The Importance of I/O Psychology

This assignment delves into the growing importance of Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology. It examines how this relatively new field addresses workplace dynamics, employee well-being, and organizational efficiency. The text analyzes I/O psychology's contributions to creating fair workplaces, managing talent, and boosting employee performance. While recognizing its significance, the assignment also points out gaps in the field and future research opportunities for I/O psychologists.

Running head: I/O IN THE NEWS
I/O in the News
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Abstract
The assignment, being a reflection of understanding of the concept of
Industrial/Organizational Psychology, emphasizes specifically on the role and need for the same
in the contemporary business scenario, keeping into consideration the fact that the global
organizational framework is becoming increasingly complex, cognitive and integrating with
time. The assignment, for the purpose of studying the same, takes into account the recent news
article by Jill Bowers, published in Business News Daily, on August, 21, 2017, which discussed
extensively about the description of the I/O Psychology and its roles in the contemporary
business scenario. An extensive review of the relevant literatures is also conducted in the later
sections, to understand the dimensions and parameters of difference of this genre of cognitive
psychology from that of the conventional notion, the positive implications of the same and also
the loopholes which are currently present in this aspect and the scopes of exploration and
expansion of domain of operations of this genre of psychology.

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I/O in the News
Over the years the overall industrial, business and social environment in the global
scenario have become more integrated, inclusive and cognitive, with each of these domains
experiencing considerable dynamics and modifications. Global phenomena like Globalization,
industrial and technological revolutions and others have contributed significantly in changing
the overall lifestyle of people, both personal as well as professional, thereby affecting
considerably the business environment in the overall basis (Dries, 2013, pp. 272-285). Keeping
this into consideration, in the span of my academic coursework, I came to understand that like
any other genre, psychology as a subject has also expanded its domain of operations significantly
with time and has become more integrated and liberated. The genre of study being already
cognitive in nature, has infiltrated in many arena of real world scenario, including that of the
industrial domain. Industrial/Organizational Psychology has been into speculation and is a much
talked about topic in the contemporary period, with the global business and industrial
environment becoming more complex and multi-dimensional (Koppes, 2014).
In this context, I recently came across several news articles in some eminent dailies
which talked about the concept of Industrial/Organizational Psychology and their significance in
the contemporary business environment. Among these articles, I found the one by Jill Bowers,
named “What is Industrial-Organizational Psychology”, published in Business News Daily, on
August 21, 2017, to be detailed and intriguing as well as impartial (Bowers, 2018). The news
article extensively discusses the concept of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, which in the

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recent periods, due to the presence of different point of views and perspectives have created
different definitions and confusions among those who want to know about this genre.
The article, clearly defines the term Industrial/Organizational Psychology, by splitting it
into two parts- organizational and industrial. According to the author of the article, this genre of
psychologists, in general emphasizes on studying the behavioral patterns of the workers in their
professional domains and on improving the overall efficiency, productivity and welfare of the
workers in their workplaces, which may have long term positive implications on the business
organizations as well. Among the two parts of this comparative new genre of psychology, the
industrial psychology aspect deals with the different problems and issues which the
contemporary commercial institutions deal with owing to their expanding domain of operations
and increasingly complex activity framework (Ployhart, 2012, pp. 62-81). This includes
contribution in deciding the process of hiring relevant employees for the organization after a
detailed analysis of the work culture and methods in which the concerned company operate.
Under this domain, the I/O Psychologists also work on finding the missing skills of the
employees and on creating the scopes of trainings for the fulfillment of the existing gaps. As per
the article, the role of increasing the efficiency of the employees, by studying the behavioral
aspects, also falls under the job role of I/O Psychologists.
On the other hand, the other domain of this cognitive form of psychology, that is the
organizational psychology, according to the concerned article, emphasizes on the broader picture
present in the global business environment. This includes studying the behaviors and attitudes of
the employees in an organization, to suggest modifications in order to increase their satisfaction,
thereby contributing positively to their productivity and the benefits of the organizations for
which they work (Imran et al., 2012, pp. 1455-1462). This also gives the I/O psychologists to

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analyze and suggest methods of operations, on part of the organizations, which may contribute in
reducing stresses and anxieties among the employees and improve their work-life balance. In an
overall perspective the organizational perspective of the I/O Psychology, as per the assertions of
the news article, deals with the creation of a healthy and efficient work environment in the
commercial institutions, in the contemporary periods.
The article not only emphasizes on the aspects which fall under the domain of I/O
Psychology but also suggests how the business organizations can take help of these
psychologists in improving the overall efficiency and productivity of their workers. According to
the article, large, multinational companies and those organizations which target extensive
changes in their organizational structure and modus operandi, can hire in-house I/O Psychologist
whereas those commercial institutions which are comparatively smaller or just need to study or
modify only a small sector of their operations can go for I/O consultant.
In the final section of the concerned news article, the author also gives a vital suggestion
of introducing I/O in the organizations in the form of conduction of personality assessments of
the employees, which can help the managers and the entrepreneurs to get a view of the team and
individual dynamics of the workers, thereby creating scopes of improvements in their work
styles, overall efficiency, productivity and welfare (which includes increase in the happiness
quotient and decrease in the level of work related stress among the workers). For the purpose of
doing the same the article suggest several personality tests like DiSC Assessment, Predictive
Index, Myer-Briggs and Five-Factor Model of Personality, each of which, with its unique way of
assessing the behaviors of the employees, can be used by the organizations to improve the
overall work environment and productivity and welfare of their workers (Devonish, 2013, pp.
630-647).

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I found the article and the points emphasized upon by the author of the article regarding
the nature and domain of operations of the Industrial/Organizational Psychologists and the need
for the implementation of the same in the contemporary global business framework, highly
relevant to my coursework and what we have been taught about the same in our classes. Taking
into account the above discussion the following section of the assignment reviews the extensive
literary and scholarly works which are present in this aspect and which discusses about the
different aspects of Industrial/Organizational Psychology and the roles played by the
psychologists in this domain. I also tried to review those literatures regarding this aspect, which
takes into account the loopholes and scopes of exploration which are still present in the domain
of Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
There have been many speculations regarding the genre of Industrial/Organizational
Psychology, as has been defined by many scholars over the years. However, one of the most
convenient descriptions of the specialty has been put forward by the abridged version of the
approved Commit Proficiencies in Professional Psychology Petition, as can be found from the
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. The same describes this genre of
psychology as the study which takes into account the organizational and work environment and
analyzes the same with the help of the different principles, methodologies and tools of
psychology. According to the document, this genre of psychologists are versatile and specifically
specializes in studying the behavior of the people specifically in their workplaces and the
interdependence of the workers and workplace on one another in developing an efficient and
productive work environment (Sackett & Walmsley, 2014, 538-551).
The above description of I/O psychology has been strongly supported by many other
eminent literary evidences which include the works of Landy & Conte (2016). According to the

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authors there exist significant differences between the psychologists in general and
Industrial/Organizational Psychologists. The authors divide the two genres according to different
parameters, as per the conventional guidelines, which are as follows:
Population- According to the authors, while the domain of focus of psychologists in general can
be any section of the population in the global scenario, the I/O Psychologists specifically targets
the dynamics present in the behavior of human beings in their respective professional settings.
Therefore, the targeted population in this domain includes those operating in the business
environment, including that of the workers, the applicants to businesses, industries as a whole
and also communities.
Problems- The domain of operations of the I/O Psychologists also differ considerably from that
of psychologists in general. While psychologists in general deal with the behavioral aspects of
people in general and the problems which people face in this aspect, the I/O Psychologists focus
on the behavioral issues of the workers in their professional domains. This includes extensive
research on the motivation, communication, leadership and social interaction in the organizations
(Riggio, 2015). The objectives of these psychologists are to suggest scientific solutions regarding
the problems which the workers face in their professional domain. The domain includes
recruitment, selection of workers, training of the relevant employees, measurement of their
performance, motivation, work life quality and happiness quotient.
There are significant literary works regarding the scientific framework in which the I/O
Psychologists usually operate. Jex & Britt (2014), in their working paper puts forward these
scientific approaches from the practitioners’ point of view. According to the authors there
already exists a variety of tools, procedures and techniques in this aspect. This includes the

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presence of both standardized as well as situation specific methods for assessing the three
primary elements of I/O Psychology, the workers, the context of the work and the work they do.
The author indicates towards the need of tests to assess the differences in cognitive and physical
abilities, inherent personality traits and work behaviors of different workers. Due to the presence
of extensive data and empirical works, the I/O Psychologists have also developed procedures to
analyze the statistical issues like that of the validity of the tests, the level of generalization and
integration of individual as well as group level data.
However, I also came across several bottlenecks present regarding this aspect and the
literary evidences supporting the presence of the same. Among several crucial loopholes, Ruggs
et al. (2013), points out the opportunities of addressing the problems faced by the marginalized
workers in the enterprises and their grievances which are often not taken into account. Thus often
this branch of psychology deviates from their main goal of creating a fair workplace for all,
which they often miss out, which leaves scope of improvement and expansion of this domain of
psychology in the coming future.
Thus, from the above discussion and the literatures which I reviewed, it is clearly evident
that the comparatively newer branch of I/O Psychology is steadily gaining immense significance
in the complex and multi-dimensional work place dynamics as the same is directly related to the
welfare and efficiency of the workers as well as the organizations they work for. However, there
still remain several gaps in this aspect and scopes of further and more scientific development of
this genre in the coming years, thereby giving the people venturing in this domain considerable
scope of explorations and innovations.

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References
Bowers, J. (2018). What Is Industrial-Organizational Psychology?. Business News Daily.
Retrieved 6 January 2018, from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10162-industrial-
organizational-psychology.html
Devonish, D. (2013). Workplace bullying, employee performance and behaviors: The mediating
role of psychological well-being. Employee Relations, 35(6), 630-647.
Dries, N. (2013). The psychology of talent management: A review and research agenda. Human
Resource Management Review, 23(4), 272-285.
Imran, R., Fatima, A., Zaheer, A., Yousaf, I., & Batool, I. (2012). How to boost employee
performance: investigating the influence of transformational leadership and work
environment in a Pakistani perspective. Middle-East Journal of Scientific
Research, 11(10), 1455-1462.
Jex, S. M., & Britt, T. W. (2014). Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Koppes, L. L. (2014). Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology.
Psychology Press.
Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2016). Work in the 21st Century, Binder Ready Version: An
Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
Ployhart, R. E. (2012). The psychology of competitive advantage: An adjacent
possibility. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(1), 62-81.
Riggio, R. (2015). Introduction to industrial and organizational psychology. Routledge.

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Ruggs, E. N., Law, C., Cox, C. B., Roehling, M. V., Wiener, R. L., Hebl, M. R., & Barron, L.
(2013). Gone fishing: I–O psychologists' missed opportunities to understand
marginalized employees' experiences with discrimination. Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, 6(1), 39-60.
Sackett, P. R., & Walmsley, P. T. (2014). Which personality attributes are most important in the
workplace?. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(5), 538-551.
Siop.org. (2018). Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Siop.org. Retrieved 6 January 2018,
from http://www.siop.org/history/crsppp.aspx