Master's level training in industrial/organizational psychology: A case study of the perceived relevance of graduate training.

Describes the job requirements faced by graduates of a terminal master's level industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology program and their perception of the relevance and adequacy of course work to job demands. A survey of recent graduates indicated virtually all are able to find jobs in the area of their training at reasonably competitive salaries. Graduates view the majority of courses as well targeted toward skills they regard as useful for employment. Courses emphasizing traditional personnel psychology, training, and measurement are most valued. In light of the limited resources addressing I/O training content at the terminal master's level, results provide guidance for the content of master's level personnel psychology programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Institutional research productivity in industrial/organizational psychology.

Updated the report of W. M. Cox and V. Catt (see record 1978-21651-001) by determining the 40 top contributing institutions to the Journal of Applied Psychology, 1976–1982, and assessed the generalizability of productivity rankings based solely on contributions to this journal. A number of industrial and organizational psychologists were asked to indicate all the journals in which psychologists in the field were likely to publish. Five journals suggested by these nominators were used for comparison in the review. A list of the 40 most productive graduate programs based on these 5 journals is included. Results show the inadequacy of Cox and Catt's decision to base productivity ratings solely on contributions to 1 journal. Using 5 journals, 4 programs were catapulted into the top 10 rankings, while 7 programs dropped from top rankings in the Cox study (1970–1975) to below the 65th rank in the present study. Using only the Journal of Applied Psychology contributions, 2 of these programs ranked in the top 10, 1976–1982. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Past and future of industrial/organizational psychology.

Some of the early contributors to the development of industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology are reviewed, and their conceptions of the field are compared with contemporary ideas. Although research methods have become far more sophisticated, the broad divisions of the discipline remain unchanged: They involve selection, training, job performance, satisfaction, mental health, and social influences on work. Strictly organizational issues developed relatively late in the century. Two major trends in I/O psychology are identified and contrasted: quantitative and humanist perspectives. It is suggested that current practice overemphasizes the quantitative and at times ignores the humanistic consequences of I/O interventions. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical and philosophical issues in industrial/organizational psychology.

In preparing to address the question posed to the various divisions regarding the extent and character of theoretical and philosophical concerns in the various areas of psychology, I informally solicited input from about 20 Division 14 members. Almost without exception I received the same response: the observation that philosophical issues are not central to the daily activities of most I/O psychologists. After a bit more thought, most were able to identify areas or issues within I/O psychology to which philosophical issues are relevant. In the comments which follow, I will make no attempt to be systematic or complete in presenting the philosophical/theoretical issues facing I/O psychology. I will present examples of different types of issues facing the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health issues at work: Opportunities for industrial/organizational psychology.

The workplace provides an excellent setting for addressing issues of health, and industrial/organizational psychologists have a great deal to contribute to this effort. Five models for addressing health at work are presented along with the recommendation to use the broader systems approach. A set of criteria for health research and practice is introduced, and the potential contributions of industrial-organizational psychology for addressing these criteria are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concern for the environment: Implications for industrial and organizational psychology.

Maintains that the direct and indirect influences of the geographic environment in which an individual lives on how and where he/she works, can be studied with considerable utility. Two issues regarding ecology and personnel psychology are examined in detail: (a) new jobs, tasks, and careers appearing as a consequence of man's effect on the environment and (b) the physical environment possibly affecting aptitude and interest development. Possible areas of research in the area of ecology and personnel psychology are discussed (e.g., the effects of climates, weather, and variability in land surface on the performance of individuals). (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continuity and change in industrial/organizational psychology: Learning from previous mistakes.

Previous predictions of changes in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology have failed to materialize due to omissions in mainstream I/O psychology. Three of these deficiencies (ahistorical habits, failure to appreciate continuity, and implicit acceptance of a particular political–economic framework) are explored to examine I/O psychology's past and present and to better predict its future. These 3 characteristics are seen as pathologies in I/O psychology, and their consequences for predictions are regarded as symptoms of the pathology. The analysis suggests that the future will be more like the present than is currently assumed and that I/O psychologists need to better understand the position of their field in history, the historical context of organizational evolution, and the ongoing political economy. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of path analysis in industrial/organizational psychology: Criticisms and suggestions.

Path analysis or structural equation modeling is a technique for testing the consequences of proposed causal relationships among a set of variables. The technique rests on specific procedures and important assumptions (uncorrelated residuals, 1-way causality, linearity, additivity, interval measures). These assumptions, along with the problem of multicollinearity, are discussed, and specific techniques are offered to deal with them. Path analysis studies from the industrial/organizational psychology literature are reviewed to illustrate the specific consequences of disregarding these assumptions and procedures. The relationship between cross-lagged correlation and path analysis is explored, particularly with regard to the differing but complementary purposes of each. Finally, the problems due to both shared and random measurement error and the application of path analysis to experiments are discussed. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Master's in psychology.

Conducted a nationwide survey of graduate departments of psychology and degree recipients in 1969 and 1970, focusing on the relationship of characteristics of both the individual and degree-granting institution to postgraduation plans. A higher percentage of psychology majors planned to continue their education past the master's degree level, compared with individuals majoring in other areas. Women from either master's- or doctoral-level departments were less likely than men to continue their education. For both sexes, individuals over 30 years of age were less likely to continue their education than those under 30 years. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Entrepreneurship research and practice: A call to action for psychology.

Entrepreneurship is a major source of employment, economic growth, and innovation, promoting product and service quality, competition, and economic flexibility. It is also a mechanism by which many people enter the society's economic and social mainstream, aiding culture formation, population integration, and social mobility. This article aims to illuminate research opportunities for psychologists by exposing gaps in the entrepreneurship literature and describing how these gaps can be filled. A "call to action" is issued to psychologists to develop theory and undertake empirical research focusing on five key topic areas: the personality characteristics of entrepreneurs, the psychopathology of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial cognition, entrepreneurship education, and international entrepreneurship. Methodological issues are discussed and recommendations provided. It is shown that psychologists can help identify the factors that influence new venture creation and success and inform the construction of public policy to facilitate entrepreneurship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an organizational psychology for organizational psychology.

Pursuit of the goal for organizational psychology postulated by M. D. Dunnette (1976) is viewed as being analogous to the task accomplishments by formal organizations. This perspective suggests that organizational psychologists might improve their collective effectiveness by applying the substance of organizational psychology to themselves. Six elements are considered: (a) domain and task requirements, (b) required diversity, (c) stimulus variability and search processes, (d) problem definition, (e) resource allocation, and (f) requirements for a self-designing system. Analysis of these dimensions suggests that many aspects of the structure of contemporary organizational psychology are in conflict with the achievement of Dunnette's goals. It is concluded that the way many current processes (e.g., searching for solutions and processes and defining problems) are managed by organizational psychologists stimulates closed-systems approaches for tasks that require creative, open-systems approaches. Potential benefits of an organizational psychology of organizational psychology are suggested. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A historical examination of author sex and research funding in industrial/organizational psychology.

Analyzed 9,042 research articles in 5 journals during the period 1917–1984 for trends in author sex and funding in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology. Results show that the greatest percentage of articles authored by women appeared in the 1920's. This figure declined through the 1960's and rose during the 1970's and 1980's. More male than female authors received funding up through the 1950's, but this was reversed in the 1960's and 1970's. It is suggested that more credit should be given to the effect female professionals had on the growth of I/O psychology and that women are now publishing in proportion to their professional membership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The future for industrial and organizational psychology: Oblivion or millennium?

Deplores the decline of industrial psychology programs in graduate schools in the face of a growing need for help in solving intensifying human problems in industry. Although there has been an explosive growth in related graduate training programs in business schools in the last decade, graduates of such programs have not had much exposure to fundamental areas of psychology. It is suggested that masters degree programs in psychology be revived to train practitioners, and programs be initiated to train psychologists at the doctoral level for applied roles in industry. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early influences on the development of industrial and organizational psychology.

Industrial and organizational psychology began as applied psychology. Hugo Münsterberg was well-known for his applications of psychology to forensics, psychotherapy, and industrial efficiency. James McKeen Cattell pioneered mental testing and argued for an applicable, if not applied, psychology. Walter Dill Scott and Walter VanDyke Bingham were devoted to the application of psychological principles to the problems of government and industry. The lives and accomplishments of these 4 figures are detailed as a way of examining the development of the subdiscipline between the years 1880 and 1920. The focus of the discussion is on how their efforts peculiarly changed the science and practice of industrial and organizational psychology. Each made a unique contribution in a unique time period. The field continues to benefit from their individual and collective influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Whither industrial and organizational psychology in a changing world of work?

Dramatic changes are affecting the world of work. Examples include increased global competition, the impact of information technology, the re-engineering of business processes, smaller companies that employ fewer people, the shift from making a product to providing a service, and the growing disappearance of "the job" as a fixed bundle of tasks. These trends are producing a redefinition of work itself. They provide great opportunities for industrial and organizational psychologists to contribute to the betterment of human welfare. This article identifies 6 key areas in which to start: job analysis, employee selection, training and development, performance appraisal, compensation (including incentives), and organizational development. Relevant research in these areas can provide substantial payoffs for individuals, organizations, and society as psychology moves into the 21st century. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Current status of federal support for psychology.

Reports on federal funding for psychology. The present report is based on information obtained between December 1968 and April 1969. The data in this report, generally, come from the agency offices directly involved in the programs described, such as the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Mental Health. Some figures, however, are from official publications. No attempt at a detailed analysis of funding levels for specific programs supporting psychological research will be made in this report. Many agencies were unable at the time of this report to determine how much of their allocations was specifically to psychologists or for psychological research as opposed to broader categories such as behavioral scientists, behavioral research, or extramural research. In a later report from this office, a finer breakdown of funding for psychology and an interpretive analysis will be presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Industrial/organizational psychology in Canada: An introduction.

The objective in this Special Issue is to provide colleagues and students with an introduction to current research and professional issues in industrial/organizational psychology in Canada. The authors provide a historical context for that current work and offer some suggestions for future directions. The authors include a cross-section of industrial/organizational psychologists at work in Canada today, reflecting regional, language and gender differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of industrial/organizational doctoral programs: A survey of APA Division 14 members.

146 members of the Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association completed a survey concerning their perceptions of the characteristics of I/O doctoral programs. Results indicate that the best I/O programs differed from adequate programs primarily in terms of faculty and graduate reputations, faculty publications, quantitative methods emphasis, experimental emphasis, access to research tools, and emphasis on personnel selection and training. Findings are discussed in relation to recommendations from the Task Force on the Practice of Psychology in Industry and the recent trends in organizational development and behavior. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

GRE predictive validity in a Master's program in clinical psychology.

Presents predictive validity data for GRE scores collected in the Master's program in clinical psychology at Acadia University. The program typically admits 4 or 5 students per year, and the current sample consists of 37 students (29 females, 8 males) who have completed their 2-yr residency requirement in the program over the past 10 years. Upon application, 12 of the admitted students did not provided GRE scores, and of the other 25, 4 did not write the Advanced test in psychology. Cumulative undergraduate 4-point GPAs and 4 GRE scores were used as predictors, and these means are lower than would be found in PhD graduate programs in larger schools or PhD-level programs. Outcome variables were whether students were accepted into a PhD program; external awards; graduating on time; and thesis publication. A series of t-tests were conducted to examine which predictors discriminated between outcome variables. Results show that GRE scores were highly predictive of a range of outcome variables in the Acadia Master's program where there is a higher degree of variability in predictors. The importance of how GRE scores are used in combination with other predictors is noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)