Scientific Method and Industrial/organizational Psychology
University of Phoenix Material
Industrial/Organizational Psychology Worksheet
The purpose of this assignment is to examine the fundamental concepts of the field of industrial/organizational psychology. Using the textbook, the University Library, the Internet, and/or other resources, answer the following questions. Your responses to each question will vary but overall should be 700- to 1,050-words in length.
1. Describe the evolution of the field of industrial/organizational psychology.
Industrial/organizational psychology has its roots in the late 1800s and early 1900s when early psychologists were trying to apply the theories of psychology to the organization of business (Spector, 2008). Two scientists are attributed with the founding work of industrial/organizational psychology: Huge Munsterberg and Walter Dill Scott. Both were university professors that had an interest in employee selection and the application of new psychological tests to the subject of industry. In fact, two of industrial/organizational psychology’s foundational books, The Theory of Advertising (1903) and Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913) were written by Scott and Munsterberg, respectively. The methodological next step beyond Scott and Munsterberg came in 1911 when Frederick Winslow Taylor developed his theory of “Scientific Management”, which puts for a scientific procedure for the managing of production workers on the factory line. The field of industrial/organizational psychology took a leap in technological applicability when Frank Gilbreth, an engineer, and Lillian Gilbreth, a psychologists, combined the knowledgebase of their respective fields into one eclectic theory of human factors; which is wholly concerned with the design of technology for use by people (Spector, 2008). Ironically, it was the destruction of World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII) that most furthered the development and relevance of industrial/organizational psychology. During WWI several
Industrial/Organizational Psychology Worksheet
The purpose of this assignment is to examine the fundamental concepts of the field of industrial/organizational psychology. Using the textbook, the University Library, the Internet, and/or other resources, answer the following questions. Your responses to each question will vary but overall should be 700- to 1,050-words in length.
1. Describe the evolution of the field of industrial/organizational psychology.
Industrial/organizational psychology has its roots in the late 1800s and early 1900s when early psychologists were trying to apply the theories of psychology to the organization of business (Spector, 2008). Two scientists are attributed with the founding work of industrial/organizational psychology: Huge Munsterberg and Walter Dill Scott. Both were university professors that had an interest in employee selection and the application of new psychological tests to the subject of industry. In fact, two of industrial/organizational psychology’s foundational books, The Theory of Advertising (1903) and Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913) were written by Scott and Munsterberg, respectively. The methodological next step beyond Scott and Munsterberg came in 1911 when Frederick Winslow Taylor developed his theory of “Scientific Management”, which puts for a scientific procedure for the managing of production workers on the factory line. The field of industrial/organizational psychology took a leap in technological applicability when Frank Gilbreth, an engineer, and Lillian Gilbreth, a psychologists, combined the knowledgebase of their respective fields into one eclectic theory of human factors; which is wholly concerned with the design of technology for use by people (Spector, 2008). Ironically, it was the destruction of World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII) that most furthered the development and relevance of industrial/organizational psychology. During WWI several