Chapter 15 - Applied psychology Flashcards
applied psychology
concerned with how psychology can be relevant to societal challenges
hugo munsterberg
known for promoting the application of psychological knowledge to many areas of life. also wrote about how witnesses can be susceptible to suggestions, especially under pressure
marston (hugo’s student)
used a lie detector test to measure something ideologically, e.g. blood pressure. was not very successful in science but indeed in practice
psychotechnics
the approach of applying psychology to business and industry
fredrick taylor
developed scientific management program: applying psychology in order to increase the efficiency and productivity of workers in the new factories
de-skilling (taylor)
breaking up a task into its subcomponents
differential piece-rate system (taylor)
slower workers earned less, while quicker workers earned more. this system helped people start working quicker
lillian gillbreth and frank gillbreth
analysed action and developed motion studies to find the most efficient way of getting a task done
- they thought that the happier a person is the more efficient they are at the task
therbligs (gillbreth twins)
the 18 basic hand movements
hawthrone studies (mayo)
showed that physical and economic conditions alone are not enough to explain workplace productivity
hawthrone effect
refers to the fact that if people know that they participated in a study which measured productivity, they would start working harder
leta hollingworth
- focused on the psychology of women
- used psychology to debunk myths about women (variation hypothesis and functional periodicity)
- caffeine in coca-cola study
- clinical psychology
variation hypothesis
states that males are more varied than females in their characteristics
functional periodicity
when on their period, females cannot think rationally
