Applied Psychology
Chapter 17
Applied Psychology Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Human Factors and Ergonomics
Psychology and the Law
Environmental Psychology
Community Psychology
Sports Psychology
What is Applied Psychology?
• Applied psychology
the branch of
psychology that uses
psychological
principles to solve
practical problems in
everyday life
Industrial Organizational
Psychology
What is Industrial/Organizational (I/O)
Psychology ?
Industrial/Organizational
Psychology:
• Explores how individual
behaviour is affected by the work
environment, coworkers, and
organizational practices
Industrial Organizational Psychology
Four broad areas:
–
–
–
–
Human Resources Psychology
Motivation and job performance
Job satisfaction
Leadership
Human Resources Psychology
• Human resources psychologists
are involved in the following
activities related to employment:
• Job analyses
• Selection Procedures
• Education and Training
• Performance appraisal
Job Analyses
• Job analyses:
– specify performance criteria (i.e. the
behaviours that are required of the
employees)
– specify the qualifications for
employment in that position
Selection Procedures
Selection procedures:
• assess the suitability of job
candidates to help an
employer determine who to
hire
• Various tests are often used:
Education and Training
• Most corporations offer
systematic training so
employees can learn skills to
improve their job
performance
• I/O psychologists typically
break a training program
down into a series of learning
objectives
Performance Appraisal
Performance appraisal
• the process by which a
supervisor periodically evaluates
the job-relevant strengths and
weaknesses of a subordinate
• Often used to determine salaries,
layoffs, firings, transfers, and
promotions
Motivation of Job Performance
• I/O psychologists often help
determine what motivates
employees to be productive
• A number of theories attempt to
explain employee motivation:
– Need & Goal-Setting Theory
– Expectancy Theory
– Equity Theory
Motivation of Job Performance
Expectancy Theories
• Assert that a worker’s
desire to work is
determined by
expectations regarding the
outcome of that work
• Vroom’s Expectancy
Theory:
– Expectancy
– Instrumentality
– Valence
Motivation of Job Performance
Equity theory:
•
asserts that workers feel
that what they do (input)
should be balanced by their
compensation (reward)
• Employees will adjust their
work level according to
compensation levels
Job
Satisfaction
Job Satisfaction
•
Job satisfaction –
•
Sources of Job Satisfaction:
–
the work itself
–
the perceived rewards of the work
the quality of supervision
the support of co-workers
the work setting
–
–
–
Leadership
Leadership
• Leaders - people who
influence other people’s
behaviour toward the
attainment of agreedupon goals
Leadership: Areas of Research
• Leadership traits –
• Leadership behaviours - refer to how a leader interacts
with other members of the organization
• Situational leadership –
• Leadership effectiveness – Vroom’s leadership model
emphasizes the important role of situational variables in
determining appropriate leadership approach
• Transformational leadership - leaders who provide
inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual
attention to followers
Human Factors and
Ergonomics
Human Factors
• Human factors (sometimes called
ergonomics) –
• Its aim is to study the “fit” between
people and their environment in order to
improve performance, well-being, safety
and health
• Involves the application of scientific
principles, methods, and data drawn
from a variety of disciplines
Human Factors
• To evaluate interactions between tasks
and people we must understand the
anatomical physiological, and
psychological characeristics of people
• Human Factors researchers integrate
knowledge of all areas of psycholgy –
perception, memory, cognition,
physiological, attention, social, etc.
• Example: driving – requires attention,
signal detection, decision making,
learning, skill acquisition, workload,
attitudes, etc.
Human Factors: Efficiency
• To create efficiency,
human factors
researchers seek to
develop person-machine
interfaces that minimize
frustration and errors,
maximize output, and
are reliable
Human Factors: Behaviour-Based Safety
• Behaviour-based safety programs that focus on
changing the behaviour of
workers and companies to
prevent occupational injuries
and illnesses
• A good safety culture within a
company minimizes shortcut
and rule violations, and
encourages communication
between workers and
management
Human Factors: Behaviour-Based Safety
Example
• Most failures of human-machine system are due to poor
designs that don’t recognize peoples’ capabilities and
fallibilities
Example:
• Motorway Communications System
• Police using the system failed to change the speed limit
signs when fog descended causing major accident
• A number of human-machine system problems identified:
– Input codes were cryptic and therefore error prone
– Error messages were cryptic e.g., “error code 7”
– Operator was overloaded with other tasks
Psychology and the Law
Psychology and Law
• Legal psychology –
• Forensic psychology - focuses on
legal issues in which clinical
psychologists can act as expert
witnesses and consultants
• Psychological jurisprudence the study of efforts to develop a
philosophy of law and justice
based on psychological values
Psychology and Law
Psychologists assume many roles in the
legal system including:
• Researcher
• Policy or program evaluator
• Advocate
• Expert witnesses
ENVIRONMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
Definition
Crowding
Environmental Variables
Environmental Psychology
• Environmental psychology:
– The study of how physical settings
affect human behaviour and how
people change their environment
• What do Environmental
psychologists do?
Environmental Psychology
• Stressor:
– a stimulus that affects an organism
in a psychologically or physically
injurious way
Temperature
• a stressor that affects many
behaviours
• Very hot or very cold temperatures
can cause behavioural effects
• Extreme Heat:
• Extreme Cold:
Noise
• Noise is a stressor that can
overstimulate people
• Noise often leads to poor
work performance and social
functioning
Environmental Toxins
• Nearly any airborne substance (man-
made or natural) can trigger
respiratory problems resulting in
diminished work performance and
health consequences
• Airborne toxins can impair motor
tasks involving reaction time and
affect long-term health
Crowding
- Number of people around can affect
behaviour
• Crowding: the perception that personal
space is too limited rather then the size of
a space or the number of people around
• Studies:
– Valins & Baum (1973)- more students who
lived in a traditional dorm felt crowded than
students who lived in a suite style dorm
Personal Space
• Personal space:
• Encroachment causes displeasure and possible
withdrawal
• Cultural Differences
• Spatial Zones: Intimate, Personal, Social, and
Public
COMMUNITY
PSYCHOLOGY
Community Psychology
•
Community psychology: seeks to
reach out to society by providing
services and to effect social
change
•
Methodology: uses qualitative and
quantitative research to address
complex social problems
Community Psychology
• Empowerment: involves
helping people in the
community enhance their
existing skills and develop
new ones
Community Psychology
• Prevention operates at three levels:
• Primary prevention:
• Secondary prevention:
• Tertiary prevention:
SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
Sports Psychology
• Sports psychology: the systematic
application of psychological
principles to sports
• Sports Psychologists:
Motivation
What motivates an athlete?
• Four levels of analysis:
–
–
–
–
Goal
Climate
Perception of Abilities
Adaptiveness of Behaviour
Activation and Arousal
• Yerkes-Dodson Law:
Moderate arousal is associated
with enhanced performance while
extremely low or high arousal is
associated with diminished
performance.
Anxiety and Performance
• Interventions (Anxiety-Reducing
Techniques):
– Progressive Relaxation:
– Hypnosis & Meditation:
– Mental Imagery:
– Cognitive: