Development of Organizational Psychology

Historical Introduction

            The organisational psychology deals with human behaviour in organizational set up. The ultimate goal of Organisational psychology is fully satisfied employees with optimal production.

            The organizational psychology was born in the initial decade of 20th century therefore is relatively younger. The two books published by Walter Dill Scott in 1903 (The Theory of Advertising) and Hugo Munsterberg in 1910 (Psychology and Industrial Efficiency) is known to be considered as starting point of organizational psychology. Scott applied psychology to business while Munsterberg talked about hiring right people for job who have desired mental abilities.

            The two books published by Walter Dill Scott in 1903 (The Theory of Advertising) and Hugo Munsterberg in 1910 (Psychology and Industrial Efficiency) is known to be considered as starting point of organizational psychology. Scott applied psychology to business while Munsterberg talked about hiring right people for job who have desired mental abilities.

            The break out of World War I opened the floodgates for organizational psychology. The large numbers of soldiers were positioned at several locations. Organizational psychologists were employed to assess recruits and place them accordingly. They were assessed using Alpha (for literate) and Beta (for illiterate) tests. Thomas Edison was quick to understand the importance of psychological assessment and consequently organized a 150-item knowledge test. Almost 900 people applied only 45 (5%) could go through. Organizational psychology started to take deep roots in diverse fields.

            Gilbreth couple were the prominent scientists who contribute in the development of organizational psychology. They focused to improve productivity and reduce fatigue by studying the motions used by workers. In the third decade of 20th century 1930s, organizational psychology expanded its scope.

            The Hawthorne studies (At Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company, Chicago) prompted psychologists to study the quality of the work environment and attitude of employees. The major contribution of the Hawthorne studies was that it inspired psychologists to increase their focus on human relations in the workplace and to explore the effects of employee attitudes (Olson, Verley, Santos, & Salas, 2004). The emerging field of Human Resource Management adopted psychological practices for developing fair selection techniques. The 1960s were characterized by the use of sensitivity training and T-groups (laboratory training groups) for managers.

            B. F. Skinner’s (1971) in “Beyond Freedom and Dignity” advocated the use of behaviour-modification techniques in organizations.

            The decades of 80s and 90s witnessed four major changes in Organizational psychology.

(1)       Increased use of statistical techniques and methods of analysis,

(2)       Emerged interest in the application of cognitive psychology to industry,

(3)       The effects of work on family life and leisure activities

(4)       Recruitment and selection of right people for the job.

            The development of cognitive ability tests, personality tests, and other psychological tests proved to major contributors in development of organizational psychology.  It effected organizations in several aspects such as better working environments, ergonomics, focus on gender issues, diversity of workforce, psychological traits of individuals, mental health of employees etc. The first decade of 21st century changed the paradigms of OP with exponential growth in computer technology. Computers were used in administration of tests with unbelievable speed and accuracy. It has been used in automation and better designs of machines to suit the human beings. Employees were trained through e-modules a communication was at its best with lightning speed.

References:

1.         Aamodt, M. G. (2010). Industrial/ Organizational Psychology: An applied approach. Belmont: Wadsworth.