Industrial and Organizational Psychology: What is it?

Industrial and Organizational Psychology Industrial and organizational psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the relationships between work and people. Industrial and organizational psychology attempts to develop ways to improve job satisfaction and increase productivity. Other issues that are studied in industrial and organizational psychology are issues concerned with the mental and physical health of employees.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Responsibilities

In order to apply industrial and organizational psychology practices to an industry, a number of different activities need to be performed. One of the main industrial and organizational psychology practices is Job Analysis. A job analysis is used to determine the skills and knowledge necessary for an employee to do the specific job properly. The job analysis also indicates the actual responsibilities and tasks of the job.

Employee motivation is also a major topic within industrial and organizational psychology. Using various theories of motivation, industrial and organizational psychologists develop different ways to increase motivation. Increasing motivation boosts productivity as well as increasing retention rates.

Industrial and organizational psychology theories can be used to increase production and motivation by recommending changes in the work environment to eliminate negative influences and enhance positive ones.

People in industrial and organizational psychology jobs also become involved in hiring and recruiting qualified people for various jobs within the company. Using structured interviews, collecting biographical data and looking at work samples are all industrial and organizational psychology methods for selecting appropriate candidates for a job.

Other industrial and organizational psychology methods used in the hiring process include knowledge and personality tests. In order to recruit employees for specific jobs, industrial and organizational psychology theories are used in developing processes, such as job announcements, screening procedures and defining applicant qualifications.

Performance appraisals also utilize industrial and organizational psychology methodologies. An industrial and organizational psychologist would use the information gathered from a job analysis to develop a rating scale to assess job performance.

The development of training programs is another responsibility related to industrial and organizational psychology. Using a job analysis, an industrial and organizational psychologist would assess the skills needed for a particular job and then develop training programs to teach those skills.

An industrial and organizational psychologist would also develop an evaluation method to assess the success of the training programs.

Industrial and organizational psychology is a rapidly expanding profession. Industrial and organizational psychology uses in its work. This is one of the many reasons people are attracted to studying industrial and organizational psychology.

If you enjoy psychology as it relates to business and the work setting, research, and finding practical uses for psychological theories, then industrial and organizational psychology may be a good career choice for you.

Additional Information

• Information about Industrial and Organizational Psychology Degrees
• Information about Industrial and Organizational Psychology Careers

If you want to search for industrial and organizational psychology graduate degree programs, don't forget to search for psychology schools in our graduate psychology school search.