Organizational Psychology

(noun)

The scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations.

Related Terms

Examples of Organizational Psychology in the following topics:

  • Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology

    • Industrial and organizational psychology is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations.
    • Industrial and organizational (I–O) psychology is a relatively young field.
    • Collectively, industrial and organizational psychology is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations.
    • Organizational psychology was not officially added to the psychological canon until the 1970s, but since then the field has flourished.
    • Industrial-organizational psychologists look at questions surrounding workplace issues.

  • Behaviorism: Follett, Munsterberg, and Mayo

    • Behaviorism initiated a focus on the psychological and human factors influencing workers.
    • Mary Parker Follett, Hugo Munsterberg, and Elton Mayo are all considered pioneers and founders of the industrial/organizational psychology and behaviorism movements in management theory.
    • Mary Parker Follett (September 3, 1868 – December 18, 1933) was an American social worker, management consultant, and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior.
    • He was one of the pioneers of applied psychology, extending his research and theories to industrial/organizational (I/O), legal, medical, clinical, educational, and business settings.
    • Many of Munsterberg's ideas, especially the idea of matching an individual's personality with the correct job set and skills, are common in the use of industrial/organizational psychology today.

  • Undergraduate and Graduate Study in Psychology

    • Options for doctoral graduates in psychology include the areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, occupational psychology, forensic psychology, education psychology, and engineering psychology, as well as many other areas such as school psychology, sports psychology, and community psychology.
    • Some psychologists (such as clinical and counseling psychologists) provide mental health care, while others (such as social or organizational psychologists) conduct research and provide consultation services.
    • Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Science (MS) in counseling psychology, clinical psychology, or educational psychology.
    • Individuals with a master's degree in psychology may qualify for positions in many areas, such as school and industrial/organizational psychology.
    • While it is common for students who earn bachelor's degrees in psychology or social work to go on to graduate school, students who major in concentrations other than psychology or social work may still qualify for entry into psychology graduate programs.

  • Careers in Psychology

    • Psychology is a very broad field, and there are many career options available for graduating students of psychology.
    • Clinical psychology involves the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and treating psychologically based dysfunction.
    • There are several subfields within the field I-O psychology: for instance, personnel psychology focuses on the selection and evaluation of workers, while organizational psychology examines the effects of work environment and management styles on worker motivation, job satisfaction, and productivity.
    • Careers in health settings can vary widely and include health psychology (sometimes called health-and-wellness psychology), occupational-health psychology, and medical psychology.
    • Neuroimaging has been helpful in many areas of psychology, particularly in the subfield of biological psychology.

  • Goals of Psychology

    • Simply put, psychology is the study of the soul.
    • Developmental psychology studies human development over the lifespan.
    • Forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the justice system.
    • Industrial and organizational (IO) psychology focuses on the study of people within the workplace.
    • Define the overarching goal of psychology, and discuss the various goals of the different subfields of psychology.

  • What is Organizational Behavior?

    • Organizational behavior is the field of study that investigates how organizational structures affect behavior within organizations.
    • It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology, psychology, communication, and management.
    • Organizational behavior complements organizational theory, which focuses on organizational and intra-organizational topics, and complements human-resource studies, which is more focused on everyday business practices.
    • Organizational behavior can play a major role in organizational development, enhancing overall organizational performance, as well as also enhancing individual and group performance, satisfaction, and commitment.
    • Organizational behavior also deals heavily in culture.

  • Defining Psychology

    • Psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes and behavior.
    • Psychology is the academic and applied study of mental functions and behaviors.
    • Simply put, psychology is the study of the mind.
    • Some are employed in industrial and organizational settings, in health-care settings, in the media, in sports, or in forensic investigation and other law-related fields.
    • Psychology seeks to understand how psychological factors interact with sociocultural and biological factors to influence individual development.

  • The Behavioral-Science Approach

    • Behavioral science draws from a number of different fields and theories, primarily those of psychology, social neuroscience, and cognitive science.
    • This includes concepts such as information processing, relationships and motivation, and organizational development.
    • Organizational development is an ongoing, systematic process of implementing effective organizational change.
    • Organizational development is considered both a field of applied behavioral science that focuses on understanding and managing organizational change as well as a field of scientific study and inquiry.
    • It uses components of behavioral sciences and studies in the fields of sociology, psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality to implement effective organizational change and aid in the development of employees.

  • Organization

    • Organization is the stage in the perception process in which we mentally arrange stimuli into meaningful and comprehensible patterns.
    • Organization is the process by which we mentally arrange the information we've just attended to in order to make sense of it; we turn it into meaningful and digestible patterns.
    • Gestalt psychology tries to understand the laws of our ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic world.
    • The central principle of gestalt psychology is that the mind forms a global whole with self-organizing tendencies.
    • Essentially, gestalt psychology says that our brain groups elements together whenever possible instead of keeping them as separate elements.

  • Psychological Pricing

    • Psychological pricing or price ending is a marketing practice based on the theory that certain prices have a psychological impact.
    • Psychology is an academic and applied discipline that involves the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors.
    • Some are employed in industrial and organizational settings, or in other areas such as human development and aging, sports, health, and the media, as well as in forensic investigation and other aspects of law.
    • Psychological pricing or price ending is a marketing practice based on the theory that certain prices have a psychological impact.
    • Psychological pricing can be used to the perceived value of a product up as well.