The 5 W’s of Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology Dr. Russ Johnson University of South Florida

What is I/O psychology? Textbook definition: What I tell my folks: “Application of psychological principles and theories to the workplace” What I tell my folks: “Study of how people get along at work and are able to perform effectively”

What is I/O psychology? Subareas within I/O Industrial or personnel psychology HR stuff: recruitment, job analysis, selection, training, performance appraisal, compensation, employment law (Title VII of CRA) KSAs job performance Organizational psychology Micro: motivation, leadership, teams, worker attitudes, safety & well-being, work-family Macro: org theory, culture, org development & change

What is I/O psychology? Subareas within I/O Human factors & ergonomics Modifying equipment & env to fit workers

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What is I/O psychology? Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) www.siop.org Division 14 of the American Psychological Association (APA) Good overviews… Textbooks by the two Pauls

Who are I/O psychologists? Two general groups Academics Professors in research- and teaching- oriented universities and colleges Example departments: psychology, management, industrial relations, quantitative sciences, occupational health & safety Major activities Teaching courses, conducting research, writing and presenting research papers, attending conferences, mentoring students, performing university and professional service

Who are I/O psychologists? Two general groups Practitioners HR and organizational specialists in consulting, private, and public organizations Major activities Job analysis, diagnosis, surveying employees, designing and administering selection & performance appraisal systems, training, developing psychological tests, implementing and evaluating OD & change, data analysis “Other” category Research institutes, think tanks (e.g., RAND)

Who are I/O psychologists?

Who are I/O psychologists? Scientists AND practitioners Understanding and evaluating research necessary for good practice… …and awareness of practical problems necessary for good research I/Oers are thieves! We “borrow” from social, cognitive, developmental, clinical, and other areas of psychology

Where do you go to become an I/O psychologist? Grad school!!! Top PhD programs Minnesota, Michigan State, Illinois (UIUC), Akron, Bowling Green, Penn State, George Mason, South Florida, Maryland Good PhD programs (just a sampling!) Central Florida, Florida Tech, Georgia Tech, Colorado State, Portland State, San Diego State Want to be a Canuck? Waterloo, Western Ontario, Calgary, Guelph, St. Mary’s

Where do you go to become an I/O psychologist? Typical grad school timeline Lots of course work in years 1 and 2 MA thesis completed in year 2 or 3 Varies in formality by program Internship? Comprehensive exams in year 3 Dissertation in years 4 and 5 Proposal and defense meetings

Where do you go to become an I/O psychologist? Other considerations… PhD or MA program? Psychology or business? Application req’ts may vary (GRE vs. GMAT) Coursework varies (social vs. strategy) More stats and RM courses in psych PhD in business is 100% research-focused Thesis not typical in business Funding better in business Short-term vs. long-term considerations

When should you begin thinking about grad school in I/O psychology? The sooner the better! Stuff to think about early on Relevant coursework I/O (duh!), stats, research methods, tests & measures, social, personality, motivation, cognitive, OB/HR Research experience Honor’s thesis, RA Experience is more important than topic Interact with faculty, grad students Be active (not passive) Attend brownbags Involvement in professional societies (Psi Chi, SIOP)

When should you begin thinking about grad school in I/O psychology? Speaking of research assistance… Erin Eatough (eeatough@mail.usf.edu) is hiring 3 RAs for Spring semester OHP study requiring help with… Participant recruitment Data collection Data entry & management Motivated RAs will have opportunities to contribute to presentation and publication of research

When should you begin thinking about grad school in I/O psychology? Senior year GRE Positive correlation between study time and score Allow time for make-up, if necessary Subject GRE? Application materials (due dates begin in Dec) Recommendation letters People who know you well and can comment on your scholarly potential Personal statement Get examples & seek feedback Tailor them to programs

Why should you consider getting a degree in I/O psychology? Applied field There will always be practical problems to solve! Company restructuring & downsizing Workplace diversity Variety of job possibilities Academic positions in multiple departments Internal and external consulting Private and public organizations Any combination of the above

Why should you consider getting a degree in I/O psychology? Variety of research topics Attitudes, emotions, behavior (social) Learning, memory, heuristics (cog) Employee aging, retirement (develop) Employee counseling, coaching (clinical) Data analysis, test development (quant) Field is growing More and more I/O and mgmt dept’s Out with the old, in with the new…

Thank you! Any more questions?