Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effectiveness, health, and well-being of both individuals and organizations."Rogelberg, S. C. (Ed.). (2007). Encyclopedia of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 1). SAGE Publications. It is an applied discipline within psychology and is an international profession. I-O psychology is also known as occupational psychology in the United Kingdom, organisational psychology in Australia, South Africa 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.Ones, D. S., Anderson, N., Viswesvaran, C., & Sinangil, H. K. (2018). The SAGE handbook of industrial, work & organizational psychology, 3v Personal Psychology and Employee Performance, Organizational Psychology, Managerial Psychology and Organizational Approaches. London: SAGE Publications.Lewis, R., & Zibarras, L. (2013). Work and occupational psychology: Integrating theory and practice . London: SAGE.Spector P. E. (2021). Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Research and Practice 8th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
I-O psychologists are trained in the scientist–practitioner model. As an applied psychology field, the discipline involves both research and practice and I-O psychologists apply psychological theories and principles to organizations and the individuals within them.Truxillo, D. M.; Bauer, T. N.; Erdogan, B. (2016). Psychology and Work: Perspectives on Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New York: Psychology Press / Taylor & Francis. They contribute to an organization's success by improving the job performance, wellbeing, motivation, job satisfaction and the health and safety of employees.Riggio, R. E., & Johnson, S. K. (2022). Introduction to industrial/organizational psychology. Industrial psychologists also assist individuals in making career decisions by conducting career assessments and guiding them through selecting and transitioning into a new career. Additionally, they support former employees in moving to alternative roles by providing structured outplacement services.
An Industrial-Organisational (I-O) psychologist conducts new scientific research and applies evidence-based findings and principles to evaluate and optimise employee attitudes, behaviors, emotions, motivation, and stress. The field is concerned with how these psychological constructs can be improved through recruitment processes, training and development programs, 360-degree feedback, change management, and other management systems and other interventions.Building Better Organizations brochure. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Retrieved from SIOP.org I-O psychology research and practice also includes the work–nonwork interface such as occupational burnout, unemployment, retirement, and work–family conflict and balance.Rudolph, C. W., Allan, B., Clark, M., Hertel, G., Hirschi, A., Kunze, F., Shockley, K., Shoss, M., Sonnentag, S., & Zacher, H. (2021). Pandemics: Implications for research and practice in industrial and organizational psychology. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 14(1-2), 1–35
I-O psychology is one of the 17 recognized professional specialties by the American Psychological Association (APA). In the United States the profession is represented by Division 14 of the APA and is formally known as the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP).Koppes. L. L. (2000). A Brief History of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. – A Division of the APA. Washington, DC: Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Similar I-O psychology societies can be found in many countries. In 2009 the Alliance for Organizational Psychology was formed and is a federation of Work, Industrial, & Organizational Psychology societies and "network partners" from around the world.Machin, T., Machin, T., Jeffries, C. & Hoare, N. (Eds.) (2022), “The Australian handbook for careers in psychological science”. University of Southern Queensland.
International I-O psychology is an international science and profession and depending on the region of the world, it is referred to by different titles. In North America, Canada and South Africa the title "I-O" psychology is used; in the United Kingdom, the field is known as occupational psychology. Occupational psychology in the UK is one of nine "protected titles" within the "practitioner psychologist" professions. The profession is regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council."Protected titles", HPC-UK.org, Health Professions Council. . Retrieved 2013-09-01. In the UK, graduate programs in psychology, including occupational psychology, are accredited by the British Psychological Society.
In Europe, someone with a specialist EuroPsy Certificate in Work and Organisational Psychology is a fully qualified psychologist and a specialist in the work psychology field. Industrial and organizational psychologists reaching the EuroPsy standard are recorded in the Register of European Psychologists. I-O psychology is one of the three main psychology specializations in Europe.
In Australia, the title "organisational psychologist" is protected by law and regulated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Organizational psychology is one of nine areas of specialist endorsement for psychology practice in Australia.
In South Africa, industrial psychology is a registration category for the profession of psychologist as regulated by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
In 2009 The Alliance for Organizational psychology was formed and is a federation of Work, Industrial, & Organizational Psychology societies and "network partners" from around the world. In 2021 The British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP) and the Australian Psychological Society's (APS) College of Organizational Psychology joined the Alliance. The Alliance currently has member organizations representing Industrial, Work and Organisational psychology and IWO psychologists from Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Europe, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.
Historical overview The historical development of I-O psychology was paralleled in the US, the UK,Chimiel, N. (2000). "History and context for work and organizational psychology". In Chmiel, N. (ed.). Introduction to work and organizational psychology: A European perspective. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. Australia, Germany, the Netherlands,Shimmin, S.; van Strien, P. J. (1998). "History of the psychology of work and organization". In Drenth, P. J. D.; Thierry, H.; de Wolff, C. J. (eds.). Handbook of work and organizational psychology (pp. 71–99). Hove, England: Psychology Press. and Eastern European countries such as Romania.Pitariu, H. D. (1992). "I-O psychology in Romania: Past, Present, and Intentions". The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 29 (4), 29–33. The roots of I-O psychology trace back to almost the beginning of psychology as a science, when Wilhelm Wundt founded one of the first psychological laboratories in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany. In the mid–1880s, Wundt trained two psychologists, Hugo Münsterberg and James McKeen Cattell, who went on to have a major influence on the emergence of I-O psychology.Landy, F. J. (1997). "Early influences on the development of industrial and organizational psychology". Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 467–477. World War I was an impetus for the development of the field simultaneously in the UK and US.Spector, P.E. (2021). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Hugo Munsterberg, one of the founders of I-O psychology, wrote, "Our aim is to sketch the outlines of a new science which is intermediate between the modern laboratory psychology and the problems of economics: the psychological experiment is systematically to be placed at the service of commerce and industry" (p. 3).Munsterberg, H. (2013). Psychology and Industrial Efficiency. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Instead of viewing performance differences as human "errors," Cattell was one of the first to recognize the importance of differences among individuals as a way of better understanding work behavior. Walter Dill Scott, who was a contemporary of Cattell and was elected President of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1919, was arguably the most prominent I-O psychologist of his time. Scott, along with Walter Van Dyke Bingham, worked at what was then Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), developing methods for selecting and training sales personnel.Feruson, L. (1965). The Heritage of Industrial Psychology. Hartford, CT: Finlay Press.
The "industrial" side of I-O psychology originated in research on individual differences, assessment, and the prediction of work performance. Industrial psychology crystallized during World War I, in response to the need to rapidly assign new troops to duty. Scott and Bingham volunteered to help with the testing and placement of more than a million U.S. Army recruits. In 1917, together with other prominent psychologists, they adapted the well-known intelligence test the Stanford–Binet, which was designed for testing one individual at a time, to make it suitable for group testing. The new test was called the Army Alpha.Salas, E., DeRouin, R. E., & Gade, P. A. (2007). The military's contribution to our science and practice: People, places, and findings. In L. L. Koppes (Ed.). Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 169-189). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. After the War, increasing employment in the U.S. created opportunities for I-O psychology practitioners who called themselves "industrial psychologists"Koppes L. L, & Pickren, W. (2007). Industrial and organizational psychology: An evolving science and practice. In L. L. Koppes (Ed.). Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 3-35). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
The "organizational" side of the field was focused on employee behavior, feelings, and well-being. During World War I, with the U.K. government's interest in worker productivity in munitions factories, Charles Myers studied worker fatigue and well-being.Myers, C. S. (1926). Industrial Psychology in Great Britain. London: Jonathan Cape. Following the war, Elton Mayo found that rest periods improved morale and reduced turnover in a Philadelphia textile factory.Mayo, E. (1924). Recovery and industrial fatigue. Journal of Personnel Research, 3, 273–281.Griffin, M. A.; Landy, F. J.; Mayocchi, L. (2002). "Australian influences on Elton Mayo: The construct of revery in industrial society". History of Psychology, 5 (4), 356–375. He later joined the ongoing Hawthorne studies, where he became interested in how workers' emotions and informal relationships affected productivity. The results of these studies ushered in the human relations movement.Cullen, David O'Donald. A new way of statecraft: The career of Elton Mayo and the development of the social sciences in America, 1920–1940. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses; 1992; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text.