FIELDS OF STUDY AND PRACTICE AREAS IN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANISATIONAL (I-O) PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 2

Learning outcomes to keep in mind whilst studying this chapter What are the main themes and focus areas of industrial and Organisational Psychology (I–O) and why are they important? Describe the nature and identity of I-O psychology Name and discuss various subfields of I-O psychology Describe application fields in I-O psychology Discuss the history of I-O psychology Discuss professional training and practice in I-O psychology Discuss future challenges in I-O psychology.

Sub-fields in psychology Clinical psychology – aims to alleviate emotional distress caused by psychological disorders and problems of life Counselling psychology – management of pain caused by life, facilitating improved understanding of issues, fostering use of effective coping skills Career psychology – involves studying and facilitating occupational development across the life-span Educational and school psychology – focuses on studying factors, behaviour, processes & problems of learning Developmental psychology – focuses on age related changes across a person’s life span Social psychology – studying human social interaction by understanding the influence of behaviour, beliefs and feelings amongst people.

Sub-fields in psychology (continued) Cognitive psychology – revolves around the theory and research regarding higher mental processes Personality psychology – the study of the more or less consistent patterns of behaviour in people across time and situations Physiological/Neurological psychology – Study of relationship between human behaviour and neurological and physiological systems Psychometrics – entails the development of psychological measuring instruments Experimental psychology – used in many psychological disciplines to establish patterns of human behaviour in controlled situations Health psychology – utilises psychological knowledge to identify causes and symptoms of physical health and illness and related dysfunctions.

Sub-fields in psychology (continued) Positive psychology – emphasis on enhancement of optimum human functioning Forensic psychology – studying context of criminal behaviour (e.g. causes) and obtaining and giving evidence in legal procedures Community psychology – using, developing and adapting psychological knowledge and practices to improve quality of life in human communities Cross-cultural psychology – focuses on diversity management or the consideration of differences in and between groups of people Consulting psychology – professional involvement of psychologists with individuals, groups & organisations Industrial and Organisational (I-O) psychology – utilises principles and assumptions of psychology to study and influence human behaviour at work.

Nature and identity of I-O psychology: I–O Psychology: A scientific discipline? I-O Psychology is branch of psychology Utilises psychological knowledge and in the work context to assess, utilise, develop and influence individual employees While inextricably linked to psychology, I-O psychology has adapted and developed it own identity It utilises, develops and teaches foundational knowledge, e.g. psychological theory/research on human behaviour in work context Foundational knowledge is supported through work-related research to further its knowledge base Is an applied science utilising many types of practical applications and methods to achieve best fit between employee and workplace.

Sub-fields and practice areas in I-O psychology Organisational psychology Concerned with work organisations as systems involving individual employees and work groups, as well as structure and dynamics of organisations Personnel psychology Focus on utilising individual differences in and between employees and predicting the optimal employee-organisation fit Research methodology Entails psychological methods of inquiry to solve research problems Occupational psychological assessment Entails the development and utilisation of assessment instruments to obtain measures of attributes and behaviour of employees.

Sub-fields and practice areas in I-O psychology (continued) Career or vocational psychology/counselling Studies career development issues with regard to individuals, employment, unemployment, career-related issues in organisations and also non-work influencing factors Employment relations Deals with behavioural dynamics, communication and conflict management between individuals and groups of employees, employers and other parties Employee and organisational well-being Aims to facilitate positive psychological capital or resources in organisations and employees Ergonomics Concerned with understanding of human interaction between employees and their technical environment.

Sub-fields and practice areas in I-O psychology (continued) Consumer psychology Also referred to as Economic and Market Psychology concerned with studying psychological aspects of consumer behaviour Other applied fields Cross-cultural Industrial Psychology Management and leadership Entrepreneurship and diversity management.

History of I-O psychology Taylorism Man is a rational-economic being Humans are inherently −Lazy, inefficient and unreliable −Only motivated by financial incentives Criticism of taylorism Heavily criticised as a result of findings in Hawthorne experiments Perceived as an exploitation of workers Neglect of individual differences Hawthorne experiments Employee work performance may vary if employees follow specific procedures and standards under strict supervision.

Professional training and practice issues Contributing institutions HPCSA Professional Board for Psychology, etc. Contributing peoples, associations and events Professional training and practice Governing bodies Qualifications Practice Universities and other training institutions Proximity with human resources management.

Future challenges in I-O psychology How to use existing knowledge and practice How to develop and adapt this knowledge and practice I-O psychologist must be able to speak the language of business Future psychologists successes in making employees and organisation more adaptive to change The management of the increase in work stress Creating meaningful employment amidst growing sophisticated technology, business mergers and downsizing, decreasing job opportunities Changing nature of work requires ongoing revision of validity theory in the assessment of employees More incorporation of technology driven interventions in organisations.

Thank you.