Rapid Communication - (2021) Volume 7, Issue 11
The branch of psychology that applies psychological theories and concepts to organizations is known as industrial-organizational psychology. This field, often known as I-O psychology, focuses on improving workplace productivity and related issues such as employee physical and mental well-being.
Industrial-organizational psychologists work on a variety of projects, including analyzing employee attitudes and behaviour, appraising businesses, and providing leadership training. The overall purpose of this area is to research and comprehend workplace human behaviour.
What is industrial-organizational psychology?
Industrial-organizational psychology can be divided into two categories. The first is the industrial side, which entails determining how to best match people to specific job responsibilities. Personnel psychology is a subset of I-O psychology that is sometimes referred to as personnel psychology [1].
Employee qualities may be assessed, and then these individuals may be matched to occupations where they are likely to perform effectively. Training personnel, defining job performance standards, and monitoring job performance are all responsibilities that fall under the industrial side of I-O psychology.
The organizational psychology branch of psychology is more concerned with figuring out how organizations influence individual behaviour. Organizational structures, societal norms, management styles, and role expectations are all influences on how people behave in the workplace.
I-O psychologists strive to increase individual performance and wellness while also improving the organisation as a whole by recognizing such aspects.
While industrial-organizational psychology is a practical area, it also requires basic theoretical study. I-O psychology covers a number of sub-areas, including human-computer interaction, personnel psychology, and human factors, all of which have their roots in experimental psychology [2].
Six key subject areas
Most industrial-organizational psychologists work in one of six key subject areas, according to Muchinsky's book, Psychology Applied to Work: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Employee selection: This area entails creating employee selection assessments, such as screening tests, to determine whether job candidates are qualified for a specific role.
Ergonomics: Ergonomics is the science of designing procedures and equipment to improve performance while minimizing damage.
Organizational development: I-O psychologists who work in this field assist firms in enhancing their profitability, product design, and organizational structure.
Performance management: I-O psychologists that work in this field provide assessments and strategies to identify whether or not employees are performing well.
Training and development: Professionals in this field are often responsible for determining what skills are required to do specific positions, as well as developing and evaluating employee training programmes.
Workplace: This section focuses on increasing employee satisfaction and increasing worker productivity. In this field, I-O psychologists might look for ways to make occupations more enjoyable or create initiatives to improve workplace quality of life [3-5].
Industrial-Organizational psychology topics
Here are a few of the specific issues that industrial-organizational psychologists address:
Employee motivation: Psychological principles can be used by professionals in this industry to keep employees engaged.
Employee testing: I-O psychologists frequently utilize psychological concepts and tests to assist businesses in selecting applicants who are best suited to specific work tasks.
Leadership: I-O psychologists may assist with leaders to help them establish better strategies or train managers to use various leadership skills to better manage their teams.
Product design: Some I-O psychologists concentrate on consumer or workplace product development.
Workplace diversity: Organizational psychologists can assist organizations in developing recruiting policies that promote greater diversity as well as training staff on diversity and inclusion.
Workplace performance: Industrial-organizational psychologists frequently examine workplace behaviour in order to create settings and procedures that promote employee performance.
Citation: Sana Khurshid, Abnormal Psychology Overview, Perspective and Various Approaches. Clin Exp Psychol, 2021, 7(11), 286.
Received: 05-Oct-2021 Published: 29-Nov-2021
Copyright: 2021 Khurshid S. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
