Module-I A

7/31/2019 Module-I A

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INTRODUCTION

Work psychology also known as I/O psychology,

work psychology, or personnel psychology.

It is the scientific study of employees,

workplaces, and organizations.

Work psychologists researches and identifies

how behaviors and attitudes can be improved

through hiring practices, training programs, and

feedback systems.

DEFINING WORK PSYCHOLOGY

Guion(1965) defines work psychology as "the

scientific study of the relationship between man

and the world of work: in the process of making

a living. Blum & Naylor (1968) define it as "simply the

application or extension of psychological facts

and principles to the problems concerning


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human beings operating within the context of

business and industry."

ORIGIN

The "industrial" side of IO psychology has its

historical origins in research on individual

differences, assessment, and the prediction ofperformance.

This branch of the field crystallized during

World War I.

After the War, the growing industrial base inthe US added impetus to work psychology.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

One of the most common question asked bystudents new to the study of psychology is what

is psychology? misconceptions created by

popular media as well as the diverse career


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paths of those holding psychology degrees have

contributed this confusion.

Psychology is both an applied and academic

field that studies the human mind and behavior.

Research in psychology seeks to understand and

explain , emotions, thoughts and behavior.

Application of psychology include mental health

treatment, performance enhancement, self-help,ergonomics and many other areas affecting

health and daily life.

EARLY PSYCHOLOGYPsychology evolved out of both philosophy andbiology. Discussions of these two subjects date

as far back as the early greek thinkers including

Aristotle and Socrates. The word psychology is

derived from the Greek word psyche, meaning

soul or mind.

A SEPARATE SCIENCE


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The field and study of psychology was truly born

when Wilhelm wundt established the first

experimental psychology lab in Leipzig,

Germany in 1879.

Wundts work was focused on describing the

structures that compose the mind. This

perspective relied heavily on the analysis of

sensation and feelings through the use of

introspection, a highly subjective process.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

Through psychologys history, a number of

different schools of thought have thought have

formed to explain human thought and behavior.The following are some of the major schools of

thought in psychology.

Structuralism

Functionalism

PsychoanalysisBehaviourism

Humanism

Cognivitism


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PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

Today, psychologists prefer to use more

objective scientific methods to understand,

explain and predict human behavior.

Psychological studies are highly structured,

beginning with a hypothesis that is then

empirically tested. Psychology has two major

areas of focus-

Academic psychology

Applied psychology

Academic psychology focuses on the study of

different subtopics within psychology including

personality psychology, social psychology and

developmental psychology. These psychologist

conduct basic research that seeks to expand our

theoretical knowledge,while other researchers

conduct applied research that seeks to solve

everyday problems.


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Applied psychology focuses on the use of

different psychological principles to solve

real world problems. Examples of applied

areas of psychology include forensic

psychology, ergonomics and industrial-

organizational psychology. Many other

psychologists work as therapists, helping

people overcome mental, behavioral and

emotional disorders.

PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH METHODS

As psychology moved away from its

philosophical roots, psychologists began to

employ more and more scientific methods to

study human behavior. Contemporary

researchers employ a variety of scientific

techniques including experiments,correlational

studieslongitudinal researchand others to test,

explain and predict behavior.

AREAS OF PSYCHOLOGY
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Psychology is a broad and diverse field. Anumber of different subfields and specialty

areas have emerged. The following are some of

the major areas of research and application

within psychology:

Abnormal Psychologyis the study ofabnormal behavior and psychopathology. This

specialty area is focused on research and

treatment of a variety ofmental disorders and

is linked to psychotherapy andclinical

psychology.

Biological Psychology, also knownas biopsychology, studies how biological

processes influence the mind and behavior.

This area is closely linked to neuroscience and

utilizes tools such as MRI and PET scans to

look at brain injury or brain abnormalities.

Clinical Psychology is focused on theassessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental

disorders.
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Cognitive Psychologyis the study of humanthought processes and cognitions. Cognitive

psychologists study topics such as attention,

memory, perception, decision-

making, problem-solving and language

acquisition.

Comparative Psychology is the branch ofpsychology concerned with the study of animal

behavior. This type of research can lead to adeeper and broader understanding of human

psychology.

WORK PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is the science and study ofhuman behavior , whereas work psychology

is the study of human behavior at work

place. Work psychology has at least two

distinct roots. One resides in a pair of

traditions that have often been termed

'fitting the man to the job' (FMJ) and 'fittingthe job to the man '(FJM). The FMJ tradition

manifests itself in employee selection,

training and vocational guidance. These
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lendeavours have in common an attempt to

achieve an effective match between job and

person by concentrating on the latter. The

FJM tradition focuses instead on the job and

in particular the design of tasks, equipment

and working conditions which suit a

person's physical and psychological

characteristics. Industrial and

Organizational Psychology (also known as I-

O psychology), applies psychology to

organizations and the workplace.

In January 2010 the Society for Industrial

and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)

announced that, as a result of a membership

vote, it would retain its name and not changeit to the Society for Organizational

Psychology (TSOP) to eliminate the word

"Industrial". "Industrial-organizational

psychologists contribute to an organization's

success by improving the performance and

well-being of its people. An I-O psychologistresearches and identifies how behaviors and

attitudes can be improved through hiring

practices, training programs, and feedback


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systems. The scientific study of the

relationship between man and the world of

work : In the process of making a living

define it as "simply the application or

extension of psychological facts and

principles to the problems concerning

human beings operating within the context

of business and industry." I-O psychology has

historically subsumed two broad areas of

study, as evident by its name, although this

distinction is largely artificial and many

topics cut across both areas. I-O psychology

has roots in social psychology;

organizational psychologists examine the

role of the work environment inperformance and other outcomes including

job satisfaction and health. I-O psychology is

represented by Division 14 of the I-O

psychologists are trained in the scientist-

practitioner model. The training enables I-O

psychologists to employ scientific principlesand research-based designs to generate

knowledge. They use what they have learned in

applied settings to help clients address

workplace needs. I-O psychologists are


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employed as professors, researchers, and

consultants. They also work within

organizations, often as part of a human

resources department where they coordinate

hiring and organizational development

initiatives from an evidence-based perspective.

The expression common senserefers to asystem of beliefs and skills shared by mostpeople and acquired through mundaneexperience in absence of specialeducation. Naturally, this concept is too

broad. Any meaningful statement shouldrefer not to the whole concept but to somecomponent of it. After all, each componentof common sense might very well be anobstacle on its own. The presentdiscussion will be limited to three

components of common sense, which willtherefore constitute the first threeepistemological obstacles to physiologicalpsychology: inflexible realism (i.e., the


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tendency to favor primary experience),spiritualism (i.e., the acceptance oftranscendental causal agents), and naive

humanism (i.e., the placement of humansin a class apart from all other empiricalobjects)

WHAT IS COMMON SENSE

Common sense means paying attention to theobvious. This is not as easy as it sounds. We all have

vivid imaginations, and we tend to get lost in our

fantasies

When fantasy replaces common sense, life becomes

farcical and even tragic. Life is a series of ordinary

events that follow the laws of logic and probability.

These ordinary events are indifferent to our

fantasies and require the careful, accurate

navigation of common sense.

I learned the lesson of common sense as a third-

year medical student. I was doing an internal


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medicine rotation at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital

and working with interns, residents, and attending

physicians.

One day, on morning rounds, we examined a

patient with a black tongue. The intern assigned to

that patient had researched all the causes of a black

tongue and was eager to demonstrate his newknowledge. As the intern started to lecture us, the

attending physician interrupted him and asked the

patient if he uses black cough drops. The patient

smiled, opened the drawer of his night table, and

took out a package of Smith Brothers black coughdrops.

The intern's face turned red, and we all laughed.

The intern was so focused on being a doctor, that

he forgot to ask his patient an obvious question. It'sbeen over forty years since I was a third-year

medical student, but I still have a vivid


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memory of that day and that lesson: use common

sense and pay attention to the obvious.

My forty years of medical practice have taught me

the lesson of common sense again and again.

Eventually, I realized that society in general, and

modern medicine in particular, lack common sense.

This is why societal and medical problems are rarelysolved. Let's apply common sense to healthcare

KNOWLEDGE + COMMON SENSE =

WISDOM

KNOWLEDGE - COMMON SENSE =

NONSENSE

RESEARCH METHODS IN WORK

PSYCHOLOGY

Work psychologists used various techniques in their

research on human behavior thoughts and


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emotions in the workplace. In considering these

methods it is helpful to understand research

methods. This strategy depends on the researcher's

beliefs about scientific investigation as well as the

nature of the phenomena being researched.

Research methods are the specific ways in which

information is gathered within the overall research

strategy. Drawing on Bryman (1989: 29) A number

of designs and methods can be identified. There ismore than one way of carrying out each method.

The methods are discussed below.

RESEARCH METHODS

Questionnaires/psychometric tests

Many research projects in work psychology,

especially surveys, use one or both of these

Questionnaires are often used to assess a person's

attitudes, values, opinions, beliefs or Experiences.

Psychometric tests are normally employed to

measure ability or personalities Questionnaires and

tests normally require a person


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1.To answer a series of written questions

presented on paper or

2.sometimes on a computer screen.

Answers are often multiple-choice: that is, the

person has to select the most appropriate response

from a choice of several. Responses are scored andthe score is usually expressed as a number

representing, for example, a person's intelligence,

extraversion or job satisfaction. Some

questionnaires and tests need to be administered

by the researcher in person. Others are designed to

be self-explanatory and can be filled in by the

respondent without supervision.


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INTERVIEW

A work psychologist may conduct one or moreinterviews, normally with an individual, but

sometimes with a small group of people. The work

psychologist asks questions and records responses,

either by making notes or using a tape recorder.

The questions may be specified in advance, in which

case it is a structured interview. On the other hand,

the interviewer may define only the general topic

he or she wishes to investigate and permit the

respondent to talk about whatever they wish within

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESMENT

This involves measurement of a personsneurological,biological,or psysiological state,as it

relates to their psychological functioning. so for

example,in a study of work stress, blood sample


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may be taken to gauge the concentration of fatty

acid in a persons bloodstream. this method of data

collection is less common in work psychology thanin some other areas of psychology.

OBSERVATIONA work psychologist may observ peoples behavior

by stationing him-or herself as unobtrusively aspossible, and recording the frequencies, source and

timing of behavior. This can be termed as

structured observation.alternatively, the work

psychologist may participate in the events he or she

is studing.for example, king (1992) investigatinginnovation on a hospital ward whilst also working as

a nursing assistant. This is participants observation.

Where people are being observed in their

workplace, they are normally informed, or asked

about it in advanced. Their awareness may itselfaffect their behavior, but that is usually preferable

to the alternatives of secrecy or even

deception.obsevation may also include observing


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the consequences behavior: For example, a

persons work productivity.

ARCHIVAL SOURCES

As Bryman (1989:31) observes. this is strictly a

source of data rather than a method of collecting it.

Achival information already exist before the work

psychologist investigation. Example include:

absenteeism data, company accounts, productive

records, human resource policy documents,

accident statistics and many other to investigate the

impact of an event on the functioning of an

organization.


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Module-I A

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