Industrial and organizational psychology is the science of human behavior in the workplace and work-life interface. It is an applied discipline within psychology. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational psychology in the United Kingdom, organisational psychology in Australia and New Zealand, and work and organizational (WO) psychology throughout Europe and Brazil. Industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychology is the broader, more global term for the science and profession.
Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living." Gilbreth, one of the first female engineers to earn a Ph.D., is considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist. She and her husband, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, were efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering, especially in the areas of motion study and human factors. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by two of their children tell the story of their family life and describe how time-and-motion studies were applied to the organization and daily activities of their large family. Both books were later made into feature films.
A performance appraisal, also referred to as a performance review, performance evaluation, (career) development discussion, or employee appraisal, sometimes shortened to "PA", is a periodic and systematic process whereby the job performance of an employee is documented and evaluated. This is done after employees are trained about work and settle into their jobs. Performance appraisals are a part of career development and consist of regular reviews of employee performance within organizations.
360-degree feedback is a process through which feedback from an employee's subordinates, peers, colleagues, and supervisor(s), as well as a self-evaluation by the employee themselves is gathered. Such feedback can also include, when relevant, feedback from external sources who interact with the employee, such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. 360-degree feedback is so named because it solicits feedback regarding an employee's behavior from a variety of points of view. It therefore may be contrasted with "downward feedback", or "upward feedback" delivered to supervisory or management employees by subordinates only.
Forensic psychology is the practice of psychology applied to the law. Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods to help answer legal questions arising in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes research on various psychology-law topics, such as jury selection, reducing systemic racism in criminal law, eyewitness testimony, evaluating competency to stand trial, or assessing military veterans for service-connected disability compensation. The American Psychological Association's Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists reference several psychology subdisciplines, such as social, clinical, experimental, counseling, and neuropsychology.
Quantitative psychology is a field of scientific study that focuses on the mathematical modeling, research design and methodology, and statistical analysis of psychological processes. It includes tests and other devices for measuring cognitive abilities. Quantitative psychologists develop and analyze a wide variety of research methods, including those of psychometrics, a field concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement.
DISC assessments are behavioral self-assessment tools based on psychologist William Moulton Marston's DISC emotional and behavioral theory, first published in 1928. These assessments aim to predict job performance by categorizing individuals into four personality traits: dominance, inducement, submission, and compliance.
Robert Hogan is an American personality psychologist and organizational psychologist known for developing socioanalytic theory, which fuses psychoanalytic theory, role theory, and evolutionary theory. Hogan is the president of Hogan Assessment Systems, which he cofounded with the late Joyce Hogan, PhD, in 1987. He is the author of three widely used personality inventories—the Hogan Personality Inventory; the Hogan Development Survey; and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory—along with more than 300 scholarly articles, chapters, and books.
Richard Eleftherios Boyatzis is a Greek American organizational theorist and Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Organizational Behavior, Psychology, and Cognitive Science at Case Western Reserve University, Adjunct Professor in People/Organizations at ESADE, as well as HR Horvitz Professor of Family Business. He is considered an expert in the field of emotional intelligence, behavior change, and competence.
David Clarence McClelland was an American psychologist, noted for his work on motivation Need Theory. He published a number of works between the 1950s and the 1990s and developed new scoring systems for the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and its descendants. McClelland is credited with developing Achievement Motivation Theory, commonly referred to as "need for achievement" or n-achievement theory. A Review of General Psychology survey published in 2002, ranked McClelland as the 15th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
Leadership studies is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that focuses on leadership in organizational contexts and in human life. Leadership studies has origins in the social sciences, in humanities, as well as in professional and applied fields of study. The field of leadership studies is closely linked to the field of organizational studies.
Development Dimensions International (DDI) is an international human resources and leadership development consultancy. DDI works with organizations to make changes related to leadership development, leadership selection, succession management, and execution and performance.
Personnel psychology is a subfield of industrial and organizational psychology. Personnel psychology is the area of industrial/organizational psychology that primarily deals with the recruitment, selection and evaluation of personnel, and with other job aspects such as morale, job satisfaction, and relationships between managers and workers in the workplace. It is the field of study that concentrates on the selection and evaluation of employees; this area of psychology deals with job analysis and defines and measures job performance, performance appraisal, employment testing, employment interviews, personnel selection and employee training, and human factors and ergonomics.
Individual psychological assessment (IPA) is a tool used by organizations to make decisions on employment. IPA allows employers to evaluate and maintain potential candidates for hiring, promotion, and development by using a series of job analysis instruments such as position analysis questionnaires (PAQ), occupational analysis inventory (OAI), and functional job analysis (FJA). These instruments allow the assessor to develop valid measures of intelligence, personality tests, and a range of other factors as means to determine selection and promotion decisions. Personality and cognitive ability are good predictors of performance. Emotional Intelligence helps individuals navigate through challenging organizational and interpersonal encounters. Since individual differences have a long history in explaining human behavior and the different ways in which individuals respond to similar events and circumstances, these factors allow the organization to determine if an applicant has the competence to effectively and successfully do the work that the job requires. These assessments are administered throughout organizations in different forms, but they share one common goal in the selection process, and that is the right candidate for the job.
Harry Levinson was an American psychologist and consultant in work and organizational issues. He was a pioneer in the application of psychoanalytic theory to management and leadership. He linked the failure of managers to effectively contain the anxieties of workers to employee depression and low productivity.
Machiavellianism in the workplace is a concept studied by many organizational psychologists. Conceptualized originally by Richard Christie and Florence Geis, Machiavellianism refers to a psychological trait concept where individuals behave in a cold and duplicitous manner. It has in recent times been adapted and applied to the context of the workplace and organizations by many writers and academics.
Timo Meynhardt is a German psychologist and business economist. Since October 2015, he has been holding the Dr. Arend Oetker Chair of Business Psychology and Leadership at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. Furthermore, he is the managing director of the Center for Leadership and Values in Society at the University of St. Gallen. From 2013 to 2015, he held the Chair of Management at the Leuphana University in Lüneburg.
Nadine J. Kaslow is an American psychologist, the 2014 president of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the editor of the Journal of Family Psychology. Before her current affiliation with Emory University, Kaslow worked at Yale University. She was recipient of the 2004 American Psychological Association award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology.
Carolyn Byham is an American philanthropist and community activist residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bernard Morris Bass was an American scholar in the fields of leadership studies and organizational behavior. He was distinguished professor emeritus in the School of Management at Binghamton University, where he was also the founding director of the Center for Leadership Studies. He was a founding editor-in-chief of Leadership Quarterly. He was also a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Academy of Management. He is well known for his research on transformational leadership, which was inspired by the work of James MacGregor Burns. His Bass Handbook of Leadership has been described as "the authoritative resource book in leadership". When he retired from Binghamton University, he was the most cited leadership scholar in the world. His awards included the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award (1994), the Society of Psychologists in Management's Distinguished Practice in Psychology award (1997), the Academy of Management's Eminent Leadership Scholar Award (2006), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Leadership Association's Leadership Legacy Program (2008). In 2018, the Center for Leadership Studies that Bass helped to establish in 1987 was renamed in honor of him and his wife, Ruth.
