INTRODUCTION TO IO PSYCHOLOGY BRIEF HISTORY

● Branch of Psychology that applies 1. Early years

psychological principles to understand a. Study of work
people in the workplace b. Scientific management
● Industrial c. Testing movement
○ Various HR procedures 2. Human relations era
■ Recruitment and a. Hawthorne studies
selection b. Needs theories
■ Performance appraisal c. Theory X and Y
■ Training and 3. Engineering psychology
development a. WW11
■ Job analysis b. OSS
● Organizational 4. Later developments
○ Work attitudes, team dynamics, a. Civil rights era
motivation, leadership b. High-tech era
● How is this different from Human 1) EARLY YEARS
Resource Management courses? Study of work
○ Focus: factors affecting Willhelm Wundt
employees in the workplace ● 1876: founded one of the first
Areas of Application of Psychology in the psychological laboratories in Leipzig,
Workplace Germany
● Psychometrics and individual ● Mid 1880s: trained Hugo Munsterberg
differences and James McKeen Cattell
○ Employee motivation Hugo Munsterberg
○ Employee selection ● German who trained under W. Wundt
● Social psychology ● Went to Harvard University
○ Group processes ○ Became the director of the
○ Leadership psychological laboratories
● Health psychology ○ Studied abilities and how it
○ Stress relates to work and
○ Work-life balance performance
● Cognitive psychology ● 1912/23: wrote a book entitled,
○ Learning “Psychology and Industrial Efficiency”
○ Decision-making James Cattell
○ Performance appraisal ● American who studied under W. Wundt
Scientist-Practitioner Model ● Went to Columbia University
1) Scientist ○ Studied individual differences in
○ Conduct empirical research predicting behavior
about people in the organization ● 1921: founded the Psychological
2) Practitioner corporation
○ Apply research findings to Scientific management
actual organizations and Frederick Taylor
employees ● Father of Scientific Management
● Scientific Management
 ○ Approach that uses logical and World War 1 (1917)
scientific principles in the ● Together with Walter, Von Dyke
management of organizations Bingham and other prominent
pessimistic view of human psychologists, they adopted
nature Standford-Binet to make it suitable for
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth mass testing
● Engineering practitioners ○ Army Alpha: verbal
○ Applied time and motion ○ Army Beta: non-verbal
studies to help study the most ● After the war, mental ability testing
efficient way to do work by became a common practice in the
eliminating unnecessary workplace
motions 2) HUMAN RELATIONS ERA (1927-1940s)
● Lillian Gilbreth Elton Mayo
○ First person to earn a PhD Hawthorne studies
degree in Industrial Psychology ● Located at the plant of Western Electric
○ Research works focused on Corporation in Hawthrone, Illinois
scientific management (time ● Started with studying the effect of
and motion studies) lightning conditions on workers’
Max Weber efficiency
● Structural theory: organizational activity ● Discovered the “Hawthrone Effect”
based on authority relations ○ The change in behavior that
○ Bureaucruacy: a system results from researchers paying
characterized by division of attention to the workers
labor, a clear hierarchy, detailed Dogulas McGregor
rules and regulations, and ● 1960: Theory of Human Nature
impersonal relationships ○ Managers should take a
Testing Movements positive view of people and help
Walter Dill Scott them realize their potential
● American who also trained under W. ● Theory X assumes that staff…
Wundt ○ Dislike their work
● Worked at the northwestern university ○ Avoid responsibility and need
● Worked at the Carnegie Institute to constant distraction
develop selection and training methods ○ Need to be controlled, forced
for sales personnel and threatened to deliver work
● Books ○ Need to be supervised
○ The Theory of Advertising ○ No incentive to work or
(1903) ambition
○ Publication of the Theory and ● Theory Y assumes that staff…
Practice of Advertising (1907) ○ Happy to work on their own
○ Increasing Human Efficiency in incentive
Business (1911) ○ Self-motivated
● 1919: founded the first consulting ○ Seek and accept responsibility
company in Industrial Psychology ○ View work as fulfilling
● Also became the president of APA
3) ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY
JOB ANALYSIS
World War 2
A systematic process
● Tremendous advances in aircraft, tanks,
● Collecting and analyzing information
ships, and other bottles tools → a new
about the job such as;
set of required competencies → safety
○ Tasks, duties, responsibilities
and efficiency
(TDRs)
● Renewed interest in ability testing:
○ Knowledge, skills, abilities, and
accurate placements
other characteristics (KSAOs)
Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
○ Tools or types of equipment
● Government department responsible for
used
gathering and analyzing military
○ End product → job descriptions
intelligence
STEPS IN JOB ANALYSIS
● Led by Henry Murray, a personality
Step 1: Identify the task performed
theorist
Method:
● One of its responsibilities is to have
● Gather existing information
spies to anticipate the strategic of the
○ Job description
opponent
○ Task inventories
○ Spy candidates will undergo
○ Training manuals
extensive testing under the
○ Critical incidents
assessment center (a week or
○ Activity logs
more)
○ Occupational information
○ Assessments: interviews,
network (O*net)
pen-and-paper tests, stress
● Interview subject matter experts
exercises, physical exercises,
○ Job incumbents
etc.
○ Supervisors
4) LATER DEVELOPMENTS
○ Customers
Civil Rights Era (1964 - present)
○ Upper-level management
● Passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in
● Observe job incumbents
the US
○ While performing their actual
● Ensures fairness in hiring process
tasks
○ Adverse impact
● Job participations
○ Prohibits discrimination on the
○ Spending enough time
basis of race, color, religion, sex
performing their job
or national origin
● Questionnaires: general information
High-tech Era (2000 to present)
about the work
● Use of computers and internet
○ Position analysis questionnaire
○ Online job applications
○ Job structure profile
○ Online or computerized test
○ Job elements inventory
administration and scoring
○ Functional job analysis
○ Statistics or big data in research
Categorize:
○ AI in other HR activities
● Tasks: Specific tasks performed within
○ E-learning
the scope of the job
■ Ex. encode student
grades
 ● Tools and equipment: Tools used to importance/criticality of the task being
perform the task effectively performed
○ Ex. MLS, AnimoSpace, ○ Rate the frequency and
Microsoft Excel importance on a scale from 0-3
● Conditions: Conditions under which the
tasks are performed
○ Ex. at the end of the term or 1
week after student’s submission
● Tasks dimensions: Group of task
statements
○ Ex. Administrative
○ Afterwards, get the total of
Step 2: Write task statements
score given to frequency and
● Important for task inventory and job
importance
description
○ Get combined average of the 2
○ Task inventory: questionnaire
SMEs
containing a list of tasks that
○ Accepted scores for combined
will be rated based on their
average
importance and relative time
■ Frequency and
spent
importance = 0.6 and
○ Job description: summary of
above
the job
■ Combined ratings = 2.0
Must contain these elements/details:
and above
● Action
Step 4: Determine essential KSAOs
○ Ex. conduct
Knowledge
● Object
● Declarative
○ Ex. grade consultations
○ Knowledge of facts or concepts
● Where the job is done
○ Ex. knowledgeable in test
○ Ex. Zoom
construction
● How the job is done
● Procedural
○ Ex. before encoding the final
○ Knowledge of how to do or
grades in MLS
perform a task
● Why the job is done
○ Ex. knowledgeable in the
○ Ex. for transparency
process of test construction
Guidelines for writing task statements:
Skills
● 1 action: 1 object
● Observable competence
● Should include the tools or equipment
● Example: communication skills, project
used to complete the task
management, leadership
● Written in the reading ability of the
Abilities
typical job incumbent
● Underlying, enduring trait
● Should not be a competency or policy
● 4 general categories: cognitive,
● Provide context; not too general
psychomotor, physical, and sensory
Step 3: Rate task statements
abilities
● Rate each task statement based on the
● Example: memory, intelligence, reaction
frequency and the
time
Other characteristics
● Personality
● Willingness to learn
● Motivation
● Licenses
● Educational degree
● Years of experience

● Will also be rated to the extent to which

of these KSAOs is essential in
performing the job
Average ratings:
● 2.5 - above = to be included in the
selection process
● 1.5 - 2.49 = to be taught during training
● 0.5 - 1.49 = to be learned on the job
Step 5: Select tests to tap KSAOs
● Determine best methods to measure
KSAOs needed at the time of hire