Development of I/O Psychology

Question 1

Theme 1: Productivity & Efficiency

Answer 1

• Scientific Management (Taylor; 1911; focus on machine, industry (dehumanising); productivity & efficiency in production process; minimisation in workplace incidents)
• Recruitment & Personnel Tests

Question 2

WWI (foundation & payment for I-o psychology research)

Answer 2

• Research in Universities
• Market for I-O psychology
• Army Alpha (reading & writing intelligence)
• Beta Tests; innate intelligence
• Grading: A - E
• ^ measurable & quantifiable

Question 3

Arthur Kornhauser

Answer 3

• negative “workplace spillover”
  (Costly in terms of money, time, turnover; focus on limiting employee turnover).

Question 4

Standardised Time (Taylor)

Answer 4

• Time study = Stopwatch Method
• Rationale: the amount of work/ time taken to complete work (e.g. bricklayering)
• Thus, structured used of resources, money & time used for efficiency,

Question 5

Motion Study (Frank & Lillian Gilbert’s)

Answer 5

• Ergonomics (workplace standards)
• rationale; task flowchart; objective; steps to complete a task; elementary motions; breakdown steps into motions

Question 6

Hawthorne Effect (Elton Mayo; 1925)

Answer 6

• As long as employees are being supervised, the employees will work at the same speed
• started the human relations movement (manager interested in giving employees suitable conditions i.e., more light)

Question 7

Theme 2: Quantification & Measurement

Answer 7

• Industries started to view psychology as a science with the use of quantifiable data (Galton, Spearman; statistical methods from mathematicians).
• Quantifiable; making inferences about the unobserved.

Question 8

Introspection (Wundt)

Answer 8

• Wundt did not believe awareness and thought could be measured.

Question 9

The Stanford Binet Intelligence Test (Alfred Binet France & US)

Answer 9

• Both innate intelligence (what you’re born with) & variability from external factors (environment, health).

Question 10

Psychometrics (Galton)

Answer 10

• quantifying psycho concepts on a metric.

Question 11

General Factor of Intelligence (Spearman)

Answer 11

• founding the “multiple intelligence” theory

Question 12

Measurement in psychology

Answer 12

• hard to measure feelings, awareness, & subjective ideas, hence why organisational psychology focuses on human behaviour (observable & hard facts).

Question 13

Theme 3: The Study of Differences

Answer 13

• psychology: understanding & understanding human differences (Jung; sensation, feeling, intellect, intuition = personality; MBTI; FAD!)
• psychopathology; mental illness vs “normal” functioning individuals
• IOP; differences in personality, motivation, job design, engagement, burnout.

Question 14

Behaviourism (B.F. Skinner)

Answer 14

Environment is the only determinant of behaviour (this goes against ‘eugenics’; “intrinsic qualities”; NOT IDEAL but gives a opposing argument to the idea that we can’t change our abilities, talents, intelligence).

Question 15

Behaviourism/ positive reinforcement

Answer 15

• positives & negatives
• but a poor way of building motivation.

Question 16

Learning through imitation (‘invisible’) (Albert Bandura’s)

Answer 16

• nature & nurture (environment influences our behaviour)

Question 17

Patterns of differences

Answer 17

Goal of quantifying relationships

Question 18

Taylorist

Answer 18

-standard; supervising workers; seeing why some workers are not working efficiently
- workers who are not meeting standard will be worked with or cut off or moved to a different work role in the company.
- difficulties; time-management; employees are at fault, so workers are seen as ‘lazy’, or pushed as machines.
- solution; putting employees in a training program (based on their weaknesses in the role); simulating work processes with employees (trialed/measured/tested).

Question 19

Behaviourist

Answer 19

• difficulties; the environment is not conducive for worker productivity; poor reward systems; company systems are at fault for a lack of motivation.
• solution; implement a better pay-performance system; offer stock or share options to employees, evaluate values of both employees & manager (focusing on the values causing poor behaviour, then managers working on fixing it)

Question 20

Evidence-based management

Answer 20

• Pfeffer readings; dont just offer stock-option, find the cause of the problem, and work on fixing that issue.

Question 21

Theme 4: Science & Practice

Answer 21

Put theory in practice, but what makes theory useful is when it suits the purpose, meaning the problem has been clearly identified!