology to applied problems such as agricultural labor, production efficiency, and the design of jobs.

• Became interested in scientific management, particularly the impact of this system on workers

• His ideas continue to influence the study of a number of areas such as employee motivation, leadership, group dynamics, and organizational development

Kurt Lewin:The Practical theorist

• Exploration of different styles or types of leadership on group structure and member behavior

• 3 classic group leadership models: 1. Democratic• Superior results were found with the basis that as all

individuals can participate and become an identifiable part of the group, change is more easily accepted

• More originality, group-mindedness and friendliness 2. Autocratic/ Authoritarian• Authoritarian structures were found to be more rigid,

hindered creativity and lead to dysfunctional decision making processes

3. Laissez-faire styles were found to be very inefficient and unproductive

Contributions – Leadership styles

• Other observations– Aggression, hostility, scape-goating and discontent in

laissez-faire and autocratic groups– Difference in behavior in autocratic, democratic and

laissez-faire situations is not, on the whole, a result of individual differences

– Democracy could not be imposed on people, that it had to be learned by a process of voluntary and responsible participation

Contributions – Leadership styles

• Training group facilitation and experienced from leadership & group dynamics activity (Connecticut State Interracial Commission 1946)

• 2-week program that looked to encourage group discussion and decision-making, and where participants (including staff) could treat each other as peers

• Trainers and researchers collected detailed observations and recordings of group activities

• Resulting in active dialogue about differences of interpretation and observation by those who participated in them

Contributions – T-Groups

• Discovery: learning is best facilitated in an environment where there is dialectic tension and conflict between immediate, concrete experience and analytic detachment.

• By bringing together the immediate experiences of the trainees and the conceptual models of the staff in an open atmosphere where inputs from each perspective could challenge and stimulate the other, a learning environment occurred with remarkable vitality and creativity

Contributions – T-Groups

• Establishment of the first National Training Laboratory in Group Development

• Central feature of the laboratory “basic skills training” – An observer reported on group processes at set intervals – Skills to be achieved were intended to help an individual

function in the role of “change agent”– Facilitating communication and useful feedback – He was also to be a paragon who was aware of the need for

change, could diagnose the problems involved, and could plan for change, implement the plans, and evaluate the results

– To become an effective change agent, an understanding of the dynamics of groups was believed necessary

Contributions – T-Groups

• Origin of T-group theory and ‘laboratory method’– Initially small discussion groups known as ‘basic

skill training groups’ – By 1949 shortened to T-group– In 1950 a sponsoring organization, the National

Training Laboratories (NTL) was set up

Contributions – T-Groups

4 Elements – T Groups1. Feedback– Borrowed term from electrical engineering and applied

it to the behavioral sciences– Broadly used to describe adjustment of a process

informed by information about its results or effects– Difference between the desired and actual result. – Became a key ingredient of T-groups and was found to

be most effective when• Stemmed from here-and-now observations• Followed the generating event as closely as possible• The recipient checked with other group members to

establish its validity and reduce perceptual distortion’ (Yalom 1995: 489).

4 Elements – T Groups2. Unfreezing– Taken directly from Kurt Lewin’s change theory– Describes the process of disconfirming a person’s former

belief system– ‘Motivation for change must be generated before change

can occur. One must be helped to re-examine many cherished assumptions about oneself and one’s relations to others’ (op. cit.)

– Trainers sought to create an environment in which values and beliefs could be challenged

3. Participant observation– Members had to participate emotionally in the

group as well as observe themselves and the group objectively’ (op. cit.)

– Connecting concrete (emotional) experience and analytical detachment

– Liable to be resisted by many participants, but it was seen as a essential if people were to learn and develop

4 Elements – T Groups

4. Cognitive aids– Drawn from developments in psycho-educational and

cognitive-behavioral group therapy– Entailed provision of models or organizing ideas through

the medium brief lectures and handouts (and later things like film clips or video)

– Best known of these was the Johari Window (named after, and developed by, Joe Luft and Harry Ingram)

– The use of cognitive aids, lectures, reading assignments, and theory sessions demonstrates that the basic allegiance of the T-group was to the classroom rather than the consulting room

– Participants were considered students; the task of the T-group was to facilitate learning for its members’.

4 Elements – T Groups

Industrial Psychology and WWII

• Advancements in technology created a critical demand for human factors psychologists and more sophisticated training techniques

• AGCT (Army General Classification Test ): used to sort recruits into jobs

• OSS (Office of Strategic Services ): assessed candidates for military intelligence units and pilots to fly warplanes.

• Other new issues included team development strategies, performance appraisal procedures, and attitude change (morale) methods

• Methods used in private industry

World War II and shortly thereafter

• Selection and classification work continued in the Army

• Henceforth, use of employment tests increased in industry.– Industrial psychologists proved useful for

selection, training and machine design.– Industrial leaders interested in applying social

psychology.• Measures of attitudes and morale, now used in

industry

Toward Specialization (1946-1963)

• I/O became legitimate field• 1946: Division 14: Industrial Psychology• Formation of subspecialties: engineering

psychology, personnel psychology, human relations

• Took on stronger organizational flavor

Legislation

• 1964: Civil Rights Act• 1978: Uniform Guidelines• 1990: Americans with

Disabilities Act• 1991 Civil Rights Act

Modern Era (1964-present)

Events:• 1973: Division 14: I/O Psychology• 1976: First I/O Handbook• 1980: Project A• 1990: First set of I/O Handbooks• 1992: 100th Anniversary of APA

Modern Era (1964-present)

I/O psychologists must examine cross-cultural factors in work behavior.–Cultural diversity–Work environment–Mergers/acquisitions/joint ventures– Technological advancements

Cross Cultural I/O Psychology

I/O psychology must increase the fit between the workforce and the workplace at a time when the composition of both is rapidly changing.

Mandate of I/O Psychology

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Future Perspectives – Change • Changing nature of employees:– More women (2/3 of entry-level) – More minorities (1/3 of entry-level)– More temporary workers

• Changing nature of organizations:– Mergers and acquisitions; failures and downsizing--

layoffs--more work, less manpower.– Smaller organizations, employing fewer people. Cynical

workers/job security.– Greater focus on work teams (flatter management

hierarchy)

Growing importance of technology:• Technology-mediated communication– Workers can work anywhere (from home, etc)– Loss of direct human contact--impact on social

relationships, mental health, etc.• Human-technology interaction– New jobs in maintenance of technology• Replace manufacturing operatives as “worker elite”

– Greater focus on decision-making and coordination of activities by humans• Because jobs are becoming more technologically

complex

Future Perspective - Technology

• Redefinition of “job”:– less emphasis on job as a fixed bundle of tasks– emphasis on constantly changing tasks• 1. Requires constant learning• 2. More higher-order thinking• 3. Less “9 to 5”

• Changing nature of pay: – 1. *Tied less to position or tenure in organization– 2. Tied more to market value of person’s KSAOs

(Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other characteristics).

Future Perspective - Redefinitions