Economic --- Profit, Efficiency, Productivity

a) Macro level

b) Micro level

Technology --- (e.g., automation, changes in nature of work and

skills required, job elimination)“Jobs … are being wiped out permanently as a result of new technology, improved

machinery, and new ways of organizing work” (Cascio, 2002).

• Training needs

Social ---

• Higher overall employee education

• Employee needs regarding jobs (e.g., job enrichment, involvement in decision-making, additional benefits)

• Dual careers

Legal --- (e.g., Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, ADA, ADEA, FMLA)

Some Reasons for Growth in I-O Psychology

Growth in I-O Graduate Programs

Number of I-O Programs____________________________________________________

Program type                                         1986                        2010____________________________________________________

MA/MS I-O Psych 22 71

PhD I-O Psych 40 60

Some Jobs Affected by Technology

• Bank Teller

• Stock Broker

• Retail check out clerk

• Librarian …………………. (Others???)

• The Virtual Workplace/Telecommuting

 • Privacy Issues in Organizations (e.g., web usage, voice mail, cameras, GPS)

 • Workplace Violence  

• Mergers and Acquisitions  

• Temporary/Contingent Employees 

• The Aging Workforce 

• Workplace Safety 

 • Globalization & I-O Practices

~ Other Workplace Issues ~

Some General Issues for I-O Psychology in the U. S.

a) Focus on the perceived needs and concerns of management

b) Relative lack of applied training within I-O doctoral programs

c) Use of techniques without proof of adequate psychometric properties

d) Differences in knowledge between I-O researchers and practitioners

e) Limited attention to research and practice internationally

 • Need for group assessment for selection and placement of military recruits • Development of Army Alpha & Beta intelligence tests  • Development of Woodworth Personal Data Sheet (1st self-report personality test)

Influences on the Field of I-O Psychology

World War I:

By mid-year of 1917, the first year of its existence, the team constructed 5 forms of the Army Alpha test (verbal test), and developed the Army Beta exam, a nonverbal test for illiterate and non-English speaking recruits. Final forms of the Army Alpha and Beta tests were published in the beginning of 1919. By the time the war ended, the tests had been administered to approximately 2 million recruits.

• The tests were the first instruments designed for group administration• They also generated a great deal of interest in the application of intelligence testing

Members of the Committee on the Psychological Examination of Recruits

Robert S. Woodworth

~ Woodworth Personnel Data Sheet ~

• Purpose to identify military recruits likely to break down in combat• 116 questions with yes/no response• Items selected from lists of known symptoms of emotional disorders and from questions asked by psychiatrists in their screening interviews

Sample Items from the 1917 Version of the Woodworth Data Sheet

6: Do you have too many sexual dreams?

29: Have you ever lost your memory for a time?

31: Were you happy when 14 to 18 years old?

38: Has your family always treated you right?

42: Do people find fault with you more than you deserve? 44: Did you ever make love to a girl?

48: Do you think drinking has hurt you?

50: Do you think you have hurt yourself by going too much with women? 52: Did you ever think you had lost your manhood? 53: Have you ever had any great mental shock? 54: Have you ever seen a vision?

57: Have you ever felt as if someone was hypnotizing you and making you act against your will? 58: Have you ever been bothered by the feeling that people are reading your thoughts?

62: Are you troubled with the fear of being crushed in a crowd?

81: Do you find it difficult to pass urine in the presence of others?

113: Can you stand pain quietly?

115: Can you stand disgusting smells?

Chinese Civil Service Exams (1115 B.C. – 1905)

[Assessed such knowledge and skills as music, archery, horseback riding, writing, aritmatic, civil law, agriculture, geography]

• First Exam: Requirements --- Write on an assigned theme; one day and night (1% - 7% pass rate)

• 2nd Exam (for those who passed first exam): Three days and nights (scribes copied the exam answers to avoid bias; 1% - 3% pass rate)

• 3rd Exam: 3% pass rate

 

• Development of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (now O*Net) • Formation of the Psychological Corporation (James Cattell)  • Formation of the Institute for Sales Research 

• Doctoral degrees in industrial psychology begin being offered at U.S. universities (Ist degree in 1921 to Bruce Moore, Carnegie Instituteof Technology)

• The Great Depression (e.g., unemployment, government regulations) • The Hawthorne Studies [effect of environmental changes e.g., lighting, on performance discovered the key roles of: informal work groups, worker attitudes, supervisory style, informal communication networks]

Between the 1st & 2nd World Wars

Elton Mayo

Cattell

Scott

• Development of training simulators (e.g., flight/aviation) • Development of situational exercises [the Assessment Center method] for "managerial" positions • Growth of ergonomics or human factors • Significant increase of females in the workforce

World War II:

After WWII:

• Civil Rights Acts (1964, 1972, 1991)

• Organizational Psychology officially recognized (I-O Psychology)

Applied work:

a) Performed job analysis of the position of trolley car operator and developed a performance test using mock trolley cars

b) Studied the effect of street lighting on driver and pedestrian safety

c) Developed early polygraph test• Heart rate• Blood pressure• Free association latency test• Automograph

Books:

On The Witness Stand (1907)

Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913)

Hugo Munsterberg

Applied work:

a) Director of the Bureau of Salesmanship Research at Carnegie Institute

b) Director of the Commission on the Classification Personnel in the U.S. Army

c) President of Northwestern University

Books:

Walter Dill Scott

Theory of Advertising (1903)psychology of Advertising (1910)Influencing Men in Business (1911)Psychology of Advertising Theory and Practice (1921) Personnel Management (1923)

Applied work:

Founder of Scientific Management movement

a) Design of work methods (time & motion studies, tool design, standardization of work)

b) Rest periods and performance

c) Employee selection & training

Books:

Principles of Scientific Management (1911)

Frederick Taylor

Vocation & Career Guidance(Person-Career Fit)

Basic Activities: Career counseling, testing, job application/search strategies

Background: Personality theory, Psychological assessment, Communication skills

Industrial Relations

Basic Activities: Conflict resolution, collective bargaining, safety and work rule coordination

Background: Employment law, comminication skills, negotiation strategies

Organizational Development

Basic Activities: Organizational diagnosis and intervention, feedback, survey research

Background: Organizational psychology, team building, social psychology, communication skills