Organisational psychology Flashcards
what is organisational psychology?
studying people at work to manage psychosocial health issues in the workplace, solve problems to help improve performance and outcomes
what are three examples of org psychs focuses?
working conditions, bullying, poor change management
what does wilhem wundt’s voluntarism theory explain?
the mind has a capacity to organise content into high-level thought processes
what was Hugo Munsterberg focuses?
wanted to improve industrial efficiency and safety and designed methods to test job fit
what is industrial efficiency?
focusing on improving industrial efficiency and safety, and developing methods to choose best job candidates
How did James cattle aid the development of org psych?
focused on quantitative assessments and developed cognitive tests to measure individual differences
what theory did Frederick Taylor develop?
taylorisim
what is taylorism?
is a method focused on increasing efficiency in the work and motivation context by making tasks more optimal
what are the principles of scientific management?
task optimisation, worker selection and training, standardised tools and procedures, performance based incentives
what was walter dill scotts focus?
factors that related to improvement such as culture, motivation and productivity
how did organisational psych principles help with WW1?
helped with developing more efficient selection methods for employing replacement troops
What was the aim of the Hawthorne studies and what were the findings?
aim: understanding working conditions and employee productivity
findings: employee performance improved when they received attention which made them feel recognised and values
how did org psych help with WW2?
developed psychomotor testing to help select individuals for specific roles
what are the two approaches of leadership?
the trait approach and the state approach
what is the trait approach of leadership?
leaders are born that way and the predisposition to a certain leadership style will not change and have stable leadership traits
what is the state approach of leadership?
leadership style is determined by the situation
what is the relationship between human factors and system design?
it focuses on optimising the relationships between system use and human.
what are user centred designs?
emphasises designing systems which have the end-user in mind to decrease error likelihood
what is ergonomics?
study of how equipments and workplace design can improve comfort, efficiency and safety
why did intrinisic motivation become a factor for jobs?
because workers starts placing emphasis on interesting and meaningful work as key motivators
how did the top work motivators shift over time?
It shifted from being appreciated at work to interesting work to increase job satisfication
what is goal setting theory?
setting specific and challenging goals to enhance motivation and improve performance
what is person-organisation fit?
the compatibility between the individual and organisation. so how well their values and beliefs align with another
what is transformational leadership theory?
how leaders can inspire and motivate people to achieve more by changing attitudes, beliefs and values
what is transactional leadership?
focuses on the exchange between leaders and followers, where followers either receive rewards or punishments
what are the 4 categories for occupational hazards?
- physical (heat, cold, noise)
- pathogenic: tend to be medically oriented (asbestosis and the victims = builders)
- ergonomic: physical interactions with environment (tendonitis: assembly workers)
- psychological: psych issues that impact performance and wellbeing (trauma, depression)
what are 3 examples of psychological factors that contribute to occupational health and wellbeing?
- workload
- role ambiguity
- role conflict
what are three categories of human error? what type of errors are associated with each?
- perceptual component: attention error (lapse)
- decision component: decision error (mistake)
- response component: action error (slip)
what are the 3 patterns of human error?
- sporadic error: more individual error
- systematic error: error tends to lean towards one direction, and most are getting it wrong
- random configuration: nothing is really working, and shots are every where
what is risk perception?
the capability to recognise hazarding
what is the willingness to tolerate risks called?
risk tolerance
what does KSA stand for?
knowledge, skills and attitudes
what is the triangulation method of data collection?
use of three particular types of methods for data gathering
what does triangulation data collection help with?
cross-checking and confirming findings, identifying different aspects of a phenomenon
how are staff surveys helpful?
cost effective, gets lots of info, and can establish relationships between causes and outcomes
how are interviews helpful?
allow for more insightful answers, can infer causal pathways, and for more particular questioning
does company data need to be compared to anything to identify issues? is so, then what does it need to be compared to and why?
yes, it needs to be compared to findings across the sector to understand the results significance
what is role conflict and ambiguity?
when someone receives conflicting orders on tasks and there are conflicts with professional values
what type of training can help cope with job insecurity?
resilience training
what does the job demands and resources model helps explain?
why some experience burn out and health problems at work while others feel the opposite
what are job demands?
emotional and physical stresses in a job role such as workload, time pressure, role ambiguity. they are draining
what are job resources?
physical, social, and org factors that helps someone achieve goals and reduce stress such as autonomy, supportive environments
what happens when job demands are high and job resources are low?
stress and burnout are common, can cause mental health problems and job dissatisfaction
what happens when job resources are high?
can decrease effects of extreme job demands
what is the capacity someone believes they can cope called?
coping efficacy
what is social identity?
forms part of someones identity and relates to their group memberships
what is out-group homogeneity?
seeing all members of an out-group as being similar to another
how can intergroup conflict be managed?
collaborative processes and creating new shared identities and methods
what are challenges stressors?
job demands that create opportunity for personal growth and development
what is the negative form of stress called?
distress
