What is I/O psychology?

Textbook definition:

“Application of psychological principles and theories to the workplace”

What I tell my folks:

“Study of how people get along at work and are able to perform effectively”

What is I/O psychology?

Subareas within I/O

Industrial or personnel psychology

HR stuff: recruitment, job analysis, selection, training, performance appraisal, compensation, employment law (Title VII of CRA)

KSAs  job performance

Organizational psychology

Micro: motivation, leadership, teams, worker attitudes, safety & well-being, work-family

Macro: org theory, culture, org development & change

What is I/O psychology?

Subareas within I/O

Human factors & ergonomics

Modifying equipment & env to fit workers

What is I/O psychology?

Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology (SIOP)
 www.siop.org

Division 14 of the American Psychological
Association (APA)

Good overviews…

Textbooks by the two Pauls

Who are I/O psychologists?

Two general groups

Academics

Professors in research- and teachingoriented universities and colleges


Example departments: psychology, management, industrial relations, quantitative sciences, occupational health & safety

Major activities
Teaching courses, conducting research, writing and presenting research papers, attending conferences, mentoring students, performing university and professional service

Who are I/O psychologists?

Two general groups

Practitioners

HR and organizational specialists in consulting, private, and public organizations

Major activities

Job analysis, diagnosis, surveying employees, designing and administering selection & performance appraisal systems, training, developing psychological tests, implementing and evaluating OD & change, data analysis

“Other” category

Research institutes, think tanks (e.g., RAND)

Who are I/O psychologists?
7%
6%
33%
15%
Consulting
Academic
Private
Public
Other
39%

Who are I/O psychologists?

Scientists AND practitioners

Understanding and evaluating research necessary for good practice…

…and awareness of practical problems necessary for good research

I/Oers are thieves!

We “borrow” from social, cognitive, developmental, clinical, and other areas of psychology

Where do you go to become an
I/O psychologist?

Grad school!!!

Top PhD programs

Minnesota, Michigan State, Illinois (UIUC), Akron,
Bowling Green, Penn State, George Mason, South
Florida, Maryland

Good PhD programs (just a sampling!)

Central Florida, Florida Tech, Georgia Tech,
Colorado State, Portland State, San Diego State

Want to be a Canuck? Waterloo, Western Ontario,
Calgary, Guelph, St. Mary’s

Where do you go to become an
I/O psychologist?

Typical grad school timeline

Lots of course work in years 1 and 2

MA thesis completed in year 2 or 3

Varies in formality by program

Internship?

Comprehensive exams in year 3

Dissertation in years 4 and 5

Proposal and defense meetings

Where do you go to become an
I/O psychologist?

Other considerations…

PhD or MA program?

Psychology or business?

Application req’ts may vary (GRE vs. GMAT)

Coursework varies (social vs. strategy)

More stats and RM courses in psych

PhD in business is 100% research-focused

Thesis not typical in business

Funding better in business

Short-term vs. long-term considerations

When should you begin thinking about grad school in I/O psychology?

The sooner the better!

Stuff to think about early on

Relevant coursework

I/O (duh!), stats, research methods, tests & measures, social, personality, motivation, cognitive, OB/HR

Research experience

Honor’s thesis, RA

Experience is more important than topic

Interact with faculty, grad students



Be active (not passive)
Attend brownbags
Involvement in professional societies (Psi Chi, SIOP)

When should you begin thinking about grad school in I/O psychology?

Speaking of research assistance…

Erin Eatough ( eeatough@mail.usf.edu
) is hiring 3 RAs for Spring semester

OHP study requiring help with…

Participant recruitment

Data collection

Data entry & management

Motivated RAs will have opportunities to contribute to presentation and publication of research

When should you begin thinking about grad school in I/O psychology?

Senior year

GRE

Positive correlation between study time and score

Allow time for make-up, if necessary

Subject GRE?

Application materials (due dates begin in Dec)

Recommendation letters

People who know you well and can comment on your scholarly potential

Personal statement


Get examples & seek feedback
Tailor them to programs

Why should you consider getting a degree in I/O psychology?

Applied field

There will always be practical problems to solve!

Company restructuring & downsizing

Workplace diversity

Variety of job possibilities

Academic positions in multiple departments

Internal and external consulting

Private and public organizations

Any combination of the above

Why should you consider getting a degree in I/O psychology?

Variety of research topics

Attitudes, emotions, behavior (social)

Learning, memory, heuristics (cog)

Employee aging, retirement (develop)

Employee counseling, coaching (clinical)

Data analysis, test development (quant)

Field is growing

More and more I/O and mgmt dept’s

Out with the old, in with the new…

Thank you!

Any more questions?