motorhome mobilvetta k yacht 89

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The K Yacht offers space and style in spades

Starting from just under 6m in length, Mobilvetta K-Yachts have space is to be admired. The roominess is thanks to its distinctive coach cab and big window that lets in light and offers fab views. This of course makes driving the K-Yacht quite an awesome experience too. Bright, airy interiors have a nautical vibe with storage in spades, like a garage so big it can hold a Vespa!

Room for everything and everyone

Coachmen cab seats make for comfortable driving and also lounging when you're parked up taking in those views through the K-Yacht's signature expansive front window. Then they swivel around to amplify the living space. Plus extra beds are no problem so there's room for guests.

• 2x 120 amp/hr batteries
• 120L fresh + 100L grey water
• 2x gas bottles
• Awning as standard
• Built in oven/grill
• 3 gas hob burner with glass lid
• 150L three way fridge freezer
• Chrome sink with mixer tap
• 17.5L toilet cassette
• Front drop down bed
• Coachmen seats for comfortable driving and lounging
• Kerbside habitation door for safety
• Separate shower + toilet with sliding doors for privacy between

Safety first

A reversing camera is a must and it's combined with traction control plus hill hold assist and hill descent control for an easy driving experience on a dependable Fiat Ducato base

• 2.3L euro 6 engine 160hp
• 400Nm/120Kw
• Cruise control
• Front wheel drive
• Cab air conditioning
• Integrated cab with swivel seats
• 240W solar panel

Choose your floor plan

There's a layout for your family.

High quality finishes are everywhere

Includes plush mattresses, synthetic leather upholstery and acrylic stone kitchen benchtops. And 100% wood-free construction, double glazing and grade 3 insulation means the K-Yacht can be your home on the road any season. Plus, the upgraded chassis to 4400kg GVM means plenty of payload to travel with all the toys.

Related series to K-Yacht

Mobilvetta K-Yacht Tekno Design 89 | Colpo d'occhio sul camper

Il Mobilvetta K-Yacht Tekno Design 89 è un motorhome con matrimoniale a penisola e bagno e doccia separati. A fare la differenza, l’indiscutibile fascino delle forme, le molte innovazioni tecniche e una dotazione di serie da primo della classe

Questione di stile Lasciamo per un momento da parte tecnologia e contenuti per fermarci alla forma, all’immagine. A quella cosa che ti fa dire “bello questo motorhome” quando passa per strada o una volta aperta la porta d’ingresso. Se questo accade, chi lo ha progettato ha già quasi centrato l’obiettivo di vendita.

Insomma, vuol dire che piace e che l’apparenza conta. Eccome se conta. Se poi alla forma e alla bellezza aggiungiamo la classe elevata, il prestigio, il lusso e, non contenti, anche le tradizioni, ecco che abbiamo tutti gli elementi indispensabili per rappresentare lo spirito Mobilvetta. E tale essenza è bene evidente anche in questo K-Yacht Tekno Design 89 che, a fianco degli altri due motorhome della serie, da molti è considerato uno dei punti di riferimento tra gli integrali italiani prodotti in questa stagione. I tre motorhome K-Yacht Tekno Design, che affiancano i sempre richiesti K-Yacht Tekno Line, si contraddistinguono non tanto nelle forme esterne che si allineano a quelle dei Tekno Line, salvo la nuova calandra di colore nero, i nuovi spoiler di dimensioni aumentate, gli specchi retrovisori di colore bianco e le decorazioni sulle fiancate in carbonio grigio chiaro, ma negli arredi totalmente inediti, dove i vari elementi ripropongono nel design delle forme la “V” del logo Mobilvetta. Nella scelta, questo 89 ha il matrimoniale a penisola e bagno e doccia separati, il Tekno Design 85 i due letti gemelli rialzati e il 79 il matrimoniale a penisola e la toilette passante a tutta larghezza con mobile lavabo al centro ai piedi del letto. Su tutti, la lunghezza di 7 metri e 44, cucina a L con colonna frigo 150 lt fronteggiante, living con poltrona laterale e matrimoniale basculante in cabina.

Meccanica Omologato quattro posti, il Tekno Design 89 è offerto su meccanica Fiat Ducato Euro 6 2.3 130 cv carreggiata allargata, passo 4.035 mm e in opzione 150 cv e 180 cv. Su richiesta anche la possibilità di aumentare il peso totale a 3.650 kg e il 5° posto (patente C o C1). Di serie troviamo: climatizzatore cabina, Cruise Control, ABS, ESP, Traction Plus, Hill Holder e Descend, Airbag guidatore e passeggero, vetri elettrici e atermici, specchi elettrici riscaldati, telecomando con chiusura centralizzata cabina/cellula, sedili girevoli e regolabili con braccioli e fodere, cerchi in lega da 16”, predisposizione impianto stereo cabina. La massa rimorchiabile è 2.000 kg. Due i telai disponibili; di serie lo chassis Fiat Ducato ribassato Camping Car Special dotato di doppio fondo tecnico di 117 mm e in opzione il noto telaio Al-Ko, con doppio pavimento passante con altezza utile di circa 200 mm.

Living All’interno è subito evidente l’esclusivo carattere del nuovo Tekno Design, dove il blocco cucina e il living si fondono con linee inedite che richiamano nelle forme il “V Concept” dei nuovi Mobilvetta. Motivo questo che ritroviamo nella selleria dell’accogliente divano ergonomico a due posti con braccioli sagomati a forma di “V” abbinato a un tavolo con piano traslabile e ruotabile che si chiude a libro. Nella struttura tra cucina e divano trovano posto anche la centralina “touch” per il comando delle luci ambiente, un cestello scorrevole in acciaio e un porta scarpe con anta basculante. Le novità proseguono a parete con i nuovi pensili retroilluminati con cornice in alluminio e apertura a scatto e nel controsoffitto di ispirazione nautica che unisce in maniera continua pensili, soffitto e oblò. Questo tripudio di nuove forme prosegue per tutto l’allestimento, compresi i particolari: ad esempio nell’adiacente V-bag, la borsa estraibile posizionata all’ingresso.

Cucina Fa da padrone l’avveniristico top cucina solido e compatto in “Light Stone” simile al Corian, che si estende sul living e che raggruppa i tre fuochi in linea e il grande lavello con sgocciolatoio e rubinetteria in alluminio verniciato. A parete la nuova copertura con effetto inox spazzolato incornicia la finestra della cucina, mentre lateralmente il parafiamma in vetro temperato e un pannello retroilluminato delimitano il piano di lavoro. Nella base 3 ampi cassetti e il vano sotto al lavello, mentre lateralmente e di lato al fronteggiante frigorifero due cestelli estraibili. In opzione il forno a gas.

Toilette Ritroviamo le linee guida del “V Concept” dei nuovi Mobilvetta anche nel disegno del mobile lavabo col piano in “Light Stone” che integra il dispenser sapone e il porta dentifricio e spazzolino. Il vano riservato al lavabo e al wc ha pensili a parete, mentre luce e ricambio dell’aria sono assicurati da una finestra e da un oblò a tetto. Sull’altro lato c’è il box doccia completamente avvolto con termoformati e arricchito da portaoggetti inox, appenderia sull’oblò a tetto e bande illuminate a Led.

Posti letto Il matrimoniale a penisola della zona posteriore è bene isolato dal resto dell’allestimento da una prima porta scorrevole per accedere al bagno passante e di seguito dall’ulteriore porta della toilette che aperta a 180° divide la zona giorno. Anche qui eleganza e design sono bene evidenti, con ante degli armadi bianche retroilluminate, piani laterali e base del letto rivestiti in ecopelle tono su tono. A tetto un grande oblò panoramico e ai lati due ampie finestre. Il matrimoniale (140x190 cm) ha un contenitore portaoggetti ed è regolabile in altezza. Il secondo matrimoniale è quello in cabina (138x193 cm) dotato di un nuovo meccanismo di discesa che evita la sovrapposizione con la dinette. È totalmente avvolto da tende ed è completo di luci per la notte, di oblò a tetto e di scaletta.

Mobilvetta K-Yacht Tekno Design 89 - La scheda tecnica Tipologia: Motorhome - prezzo a partire da: prezzo a partire da: Euro  81.200 f.f. Dimensioni : • Lunghezza: 744 cm • Larghezza: 235 cm • Altezza: 289 cm Pesi : • 3.158 kg in ordine di marcia  • 3.500 kg Totale Numero posti :  • Omologati: 4  • Letto: 4

Giorno Living: • 4/5 posti a tavola • 4 posti viaggio fronte marcia con cinture a 3 punti e poggiatesta Bagno : • box doccia separato con oblò integrato a pavimento • vano WC-lavabo separato con finestra e oblò Cucina : • fornello: a 3 fuochi  • frigorifero: 150 lt • cappa aspirante: Si

Notte Matrimoniale posteriore: • 190x140 cm • finestre 2 • oblò: si • canalizzazione aria: sì Matrimoniale anteriore basculante: • 193x138 cm • oblò: sì • canalizzazione aria: sì

MECCANICA : Fiat Ducato passo 4.035 mm (opt telaio Al-Ko) • CILINDRATA : 2.3 lt 130 cv (opt. 150 cv e 180 cv) • TRAZIONE : Anteriore • SCOCCA : Pareti sandwich con esterno/interno in lastra di vetroresina, perimetro in resina composita, isolamento in polistirene estruso, raccordi in abs, carteratura sottoscocca in alluminio, doppio pavimento tecnico. • SPESSORI : pareti 33 mm • tetto 33 mm  • pavimento 54 mm • GAVONI : Bauliera con 2 sportelli (fiancate dx e sx) riscaldata, illuminata • GAVONI : sottopavimento, 4 botole a pavimento • IMPIANTISTICA : Riscaldamento: vano esterno per 2 bombole gas da 11/13 kg  • Stufa a gas Truma Combi 6.000 watt con canalizzazione dell’aria e comando digitale CP Plus  • Boiler 10 lt. integrato nella stufa • opt. pavimento riscaldato con resistenze 220 V • Elettricità : Illuminazione a LED con pannello di comando touch • centralina controllo utenze con schermo Lcd  • presa esterna (TV, 12V, 220 V, satellite) • Impianto stereo con 4 altoparlanti e autoradio per la sola cellula • predisposizione TV e retrocamera • porta TV LCD • batteria supplementare: optional • presa esterna acqua con miscelatore • Acque : Serbatoio coibentati  • acqua potabile 120 lt  • serbatoio acque grigie 125 lt  • serbatoio wc 17 lt.

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MOBILVETTA K-YACHT TEKNO DESIGN 89 - 2018

• Disponibilità: Terminato
• Codice Prodotto: 2418

Guarda anche...

• Descrizione

MOBILVETTA K-YACHT TEKNO DESIGN 89 - 2018

STUPENDO MOTORHOME MOBILVETTA IN GAMMA TEKNO DESIGN, PRATICAMENTE NUOVO, SUPER ACCESSORIATO. VEICOLO DI ALTA QUALITA', DOPPIO PAVIMENTO; CON LETTO NAUTICO IN CODA.

DISPOSIZIONE: DINETTE AVANZATA CON SEDILI GIREVOLI E SEDUTA LATERALE; CUCINA A L CON FRIGO GRANDE; SEPARAZIONE ZONA GIORNO/ZONA BAGNO E ZONA BAGNO/ZONA NOTTE; BAGNO CON DOCCIA SEPARATA; LETTO MATRIMONIALE NAUTICO IN CODA CON SISTEMA SALI-SCENDI; AMPIO GARAGE A VOLUME VARIABILE; LETTO MATRIMONIALE BASCULANTE.

ANNO :  2018

MOTORIZZAZIONE:  FIAT DUCATO 2.3 MTJ - 150 CV E6

CHILOMETRI:  15.800

POSTI LETTO:  4 POSTI OMOLOGATI: 4

LUNGHEZZA (Mt.):   7,43

Airbag Passeggero Antenna Satellitare Automatica Teleco Antifurto Perimetrale+Volumetrico Autoradio 2 Din + Altoparlanti Cappa Aspirante Cucina  Cerchi In Lega 16 “ Clima Cabina Cruise Control  Decoder Sat Frigo 150 Lt Ii Batteria Servizi Agm Inverter 1500 Watt Nds Letto Posteriore Con Sistema Saliscendi Pannello Solare Porta Ingresso Hartal Con Finestra E Zanzariera Portabici Garage Predisposizione Tv Zona Notte Presa Doccetta Esterna Raffrescatore Evaporativo Viesa Retrocamera  Stufa Truma Combi 6000 Gas Telecamera Scarico Acque Grigie Traction + Turbovent Veranda

N.B . Nota bene la dotazione tecnica e gli accessori indicati nella presente scheda potrebbero non coincidere con l’effettivo equipaggiamento del veicolo, a causa della non uniformità dei dati pubblicati dai diversi portali. Ci scusiamo per l’inconveniente e vi invitiamo a verificare le caratteristiche dello specifico veicolo. Beltrani Camper&Caravan  declina ogni responsabilità per eventuali involontarie incongruenze, che non rappresentano in alcun modo un impegno contrattuale.

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Home › Reviews › Mobilvetta › K-Yacht Tekno Line › MH-85

Mobilvetta K-Yacht Tekno Line MH-85 2017

Published: August 16, 2017

You can indulge in A-class luxury and style on a 3500kg chassis with this Mobilvetta K-Yacht Tekno Line MH-85 – but just how tempting is it?

Mobilvetta is one of a handful of motorhome brands (the others being Itineo , Rapido and Pilote , at least in Essentiel spec) that offers A-class ’vans at prices close to what ordinary folk can afford.

This Mobilvetta is a good £10k cheaper than Adria and Bürstner models with similar layouts, although they include Alde heating and a slightly higher specification.

But there are enough innovations inside Mobilvetta’s K-Yacht MH-85, including the underfloor heating and the clever kitchen, to make this a motorhome you can really grow into, even if there are one or two niggles – like the night-lights.

With Marquis Leisure’s input, you get a much more UK-friendly spec too, but you would be wise to opt for the free chassis upgrade, driving licence permitting, of course.

The kitchen has been cleverly thought out You can get a good amount in the rear garage, plus there are handy storage nets and a light/torch

Lots of lighting inside is great, but we felt it was a bit too much – especially when trying to turn them all off There’s so much storage space that it’s easy to overload the ’van!

Mobilvetta may sound and look Italian, and although it is Italian built, mamma mia , as with so much else in the motorhome industry these days, it is actually part of a much larger multi-national concern – in this case, the French-owned Trigano Group.

Despite such support, it had been largely absent from the UK market for most of the past decade, a result of the late-2000s financial crisis that saw the Italian motorhome market contract by as much as one fifth.

That was up until the start of the 2017 season, though, when the UK’s biggest motorhome and caravan dealer network, Marquis Leisure, keen to add an A-class brand to its portfolio, brought Mobilvetta back to British forecourts.

Don’t forget that Marquis is already enjoying no little success with Benimar , itself another Trigano brand.

So far, potential UK buyers have only seen three models from the brand’s K-Yacht Tekno Line , which, surprise surprise, has been designed to incorporate elements of nautical style.

Earlier this season, we tested the K-Yacht MH-80 , which carries an innovative rear-lounge layout.

Now we’re taking the K-Yacht MH-85 , with single beds in the back and a drop-down double bed over the dinette, for a spin through rural Northamptonshire and a thorough live-in test.

The cooking area is one of the best we have seen in recent times

A front dinette is usually going to be a space challenge in a motorhome with fixed beds.

Here in the Mobilvetta K-Yacht Tekno Line MH-85 it is less so, because the designers have found enough space to incorporate an L-shaped seat and a small side seat to the right of the habitation door.

But even if our team-mate did fall asleep on the move, these seats are really only moderately comfy when the motorhome is stationary. The main bench in particular seems very upright.

You would probably be more inclined, as we were, to use the swivelled cab seats if it is just the two of you. They would certainly give you a prime position for watching the TV if you were to install one on the bracket fitted to the left of the habitation door.

The table is fully adjustable, but we found it was always a little far out from the side seat, which, like the bench, is not super comfortable.

The seat is, however, a useful place for putting on any shoes you might keep in the nearby cubbyhole in the double floor.

The lounge is adequately heated with one vent to the side and another by the door. There is one mains socket in this area, which is a bit of a squeeze to get to as it is under the L-shaped seat, but the sockets in the kitchen are nearby.

A rooflight keeps this area bright and airy, even taking the drop-down bed into account, and alongside those LED striplights there are plenty of LED spotlights, including four in a row by the drop-down bed’s curtain, plus two by the door that come on automatically as you enter the motorhome.

The drop-down bed has speakers in its base, too.

The cooking area in the Mobilvetta K-Yacht Tekno Line MH-85 is one of the best we have seen in recent times.  There is only a three-burner hob, but it is cleverly tucked into the corner, and there is a large sink with a cover that alternates as a chopping board and fits into a slot on a rail that runs along the top of the partition by the sink.

That’s a useful idea, although we would be tempted to swap the board’s position with the paper towel holder that also sits on this rail so that the board is directly over the bin behind the sink, and all food waste can simply be scraped off and dropped in.

The whole work surface is well lit, with a 12V and mains socket next to the light switch, and there’s even an extractor fan.

There’s another potential resting place for the chopping board on top of the cutlery tray under the worktop. Here, it can form an extension flap.

Two large drawers and an ingenious shelving system that telescopes out next to them means that there is plenty of room for even quite large pans and utensils.

Up above, the two overhead lockers are also large.

Having so much space to hand makes you wonder why the designers bothered with the tiny apothecary shelf across the aisle.

Next to it is a three-way 150-litre Thetford fridge, and a SMEV oven and grill above that – it will be a little high for some, though.

The washroom is split across the middle of this Mobilvetta motorhome.

A stylish-looking stainless-steel basin with a soap dispenser and mug embedded into the worktop around it, and two differently angled mirrors behind it, takes up one side, along with a swivel toilet with toilet roll holder and brush.

There’s also one overhead locker and a cupboard under the basin that is partly obscured by a thin towel rail.

This area, which is partitioned off by a tambour door, also has a window and a roof vent with a fan.

Strangely, you won’t find the latter in the shower cubicle across the aisle, which also only has one drain hole – a sign, perhaps, that this is an affordable A-class.

But the shower head itself looks ultra-modern, and there are solid metal shelves for stowing all your lotions and potions.

The whole washroom area can be partitioned off from the front lounge and kitchen by means of an elegant Japanese-style door.

The comfortable fixed beds at the rear are reached by steps – each measures 2.03 x 0.83m (6’8″ x 2’9″).

The beds are reasonably high, which means you don’t have a huge amount of headroom. But as the mattresses themselves can be raised at the pillow end, support is available for sitting up in bed.

Sleepers get spotlights for reading, while in the middle between the two beds is a very large wooden shelf that could easily serve as a resting place for books.

If you would rather cuddle up for the night, you can pull out an extension over the steps and insert a couple of infills to create a double bed.

The 1.88 x 1.33m (6’2″ x 4’4″) drop-down double bed over the cab was a little more complicated to position than we had expected.

The folded cab seats need to rest an inch or so before their forward-most position, not right at the end. Trying to work this out inevitably involved accidentally sounding the horn, so you might need to be careful if you are putting this bed down late at night.

Once it is deployed, though, you get a bed that is an accessible height, and comes with spotlights and a rooflight.

You’re certainly not short of space for clothes in the MH-85.

Along with six overhead lockers in the bedroom, there are two huge wardrobes under the bed, one with a hanging rail and the other with two large shelves.

There are also clever sock shelves in the curve of the wardrobe doors, while two of the steps open up for storage.

The designers have made use of the double floor – not just externally with those two lockers, but also internally with cubbyholes along the centre of the ’van. The one by the fridge is cleverly sub-divided to take large drinks bottles – molto buono!

The excellent garage, meanwhile, has two doors, a light you can remove to use as a torch, and netted storage across the back. It is big enough to take bikes upright.

The only trouble is the modest user payload of 342kg – fill up all the available storage spaces and you’ll end up being overweight.

Buyers with C1 entitlement on their driving licences can get around this by opting for a chassis upgrade to 3650kg, which is free of charge.

Technical Specifications

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research topics on organizational psychology

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IResearchNet

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Topics

Industrial-Organizational (I-O)Psychology is defined simply as “psychology applied to work” (APA 1971). It studies “work” in its broadest sense, including paid and unpaid effort, recreation, and any purpose-driven effort (sports, hobbies). Compared with other specialties, I-O is more “applied” – putting practice above theory, since it typically aims to solve specific problems, increase efficiency, and maximize outcomes.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Research Topics

• Corporate Ethics Topics
• Group Dynamics Topics
• Individual Differences Topics
• Job Satisfaction Topics
• Leadership and Management Topics
• Organizational Behavior Topics
• Organizational Development Topics
• Recruitment Topics
• Work Motivation Topics

Compared with other fields of psychology, I-O psychology today has several features: (a) Small: I-O is a small specialty, including just 5% of US psychologists. (b) High-employment: Since I-O is in high demand in the industry; it has a negative unemployment rate below zero. (c) Lucrative: I-O has long had the highest salary, averaging at least 25% higher than 14 other psychology specialties. (d) Separate: I-O has become a very separate specialty within psychology, with its own independent association since 1987 – the Society for I-O Psychology (SIOP). (e) Hybrid: I-O overlaps with business and other social sciences. (f) Credentials: There is no one credential to define who is an I-O psychologist – be this a M.A., M.S., M.B.A., Ph.D., Psy.D., state license, APA or SIOP membership, or ABPP Diploma. (g) Demographics: SIOP members today are 6% ethnic minorities, 37% female, only 26% licensed, and 85% have a doctorate. I-O work settings vary greatly – employees in large firms, small “boutique” consulting firms, professors in psychology or business programs, or solo-practitioners.

Today, I-O psychology faces several challenges – such as globalization of organizations, the increased diversity of the US workforce, increased regulation by government and labor law, and the changing nature of work. These same challenges make a science-based I-O psychology more indispensable to successful organizations.

References:

• American Psychological Association (APA). (1971). Effective practice of psychology in industry: Task Force on the practice of psychology in industry. American Psychologist, 26, 974–991.
• Benjamin, L.T.,&Baker, D. B. (2004). Fromse´ance to science: Ahistory of the profession of psychology in America. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Dunnette, M. D., & Hough, L. (Eds.). (1990–1994). Handbook of industrial-organizational psychology. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.
• Jones, J.W., Steffy, B. D., & Bray, D.W. (1991). Applying psychology in business: Handbook for managers and HR professionals. Lexington: Lexington Books.
• McGregor, D. M. (1960). The human side of enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Riggio, R. E. (2008). Introduction to industrial-organizational psychology (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
• Roethlisberger, F. J., & Dickson, W. J. (1939). Management and the worker. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
• Scott, W. D. (1903). The theory of advertising. Boston: Small, Maynard, & Co.
• Zedeck, S. (Ed.) (2011). APA Handbook of industrial-organizational psychology. Washington, DC: APA.

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6.2 Topics in Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Topics in Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1 2

Work occupies a central part of people’s lives around the world. For example, full-time workers in the U.S. work an average of 8.5 hours/day, spending more time working than performing any other life activity except for sleep (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Work experiences exert a heavy effect on people’s life satisfaction (Erdogan, Bauer, Truxillo, & Mansfield, 2012), and career goals are a central concern of many young adults (e.g., Rogers, Creed, & Glendon, 2008). Indeed, most readers of this chapter are likely in college as a step toward achieving a hoped-for career!

However, the world of work is changing in many ways that present new questions and challenges for workers. For example, advances in technology, including automation, are disrupting major industries and changing or eliminating many jobs (Susskind & Susskind, 2016). Employers are increasingly experimenting with alternative work arrangements, like contract workers in “gig” jobs (e.g., driving for Uber or Lyft), rather than offering full-time work with job security and stable benefits (Friedman, 2014). Despite progress, women, racial and ethnic minorities, religious minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities still struggle to be accepted and successful in many workplaces (Myors et al., 2008). And, around the world, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers continue to search for decent work opportunities that can fulfill their basic needs (Moyce & Schenker, 2018).

Against this backdrop, industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology has an important role to play in improving organizations and promoting the well-being of workers. This chapter first presents a brief overview of I-O and what work in this field entails, and then reviews a series of major areas of research and practice within each half of the field.

I-O psychology is the scientific study of working and the application of psychological principles to workplace issues facing individuals, teams, and organizations. I-O psychologists apply the scientific method to investigate issues of critical relevance to individuals, businesses, and society. As a consequence, I-O psychologists are trained as scientist-practitioners with the ability to both conduct rigorous research and engage in the practical application of scientific knowledge alongside business people.

There are roughly 500 graduate programs in the U.S. that grant master’s and doctoral degrees in I-O psychology. Unlike many areas of psychology that require a doctoral degree practice, a terminal master’s degree is sufficient to pursue many excellent work opportunities in I-O psychology (Michalski, 2017). Moreover, the Department of Labor projects increased demand for I-O psychology into the mid-2020s. Much more information about graduate training and work opportunities is available on the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) website; SIOP is the primary professional body for the field.

Figure 1. SIOP, Division 14 of the American Psychological Association, has over 9,000 members as of January 2018.

Photo source: SIOP, used with permission.

Industrial Psychology

As the name “industrial-organizational” suggests, I-O psychology has often been viewed as a field with two distinct, though related, components. The industrial half of I-O Psychology, which is sometimes referred to as personnel psychology , focuses on the analysis of jobs; recruitment, selection, and training of employees; and evaluation of performance in the workplace. Industrial psychology is a close partner of human resource (HR) management in organizations, with industrial psychologists supplying the technical and legal expertise to create and evaluate the personnel systems that HR managers use on a daily basis. To this end, the major areas of research and practice that fall within industrial psychology include job analysis, recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, and training.

Job Analysis

Before we can hire people, before we can assess their performance, before we can decide on their salaries, before we can train them – before we can do virtually anything to affect a job, we must first understand what a job consists of. What tasks does it include? What skills does the job require? Where does the job fit within the organization? Job analysis helps I-O psychologists answer these questions (Sanchez & Levine, 2012). Because of its importance for making further decisions about jobs, many I-O psychologists begin their consulting work with a job analysis.

Generally speaking, a job analysis can fall into one of two categories: work-oriented or worker-oriented (Brannick, Levine, Morgeson, & Brannick, 2007). Work-oriented job analysis focuses on the job itself, and involves developing a list of tasks that the job involves. For example, a retail store sales clerk might assist customers in finding merchandise, answer customer questions, use a cash register to take money and make change, bag the merchandise, and thank the customer, among other responsibilities.  If we put this all together, it produces a job description that we can later use to identify training needs and the valuable behaviors that we should reward.

On the other hand, worker-oriented job analysis focuses on identifying the qualities needed by an employee to successfully perform the job in question. Traditionally, I-O psychologists have tried to identify several key characteristics of employees, including their knowledge (things they know), their skills (such as skill at persuading others), and their abilities (more stable traits they possess, like mathematical ability), often referred to as the “KSAs” required to perform the job. Returning to the example of our retail sales clerk, we might find that they need to be friendly, detail-oriented, reliable, and have the ability to learn about the merchandise the store has in stock. This information is crucial to developing a selection system that identifies job applicants with the right qualifications to be successful.

The process of completing a work- or worker-oriented job analysis procedure is actually quite similar. In each case, I-O consultants typically interview current employees and supervisors, or ask them to complete surveys, to gather information about the job. The consultants then use this information to write the task or KSA statements that describe the job.

Recruitment, Selection, & Placement

Once I-O psychologists understand what a job entails, and the requirements that are necessary to do the job, they can use this information to assist an organization in a wide variety of ways. Generally, this information will be used to aid the hiring process in an organization–quality job analysis information can help with this process in a variety of ways.

The hiring process actually begins with recruitment—before people can be hired into an organization, they must first apply for an open position. Recruitment refers to the process of attracting people to submit applications for open positions within an organization. Today, recruitment often takes advantage of technology, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and internet job boards like Indeed.com and Monster.com. In their attempts to recruit people to apply for a job opening, organizations will typically describe the requirements of the position, including educational requirements, and the main tasks and responsibilities associated with the position. Organizations may also attempt to describe aspects of the culture of the organization, such as the feel of the work environment, or the values or mission of the company. An organization that describes itself as “fast-paced” or “competitive” is likely to attract rather different applicants than an organization that advertises “teamwork” and “cooperation.”

Once an organization has recruited an applicant pool, the organization must decide how to assess the applicants, and the formal hiring process begins. The process used to evaluate job candidates and decide which ones to hire is typically referred to as personnel selection .  Personnel selection is one of the oldest topics in I-O psychology, dating back to the very roots of the field at the start of the 20 th century (Farr & Tippins, 2010; Ployhart, Schmitt, & Tippins, 2017). Selection usually involves administering a series of instruments, such as tests or interviews, to job applicants; the instruments are often scored and combined with other information, such as letters of recommendation, to help employers select the best applicant(s). The selection instruments an organization uses are commonly referred to as predictors , and helping organizations develop effective predictors are one of the most common roles that I-O consultants engage in. Common predictors that I-O psychologists help develop include tests of various qualities (such as intelligence, personality and other traits), and interviews (Cascio & Aguinis, 2011).  Determining the right combination of predictors to give applicants for a given job is a central topic for consultants that assist with personnel selection, and involves the consideration of many factors, including cost, time, legality, validity, reliability, practicality, and acceptance in the business world. Selection often occurs in multiple stages. During the initial stage, it is common for applicants to participate in some initial screening assessments to “weed out” unqualified applicants.  Following this, subsequent stages in the selection process attempt to select the optimal candidate from the qualified applicants that remain after screening.

What predictors do the best job of helping organizations choose qualified applicants? One of the most consistent findings in I-O psychology, based on decades of research, is that general mental ability , or intelligence, is the single most effective predictor of job performance in nearly all jobs, and especially complex jobs (Schmidt & Hunter, 2004). One of the reasons this is the case is that general mental ability helps predict a person’s ability to learn new information and skills, a critical component of success in virtually any job.

Beyond general mental ability tests, many other predictors have been found to be effective for predicting employee success as well. Personality tests , such as those measuring the Big 5 traits, have also been found to successfully predict which applicants will make effective employees. In particular, the Big 5 trait conscientiousness has been found to predict performance in a wide variety of jobs. This is not surprising, given that people high in this trait are typically hard-working, reliable, and organized, all traits that should lead to success in most jobs (Barrick, Mount, & Judge, 2001). Additional predictors, such as simulations and work samples, can be used to successfully assess a person’s ability to handle actual job-related tasks in realistic settings (Scott & Reynolds, 2010).

What about interviews? Interviews have long been used by organizations to help make hiring decisions, and they remain one of the most commonly-used predictors in organizations today (Posthuma, Morgeson, & Campion, 2002). Interviews can be written to evaluate a variety of applicant characteristics and qualifications (Landy & Conte, 2010). Research on the effectiveness of interviews is mixed. Most interviews used in organizations tend to be fairly flexible conversations, where the interviewer is free to ask an applicant a wide variety of different questions. Each applicant may be asked different questions, and the questions may not be directly related to the job the applicant is applying for. These interviews are typically known as unstructured interviews , and, despite their prevalence, they are not very effective predictors for evaluating applicants. One reason for this is that the information gained from one applicant’s interview might be quite different from the information gained from another applicant’s interview, thus making it difficult to compare “apples to apples.”

Fortunately, interviews can be improved by making the interview process more structured . Strategies for structuring an interview include deciding on a consistent list of questions that will be asked of all applicants, ensuring that the questions are related to the content of the job, and using a scoring system to evaluate applicants’ responses. Structured interviews that have these features are much more effective at predicting which applicants will be successful in a given job (Huffcutt, Conway, Roth, & Stone, 2001). I-O consultants often help organizations to design and implement structured interviews to improve the organization’s selection process. Unfortunately, many organizations continue to rely on traditional unstructured interviews, which are much more prone to errors and subjective evaluations of job applicants. This divide between the predictors that I-O psychologists know are effective, and the predictors that many organizations utilize, remains an important concern for many I-O psychologists today.

Evaluating and Managing Worker Performance

Once employees are hired and placed into their roles in an organization, it is typically necessary to assess their performance to see how well they are performing in their new role. Evaluating how well employees perform their jobs, and documenting this performance, is important for a variety of reasons. Certainly, performance information is often used to make decisions about whether and when to promote, train, re-assign, or terminate employees; it can also be used for decisions about compensation, bonuses, and other rewards. If an employee’s performance is lacking, the gap between how he or she is performing, compared to the ideal, might be addressed by training (or re-training) the needed knowledge, skills, or abilities. Performance appraisal can also be used to give employees feedback, and help employees learn about their strengths and weaknesses–thus, another goal of performance appraisal is general employee development.

Performance appraisals are often conducted on a recurring schedule—once or twice a year is common. The review itself is typically structured around the employee’s primary tasks and responsibilities, such that the supervisor provides a summary of the employee and their performance. The appraisal will often involve making ratings on numeric scales corresponding with specific aspects of performance, as well as comments and/or illustrative critical incidents to communicate to the employee how well they are performing on each aspect of the job. Critical incidents are specific behaviors the employee has engaged in—they are used to illustrate good or bad performance and often supplement numeric performance ratings. Feedback and critical incidents from other coworkers may be gathered by the supervisor with the goal of basing the performance appraisal on complete information.

One variant of performance appraisal that has become popular in recent years is 360-degree appraisal, which seeks to gather feedback from multiple sources that the person being evaluated interacts with, such as subordinates, peers, supervisors, clients/customers, and others.  Self-appraisal, provided by the employee him- or herself, may also be included. The goal of this process is to provide employees with a more well-rounded sense of how they’re performing.

Numeric performance ratings are a common part of a performance appraisal.  For example, an employee may be rated on dependability on a scale of one to five, with anchors ranging from unacceptable (1), to average (3), to superior (5). Employees are often rated in the context of how other members of their team or work group are performing. Other rating approaches involve making direct comparisons between employees within a unit, such as ranking all employees, or comparing them two at a time and deciding which of the two is the superior performer. When using any numeric rating method, organizations need to be aware of the biases that raters may unknowingly exhibit. One risk is that all raters will not use a rating scale the same way—for instance, some might provide more generous, or harsher, ratings regardless of how the employee is performing. Such errors can lead to biases in the appraisal process, and impact the fairness of a performance appraisal system; fortunately, rater training can help avoid some of these issues.

What kinds of employee performance are typically assessed in organizations? In many cases, the answer to this question is determined by the type of organization the employee works in—effective performance for an employee who makes electric motors in a factory is likely to be very different from an employee who creates apps for your phone. For legal reasons, it is important for an organization to avoid assessing people based on irrelevant characteristics, such as their age, gender, or race. Here again, I-O consultants often help organizations design performance appraisal systems that focus on core aspects of job performance, and avoid evaluating irrelevant characteristics. For many jobs, the main focus of performance appraisal is on task performance —that is, how effectively an employee performs the key requirements of their job. However, many organizations are also concerned with additional behaviors that employees may engage in outside of their job responsibilities. These “extra” behaviors can be positive or negative in nature. Positive behaviors are typically referred to as organizational citizenship behaviors , or OCBs, and may include actions such as bringing donuts or bagels to an early morning meeting, staying late to assist a coworker with a project, or speaking positively about the organization to outsiders. Negative behaviors, often called counterproductive work behaviors , or CWBs, range from fairly minor actions, such as being rude to a coworker from time to time, to more serious, criminal activities such as theft, sabotage, or arson. As you would expect, employees who enjoy their work are more likely to engage in OCBs, while dissatisfied employees are likely to engage in CWBs. Thus, if organizations want to promote OCBs, and prevent CWBs, it is important for them to consider their employees’ thoughts and feelings about their workplace.

Training & Development

Over time, it often becomes necessary for employees to learn new knowledge or skills, to enhance their job performance and keep pace with changes in their occupation. I-O psychology intersects with cognitive psychology and learning theories in the domain of training and development , which focuses on increasing employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities. Like many other organizational processes, training is, in part, based on job/task/work analysis to determine the elements of a job that a person requires training to do. The training process often begins with a training needs analysis, which is an analysis of the organization, tasks, and person that results in objectives for training (Arthur, Bennett, Edens, & Bell, 2003). Principles of learning and cognition serve as the basis for designing training and development interventions. Basic principles about memory, perception, judgment, and learning include cognitive biases, primacy and recency, interferences, decision-making, and developments. These are relevant to determining how best to convey information about how and when to engage in various work behaviors, and how to assess how well training has accomplished its goals.

What topics do organizations commonly use training for? Some training is motivated by legal considerations, such as diversity and sexual harassment training. With diversity training, employees are typically educated on the benefits of diversity, and provided with suggestions for acting with sensitivity in a diverse workplace. Sexual harassment and discrimination, which are typically prohibited both by law and organizational policies, can also be addressed via training. Employees may be educated on key terms and ideas related to harassment, practice identifying situations in which harassment may occur, and discuss appropriate courses of action for reporting and preventing harassment.

Other types of training are prompted when employers require employees to possess a particular area of knowledge, skill, or ability to meet organizational needs. If an organization wants to avoid training, they may look to hire employees that already have those KSAs that they desire (a selection approach). Alternatively, they may use help current employees develop those KSAs (a training approach). The decision between these approaches is driven by several considerations, including cost, timing, other available resources, and staffing goals. For example, for employers do not wish to increase the size of their workforce, training may be a more attractive option. In addition, the expected trainability of a knowledge, skill, or ability and skill level of current personnel might be taken into account. Consider the likelihood of successfully teaching someone a specific skill, such as typing, using a cash register, or engaging in successful customer service interactions, compared to the more difficult challenge of improving a person’s mathematical abilities or extraversion.

In organizations today, training can occur in a wide variety of formats. Training often occurs with a face-to-face instructor , but many organizations today are relying on remote or distance training, mediated by communication technology, and self-paced training. In addition, employers are generally motivated to understand whether their resources devoted to training are achieving key training objectives. Consequently, many employee trainings are followed, either immediately or after a delay, with some form of evaluation. Some evaluations focus on how much of the training content was understood and retained by the trainee, while others focus on how well that information transfers to on-the-job behaviors, how well the trainee feels about the training process, and what the outcomes for the organization are (Kirkpatrick, 1959). For the individual, training can be considered in terms of impact on career development and advancement in the organization.

Organizational Psychology

The organizational half of I-O Psychology is broadly concerned with the social and psychological context of the workplace. Organizational psychology focuses on many different levels of workplace phenomena, including micro, within-person experiences, like attitudes and emotions; meso, small group dynamics like teamwork and interpersonal discrimination; and macro, organization-wide factors, such as leadership and organizational culture. Overall, organizational psychology helps us understand the experience and consequences of working life in modern organizations. Major areas of study within organizational psychology include employee attitudes, worker health and safety, motivation, and teamwork and leadership.

Employee Attitudes

I-O psychologists are often concerned with the attitudes employees hold about their work.  Several attitudes have been the focus of extensive research over the past several decades, and the importance of employee attitudes has been demonstrated by their ability to predict whether employees will exert less effort at work, engage in CWBs, or even leave the organization altogether.

Job satisfaction , which refers to an employee’s overall evaluation of their job, is the most fundamental attitude studied in I-O psychology (Judge & Klinger, 2007).  When a worker has positive feelings and thoughts about his or her job, positive outcome are likely. These outcomes include performing their job at a high level, feeling motivated, and being inclined to do extrarole behaviors that are helpful but aren’t explicitly required as part of the job. Job satisfaction is often measured using scales, which include questions with a range of numeric response options with either images or phrases as anchors (e.g., 1 = very dissatisfied to 5 = very satisfied). While job satisfaction can be measured using a single question, a more nuanced understanding of satisfaction can be achieved using multi-item scales that ask the respondent about various aspects of a job (e.g., pay, autonomy, coworkers). Measuring satisfaction in this way can help I-O consultants get a more detailed understanding of which aspects of their jobs employees like and dislike the most.

Another attitude important for understanding work behavior is organizational commitment , or an individual’s psychological attachment to an organization (Meyer & Allen, 1991).  Researchers studying the nature of organizational commitment have identified three types of commitment. Affective commitment reflects an emotional connection an employee may feel with their organization. Employees with high affective commitment may feel as though they are a “part of a family” with their organization. Continuance commitment reflects commitment that is based on a lack of available alternative employment options. Employees with high continuance commitment may stay at their current job because of poor job prospects in their area, or because they lack necessary education or training to make themselves competitive for other job opportunities. Finally, normative commitment is driven by employees’ sense of obligation to their organization. For instance, if a company gives an employee their first job after graduating from college, or has invested resources in an employee in the form or training or development, the employee may feel obligated to stay with the organization to “pay back” these investments. Overall, strong ties have been found between organizational commitment and turnover, or leaving one’s organization.

Employees’ attitudes about an organization may also be based on how fairly they feel they are treated.   Organizational justice theory suggests that employees pay attention to the fairness of how they’re treated in several ways.  The various types and subtypes of justice focus on how outcomes or results are distributed across employees, the fairness of organizational procedures or decision rules, and the nature of interactions among organizational members.  For example, an employee may feel that the process of performance appraisal is fair (procedural justice), but that it did not result in a sufficient pay raise (distributive justice).

What can an organization do to improve their employees’ attitudes? Unfortunately, psychological research on attitudes in general suggests that attitude change is often quite difficult. A basic principle of attitudes is that once an attitude or belief is held, it serves as an anchor around which new information is judged. Thus, once an employee begins to evaluate their workplace negatively, they may seek out and focus on additional information that supports this attitude.

Worker Health & Safety

Occupational health is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the health and safety of people at work, and has become the subject of much research in I-O psychology. Jobs place a variety of demands on workers, and these demands can lead to the experience of stress, which may be followed by various negative outcomes such as effects on the physical and mental health of employees (Beehr, 1995; Jex, 1998; Tetrick & Quick, 2011). Occupational health research examines internal and external sources of occupational stress, as well as ways to decrease worker stress and methods for preventing stress. Evidence suggests that organizations should be concerned with occupational health, as consistent exposure to stressful working conditions can impact not only employees, but also organizational effectiveness: studies have estimated that billions of dollars are lost from the U.S. economy due to occupational stress, based on the assumption that stress plays a role in negative outcomes such as increased medical, legal, and insurance costs, higher rates of absenteeism and turnover, diminished productivity, and increased occupational accidents (e.g., Goldin, 2004).

While I-O psychologists have contributed to the study of occupational stress, the occupational stress literature consists of important contributions from multiple perspectives, including medical (focusing on the contribution of stress in the workplace to employee health and illness), clinical/counseling (which focuses on the impact of stressful working conditions on mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression), engineering psychology (which focuses on stressors originating from the physical work environment), and organizational psychology . Organizational psychology focuses heavily on cognitive appraisal (the process by which employees perceive the work environment and decide whether it is stressful), as well on sources of stress that are social in nature (e.g., are sourced from interactions with others). Recently, these four approaches have joined into one field known as occupational health psychology (OHP; Barling & Griffiths, 2011). OHP is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on using psychological theories and methodology to enhance health, safety, and well-being for individuals and organizations.

Another focus within the field of OHP is employee safety, usually with regard to preventing accidents and injuries in the workplace. Research has examined workplace safety outcomes in relation with both situational factors in the work environment (e.g., physical hazards such as heat and noise; Jex, Swanson, & Grubb, 2013) and personal factors in the employee (e.g., personality traits; Clarke & Robertson, 2008). Most models of employee safety posit that certain factors influence the experience of accidents and injuries through an effect on the safety performance of the employee (i.e., employees being compliant with safety procedures and notifying others in the organization about safety concerns; Griffin & Neal, 2000). Most studies have found moderate to strong relationships between different types of safety performance and the experience of workplace accidents (Jiang, Yu, Li, & Li, 2010). Moreover, the safety climate of a work unit and/or organization is predictive of safety performance, which has been linked to workplace accidents (Zohar, 2011). Safety climate refers to whether the employees in a company share similar perceptions of policies and procedures regarding workplace safety, such as rules regarding the use of safety equipment. A recent review of the injury and accident prevalence literature suggested that thousands of American workers die each year from injuries sustained in the workplace; however, prevalence rates are far worse in countries that do not have government oversight of labor practices: over two million individuals worldwide die each year as a result of injuries suffered in the work environment (Kaplan & Tetrick, 2011). In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the government agency established to assure safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education, and assistance to US organizations. Most private employers are responsible for ensuring that OSHA standards are met, and employers concerned with worker health and well-being seek to maintain safe working conditions and offer channels for addressing issues as they arise.

Understanding employee motivation –the forces that direct employees’ behaviors at work–has a long history in I-O psychology. The study of motivation in I-O psychology can be traced back to studies by Hugo Munsterberg , who studied motivation issues for employees working at knitting mills (Landy & Conte, 2004). He saw that employees were working 12-hour days, and working 6 days a week.  With some modifications (i.e., having kittens play with balls of yarn on the factory floor), Munsterberg was able to influence the satisfaction and alertness of the employees.

Some of the basic motivational questions that I-O psychologists study include what needs elicit action for individuals, what traits impact the engagement of behaviors, and how the environment (space and individuals) influences the motivation and behaviors of people.  While the study of work motivation is continually evolving, there are several seminal theories that have informed our understanding of motivation.

One of the most well-supported theories of motivation in I-O psychology is goal-setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990). This theory emphasizes that goals can influence employees in a variety of ways. For instance, goals can influence the direction of actions; Goals can also affect the effort that employees put forth to those actions; In addition to these benefits, goals can increase employee persistence, and motivate them to choose more effective strategies for attaining those goals. Goals that tend to provide the benefits just described tend to share some key characteristics. Specifically, goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) are typically more effective than goals that lack these qualities (Locke & Latham, 2002).

Despite the popularity of goal-setting theory, several other motivation theories have received attention, and research support, from I-O psychologists. Expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964) suggests that employees are unlikely to be motivated unless they can provide affirmative answers to three questions. The first question involves asking whether employee effort will lead to performance (instrumentality). If an employees feels that working hard will not result in success on the job, they are likely to have low motivation. If an employee decides that their effort will actually result in a sufficient level of performance, they must then evaluate whether their performance is likely to be rewarded or recognized in satisfactory ways (expectancy). In some workplaces, employees may feel that their strong performance goes unrecognized–if this pattern persists over time, they are likely to lose motivation. Finally, the third questions associated with expectancy theory concerns whether an employee values the rewards they are able to receive (valence). If an organization rewards its employees with public “employee of the month” ceremonies, but an employee would prefer a cash reward rather than public recognition, they may find their motivation limited.

The job characteristics theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1976) takes a rather different approach to motivation. This theory suggests that several key features of job themselves can also influence the motivation level of employees. For example, autonomy , or the freedom that employees have to choose how their work is done (or at least certain elements of it) typically has a positive effect on motivation. Doing work that allows employees to use a variety of different skills and abilities (task variety), and performing work that feels important to other peoples’ lives (task significance) can also generate higher levels of motivation. Finally, receiving feedback , such as from supervisors and peers, can improve motivation for many employees.

In many organizations today, work is often conducted in the context of a group or team. Teams are defined as two or more individuals who share one or more common goals, and interact to perform activities that are relevant to the organization. Teams are influenced by a wide variety of social dynamics. As an example, consider Susie who just graduated medical school and has started her intern year in a department that emphasizes teamwork. Her role in the interdisciplinary team is that of the physician, which she feels comfortable doing as she graduated with honors from her university. What she is concerned about is how to function effectively in the team. She personally likes to do things on her own, so she is uncertain how this part of her job will actually go, especially since she knows the intern year is a very stressful one and she knows that two of the other team members have reputations of being really difficult to work with.

Some of the concerns that Susie has are ones that I-O psychologists try to grapple with as consultants and researchers. Many topics that originated in social psychology are relevant to the study of teams. For instance, many people have a tendency to work with less intensity when they are in a group, compared to when they are by themselves, which social psychologists refer to as social loafing (see Latané, Williams, & Harkins, 1979). Managers can help avoid social loafing in their work groups by making sure that each employee knows what they are responsible for.

Management and Leadership

A natural sister topic of teams concerns the individuals tasked with facilitating teams— leaders . While there are many definitions of leadership, the common elements of the definitions are influence and guidance of others towards a goal. Over time, I-O psychologists have studied management and leadership from several different perspectives. In the 1920s and 1930s, early leadership research focused on the trait approach , which centers on the idea that leaders possess certain traits (e.g., ambition, dominance, extroversion, height) that non-leaders do not possess.  However, this approach did not prove to be productive, as research did not show consistent relationships among the traits. Undeterred, I-O psychologists re-focused their attempts to understand leadership by looking for specific behaviors that successful leaders might engage in. Fleishman and Harris (1962) defined leadership using two dimensions, consideration (concern for the individual’s needs) and initiating structure (organizes and defines activities). This approach proved to be more successful, and the legacy of this work can be seen in more modern research on transactional and transformational leadership (Bass, 1985).

I-O psychologists have a unique place as researchers and consultants when informing the greater population as to the practice of leadership. With changing workforce practices, such as the utilization of temporary workers, teleworking, virtual teams, increasing diversity in the workforce and other existing ambiguous boundaries that modern jobs hold, I-O psychologists are prepared to contribute to our understanding of leadership and how we best develop and coach the leaders of today and tomorrow.

A significant portion of I-O research focuses on management and human relations. Douglas McGregor (1960) combined scientific management (a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows with the main objective of improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity) and human relations into the notion of leadership behavior. His theory lays out two different styles called Theory X and Theory Y. In the  Theory X  approach to management, managers assume that most people dislike work and are not innately self-directed. Theory X managers perceive employees as people who prefer to be led and told which tasks to perform and when. Their employees have to be watched carefully to be sure that they work hard enough to fulfill the organization’s goals. Theory X workplaces will often have employees punch a clock when arriving and leaving the workplace: Tardiness is punished. Supervisors, not employees, determine whether an employee needs to stay late, and even this decision would require someone higher up in the command chain to approve the extra hours. Theory X supervisors will ignore employees’ suggestions for improved efficiency and reprimand employees for speaking out of order. These supervisors blame efficiency failures on individual employees rather than the systems or policies in place. Managerial goals are achieved through a system of punishments and threats rather than enticements and rewards. Managers are suspicious of employees’ motivations and always suspect selfish motivations for their behavior at work (e.g., being paid is their sole motivation for working).

In the  Theory Y  approach, on the other hand, managers assume that most people seek inner satisfaction and fulfillment from their work. Employees function better under leadership that allows them to participate in, and provide input about, setting their personal and work goals. In Theory Y workplaces, employees participate in decisions about prioritizing tasks; they may belong to teams that, once given a goal, decide themselves how it will be accomplished. In such a workplace, employees are able to provide input on matters of efficiency and safety. One example of Theroy Y in action is the policy of Toyota production lines that allows any employee to stop the entire line if a defect or other issue appears, so that the defect can be fixed and its cause remedied (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, 2013). A Theory Y workplace will also meaningfully consult employees on any changes to the work process or management system. In addition, the organization will encourage employees to contribute their own ideas. McGregor (1960) characterized Theory X as the traditional method of management used in the United States. He agued that a Theory Y approach was needed to improve organizational output and the wellbeing of individuals.  Table summarizes how these two management approaches differ.

Another management style was described by Donald Clifton, who focused his research on how an organization can best use an individual’s strengths, an approach he called strengths-based management . He and his colleagues interviewed 8,000 managers and concluded that it is important to focus on a person’s strengths, not their weaknesses. A strength is a particular enduring talent possessed by an individual that allows her to provide consistent, near-perfect performance in tasks involving that talent. Clifton argued that our strengths provide the greatest opportunity for growth (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). An example of a strength is public speaking or the ability to plan a successful event. The strengths-based approach is very popular although its effect on organization performance is not well-studied. However, Kaiser & Overfield (2011) found that managers often neglected improving their weaknesses and overused their strengths, both of which interfered with performance.

Leadership is an important element of management. Leadership styles have been of major interest within I-O research, and researchers have proposed numerous theories of leadership. Bass (1985) popularized and developed the concepts of transactional leadership versus transformational leadership styles. In  transactional leadership , the focus is on supervision and organizational goals, which are achieved through a system of rewards and punishments (i.e., transactions). Transactional leaders maintain the status quo: They are managers. This is in contrast to the transformational leader. People who have  transformational leadership  possess four attributes to varying degrees: They are charismatic (highly liked role models), inspirational (optimistic about goal attainment), intellectually stimulating (encourage critical thinking and problem solving), and considerate (Bass, Avolio, & Atwater, 1996).

As women increasingly take on leadership roles in corporations, questions have arisen as to whether there are differences in leadership styles between men and women (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen, 2003). Eagly & Johnson (1990) conducted a meta-analysis to examine gender and leadership style. They found, to a slight but significant degree, that women tend to practice an interpersonal style of leadership (i.e., she focuses on the morale and welfare of the employees) and men practice a task-oriented style (i.e., he focuses on accomplishing tasks). However, the differences were less pronounced when one looked only at organizational studies and excluded laboratory experiments or surveys that did not involve actual organizational leaders. Larger gender-related differences were observed when leadership style was categorized as democratic or autocratic, and these differences were consistent across all types of studies. The authors suggest that similarities between the genders in leadership styles are attributable to genders needing to conform the organization’s culture; additionally, they propose that gender-related differences reflect inherent differences in the strengths each gender brings to bear on leadership practice. In another meta-analysis of leadership style, Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen (2003) found that women tended to exhibit the characteristics of transformational leaders, while men were more likely to be transactional leaders. However, the differences are not absolute; for example, women were found to use methods of reward for performance more often than men, which is a component of transactional leadership. The differences they found were relatively small. As Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen (2003) point out, research shows that transformational leadership approaches are more effective than transactional approaches, although individual leaders typically exhibit elements of both approaches.

Work-Family Balance

Many people juggle the demands of work life with the demands of their home life, whether it be caring for children or taking care of an elderly parent; this is known as  work-family balance . We might commonly think about work interfering with family, but it is also the case that family responsibilities may conflict with work obligations (Carlson, Kacmar, & Williams, 2000). Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) first identified three sources of work–family conflicts:

• time devoted to work makes it difficult to fulfill requirements of family, or vice versa,
• strain from participation in work makes it difficult to fulfill requirements of family, or vice versa, and
• specific behaviors required by work make it difficult to fulfill the requirements of family, or vice versa.

Women often have greater responsibility for family demands, including home care, child care, and caring for aging parents, yet men in the United States are increasingly assuming a greater share of domestic responsibilities. However, research has documented that women report greater levels of stress from work–family conflict (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2005).

There are many ways to decrease work–family conflict and improve people’s job satisfaction (Posig & Kickul, 2004). These include support in the home, which can take various forms: emotional (listening), practical (help with chores). Workplace support can include understanding supervisors, flextime, leave with pay, and telecommuting. Flextime usually involves a requirement of core hours spent in the workplace around which the employee may schedule his arrival and departure from work to meet family demands.  Telecommuting  involves employees working at home and setting their own hours, which allows them to work during different parts of the day, and to spend part of the day with their family. Recall that Yahoo! had a policy of allowing employees to telecommute and then rescinded the policy. There are also organizations that have onsite daycare centers, and some companies even have onsite fitness centers and health clinics. In a study of the effectiveness of different coping methods, Lapierre & Allen (2006) found practical support from home more important than emotional support. They also found that immediate-supervisor support for a worker significantly reduced work–family conflict through such mechanisms as allowing an employee the flexibility needed to fulfill family obligations. In contrast, flextime did not help with coping and telecommuting actually made things worse, perhaps reflecting the fact that being at home intensifies the conflict between work and family because with the employee in the home, the demands of family are more evident.

Posig & Kickul (2004) identify exemplar corporations with policies designed to reduce work–family conflict. Examples include IBM’s policy of three years of job-guaranteed leave after the birth of a child, Lucent Technologies offer of one year’s childbirth leave at half pay, and SC Johnson’s program of concierge services for daytime errands.

Link to Learning:  Glassdoor  is a website that posts job satisfaction reviews for different careers and organizations. Use this site to research possible careers and/or organizations that interest you.

Organizational Culture

Each company and organization has an organizational culture.  Organizational culture  encompasses the values, visions, hierarchies, norms, and interactions among its employees. It is how an organization is run, how it operates, and how it makes decisions—the industry in which the organization participates may have an influence. Different departments within one company can develop their own subculture within the organization’s culture. Ostroff, Kinicki, and Tamkins (2003) identify three layers in organizational culture: observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions. Observable artifacts are the symbols, language (jargon, slang, and humor), narratives (stories and legends), and practices (rituals) that represent the underlying cultural assumptions. Espoused values are concepts or beliefs that the management or the entire organization endorses. They are the rules that allow employees to know which actions they should take in different situations and which information they should adhere to. These basic assumptions generally are unobservable and unquestioned. Researchers have developed survey instruments to measure organizational culture.

With the workforce being a global marketplace, your company may have a supplier in Korea and another in Honduras and have employees in the United States, China, and South Africa. You may have coworkers of different religious, ethnic, or racial backgrounds than yourself. Your coworkers may be from different places around the globe. Many workplaces offer diversity training to help everyone involved bridge and understand cultural differences.  Diversity training  educates participants about cultural differences with the goal of improving teamwork. There is always the potential for prejudice between members of two groups, but the evidence suggests that simply working together, particularly if the conditions of work are set carefully that such prejudice can be reduced or eliminated. Pettigrew and Tropp (2006) conducted a meta-analysis to examine the question of whether contact between groups reduced prejudice between those groups. They found that there was a moderate but significant effect. They also found that, as previously theorized, the effect was enhanced when the two groups met under conditions in which they have equal standing, common goals, cooperation between the groups, and especially support on the part of the institution or authorities for the contact.

One well-recognized negative aspect of organizational culture is a culture of  harassment , including sexual harassment. Most organizations of any size have developed sexual harassment policies that define sexual harassment (or harassment in general) and the procedures the organization has set in place to prevent and address it when it does occur. Thus, in most jobs you have held, you were probably made aware of the company’s sexual harassment policy and procedures, and may have received training related to the policy. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.) provides the following description of  sexual harassment :

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. (par. 2)

One form of sexual harassment is called quid pro quo. Quid pro quo means you give something to get something, and it refers to a situation in which organizational rewards are offered in exchange for sexual favors. Quid pro quo harassment is often between an employee and a person with greater power in the organization. For example, a supervisor might request an action, such as a kiss or a touch, in exchange for a promotion, a positive performance review, or a pay raise. Another form of sexual harassment is the threat of withholding a reward if a sexual request is refused. Hostile environment sexual harassment is another type of workplace harassment. In this situation, an employee experiences conditions in the workplace that are considered hostile or intimidating. For example, a work environment that allows offensive language or jokes or displays sexually explicit images. Isolated occurrences of these events do not constitute harassment, but a pattern of repeated occurrences does. In addition to violating organizational policies against sexual harassment, these forms of harassment are illegal.

Harassment does not have to be sexual; it may be related to any of the protected classes in the statutes regulated by the EEOC: race, national origin, religion, or age.

Violence in the Workplace

In the summer of August 1986, a part-time postal worker with a troubled work history walked into the Edmond, Oklahoma, post office and shot and killed 15 people, including himself. From his action, the term “going postal” was coined, describing a troubled employee who engages in extreme violence.

Workplace violence is one aspect of workplace safety that I-O psychologists study.  Workplace violence  is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening, disruptive behavior that occurs at the workplace. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide (Occupational Safety & Health Administration, 2014).

There are different targets of workplace violence: a person could commit violence against coworkers, supervisors, or property. Warning signs often precede such actions: intimidating behavior, threats, sabotaging equipment, or radical changes in a coworker’s behavior. Often there is intimidation and then escalation that leads to even further escalation. It is important for employees to involve their immediate supervisor if they ever feel intimidated or unsafe.

Murder is the second leading cause of death in the workplace. It is also the primary cause of death for women in the workplace. Every year there are nearly two million workers who are physically assaulted or threatened with assault. Many are murdered in domestic violence situations by boyfriends or husbands who chose the woman’s workplace to commit their crimes.

There are many risk factors for workplace violence that can be committed by leaders, employees, and even customers. A significant risk factor is the feeling of being treated unfairly, unjustly, or disrespectfully, and may become more serious when combined with other individual factors like personality and history, environmental stressors, and lack of community. In a research experiment, Greenberg (1993) examined the reactions of students who were given pay for a task. In one group, the students were given extensive explanations for the pay rate. In the second group, the students were given a curt uninformative explanation. The students were made to believe the supervisor would not know how much money the student withdrew for payment. The rate of stealing (taking more pay than they were told they deserved) was higher in the group who had been given the limited explanation. This is a demonstration of the importance of procedural justice in organizations. Procedural justice  refers to the fairness of the processes by which outcomes are determined in conflicts with or among employees.

In another study by Greenberg & Barling (1999), they found a history of aggression and amount of alcohol consumed to be accurate predictors of workplace violence against a coworker. Aggression against a supervisor was predicted if a worker felt unfairly treated or untrusted. Job security and alcohol consumption predicted aggression against a subordinate. To understand and predict workplace violence, Greenberg & Barling (1999) emphasize the importance of considering the employee target of aggression or violence and characteristics of both the workplace characteristics and the aggressive or violent person.

As you can see, I-O psychologists are concerned with a wide variety of topics related to the performance and well-being of both employees and their organizations. Some topics, such as recruitment, selection, and performance appraisal, have been important from the start, while others, such as worker attitudes, stress, and motivation, have increased in importance in recent years. Today, while it is still possible to make a distinction between “I” and “O” topics within this field, there is greater recognition that these areas represent two sides of the same coin, and that both sides can have a substantial influence on one another. As work continues to become more complex and subject to global and technological pressures, I-O psychologists will become increasingly important for helping both workers and organizations weather these changes.

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Introduction to Psychology as a Social Science Copyright © by The Introduction To Psychology As A Social Science Teaching and Learning Group is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Psychology Research Guide

I/o industrial or organizational psychology.

I/O, Industrial, Organizational or Industrial-Organizational Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior in organizations and work situations. I/O Psychologists study individual, group, and organizational behavior and use this knowledge to improve workplace problems. Before you explore the database below to find evidence for your project, you may find it helpful to learn more about this area of psychology. The following resources can help you narrow your topic, learn about the language used to describe psychology topics, and get you up to speed on the major advancements in this field.

• Potential Topics: APA Spotlight Articles I/O Psychology This link opens in a new window
• Learn more about Industrial and Organizational Psychology on the American Psychological Association's website

I/O Psychology Databases

Research in I/O psychology utilizes core psychology resources, as well as resources in business, human resources, and sociology. You may find it helpful to search the following databases for your I/o topics or research questions, in addition to the core resources listed on the home page.

I/O Psychology Subject Headings

You may find it helpful to take advantage of predefined subjects or subject headings in Shapiro Databases. These subjects are applied to articles and books by expert catalogers to help you find materials on your topic.

• Learn more about Subject Searching

Consider using databases to perform subject searches, or incorporating words from applicable subjects into your keyword searches. Here are some I/O subjects to consider:

• Industrial & Organizational Psychology
• Management & Management Training
• Occupational Interests & Guidance

Organizational Behavior

• Personnel Attitudes & Job Satisfaction
• Personnel Evaluation & Job Performance
• Personnel Management & Selection & Training
• Professional Education & Training
• Working Conditions & Industrial Safety

I/O Example Search

Not sure what you want to research exactly, but want to get a feel for the resources available? Try the following search in any of the databases listed above:

(Industrial OR Organizational OR I/O) AND Psych*

There isn't just one accepted word for this area of psychology, so we use OR boolean operators to tell the database any of the listed terms are relevant to our search. We use parenthesis to organize our search, and we stem or truncate the word psychology with the asterisk to tell the database that any ending of the word, as long as the letters psych are at the beginning of the word, will do. This way, the word psychological and other related terms will also be included.

• Learn more about Boolean Operators/Boolean Searching

I/O Psychology Organization Websites

• Alliance for Organizational Psychology This link opens in a new window Founded in 1991, EAWOP is an open network of I/O psychology groups. Their website includes publications and resources.
• Harvard Business Review Blog - Psychology This link opens in a new window Current articles from the HBR Blog on psychology in business.
• Occupational Information Network (O*NET) This link opens in a new window O*NET is a regularly updated database of occupational characteristics and worker requirements information across the U.S. economy. It describes occupations in terms of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required as well as how the work is performed in terms of tasks, work activities, and other descriptors. It is made available by the United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.
• Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology (SIOP) This link opens in a new window Membership organization for I-O psychologists. SIOP is a division of the American Psychological Association and an organizational affiliate of the Association for Psychological Science.
• SIOP-SHRM White Papers The SHRM-SIOP Science of HR white paper series provides practitioner-oriented reviews of evidence-based HR practices written by leading researchers and practitioners in the field of I-O psychology and HR.
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Pay dues now, volunteering, join siop as an affiliate, affiliate faqs, siop fellowship, local i-o groups, international i-o groups, demographics, licensure for i-o psychologists, licensure faqs, allied organizations, items of interest, conversation series, siop white papers, siop-shrm white papers, siop source, iop journal, organizational frontiers series, professional practice series, siop research gateway, the annual conference, the leading edge consortium, work smart series, continuing education, graduate training program, guidelines for education and training, online teaching survival guide, i-o resources for teachers, incorporating i-o, future events, carma affiliate program, great china region project, online programs webinar series, i-o internships, i-o career paths, pursuing a career in i-o psychology, calls and announcements, professional ethics, manage subscription, top 10 work trends, remote work, diversity, equity, & inclusion, io product-service guide, consultant locator, future of work, smarter workplace awareness, science for a post-roe workplace, media resources service, press releases, lec partner program, annual conference partner program, advertising-overview, annual conference advertising, i-o products and services guide, siop source advertising, tip advertising, top 10 workplace trends for 2020, new decade brings new trends along with familiar topics in siop’s 7th annual top 10 workplace trends.

The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is pleased to announce its seventh annual Top 10 Workplace Trends list. Based on member surveys, these are the issues that will have the most impact on the workplace in 2020. 

For the first time, there is a tie between two of the topics; at #9 on the list – “Virtual working spaces” and ”Meaning and purposeful work.” Newly trending topics include workforce health and well-being, and meaning and purposeful work. The entries in SIOP’s Top 10 list are broad, complex issues posing difficult challenges to the business world and modern society, so it’s no surprise that many other trends have appeared on previous lists. 

Industrial-organizational psychologists study workplace issues of critical relevance to business, including talent management, coaching, assessment, selection, training, organizational development, performance, and work–life balance. I-O psychologists can help all kinds of organizations, including for-profit, nonprofit and government, grappling with these issues find solutions that are right for their organizations and their staff.

To create this list, SIOP asked its members for their predictions based on their expertise as well as interactions with clients and colleagues. After the responses were compiled, members selected the top 10 issues organizations are likely to face in 2020. Nearly 1,000 members responded, and here’s what they had to say:

10. Data visualization and communication

First appearing on the list of top trends in 2019, the need to visualize and communicate the results of data analysis remains a global business priority. Making sense of the massive amounts of data available to organizations is a necessary step in making sound, data-driven decisions. The volume and velocity at which data are collected by organizations can be overwhelming. Organizations will need to find ways to creatively yet simply present data to stakeholders to effectively communicate the core messages of each data analysis and leverage the power of the data.

How I-O psychologists can help 

The ability to create and communicate clear, visually compelling data-driven arguments, is an essential data science skill. As a data-driven profession, I-O psychologists can help organizations and their leaders effectively use data to make human capital decisions and communicate with managers, board members, and the public about human capital topics that are central to organizational success. 

In a short presentation at the 2019 SIOP Annual Conference, Dr. Tina Burke shared evidence-based advice on effectively communicating about complex subjects .  The SHRM-SIOP White Paper authored by Dr. Evan Sinar , Data Visualization: Get Visual to Drive HR’s Impact and Influence , was created expressly to help use visualization techniques in representing HR data.

9-TIE! Virtual working spaces

Virtual coworking space can help limit workplace distractions while creating a sense of community for employees. In virtual coworking space, employees can join multiple chatrooms with coworkers (some work related, some common interests), see what meetings others are attending, and work on projects together. Virtual coworking comes at a low cost for employers and provides employees with flexibility, but they do have disadvantages. For instance, it is more difficult to foster employee engagement, and a lack of engagement can spiral into a lack of commitment, employee burnout, and attrition.  

I-O psychologists have found many methods of optimizing the remote work experience over the last several years. Some of them are simple procedural “hacks” such as conducting video meetings to increase accountability, engagement, and professionalism. Other, more substantive interventions include mapping career development paths to guide training and development for virtual employees.

SIOP has published resources on several aspects of remote work, including a 2014 White Paper on Telecommuting by Dr. Kristen Shockley, which provides a readily accessible grounding in the psychological impacts of remote work. Some resources linked to other trends higher on this list are also relevant here.

9-TIE! Meaning and purposeful work

A newcomer on the 2020 Top 10 WorkplaceTrends list, “meaning and purposeful work” reflects the shift in how people view work in the context of their lives. Finding meaning is a basic psychological need, and people are increasingly seeking to fill that need through their work. They seek work that is aligned with their values and supports their sense of life purpose. People are no longer viewing work as a means to an end but rather a way of life; they want to do something they believe will contribute to the world and fulfill them. Organizations will need to rethink their human capital strategy in order to evolve along with the mindset of their employees.

Meaning and purpose are connected to organizational culture and inclusion. Creating an inclusive, values-driven organizational culture thus one key element of business success. I-O psychologists can help organizations by helping with job design (also job sculpting, job crafting), selecting employees that share the same values with the organization, and training managers to help their employees find meaning and purpose as work. 

The white paper, Getting Engaged: Top Tips for an Engaged Workforce , by Dr. Allison Gabriel and Dr. Andrew Bennett reviews the organizational importance of employee engagement and provides tips for achieving it. Also, see resources linked to diversity and inclusion in the discussion of Trend #2, below. 

8. Workforce health and well-being

Stress and insecurity aggravated by the technology-mediated pressure to be “always on” contribute to rising rates of employee burnout. Business leaders are finding that burnout is not only harmful to employee health but also costly and detrimental to organizations. If organizations want to retain their top performers, they need to think not only about the employees’ well-being at work but also consider how the employees’ work life can affect their personal life in both positive and negative ways. 

In addition to the business case for worker health, there are strong ethical mandates for businesses to consider worker well-being (e.g., the UN Sustainable Development Goals and understanding of health as a human right). 

                How I-O psychologists can help 

I-O psychologists can help organizations that strive to balance ethical and practical considerations in developing employee benefits packages that will stand out to talented individuals in the job market. They can also assist in designing well-being programs and initiatives to keep employees healthy and happy. 

SIOP offers several resources relevant to this topic including a short overview video from the 2019 SIOP Conference by Dr. Tammy Allen , and these white papers: A Marathon, Not a Sprint: The Benefits of Taking Time to Recover from Work Demands by Dr. Charlotte Fritz and Dr. Allison M. Ellis , Work-Life Balance by Dr. Alison Rife and Dr. Rosalie Hall. Find more resources under the Worker Well Being tab on the SIOP White Papers web page.

7. Algorithmic selection – validity, bias, and applicant reactions

Algorithmic hiring is a growing trend in employee selection. Algorithms in employee selection use a formula to combine test scores into an overall candidate score, as opposed to using judgment or intuition to combine them. Algorithms can also be applied to arrive at a score for a specific assessment method, such as using artificial intelligence (AI) to score résumés instead of having recruiters evaluate them. In other types of AI assessments, candidates might be asked to play custom-built games to test their reaction time or speed. 

However, many practitioners have expressed concerns about validity and bias in algorithmic selection, as well as how applicants respond to more structured selection practices.  Although using formulas to combine test scores is more valid and less biased than judgmental combinations of scores, many questions remain about AI methods.

As algorithmic selection is used more often, and more data become available, I-O psychologists can help organizations be better prepared to navigate the complex issues and concerns about validity and bias in algorithmic selection, as well as applicant response to structured selection practices. 

In a SIOP White Paper, Dr. Neil Morelli discusses algorithms derived from artificial intelligence and their use in talent and selection assessment. Jon Willford discusses how human judgments and decisions can be enhanced with data from predictive algorithms. Also, for more information, see the recent SIOP White Paper: “Recent Trends in Pre-Employment Assessment” by Jessica M. Walker and Dr. Don Moretti .

6. Automation of jobs and tasks

Rapid increases in the sophistication of automation technology are, along with artificial intelligence, driving growing concern over the extent to which automation will disrupt the workforce. This is not a new concern, having returned with each new evolutionary phase in technology. But it is on the minds of many today and should be the subject of considered thought for educators, workforce planners, and business leaders in all sectors.

As jobs are increasingly automated, new jobs will emerge. These new jobs will require a 21st-century skill set that is in high demand already. Organizations view a growing skills shortage as one of their top concerns.

How I-O psychologists can help

Drawing on decades of theoretical and applied work, I-O psychologists are uniquely suited to help organizations conduct work analysis and forecast future human capital needs. They are also well-positioned to help organizations develop methods to aid workers to adapt to technology-enabled changes in work and the workplace.  

See Dr. Tara Behrend’s short video presentation on the topic from the 2019 SIOP Annual Conference. SIOP’s recent Organizational Frontiers book, Workforce Readiness and the Future of Work , which Dr. Behrend co-edited with Dr. Fred Oswald and Dr. Lori Foster , offers a more comprehensive treatment of the many forces shaping the future of work.

5. The changing nature of work 

Moore’s law defines the exponential growth of computing power, and that pace is driving the rapid changes in how people work. This is the fourth year in a row that the changing nature of work on the SIOP Top 10 Workplace Trends list, moving up two spots from last year.  As organizations embrace new and evolving technologies including social media communications, cloud-based collaboration tools, artificial intelligence, automation, and the digitization of work, our traditional notions of the workplace continue to evolve. 

Employee attitudes and expectations are also shifting  (e.g., see Trend #9) and require organizations to rethink their strategies for attracting and retaining employees. Organizations will also need to create agile policies and processes in order to respond to continuous change in a timely manner if they want to maintain a competitive edge.

I-O psychologists can help organizations properly transition into using these technologies while avoiding pitfalls related to cybersecurity and ethical concerns that can arise with the adoption of new technology-enabled work processes. I-Os can also help organizations develop the ability to cope with the increasing rate of change by building organizational and worker agility. 

The new SIOP webinar video on Performance Management 2.O by Dr. Alan Colquitt and the white paper, Agility and Agile: An Introduction for People, Teams, and Organizations by Dr. Ben Baran and Dr. Scott Bible are two useful resources for helping organizations adapt. 

4. Working with big data

Organizations continue to expand their capabilities for collecting large amounts of data from a multitude of sources (including people’s social media activity, digital work activities or purchase behavior, and other disparate information) at a rapid pace. The sheer amount of data available to organizations provides an unprecedented opportunity to explain and predict organizational outcomes.

But as several recent news stories and regulatory changes illustrate, the collection and use of big data in poorly designed systems can also create big risks. Using big data to inform employee selection may have unforeseen legal repercussions for organizations, for example, when analyses are conducted by those without a background in organizational psychology or statistics. Collecting data from employees and applicants also raises concerns over privacy intrusion in data collection. Big data analytics will only become more prevalent in organizations, and it is up to business leaders to ensure that they are protecting their organizations’ interests by behaving ethically and responsibly.

                How I-O psychologists can help

I-O psychologists can leverage their unique blend of expertise in psychological theory, research methods, statistics, and labor laws to ensure big data analytics are conducted responsibly, accurately, and effectively by organizations. I-O psychologists have unique expertise in understanding human behavior in organizations that aids in both data management and analysis.

Big Data at Work: Lessons From the Field , by Dr. Alexis Fink , Dr. Rick Guzzo , and Dr. Sara Roberts provides a nontechnical introduction and guidance on this topic

3. “Gig economy” – contract work

The gig economy is here, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Estimates range from 10.1% of America’s workforce (2017; Bureau of Labor Statistics) to 36% (2017; 35% in 2019; Upwork & Freelancers Union). Three major questions business leaders will need to tackle concerning the growing gig economy relate to recruitment and selection, the relationship between the organization and its workers, and regulatory issues. 

First, do current recruitment and selection best practices generalize to hiring and contracting gig workers? Leaders may need to revisit and revise their current hiring practices and systems for this labor supply. Second, how is the client–gig worker relationship different from the employer–employee relationship? What implications does this have for whether and how organizations invest in, retain, and develop their gig workers? Finally, what are the legal hotspots (e.g., compliance) of gig work that organizations and gig workers must understand and how do these impact the work itself?

I-O psychologists can help answer these questions and assist organizations navigating this complex and challenging shift from the traditional day job to contract work. In addition, they can aid organizations in developing a way to increase employee engagement and organizational commitment amongst gig workers. 

Resources  

Dr. William Macey offers an overview of the scope and impact of the gig economy in this short video from the  2019 SIOP Annual Conference.  In T he Gig Economy: An Overview and Set of Recommendations for Practice , Dr. Emily Campion addresses five of the most pressing questions on the topic, while focusing on practices supporting gig workers’ productivity.

2. Diversity, inclusion, and equity

Diversity, inclusion, and equity continue to be top considerations in the workplace, with an increasing focus on inclusion and equity. The #MeToo movement is just one recent example of how these concerns can move from the workplace into the headlines, underscoring the need for organizations to create diverse, inclusive workplace cultures.

Continued efforts to advance representation of women and historically underrepresented ethnic groups, particularly in leadership, are increasingly joined by inclusion and equity considerations of LGBTQI employees, renewed attention to age and ageism, global diversity and immigration, and integration of workers with disabilities, including invisible disabilities and mental health. Extending workplace inclusion and removing barriers for neurodiverse individuals is a growing imperative.

The public increasingly scrutinizes equity in organizations, including pay gaps, income inequality, executive pay, and minimum wage. Improvements in workplace equity may also enhance employer brands and the ability to attract and retain talent.   

I-O psychologists can help organizations focus on inclusivity, identify exclusionary practices, design training on unconscious biases, and examine possible biases and effects on diversity and equal opportunity. 

McKenzie Preston and Dr. Sumona De Graaf highlight business benefits in the white paper, Benefits of Socioeconomic Diversity to Organizations: How Organizations Can Promote and Benefit From Socioeconomic Diversity . Dr. Kizzy Dominguez shares insights from practice and statistics about diversity, inclusion, and equality in this short video from the 2019 SIOP Conference

And the #1 trend this year…

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning

Artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to be the number one workplace trend for the year 2020. More and more employers are exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in personnel decisions such as hiring, retirement planning and benefits enrollment, and many other areas.

Though the use of AI in HR is still in the early stages, AI has immense potential to change how organizations make personnel decisions through the use of predictive analytics and metrics for talent acquisition, training and development, and compensation. 

In hiring, AI can predict the likelihood of success on the job as well as the risk of turnover. AI could be used to offer personalized recommendations for training/career development as well as suggest which employees should be assigned to specific teams for higher team performance. 

I-O psychologists are helping organizations use artificial intelligence and machine learning to increase effectiveness and efficiency by evaluating new methods of workflow, streamlining processes, improving customer experiences, and automating operations based on predictive intelligence. 

For more information, see this recent SIOP White Paper: Artificial Intelligence in Talent Assessment and Selection by Dr. Neil Morelli .  Dr. Dan Putka provided an introduction to AI and machine learning at the 2019 Annual Conference. In addition to definitions and use cases, Dr. Putka contextualizes the role of I-O psychology in relation to engineering and other data sciences in HR applications. See the video here .

Using I-O Psychology to Solve Business Challenges

SIOP members are I-O psychologists who work in business, government and academia. Several act as consultants, and you can find an expert to help with your organization’s workforce challenges by selecting a topic from the dropdown consultant service list in the SIOP Consultant Locator .

Learn more about practical business applications of I-O psychology in the SIOP Hot Topics White Papers. In-depth coverage of several of the fundamental human issues organizations face today are addressed in the SIOP Organizational Frontiers Book Series. Browse the catalog here.

Read previous Top 10 Trends lists here and find short videos on the 2019 trends, including an expert discussion of each trend and a brief overview of all the trends, here .

This year’s Top Ten Workplace Trends list was coordinated by the Media Subcommittee of SIOP’s Visibility Committee based on two online surveys sent to approximately 8,000 SIOP members from October of 2019 to December of 2019. Committee members include Nikki Blacksmith , Chair; Amanda Woller , Chair in Training; Andrew Pepper , Media Chair; Dan Eisen , Survey Analysis Coordinator Thanks to these volunteer writers for helping create the report: Nicholas Baldwin, Emily Campion, Nick Howald, Uma Iyer, Jaclyn Jensen, Ludmila Praslova, Jerel Slaughter, Tilman Sheets, and Laura Tate .

Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

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Home > Academic Units > SPFC > IOP Dissertations

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

The Seattle Pacific University Department of Industrial-Organizational Psychology offers both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology.

This series contains successfully defended doctoral dissertations.

Dissertations from 2024 2024

"Me? Be a Coach?" A Grounded Theory Investigation of Coach Identity Among Managers Who Coach , Sara Mary Cannon

Effects of Advertising Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) on Female Applicants’ Intentions to Pursue Employment Through Perceived Organizational Support , Jamie Crites

Exploring the Effects of Autotelic Personality, Proactive Personality, and Positive Affectivity on Dispositional Employee Engagement , Stormy Soldonia

Dissertations from 2023 2023

The psychometric evaluation of decent work in India , Jadvir K. Gill

Implicit Trait Policies and Situational Judgment Tests: How Personality Shapes Judgments of Effective Behavior , Alexander Edward Johnson

An Investigation of the Impact of Prosocial Action on Psychological Resilience in Female Volunteer Maskmakers During COVID-19 , Linda D. Montano

To make or buy: How does strategic team selection and shared leadership strategy interact to impact NBA team effectiveness? , Brandon Purvis

Dissertations from 2022 2022

“Intended Between a Man and a Woman”: Examining the LGBTQ Campus Climate of a Non-Affirming Free Methodist University , Justin Cospito

Adverse Work Experiences and the Impact on Workplace Psychological Well Being, Workplace Psychological Distress, Employee Engagement, Turnover Intention, and Work State Conscientiousness , Nicole J. DeKay

Managing One’s Anxiety When Work Narratives Misalign , Shannon Eric Ford and Shannon Ford

The HERO in you: The impact of psychological capital training and perceived leadership on follower psychological capital development and burnout , Alifiya Khericha

CoachMotivation: Leveraging Motivational Interviewing Methodology to Increase Emotion Regulation Ability in the Workplace , Michael R. Nelson

Effects of Pay Transparency on Application Intentions through Fairness Perceptions and Organizational Attractiveness: Diversifying the Workforce by Effectively Recruiting Younger Women , Phi Phan-Armaneous

The space between stress and reaction: A three-way interaction of active coping, psychological stress, and applied mindfulness in the prediction of sustainable resilience , Kait M. Rohlfing PhD

A Quantitative Comparison of Employee Engagement Antecedents , Kirby White

Dissertations from 2021 2021

RAD Managers: Strategic Coaching for Managers and Leaders , Audrey Mika Kinase Kolb

Can Gender Pronouns in Interview Questions Work as Nudges? , Fei Lu

Catalytic Resilience Practices: Exploring the Effects of Resilience and Resilience Practices through Physical Exercise , Mackenzie Ruether

Dissertations from 2020 2020

Softening Resistance Toward Diversity Initiatives: The Role of Mindfulness in Mitigating Emotional White Fragility , Vatia P. Caldwell

When Proenvironmental Behavior Crosses Contexts: Exploring the Moderating Effects of Central Participation at Work on the Work-Home Interface , Bryn E.D. Chighizola

Developing Adaptive Performance: The Power of Experiences and a Strategic Network of Support , Joseph D. Landers Jr.

Purposeful Investment in Others: The Power of a Character of Service , Kayla M. Logan

Developmental Experiences Impacting Leadership Differentiation in Emerging Adults , Gabrielle E. Metzler

Exploring the Impact of Self-Compassion on Lessons Learned from a Past Failure Experience , Emily Minaker

Fighting dirty in an era of corporate dominance: Exploring personality as a moderator of the impact of dangerous organizational misconduct on whistleblowing intentions , Keith Andrew Price

CoachMotivation: Developing Transformational Leadership by Increasing Effective Communication Skills in the Workplace , Megan L. Schuller

The Relationship Between Authentic Leadership and Resilience, Moderated by Coping Skills , Alice E. Stark

Building and Sustaining Hope in the Face of Failure: Understanding the Role of Strategic Social Support , Kira K. Wenzel PhD

Dissertations from 2019 2019

Exploring the Buffering Effects of Holding Behaviors on the Negative Consequences of Workplace Discrimination for People of Color , Heather A. Kohlman Olsen

Employee Engagement Around the World: Predictors, Cultural Differences, and Business Outcomes , Amanda Munsterteiger

Dissertations from 2018 2018

Ignatian Spirituality in Vocational Career Development: An Experimental Study of Emerging Adults , Scott Campanario

Narrative Leadership: Exploring the Concept of Time in Leader Storytelling , Helen H. Chung Dr.

Vulnerability in Leadership: The Power of the Courage to Descend , Stephanie O. Lopez

An Exploratory Study Examining a Transformational Salesperson Model Mediated by Salesperson Theory-of-Mind , Philip (Tony) A. Pizelo Dr.

Dissertations from 2017 2017

Developing Conviction in Women Leaders: The Role of Unique Work and Life Experiences , McKendree J. Hickory

The Role of Organizational Buy-in in Employee Retention , Serena Hsia

The Psychometric Evaluation of a Personality Selection Tool , James R. Longabaugh

Approaching Stressful Situations with Purpose: Strategies for Emotional Regulation in Sensitive People , Amy D. Nagley

Validation of the Transformative Work in Society Index: Christianity, Work, and Economics Integration , John R. Terrill

Seeking Quality Mentors: Exploring Program Design Characteristics to Increase an Individual’s Likelihood to Participate as a Mentor , Kristen Voetmann

Predicting Employee Performance Using Text Data from Resumes , Joshua D. Weaver

College for The Sake of What? Promoting the Development of Wholly Educated Students , Michael P. Yoder

Dissertations from 2016 2016

Am I a Good Leader? How Variations in Introversion/Extraversion Impact Leaders’ Core Self-Evaluations , Marisa N. Bossen

Dissertations from 2015 2015

The Development of Job-Based Psychological Ownership , Robert B. Bullock

Generational Differences in the Interaction between Valuing Leisure and Having Work-Life Balance on Altruistic and Conscientious Behaviors , Sandeep Kaur Chahil

Obtaining Sponsorship in Organizations by Developing Trust through Outside of Work Socialization , Katie Kirkpatrick-Husk

Managing Work and Life: The Impact of Framing , Hilary G. Roche

Men and Women in Engineering: Professional Identity and Factors Influencing Workforce Retention , Caitlin Hawkinson Wasilewski

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Home > Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects > ALL-PROGRAMS > Industrial/Organizational Psychology Theses

Industrial/Organizational Psychology Theses

Theses/dissertations from 2022 2022.

Employee Satisfaction and Perceptions of Organizational Leadership Accountability , Caroline M. Clancy

The Effects of Transformational Leadership on Sales Performance in a Multilevel Marketing Organization , Alexander Techy

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Too Illegit to Quit: The Impact of Illegitiate Tasks on Turnover Intentions and Well-Being , Jacob Wessels

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

The Effects of Positive and Negative Humor at Work , Trevor Frey

Diverse Teams, Team Effectiveness, and the Moderating Effect of Organizational Support , Hannah Tilstra

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Effects of Psychological Need Satisfaction on Proactive Work Behaviors , Shota Kawasaki

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Gender Differences in Development Center Performance in a Healthcare Organization , Samuel Lawson

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Success in Learning Groups: Where have we been? And Where are we going? , Tiffany Michelle Ackerman

Individual Differences as Predictors of Success for Learning Community Students , Nicole Haffield

Moderating Effects of Resilience and Recovery on the Stressor-Strain Relationship Among Law Enforcement Officers , Austin Hearne

Selection Portfolio: Applying Modern Portfolio Theory to Personnel Selection , Eric Leingang

The Hogan Development Survey: Personality in Selecting and Training Aviation Pilots , Jenna McChesney

Evaluating a Measure of Student Effectiveness in an Undergraduate Psychology Program , Colin Omori

Participant Self-Assessment of Development Center Performance , Ryan Powley

“Let’s be clear”: Exploring the Role of Transparency Within the Organization , Maxwell Salazar

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Effect of an Email Intervention Tailored to Highly Ambitious Students on University Retention , Lauren Bahls

911,What's My Emergency? Emotional Labor, Work-Related Rumination, and Strain Outcomes in Emergency Medical Dispatchers , Jessica Lee Deselms

Can You Hack It? Validating Predictors for IT Boot Camps , Courtney Gear

Intervention E-mails and Retention: How E-mails Tailored to Personality Impact an Undergraduate Student's Decision to Return to School or Not , John Kelly Heffernon

Prudence and Persistence: Personality in Student Retention , Logan J. Michels

Examination of the Antecedents, Reactions, and Outcomes to a Major Technology-driven Organizational Change , Ngoc Dinh Nguyen

Training Coping Techniques to Reduce Statistics Anxiety , Brittany Prothe

Assessing the Effect of Personality Characteristics of Minnesota Golfers on the Brand Equity of Golf Drivers , Eric Schinella

Mood and Engagement Contagion in a Call Center Environment , Sarah Welsch

Why Do Some Employees Readjust to Their Home Organizations Better Than Others? Job Demands-Resources Model of Repatriation Adjustment , Yukiko Yamasaki

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Fitting Flow: An Analysis of the Role of Flow Within a Model of Occupational Stress , Jeffrey Alan Dahlke

Created Equal? Comparing Disturbing Media Outcomes Across Occupations , Christine Nicole Gundermann

The Influence of Perceived Similarity, Affect and Trust on the Performance of Student Learning Groups , Jennifer Louise Lacewell

Depth of a Salesman: Exploring Personality as a Predictor of Sales Performance in a Multi-Level Marketing Sample , Colleen Rose Miller

Expatriate Adjustment of U.S. Military on Foreign Assignment:The Role of Personality and Cultural Intelligence in Adjustment , Jennifer Pauline Stockert

Organizational Trust As a Moderator of the Relationship between Burnout and Intentions to Quit , Glenn Trussell

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Ethnic Names, Resumes, and Occupational stereotypes: Will D'Money Get the Job? , Tony Matthew Carthen

Examining the Effectiveness of the After Action Review for Online and Face-to-Face Discussion Groups , William Cradick

University Commitment: Test of a Three-Component Model , Brittany Davis

An Investigation into the Effect of Power on Entrepreneurial Motivations , Jack Reed Durand

Development and Enhancement to a Pilot Selection Battery for a University Aviation Program , Ryan Thomas Hanna

Overseas Assignments: Expatriate and Spousal Adjustment in the U.S. Air Force , Andrew R. Hayes

The Roles of Social Support and Job Meaningfulness in the Disturbing Media Exposure-Job Strain Relationship , Hung T. Hoang

Student Assessment of Professor Effectiveness , Roger Emil Knutson

Dirty Work: The Effects of Viewing Disturbing Media on Military Attorneys , Natalie Lynn Sokol

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Selection System Prediction Of Safety: A Step Toward Zero Accidents In South African Mining , Rachel Aguilera-Vanderheyden

Examining Generational Differences across Organizational Factors that Relate to Turnover , Kimberly Asuncion

An Investigation of Online Unproctored Testing and Cheating Motivations Using Equity Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior , Valerie Nicole Brophy

Race, Gender, and Leadership Promotion: The Moderating Effect of Social Dominance Orientation , Chelsea Chatham

Disentangling Individual, Organization, and Learning Process Factors that Drive Employee Participation , Diana Colangelo

Will [email protected] get the Job Done? An Analysis of Employees' Email Usernames, Turnover, and Job Performance , Jessica Marie Lillegaard

Using Personality Traits to Select Customer-Oriented Security Guards , Tracy Marie Shega

Mobile Internet Testing: Applicant Reactions To Mobile Internet Testing , Sarah Smeltzer

Ethical Leadership: Need for Cross-Cultural Examinations , Shuo Tian

Development of a Pilot Selection System for a Midwestern University Aviation Program , Kathryn Wilson

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Identifying Organizational Factors that Moderate the Engagement-Turnover Relationship in a Healthcare Setting , Stevie Ann Collini

Organizational Wellness Programs: Who Participates and Does it Help? , Justin Michael Dumond

Coping with Economic Stressors: Religious and Non-Religious Strategies for Managing Psychological Distress , Jonathan Karl Feil

The Creation and Validation of a Pilot Selection System for a Midwestern University Aviation Department , Jacob William Forsman

The National Survey of Student Engagement as a Predictor of Academic Success , Paul Michael Fursman

Perceptions of a Text-Based SJT versus an Animated SJT , Amanda Helen Halabi

The Moderating Effects of Work Control and Leisure Control on the Recovery-Strain Relationship , Jason Nicholas Jaber

The Role Social Influence Has On Dormitory Residents' Responses to Fire Alarms , Michael Otting Leytem

The Impact of Culture, Industry Type, and Job Relevance on Applicant Reactions , Olivia Martin

Someone Who Understands: The Effect of Support on Law Enforcement Officers Exposed to Disturbing Media , Jessica Morales

The Effects of Task Ambiguity and Individual Differences on Personal Internet Use at Work , Hitoshi Nishina

The Roles of Self-Efficacy and Self-Deception in Cheating on Unproctored Internet Testing , Christopher Adam Wedge

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

Assessing Transfer Student Performance , Hyderhusain Shakir Abadin

Should You Hire [email protected] ?: An Analysis of Job Applicants' Email Addresses and their Scores on Pre-Employment Assessments , Evan Blackhurst

The Dirty Work Of Law Enforcement: Emotion, Secondary Traumatic Stress, And Burnout In Federal Officers Exposed To Disturbing Media , Amanda Harms

Comparison of a Ranking and Rating Format of the 5Plus5: A Personality Measure , Kristy Lynn Jungemann

Cultural Intelligence and Collective Efficacy in Virtual Team Effectiveness , Pei See Ng

Relationship Type Determines the Target of Threat in Perceived Relational Devaluation: Organizational Self vs. Interpersonal Relationships , Peter Sanacore

Development of an Assessment Center as a Selection Method for I/O Graduate Applicants , Ting Tseng

Hiking, Haiku, or Happy Hour After Hours: The Effects of Need Satisfaction and Proactive Personality on the Recovery-Strain Relationship , Paige Woodruff

Exploring the Antecedents of Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Knowledge-based Virtual Communities , Luman Yong

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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY ONLINE

What is Organizational Psychology? 6 Real-World Applications

November 17, 2023

View all blog posts under Articles

Many students may consider a master’s degree to be their path to a higher salary and leadership positions. But while these potential benefits make a master’s degree appealing, students also want some assurance that their time and effort will be worthwhile when they start to look for a secure job. While some degrees carry more real-world applications than others, the  Master of Science in Applied Psychology (MAPP) degree with an emphasis on organizational psychology can prepare students to apply their knowledge across a wide spectrum of careers.

What Is Organizational Psychology?

Organizational psychology applies the theories and principles of psychology to organizations of various sizes and types. The goal of this specialized branch of psychology is twofold: While it focuses on boosting productivity, it also works to optimize employees’ mental and physical well-being.

Organizational psychology achieves this through an understanding of worker behavior and company evaluation. This strategy can be applied to procedures throughout a business, such as conducting evaluations that find ideal fits for open positions and establishing job performance standards. It can also be applied by studying company culture, how a business is structured and the management styles an organization uses to see if they pose a stumbling block to optimal performance.

What Makes a Master of Science in Applied Psychology Worthwhile?

Typically, an advanced psychology degree, such as a Master of Science in Applied Psychology, is the minimum requirement for a career in organizational psychology, even for entry-level positions. While an undergraduate psychology program may lay the foundational elements for a career in psychology, most undergraduate tracks don’t include enough emphasis on organizational psychology to adequately prepare students for the workplace.

How Professionals Use Organizational Psychology

Organizational psychology professionals use the science of psychology to understand and measure human behavior in the workplace. With such an understanding and measurement, these professionals aim to improve employees’ satisfaction with their work , enhance the business’s ability to hire and retain the most qualified individuals, and support building a better workplace for everyone.

Organizational psychology professionals use their research and knowledge to design training courses, surveys, selection procedures and other tools. Using scientific methods, they advise employers on hiring priorities and candidate selection, and can also help employees achieve a satisfactory work-life balance.

Using the principles of organizational psychology, professionals may also be called on to analyze or resolve a problem within the business. For example, a company’s executives may be concerned that their business has a high turnover rate . An organizational psychology professional might carry out a survey, interview employees or implement other research strategies to ascertain the cause of the turnover rate. Causes may have something to do with employee dissatisfaction, issues with the company's leadership dynamic, a problem with the workplace environment or another issue.

Pursuing the Degree

The USC Master of Science in Applied Psychology degree program provides students with the experience and knowledge to pursue a career in organizational psychology. The course titled Organization Psychology 565, for example, teaches psychological principles and research methodologies that students can later apply in their organizations, thus preparing them to solve a variety of challenges they may meet in today’s increasingly complex work environment.

This and other courses in the USC Master of Science in Applied Psychology program give students the opportunity to apply their interest in psychology in a variety of work settings. By understanding human behavior, how to resolve team conflicts, promote leadership and communicate effectively, students can take their knowledge into a field or business that satisfies their passions.

Real-World Applications of Organizational Psychology

Virtually any business in any field can benefit from organizational psychology. Graduates in this field may find themselves working in major corporations in almost any industry, including entertainment, manufacturing, health care or nonprofits. Within those fields, they may assess leadership, develop training programs, participate in management decisions that affect the workforce, analyze workplace culture or strive to improve diversity in the organization. Here are just some of the real-world career options in organizational psychology.

1. Organizational Consultant (Internal or External)

Many organizations trust organizational psychology professionals as consultants when making significant decisions that can influence the future of the organization and its employees. Organizational consultants work with leadership to improve employees’ work environments and boost the organization’s overall performance. According to the compensation website PayScale, the median annual salary for an organizational consultant as of November 2021 was around $89,000.

2. Talent Management Specialist

These specialists use research in leadership skills to develop and carry out strategies that prepare employees to be effective leaders. The talent management specialist may also help certain employees cultivate specific skills that meet the business’s needs. To accomplish this, the specialist must know the skills and capabilities of employees in the business. The median annual salary for a talent management specialist is approximately $92,500, according to November 2021 data from PayScale.

3. Employee Training and Development Manager

This position focuses on developing and implementing employee training programs in an organization, usually in some form of classroom setting. Trainers work with company management to decide what should be included in the training curriculum so employees can meet the company’s needs. According to PayScale, the median annual salary for an employee training and development manager as of November 2021 was roughly $78,700.

4. Organizational Development and Effectiveness Director

This position requires psychology professionals to work with company leadership to satisfy the organization’s needs relating to organizational development. The job may involve participating in team building, encouraging effective goal setting, improving group processes and developing employee surveys that can identify areas of improvement. According to PayScale, the median annual salary for an organizational development and effectiveness director as of November 2021 was around $118,900.

5. People Analyst

These professionals analyze and report on a spectrum of workforce data to provide the facts necessary to make informed business decisions. They may work in areas such as training and development, employment selection and placement, leadership, retention and work-life quality. Management analysts, including people analysts, make an average median salary of $93,000 as of 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

6. Human Resources Manager

Graduates interested in working closely with employees may enjoy working as HR managers. These managers act as leaders in developing talent, improving diversity, managing performance and applying change management. An HR manager may also coach and develop opportunities for business leadership. According to PayScale, the median annual salary for human resources managers as of December 2021 was around $69,200.

An effective recruitment strategy should not only align with workforce plans, but also attract top performers to a job vacancy. Professionals specializing in talent acquisition are in demand in many industries.

Organizational Psychology and Positive Company Culture

Students who complete an online Master of Science in Applied Psychology degree from USC can obtain the tools and skills to make a difference in the workplace. Graduates who pursue a career in organizational psychology may not only be able to improve the businesses in which they work, but also the quality of life of their colleagues and employees.

Embark on the next chapter in your career with USC today.

Recommended Readings

Change and Organizational Adaptability: Three Challenges

How Does Consumer Psychology Influence User Experience?

PayScale, Average Organizational Development Consultant Salary

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80 fascinating psychology research questions for your next project

Last updated

15 February 2024

Reviewed by

Brittany Ferri, PhD, OTR/L

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Psychology research is essential for furthering our understanding of human behavior and improving the diagnosis and treatment of psychological conditions.

When psychologists know more about how different social and cultural factors influence how humans act, think, and feel, they can recommend improvements to practices in areas such as education, sport, healthcare, and law enforcement.

Below, you will find 80 research question examples across 16 branches of psychology. First, though, let’s look at some tips to help you select a suitable research topic.

• How to choose a good psychology research topic

Psychology has many branches that break down further into topics. Choosing a topic for your psychology research paper can be daunting because there are so many to choose from. It’s an important choice, as the topic you select will open up a range of questions to explore.

The tips below can help you find a psychology research topic that suits your skills and interests.

Tip #1: Select a topic that interests you

Passion and interest should fuel every research project. A topic that fascinates you will most likely interest others as well. Think about the questions you and others might have and decide on the issues that matter most. Draw on your own interests, but also keep your research topical and relevant to others.

Don’t limit yourself to a topic that you already know about. Instead, choose one that will make you want to know more and dig deeper. This will keep you motivated and excited about your research.

Tip #2: Choose a topic with a manageable scope

If your topic is too broad, you can get overwhelmed by the amount of information available and have trouble maintaining focus. On the other hand, you may find it difficult to find enough information if you choose a topic that is too narrow.

To determine if the topic is too broad or too narrow, start researching as early as possible. If you find there’s an overwhelming amount of research material, you’ll probably need to narrow the topic down. For example, instead of researching the general population, it might be easier to focus on a specific age group. Ask yourself what area of the general topic interests you most and focus on that.

If your scope is too narrow, try to generalize or focus on a larger related topic. Expand your search criteria or select additional databases for information. Consider if the topic is too new to have much information published on it as well.

Tip #3: Select a topic that will produce useful and relevant insights

Doing some preliminary research will reveal any existing research on the topic. If there is existing research, will you be able to produce new insights? You might need to focus on a different area or see if the existing research has limitations that you can overcome.

Bear in mind that finding new information from which to draw fresh insights may be impossible if your topic has been over-researched.

You’ll also need to consider whether your topic is relevant to current trends and needs. For example, researching psychology topics related to social media use may be highly relevant today.

• 80 psychology research topics and questions

Psychology is a broad subject with many branches and potential areas of study. Here are some of them:

Developmental

Personality

Experimental

Organizational

Educational

Neuropsychology

Controversial topics

Below we offer some suggestions on research topics and questions that can get you started. Keep in mind that these are not all-inclusive but should be personalized to fit the theme of your paper.

Social psychology research topics and questions

Social psychology has roots as far back as the 18th century. In simple terms, it’s the study of how behavior is influenced by the presence and behavior of others. It is the science of finding out who we are, who we think we are, and how our perceptions affect ourselves and others. It looks at personalities, relationships, and group behavior.

Here are some potential research questions and paper titles for this topic:

How does social media use impact perceptions of body image in male adolescents?

2. Is childhood bullying a risk factor for social anxiety in adults?

Is homophobia in individuals caused by genetic or environmental factors?

What is the most important psychological predictor of a person’s willingness to donate to charity?

Does a person’s height impact how other people perceive them? If so, how?

Cognitive psychology research questions

Cognitive psychology is the branch that focuses on the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity, and problem-solving. It also explores the reasons humans think the way they do.

This topic involves exploring how people think by measuring intelligence, thoughts, and cognition. 

Here are some research question ideas:

6. Is there a link between chronic stress and memory function?

7. Can certain kinds of music trigger memories in people with memory loss?

8. Do remote meetings impact the efficacy of team decision-making?

9. Do word games and puzzles slow cognitive decline in adults over the age of 80?

10. Does watching television impact a child’s reading ability?

Developmental psychology research questions

Developmental psychology is the study of how humans grow and change over their lifespan. It usually focuses on the social, emotional, and physical development of babies and children, though it can apply to people of all ages. Developmental psychology is important for understanding how we learn, mature, and adapt to changes.

Here are some questions that might inspire your research:

11. Does grief accelerate the aging process?

12. How do parent–child attachment patterns influence the development of emotion regulation in teenagers?

13. Does bilingualism affect cognitive decline in adults over the age of 70?

14. How does the transition to adulthood impact decision-making abilities

15. How does early exposure to music impact mental health and well-being in school-aged children?

Personality psychology research questions

Personality psychology studies personalities, how they develop, their structures, and the processes that define them. It looks at intelligence, disposition, moral beliefs, thoughts, and reactions.

The goal of this branch of psychology is to scientifically interpret the way personality patterns manifest into an individual’s behaviors. Here are some example research questions:

16. Nature vs. nurture: Which impacts personality development the most?

17. The role of genetics on personality: Does an adopted child take on their biological parents’ personality traits?

18. How do personality traits influence leadership styles and effectiveness in organizational settings?

19. Is there a relationship between an individual’s personality and mental health?

20. Can a chronic illness affect your personality?

Abnormal psychology research questions

As the name suggests, abnormal psychology is a branch that focuses on abnormal behavior and psychopathology (the scientific study of mental illness or disorders).

Abnormal behavior can be challenging to define. Who decides what is “normal”? As such, psychologists in this area focus on the level of distress that certain behaviors may cause, although this typically involves studying mental health conditions such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and phobias.

Here are some questions to consider:

21. How does technology impact the development of social anxiety disorder?

22. What are the factors behind the rising incidence of eating disorders in adolescents?

23. Are mindfulness-based interventions effective in the treatment of PTSD?

24. Is there a connection between depression and gambling addiction?

25. Can physical trauma cause psychopathy?

Clinical psychology research questions

Clinical psychology deals with assessing and treating mental illness or abnormal or psychiatric behaviors. It differs from abnormal psychology in that it focuses more on treatments and clinical aspects, while abnormal psychology is more behavioral focused.

This is a specialty area that provides care and treatment for complex mental health conditions. This can include treatment, not only for individuals but for couples, families, and other groups. Clinical psychology also supports communities, conducts research, and offers training to promote mental health. This category is very broad, so there are lots of topics to explore.

Below are some example research questions to consider:

26. Do criminals require more specific therapies or interventions?

27. How effective are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in treating mental health disorders?

28. Are there any disadvantages to humanistic therapy?

29. Can group therapy be more beneficial than one-on-one therapy sessions?

30. What are the factors to consider when selecting the right treatment plan for patients with anxiety?

Experimental psychology research questions

Experimental psychology deals with studies that can prove or disprove a hypothesis. Psychologists in this field use scientific methods to collect data on basic psychological processes such as memory, cognition, and learning. They use this data to test the whys and hows of behavior and how outside factors influence its creation.

Areas of interest in this branch relate to perception, memory, emotion, and sensation. The below are example questions that could inspire your own research:

31. Do male or female parents/carers have a more calming influence on children?

32. Will your preference for a genre of music increase the more you listen to it?

33. What are the psychological effects of posting on social media vs. not posting?

34. How is productivity affected by social connection?

35. Is cheating contagious?

Organizational psychology research questions

Organizational psychology studies human behavior in the workplace. It is most frequently used to evaluate an employee, group, or a company’s organizational dynamics. Researchers aim to isolate issues and identify solutions.

This area of study can be beneficial to both employees and employers since the goal is to improve the overall work environment and experience. Researchers apply psychological principles and findings to recommend improvements in performance, communication, job satisfaction, and safety. 

Some potential research questions include the following:

36. How do different leadership styles affect employee morale?

37. Do longer lunch breaks boost employee productivity?

38. Is gender an antecedent to workplace stress?

39. What is the most effective way to promote work–life balance among employees?

40. How do different organizational structures impact the effectiveness of communication, decision-making, and productivity?

Forensic psychology research questions

Some questions to consider exploring in this branch of psychology are:

41. How does incarceration affect mental health?

42. Is childhood trauma a driver for criminal behavior during adulthood?

43. Are people with mental health conditions more likely to be victims of crimes?

44. What are the drivers of false memories, and how do they impact the justice system?

45. Is the media responsible for copycat crimes?

Educational psychology research questions

Educational psychology studies children in an educational setting. It covers topics like teaching methods, aptitude assessment, self-motivation, technology, and parental involvement.

Research in this field of psychology is vital for understanding and optimizing learning processes. It informs educators about cognitive development, learning styles, and effective teaching strategies.

Here are some example research questions:

46. Are different teaching styles more beneficial for children at different times of the day?

47. Can listening to classical music regularly increase a student’s test scores?

48. Is there a connection between sugar consumption and knowledge retention in students?

49. Does sleep duration and quality impact academic performance?

50. Does daily meditation at school influence students’ academic performance and mental health?

Sports psychology research question examples

Sport psychology aims to optimize physical performance and well-being in athletes by using cognitive and behavioral practices and interventions. Some methods include counseling, training, and clinical interventions.

Research in this area is important because it can improve team and individual performance, resilience, motivation, confidence, and overall well-being

Here are some research question ideas for you to consider:

51. How can a famous coach affect a team’s performance?

52. How can athletes control negative emotions in violent or high-contact sports?

53. How does using social media impact an athlete’s performance and well-being?

54. Can psychological interventions help with injury rehabilitation?

55. How can mindfulness practices boost sports performance?

Cultural psychology research question examples

The premise of this branch of psychology is that mind and culture are inseparable. In other words, people are shaped by their cultures, and their cultures are shaped by them. This can be a complex interaction.

Cultural psychology is vital as it explores how cultural context shapes individuals’ thoughts, behaviors, and perceptions. It provides insights into diverse perspectives, promoting cross-cultural understanding and reducing biases.

Here are some ideas that you might consider researching:

56. Are there cultural differences in how people perceive and deal with pain?

57. Are different cultures at increased risk of developing mental health conditions?

58. Are there cultural differences in coping strategies for stress?

59. Do our different cultures shape our personalities?

60. How does multi-generational culture influence family values and structure?

Health psychology research question examples

Health psychology is a crucial field of study. Understanding how psychological factors influence health behaviors, adherence to medical treatments, and overall wellness enables health experts to develop effective interventions and preventive measures, ultimately improving health outcomes.

Health psychology also aids in managing stress, promoting healthy behaviors, and optimizing mental health, fostering a holistic approach to well-being.

Here are five ideas to inspire research in this field:

61. How can health psychology interventions improve lifestyle behaviors to prevent cardiovascular diseases?

62. What role do social norms play in vaping among adolescents?

63. What role do personality traits play in the development and management of chronic pain conditions?

64. How do cultural beliefs and attitudes influence health-seeking behaviors in diverse populations?

65. What are the psychological factors influencing the adherence to preventive health behaviors, such as vaccination and regular screenings?

Neuropsychology research paper question examples

Neuropsychology research explores how a person’s cognition and behavior are related to their brain and nervous system. Researchers aim to advance the diagnosis and treatment of behavioral and cognitive effects of neurological disorders.

Researchers may work with children facing learning or developmental challenges, or with adults with declining cognitive abilities. They may also focus on injuries or illnesses of the brain, such as traumatic brain injuries, to determine the effect on cognitive and behavioral functions.

Neuropsychology informs diagnosis and treatment strategies for conditions such as dementia, traumatic brain injuries, and psychiatric disorders. Understanding the neural basis of behavior enhances our ability to optimize cognitive functioning, rehabilitate people with brain injuries, and improve patient care.

Here are some example research questions to consider:

66. How do neurotransmitter imbalances in specific brain regions contribute to mood disorders such as depression?

67. How can a traumatic brain injury affect memory?

68. What neural processes underlie attention deficits in people with ADHD?

69. Do medications affect the brain differently after a traumatic brain injury?

70. What are the behavioral effects of prolonged brain swelling?

Psychology of religion research question examples

The psychology of religion is a field that studies the interplay between belief systems, spirituality, and mental well-being. It explores the application of the psychological methods and interpretive frameworks of religious traditions and how they relate to both religious and non-religious people.

Psychology of religion research contributes to a holistic understanding of human experiences. It fosters cultural competence and guides therapeutic approaches that respect diverse spiritual beliefs.

Here are some example research questions in this field:

71. What impact does a religious upbringing have on a child’s self-esteem?

72. How do religious beliefs shape decision-making and perceptions of morality?

73. What is the impact of religious indoctrination?

74. Is there correlation between religious and mindfulness practices?

75. How does religious affiliation impact attitudes towards mental health treatment and help-seeking behaviors?

Controversial topics in psychology research question examples

Some psychology topics don’t fit into any of the subcategories above, but they may still be worthwhile topics to consider. These topics are the ones that spark interest, conversation, debate, and disagreement. They are often inspired by current issues and assess the validity of older research.

Consider some of these research question examples:

76. How does the rise in on-screen violence impact behavior in adolescents.

77. Should access to social media platforms be restricted in children under the age of 12 to improve mental health?

78. Are prescription mental health medications over-prescribed in older adults? If so, what are the effects of this?

79. Cognitive biases in AI: what are the implications for decision-making?

80. What are the psychological and ethical implications of using virtual reality in exposure therapy for treating trauma-related conditions?

• Inspiration for your next psychology research project

You can choose from a diverse range of research questions that intersect and overlap across various specialties.

From cognitive psychology to clinical studies, each inquiry contributes to a deeper understanding of the human mind and behavior. Importantly, the relevance of these questions transcends individual disciplines, as many findings offer insights applicable across multiple areas of study.

As health trends evolve and societal needs shift, new topics emerge, fueling continual exploration and discovery. Diving into this ever-changing and expanding area of study enables you to navigate the complexities of the human experience and pave the way for innovative solutions to the challenges of tomorrow.

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Strengths mindset and organizational citizenship behavior: the roles of thriving at work and guanxi closeness

• Published: 26 August 2024

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• Yang Liu 1 ,
• Shunkun Yu 1 &
• He Ding 1  

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While strengths mindset as a new strength-based approach has attracted significant interest from scholars and practitioners, there has been a notable gap in the effect of strengths mindset. This study aims to explore the relationship between strengths mindset and organizational citizenship behavior, while also examining the mediating role of thriving at work and the moderating effect of guanxi closeness. Utilizing a two-phase design, data were gathered from 499 employees from diverse companies in China. We adopted structural equation modeling with latent variables to test our hypotheses. This study found that strengths mindset is positively related to organizational citizenship behavior. Thriving at work was found to fully mediate this relationship. More importantly, guanxi closeness significantly bolsters the direct link between thriving at work and organizational citizenship behavior and the indirect relationship between strengths mindset and organizational citizenship behavior via thriving at work. This research contributes to advances the strengths mindset theory and research, providing a pioneering insight into promoting organizational citizenship behavior.

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The authors are grateful to the employees who participated in this study. This study was supported by “the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 72202063)”.

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Liu, Y., Yu, S. & Ding, H. Strengths mindset and organizational citizenship behavior: the roles of thriving at work and guanxi closeness. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06531-2

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A career-lifespan perspective on strengths utilization at work

Career Development International

ISSN : 1362-0436

Article publication date: 26 August 2024

While the career literature does acknowledge that personal strengths may function as protective factors that increase the likelihood of positive career outcomes, the topic of strengths has predominantly been studied in the context of career guidance for adolescents and young adults. However, the evolution of strengths persists throughout the entire career and individuals’ awareness and inclination to leverage their strengths change when aging. This paper aims to examine strengths over the (career) lifespan.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, a conceptual analysis was made of the interplay between age and strengths application within the work environment, based on a narrative review of both empirical and conceptual literature on strengths and lifespan (career) development.

Based on lifespan development theory and results from studies that investigate the relationship between age and strengths, it can be expected that the prominence, awareness and use of strengths, as well as the active engagement in strengths development increase with age. Also, based on the corresponsive principle it is proposed that strengths prominence is reciprocally related to the awareness, use and development of strengths. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Originality/value

Whereas positive psychology has contributed to research on career development by its focus on healthy functioning, human potential and well-being the implications from theorizing and research on strengths for the career-lifespan are still relatively unclear. This paper develops testable propositions regarding the relationship between age and strengths and discusses implications for the types of organizational support for strengths that workers of different ages might need.

• Aging workers

van Woerkom, M. (2024), "A career-lifespan perspective on strengths utilization at work", Career Development International , Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-12-2023-0433

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Copyright © 2024, Marianne van Woerkom

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Positive psychology as the “science of positive subjective experiences, positive individual traits, and positive institutions” ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 , p. 5) has contributed to research on career development by its focus on healthy functioning, human potential and well-being ( Robertson, 2018 ). For instance, previous career studies inspired by positive psychology have focused on topics like calling ( Douglass and Duffy, 2015 ; Wrzesniewski et al ., 1997 ), interests, meaning and purpose ( Dik et al ., 2015 ; Dik and Hansen, 2008 ; Kosine et al ., 2008 ), job crafting ( Berg et al ., 2008 ) and the role of possible selves in shaping career trajectories ( Ibarra, 2005 ).

Furthermore, it is acknowledged that strengths may function as protective factors that increase the probability of positive career outcomes and reduce risk factors related to the insecurity and continuous change in contemporary careers ( Di Fabio, 2014 ). Nonetheless, the topic of strengths, has been predominantly investigated in relation to career guidance for adolescents and young adults ( Owens et al ., 2018 ). In this literature, it is typically assumed that individual strengths are foundational to the formation of a career identity ( Helens-Hart, 2019 ) and that young adults should be encouraged to seek work opportunities that optimally fit their strengths and values ( Dik et al ., 2015 ).

This exclusive focus on the strengths of career starters is problematic, as career development is a lifelong process. The evolution of strengths, self-knowledge and career aspirations persists throughout an individual’s career ( Baruch and Sullivan, 2022 ; Jiang et al ., 2023 ), leading to distinct developmental challenges at various phases of the career lifespan ( Nagy et al ., 2019 ). Therefore, it is important to study strengths from a temporal perspective. This paper aims to answer the following research question : “What is the relationship between age and the prominence, awareness, use, and development of strengths within the workplace context?”. This study describes a conceptual analysis of the interplay between age and strengths utilization, based on a narrative review of empirical and conceptual literature. Its primary aim is to synthesize research on strengths and lifespan development and propose associations between age, strengths prominence and active engagement with strengths, rather than empirically testing these relationships ( Gilson and Goldberg, 2015 ). Therefore, this paper may serve as a foundation for future research by developing testable propositions, delineating future research directions and pinpointing the limitations of prior studies ( Hodgkinson and Ford, 2014 ).

The present paper contributes to the career literature by suggesting that strengths play a major role in sustainable career development over the lifespan and by proposing that the prominence, awareness and use of strengths, as well as the active engagement in strengths development increases with age. Further, based on the corresponsive principle of personality development ( Caspi et al ., 2005 ; Roberts et al ., 2003 ), it is suggested that the prominence of strengths is reciprocally related to the awareness, utilization and cultivation of those strengths (see Figure 1 ). By acknowledging age-related changes in strengths profiles, strengths awareness and the need for strengths use and strengths-based development, organizations can help workers to have positive career experiences in the present and remain engaged over the long term in a sustainable career ( Nagy et al ., 2019 ; Newman, 2011 ).

In this paper, whenever I refer to strengths I mean personal strengths, which can be broadly defined as specific individual characteristics, traits and abilities, that are naturally present within an individual and that, when used, generate energy and allow people to function at their personal best ( Tobias et al ., 2023 ). Furthermore, I do not use a specific age delineation to distinguish between “older” and “younger” workers due to the lack of definitive criteria in the aging literature for such categorization. Moreover, aging is a continuous process without a clear threshold where its effects on job attitudes, behaviors and well-being definitively begin or end ( Ng and Feldman, 2015 ).

First, I review the theory and empirical research on strengths. Next, I discuss the changes observed in workers’ strengths profiles and their awareness of strengths throughout their lifespan. Additionally, I examine age-related changes in workers’ need for strengths use and strengths-based development. Lastly, I discuss the practical implications of these findings and suggest avenues for future research.

What are strengths?

Strengths refer to positive individual traits and therefore to an important aspect of positive psychology ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ). Peterson and Seligman (2004) developed a classification of 24 character strengths, referring to positive traits that are morally valued in their own right (e.g. kindness, fairness) and that contribute to individual and societal flourishing. According to strengths theory, individuals will typically have between three and seven “signature strengths”, that are highly characteristic of their personality and most strongly related to beneficial outcomes such as fulfillment and invigoration ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004 ). The concept of signature strengths aligns well with later definitions of strengths that refer more generally to the “characteristics that allow a person to perform well or at their personal best” ( Wood et al ., 2011 , p. 16).

Whereas scholars vary in their definitions of strengths, they concur that strengths are most evident in instances of individual excellence, focusing on an individual’s capabilities rather than making comparisons across individuals ( Roberts et al ., 2005 ). This suggests that strengths refer to trait-like personality features that, when activated (state-level), are linked to a person’s optimal functioning ( Meyers et al ., 2023 ; van Woerkom et al ., 2022 ). For example, when Robert scores high on the trait social intelligence, and functions at his personal best when this trait is activated, this means he has a strength in social intelligence. This makes the question of whether others are less or even more socially intelligent than Robert irrelevant. Additionally, scholars acknowledge that strengths are influenced, at least in part, by inherent genetic factors that predispose individuals to excel in specific tasks ( Steger et al ., 2007 ). This makes strengths more stable and trait-like compared to psychological capital which refers to more malleable individual psychological resources in terms of hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience ( Luthans and Youssef-Morgan, 2017 ).

Strengths awareness, use and development

Strengths awareness.

Even though strengths are inherent qualities that invigorate individuals and enable them to function at their greatest potential ( Linley et al ., 2007 ; Wood et al ., 2011 ), people are not always fully aware of their strengths ( Biswas-Diener et al ., 2011 ; Hill, 2001 ). In fact, strengths might be so ingrained in an individual’s personality that their usage occurs unconsciously, blurring the line between an exceptional quality and something that is “normal” or something that “everyone does”. Therefore, many individuals struggle to accurately pinpoint and value their own strengths without external guidance ( Buckingham and Clifton, 2001 ; Owens et al ., 2018 ), possibly also because they and their organizations tend to pay more attention to their weaknesses than their strengths ( Roberts et al ., 2005 ; Rozin and Royzman, 2001 ). Identifying what is right with people by naming and labeling positive characteristics creates strengths awareness and sends powerful feedback that can be used for sustaining a successful career ( Robertson, 2018 ). Research has shown that the mere identification of strengths can lead to enhanced happiness and decreased levels of depression ( Seligman et al ., 2005 ) and that reflecting on one’s core strengths increases positive affect, social engagement, creative problem solving and one’s immune system and reduces strain ( Dolev-Amit et al ., 2021 ; Lee et al ., 2014 ).

Strengths use

Workers may knowingly or unknowingly use their strengths at work. For example, a teacher may engage her students by using her strength in humor or a software engineer may use her perseverance to detect a bug in the programming. A recent systematic review ( Miglianico et al ., 2020 ) indicates that strengths use is associated with higher levels of job satisfaction, work engagement, well-being and work performance. Other studies have shown that capitalizing on strengths in the workplace has a positive impact on seeing one’s job as a calling ( Harzer and Ruch, 2012 , 2016 ) and that strengths use in teams contributes to both individual and team performance ( Buljac-Samardžić and van Woerkom, 2018 ; Meyers et al ., 2023 ). Given these beneficial outcomes, having the opportunity to use one’s strengths plays a pivotal role in the pursuit of a purposeful and meaningful career ( Aulthouse et al ., 2017 ).

Strengths development

Strengths can be developed by refining them with additional knowledge and skills. For example, a highly creative designer can refine her strength in creativity by acquiring more knowledge of the new domain in which she operates, i.e. shoe design. Another aspect of strengths development is to learn how use the right strength, to the right amount, at the right time ( Miglianico et al ., 2020 ). In general the underuse of strengths is more of a problem in terms of peoples’ flourishing and life satisfaction than the overuse of strengths ( Freidlin et al ., 2017 ; Littman-Ovadia and Freidlin, 2020 ). Still, an exclusive focus on promoting the use of strengths bears the risk that strengths will be “overused” and turn into weaknesses when used too much or in inappropriate situations ( Grant and Schwartz, 2011 ; Kaiser and Overfield, 2011 ; Niemiec, 2019 ). Strengths can be developed by learning to judge to what extent a specific situation is appropriate for strengths use, evaluate the impact of strengths use on others and dose strengths to avoid overuse or underuse ( Biswas-Diener et al ., 2011 ). One strategy to strengths development is to use one specific strength to temper or manage an overused strength ( Niemiec, 2019 ). This strategy, also referred to as the tempering effect might for instance be applied by using a strength in self-regulation to temper a strength in zest to give more space to other team members. Another strategy to strengths development is to boost up an underused strength with a strengths that is more strongly represented (the towing effect) ( Niemiec, 2019 ). For example, a person might use their strength in love of learning to boost up their underrepresented strength in leadership.

Strengths over the lifespan

Strengths profiles over the lifespan.

Even though strengths refer to trait-like characteristics that are fairly stable, several studies show that the presence of strengths may fluctuate throughout the life-span ( Heintz and Ruch, 2022 ; Owens et al ., 2018 ), just like personality traits continue to develop through adulthood ( Roberts et al ., 2006 ). In general, there are small but significant positive correlations between age and character strengths. For instance, based on a sample of more than 17,000 British participants, Linley et al . (2007) found significant positive associations between age and almost all 24 character strengths, with the strongest associations being found for curiosity, love of learning (both referring to strengths of wisdom and knowledge), fairness, forgiveness and self-regulation (both referring to strengths of temperance). In line with these results, Ruch et al . (2010) reported positive correlations between age and most of the character strengths, with curiosity (strength of wisdom and knowledge), forgiveness, modesty, prudence, self-regulation (all four strengths of temperance), appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude and spirituality (all three strengths of transcendence) showing the strongest correlations with age. Further, a recent study by Heintz and Ruch (2022) that comprises five meta-analyses with a total sample size of more than one million participants reported significant age differences for almost all character strengths, with 91% of the effects indicating higher levels of the character strengths with increasing age. Since character strengths refer to morally valued positive traits that contribute to individual and societal flourishing, these findings are in line with Socio-Emotional Selectivity Theory ( Carstensen, 1992 , 1993 ) that proposes that as individuals grow older, they prioritize goals that maximize present affective outcomes and attach more value to behaviors that are aimed at seeking meaning in life, developing close relationships with others and constructing a sense of belonging.

The prominence of strengths increases with age.

Strengths awareness over the lifespan

While scant research has investigated the correlation between age and awareness of strengths, the literature on lifespan (personality) development suggests that when aging, individuals develop more self-knowledge by learning from their emotions, thoughts and behaviors, and comparing themselves to others ( Markus and Wurf, 1987 ). Specifically, individuals learn more about their positive and negative qualities ( Bosma and Kunnen, 2001 ) as they deal with “problems, challenges, or life-adjustment situations that come from biological development, social expectations, and personal action” ( Baltes, 1987 , p. 614) and develop stronger and clearer (professional) identities based on this knowledge. This means that when aging, workers develop a more complete and realistic view of their strengths ( Bosma and Kunnen, 2001 ), which is in line with a study by Dubreuil et al . (2016) that reports a positive association between workers’ age and strengths awareness.

Awareness of strengths increases with age.

Strengths use over the lifespan

When aging, people do not only become more knowledgeable about their identity, strengths and interests, they also develop an increased drive to select or create environments that fit these strengths and interests ( Caspi et al ., 2005 ). Further, when aging individuals become more responsible, dominant, self-confident and self-controlling ( Roberts et al ., 2006 ) because of the responsibilities and demands that are tied to given life phases (e.g. entering the labor market, marriage, parenthood; Specht et al ., 2014 ). Due to this maturation process they are also more able to play to their self-knowledge ( Helson et al ., 1995 ) and to create (work) situations that fit these strengths and interests ( Caspi et al ., 2005 ) and that help them to accomplish personally meaningful goals in the workplace ( Ng and Feldman, 2012 ). Further, compared to younger workers, older workers have had more time to climb the career ladder and move into higher jobs with more autonomy ( Ng and Feldman, 2010 ; Wright and Hamilton, 1978 ) and to develop their social networks in the organization ( Finkelstein et al ., 2003 ). This makes it more straightforward for older workers to find chances to adapt their jobs in line with their individual strengths ( Bindl and Parker, 2010 ).

Strengths use increases with age.

Strengths development over the lifespan

Even though there is scant research on the relationship between age and active engagement in strengths-based development, overall, research indicates a diminishing trend in growth and development among workers as they age. For instance, a meta-analysis by Kooij et al . (2011) revealed a decrease in employee interest in learning as they age and a systematic review by Kyndt and Baert (2013) indicated an age-related decrease in workers' participation in both formal and informal learning. However, a recent study by Van Woerkom et al . (2023) identified that the studies that were included in both meta studies often used measures that frame learning and development in terms of the acquisition of completely new information or as processes that are aimed at remediating weaknesses. For instance, measures often referred to whether respondents would like opportunities to learn new things from their work ( Warr et al ., 1979 ; Wong et al ., 2008 ), the challenge of solving new problems ( van Mierlo et al ., 2001 ), correcting ones weaknesses in a systematic manner ( van der Heijde and van der Heijden, 2005 ), asking for feedback regarding skill weaknesses ( Noe, 1996 ), or being placed with more experienced people to see how the work should be done ( Booth, 1991 ).

Engagement in strengths development activities increases with age.

The relationship between strengths prominence and strengths awareness, use and development

Strengths prominence is reciprocally related to (a) awareness, (b) use and (c) development of strengths.

Changing demographics are leading to a growing proportion of older individuals ( Getzmann et al ., 2023 ) and a rising age diversity within the present workforce ( Boehm et al ., 2014 ). Therefore, organizations need to find ways for people to stay satisfied and engaged throughout their career ( Zaniboni et al ., 2014 ) and to develop jobs and work environments that accommodate workers across their lifespan ( Zaniboni et al ., 2013 ). Whereas the career literature has predominantly focused on adolescents and emerging adulthood ( Jiang et al ., 2023 ) career is a lifespan construct and the development of abilities, strengths, interests, self-knowledge and career aspirations continues throughout the entire career ( Baruch and Sullivan, 2022 ; Bryant et al ., 2006 ; Jiang et al ., 2023 ; Lent and Brown, 2013 ) leading to specific career developmental issues throughout the lifespan ( Nagy et al ., 2019 ).

This paper synthesizes the literatures on strengths and lifespan development to propose that while playing to workers’ strengths is crucial for individuals of all ages ( Miglianico et al ., 2020 ), the strengths themselves, the view that workers have of their strengths and the need to leverage strengths change over the course of one’s life. The literature on lifespan development suggests that younger workers have not had the opportunity to learn about their own strengths and deficits in dealing with challenges in the work context ( Baltes, 1987 ; Bosma and Kunnen, 2001 ) and tend to invest considerable time and energy in acquiring new knowledge and skills in various domains in the expectation that this might benefit them in the future ( Carstensen, 1992 ; Ng and Feldman, 2015 ). Yet, when aging, workers most prominent strengths tend to deepen, and workers develop a better insight in their own strengths and a stronger need to self-select for work tasks and roles that match their strengths ( Roberts and Caspi, 2003 ; Roberts et al ., 2003 ). This also means that older workers have a stronger need to relate their learning efforts to their strengths rather than acquiring completely new knowledge or remediating their deficits ( Van Woerkom et al ., 2023 ).

Limitations and an agenda for future research

The main limitation of this paper is that it provides a conceptual analysis based on a narrative review and not a systematic review of the literature on strengths over the career lifespan. Narrative reviews may serve as a suitable foundation for developing new research questions, identifying future research avenues or pinpointing the drawbacks of previous studies ( Hodgkinson and Ford, 2014 ), provided that authors remain vigilant regarding potential biases in their examination and assessment of the existing literature ( Hodgkinson and Ford, 2014 ). While diligent efforts were made to include relevant literature regardless of its outcomes, this narrative review must be regarded as an initial step in the process of theory development. Further studies are needed to test and refine the propositions on strengths development over the career lifespan.

For example, while there is substantial evidence indicating that overall character strengths increase with age, no prior studies have examined the association between age and signature strengths. In accordance with the corresponsive principle of personality development ( Roberts et al ., 2003 ), it can be expected that in general signature strengths will become more prominent as individuals age. Yet, one qualitative study suggests that whereas a person’s most prominent strengths are usually consistently present throughout the lifespan, less prominent strengths can be developed or diminish over time, depending on individual and environmental factors ( Owens et al ., 2018 ). Future research will have to point out to what extent a person’s strengths profile deepens or may still change when aging.

Also, whereas the positive relationship between age and strengths use at work has been confirmed in several studies ( Dubreuil et al ., 2014 , 2021 ; Gürbüz et al ., 2022 ; Lavy and Littman-Ovadia, 2016 ), only one study was found that investigated the relationship between age and strengths awareness ( Dubreuil et al ., 2016 ) and no prior studies tested the relationship between age and active engagement in strengths development. Moreover, while it might be reasonable to anticipate that strengths become more pronounced as individuals actively engage in leveraging them, and that the increased prominence of strengths would in turn motivate individuals further to utilize them, there is still a lack of direct evidence supporting this proposition. Hence, further research is warranted to empirically test most of the propositions put forth in this paper.

Future studies could also investigate to what extent strengths use and development may function as self-regulation behaviors that contribute to successful aging at work ( Kooij et al ., 2020 ) by enhancing person-environment fit, and more specifically to demands–abilities and needs–supplies fit ( Edwards, 1991 ). Since workers’ strengths enable them to perform at their best, utilizing and developing these strengths is likely to enhance the fit between job demands and personal abilities. Additionally, because strengths provide a sense of authenticity, and people yearn to act in line with their strengths ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004 ), using strengths can improve the alignment between workers’ needs and job provisions by creating an environment where employees feel recognized for their positive attributes.

Further, more research is needed on how strengths interventions can be tailored to fit the needs of workers of all age groups. A recent meta-analysis of strengths interventions in the workplace ( Virga et al ., 2023 ) pointed out that younger workers benefitted more from these interventions compared to older workers. Since the intervention studies included by Virga et al . (2023) primarily focused on identifying strengths, and older workers often already have a clear understanding of their own strengths, future research could test strengths interventions for older workers that emphasize better utilization or development of their strengths ( Ghielen et al ., 2018 ).

Future research could also explore whether the diminishing trend in growth and development among workers as they age that has been found in meta studies of quantitative studies ( Kooij et al ., 2011 ; Kyndt and Baert, 2013 ), can indeed be explained by the type of measures that have been used, as suggested by Van Woerkom et al . (2023) . Future studies could develop measures that capture the selectivity of older workers in choosing their learning activities ( Fenwick, 2012b ), and the preference for optimizing and refining their accumulated skills and strengths ( Billet and van Woerkom, 2008 ; Mühlenbrock and Hüffmeier, 2020 ; Taneva et al ., 2016 ) instead of gaining new knowledge or remediating their deficits.

Lastly, it would be worthwhile to explore strengths application in non-traditional workers of all ages, such as freelancers, online platform workers and contract agency workers ( Rabenu, 2021 ), who form an increasing proportion of the workforce ( Baruch, 2004 ). Many nontraditional workers may work for two employers simultaneously (e.g. the staffing agency and the client organization) and may therefore form perceptions of organizational support from more than one source ( Baran et al ., 2012 ). Future research could explore how both types of organizations can help workers to benefit from their strengths over their entire career lifespan and how self-employed can be supported in managing their own strengths application.

Practical implications

Organizations would benefit from adopting an individualized, tailor-made approach to employee strengths, rather than a “one size fits all” strategy that focuses on deficits and overlooks unique qualities ( van Woerkom and de Bruijn, 2016 ). However, the type of support that employees might need for their strengths may differ between younger and older workers. Research suggests that the strengths of younger workers are still crystallizing and that younger workers have a less complete view of their strengths. This implies that organizations may support young workers by helping them to get more insight in their strengths for example by helping them reflect on their experiences and successes, by using the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson and Seligman, 2004 ) or conducting reflected best self-exercise ( Roberts et al ., 2005 ).

Furthermore, although young workers have less of a need to capitalize on their strengths compared to older workers, strengths use has been found to have beneficial effects for workers of all ages. Therefore, and also to compensate for their lesser ability to capitalize on their strengths in the workplace, younger workers might benefit from strengths use support for example by aligning their tasks with their strengths or by encouraging them to make use of complementary partnering with others ( Linley and Harrington, 2006 ). This is also in line with a study by Meyers et al . (2020) who found that organizational support for strengths use enhanced the work engagement of all workers, but particularly that of younger workers. However, as becomes evident from a study by Kooij et al. (2017) short term goal setting interventions that pay little attention to developing strengths awareness are less likely to be helpful for these younger workers. This study showed that a four-hour intervention that stimulated workers to craft their job in line with their strengths only enhanced the person-job fit of workers who were relatively older. Possibly, this type of intervention is insufficient for younger workers who may lack the strengths awareness to develop effective strengths crafting plans.

Young workers have a strong focus on acquiring new knowledge and skills in a wide variety of tasks ( Zaniboni et al ., 2013 ) which could advance their careers over the long haul ( Ng and Feldman, 2015 ). Therefore, interventions that emphasize strengths development are less likely to be effective for younger workers. However, since younger workers are also more prone to suffer from stressors in the workplace ( Witte et al ., 2007 ) and score lower on many indicators of psychological wellbeing compared to older workers ( Zacher, 2021 ), learning more about their strengths may serve as an anchor point that may channel learning efforts when job strain is getting too high.

Older workers are likely to have more pronounced strengths ( Heintz and Ruch, 2022 ; Linley et al ., 2007 ; Roberts et al ., 2003 ; Ruch et al ., 2010 ) and a more complete view of their strengths ( Bosma and Kunnen, 2001 ; Dubreuil et al ., 2016 ). Also, because of their increased levels of dominance and self-control ( Roberts et al ., 2006 ), higher positions ( Ng and Feldman, 2010 ) and more developed social networks in the organization ( Finkelstein et al ., 2003 ) they are in a better position to capitalize on their strengths. Nonetheless, since older workers also have a stronger need for (work) environments that fit their strengths and interests ( Caspi et al ., 2005 ) it may still be worthwhile to optimize their person-job fit by stimulating strengths crafting. The previously mentioned study by Kooij et al . (2017) shows that even relatively short goal-setting interventions that do not pay a lot of attention to creating strengths awareness may be helpful to do so.

In terms of organizational support, older workers are most likely to benefit from an appreciation of their learning preferences, which have shifted from acquiring new knowledge and skills and correcting their deficits and towards more selective types of learning that deepen and refine their current knowledge base ( Canning, 2011 ; Fenwick, 2012b ) and build upon their strengths ( Fenwick, 2012a ). Although the importance of learning and development is being stressed in many contemporary career frameworks ( Baruch and Sullivan, 2022 ; Kornelakis, 2014 ), older workers struggle with processing of new information because it appeals to several cognitive functions that are known to decrease with age ( Salthouse, 2012 ). Since older workers also suffer from stereotypes as being less motivated to change or to participate in training and career development ( Ng and Feldman, 2012 ), they might benefit from acknowledgment that they are still interested in learning but have different learning needs compared to younger workers.

Conceptual model of the relationships between age and strengths prominence, awareness, use, and development

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14 emerging trends

Vol. 53 No. 1 Print version: page 42

In 2022, psychological science will play an increasingly outsize role in the debate about how to solve the world’s most intractable challenges. Human behavior is at the heart of many of the biggest issues with which we grapple: inequality, climate change, the future of work, health and well-being, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation. Psychologists have been asked not only to have a seat at the table but to take the lead on these issues and more (See the full list of emerging trends ).

Psychologists are being called upon to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI): Amid a nationwide reckoning on race—and a 71% increase in EDI roles at organizations over the past 5 years—psychologists are increasingly being tapped to serve as chief diversity officers and act in other similar roles. But the field is also at an inflection point, being called upon to be more introspective about its own diversity in terms of the people who choose to become psychologists, the people who are the subjects of psychological research, and the people who have access to psychological services.

Psychologists are now the most requested experts by the mainstream media. As our culture increasingly sees mental health as an important piece of overall well-being, psychologists are being called to serve in a wider array of roles, including in entertainment, sports, advocacy, and technology.

On the technology front, the delivery and data collection of psychological services is gaining increased interest from venture capitalists. Private equity firms are expected to pour billions of dollars into mental health projects this year—psychologists working on these efforts say greater investments will help bring mental health care to millions of underserved patients.

That said, the urgent need for mental health services will be a trend for years to come. That is especially true among children: Mental health–related emergency department visits have increased 24% for children between ages 5 and 11 and 31% for those ages 12 to 17 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That trend will be exacerbated by the climate crisis, the destructive effects of which will fall disproportionately on communities that are already disadvantaged by social, economic, and political oppression.

Reporters and editors for the Monitor spoke with more than 100 psychologists to compile our annual trends report, which you’ll find on the following pages. As always, we appreciate your feedback and insights— email us .

The rise of psychologists

Reworking work

Open science is surging

Prominent issues in health care

Mental health, meet venture capital

Kicking stigma to the curb

New frontiers in neuroscience

Millions of women have left the workforce. Psychology can help bring them back

Children’s mental health is in crisis

Burnout and stress are everywhere

Climate change intensifies

Big data ups its reach

Psychology’s influence on public health messaging is growing

Telehealth proves its worth

Trent Spiner is editor in chief of the Monitor . Follow him on Twitter: @TrentSpiner

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Is Your Organizational Transformation Veering Off Course?

• Andrew White,
• Adam Canwell,
• Michael Smets

Lessons on navigating turning points from surveys of 846 senior leaders and 840 employees involved in transformation programs.

Nearly all transformation efforts face significant challenges that can derail the whole program. These can range from exogenous shocks, such as inflation, supply-chain disruption, or political events; operating-model issues, such as the need to change technology, governance, or ways of working; or human dynamics, such as employee confidence in or ownership of the change. How can leaders identify these turning points — and get things back on track? New research, based on surveys of more than 1,600 leaders and employees involved in transformations, suggests that changes in a team’s emotional energy — their collective mood, vibe, and intensity of emotions — often signals that there’s an issue. Organizations that successfully navigate these turning points look for shifts in the team’s emotional energy, dig into the underlying issues at play, and quickly take action to create the conditions where teams can thrive.

There comes a moment in almost every organizational transformation — even the successful ones — when the program goes off course and leaders need to intervene. As researchers who study transformations , we are often approached by C-suite executives, who ask questions like: What do I do when things go wrong? How can I detect when things may be going off track? Is there a way to use these pivotal moments to my advantage?

• Andrew White is a senior fellow in management practice at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, where he directs the advanced management and leadership program and conducts research into leadership and transformation. He is also a coach for CEOs and their senior teams.
• AC Adam Canwell is head of EY’s global leadership consulting practice. Adam has published extensively on leadership and strategic change. Adam has sold and delivered transformation programs across multiple industries in both the UK and Australia, working with FTSE 100 (or their equivalent) organizations .
• Michael Smets is a professor of management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. His work focuses on leadership, transformation, and institutional change.

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• Li, Y. & Khessina, O.M (in-press). Before birth: How provisional spaces shape the localized emergence of new organizational forms . Academy of Management Journal.
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• Kim, S., Goncalo, J.A., & Rodas, M. (2023). The cost of freedom: Creative ideation boosts both feelings of autonomy and the fear of judgment . Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , 105: 104432.
• Katz, J.H., Mann, T.C., Shen, X., Goncalo, J.A., Ferguson, M.J. (2022). Implicit impressions of creative people: Creativity evaluation in a stigmatized domain , Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 169: 104-116.
• Katz, J., Herman, G., Johnson, M., & Loewenstein, J. (2021). Cultivating not gatekeeping: A key leadership role in the creative process . BMJ Leader , 5(1): 9-13.
• Kim, J., & Loewenstein, J. (2021). Analogical encoding fosters ethical decision making because improved knowledge of ethical principles increases moral awareness . Journal of Business Ethics , 172: 307–324.
• Cheng, J., Love, E., & Chhillar, D. (2020). National innovation ecosystems in the G-20 countries: Institutions, knowledge infrastructure, and firm capabilities . In Knowledge Infrastructure, and Firm Capabilities .
• Goncalo, J.A., & Katz, J.H. (2020). Your soul spills out: The Creative act feels self-disclosing . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 46(5): 679-692
• Love, E., Lim, J., & Bednar, M. (2017). The face of the firm: The influence of CEOs on corporate reputation . Academy of Management Journal , 60(4): 1462-1481.

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"The Business Administration PhD program at Gies deeply shaped my academic tastes, fundamentally transformed my way of thinking, and offered me a complete toolkit to become an independent researcher. The faculty members treat students as future colleagues and would never hesitate to provide any kind of support."

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Implications of Remote Work on Employee Well-being and Health. Rolf Van Dick. Anja Baethge. Nina M. Junker. 12,875 views. 9 articles. Explores practical theories and insights relating to employee behaviors and workplace attitudes to improve psychological wellbeing, personal safety and job performance in professional and industria...

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Research Topics. Compared with other fields of psychology, I-O psychology today has several features: (a) Small: I-O is a small specialty, including just 5% of US psychologists. (b) High-employment: Since I-O is in high demand in the industry; it has a negative unemployment rate below zero.

Topics in Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1 2. ... One of the most consistent findings in I-O psychology, based on decades of research, is that general mental ability, or intelligence, is the single most effective predictor of job performance in nearly all jobs, and especially complex jobs (Schmidt & Hunter, 2004). One of the reasons ...

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Organizational Psychology Review is a quarterly, peer-reviewed scholarly journal published in partnership with the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology.Its unique aim is to publish original conceptual work and meta-analyses in the field of organizational psychology (broadly defined to include applied, industrial, occupational, personnel, and work psychology.

July 23, 2014. The Art of Racing (Deadlines) in the Rain. from Journal of Applied Psychology. May 28, 2014. The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall, But the Faster They Get Back Up. from Journal of Applied Psychology. May 13, 2014. View more journals in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology & Management subject area.

Explore the latest full-text research PDFs, articles, conference papers, preprints and more on ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY. Find methods information, sources, references or conduct a literature ...

Emotional Resilience for Wellbeing and Employability: The Role of Learning and Training. Svajone Bekesiene. Sarka Hoskova-Mayerova. Rasa Smaliukiene. 21,264 views. 12 articles. Focuses on a broader worldwide access to research and theoretical articles of both rigor and relevance in the many fields which constitute organizational psychology.

I/O Psychology Provides Workplace Solutions. Industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists study and assess individual, group and organizational dynamics in the workplace. They apply that research to identify solutions to problems that improve the well-being and performance of organizations and their employees.

I/O Psychology is both a science/practice and an applied/basic research discipline. Appropriately, the APA Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology offers an in-depth examination of the types of behavioral and structural issues that I/O psychologists study every day, from both a theoretical and applied perspective.. It explores a natural progression, from how problems are diagnosed ...

Public Significance Statement This article provides an overview of the special issue. It introduces the 10 articles featured in the special issue, and describes important topics (e.g., accommodation, leadership, selection, and virtual teams) and timely issues (e.g., justice, racial and gender equity, Indigenous employment, and environmental concerns) in the discipline of Industrial ...

The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is pleased to announce its seventh annual Top 10 Workplace Trends list. Based on member surveys, these are the issues that will have the most impact on the workplace in 2020. For the first time, there is a tie between two of the topics; at #9 on the list - "Virtual working spaces" and "Meaning and purposeful work." Newly ...

The Role of Organizational Buy-in in Employee Retention, Serena Hsia. PDF. The Psychometric Evaluation of a Personality Selection Tool, James R. Longabaugh. PDF. Approaching Stressful Situations with Purpose: Strategies for Emotional Regulation in Sensitive People, Amy D. Nagley. PDF

representation of topics in both work psychology and organizational psychology without having an overly narrow scope. We chose to focus on the years 2017 to 2019 to cover the period since

Organizational Psychology - Science topic. Explore the latest questions and answers in Organizational Psychology, and find Organizational Psychology experts. Questions (162) Publications (46,820 ...

Employee Satisfaction and Perceptions of Organizational Leadership Accountability, Caroline M. Clancy. PDF. The Effects of Transformational Leadership on Sales Performance in a Multilevel Marketing Organization, Alexander Techy. Theses/Dissertations from 2021 PDF

An organizational psychology professional might carry out a survey, interview employees or implement other research strategies to ascertain the cause of the turnover rate. Causes may have something to do with employee dissatisfaction, issues with the company's leadership dynamic, a problem with the workplace environment or another issue.

Cognitive psychology is the branch that focuses on the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity, and problem-solving. It also explores the reasons humans think the way they do. This topic involves exploring how people think by measuring intelligence, thoughts, and cognition. Here are some research question ideas: 6.

With the development of positive psychology, strengths-based approaches have garnered considerable interest among researchers, encompassing aspects such as character strengths, strengths use, and strength-based human resource systems (Ding et al., 2023; Lavy & Littman-Ovadia, 2017).Notably, strengths mindset, as a positive belief and attitude towards one's own and others' strengths, has ...

Organizational psychology is an extensive field, which addresses the role of critical concepts in the workplace including, but not limited to: Leadership, Diversity, Personality, Job Stress, Teams and Group Dynamics, Organizational Culture, Cross-Cultural Management, and Decision-Making. The journal is further focused on studies that extend ...

The amount of research on employee well-being increased in 2019. More workplaces are paying attention to psychological wellness, particularly as it relates to decreasing bullying and sexual ...

Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior. nal of Jour Applied Psychology, 71: 492-499. Baron, J. N. 2013. Empathy wages?: Gratitude and gift exchange in employment . relationships. Research in Organizational Behavior, 33: 113-134. Session 6 (10/4 ...

Positive psychology as the "science of positive subjective experiences, positive individual traits, and positive institutions" (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 5) has contributed to research on career development by its focus on healthy functioning, human potential and well-being (Robertson, 2018).For instance, previous career studies inspired by positive psychology have focused on ...

Beyond trauma and CIs, the contribution of operational and organizational stressors in driving the high rates of psychological ill-health in policing is evidenced through empirical research (Queirós et al., 2020).This has begun to draw attention to the need to better understand the relative contribution of different sets of stressors found in the police context.

Topics in Psychology. Explore how scientific research by psychologists can inform our professional lives, family and community relationships, emotional wellness, and more. ... Industrial and organizational psychologists are helping employers and employees navigate as COVID-19 reshapes the world of work. ... Psychology Topics. STUDENTS ...

New research, based on surveys of more than 1,600 leaders and employees involved in transformations, suggests that changes in a team's emotional energy — their collective mood, vibe, and ...

Organizational Behavior is designed to prepare you for an academic and research career in the interdisciplinary study of individual ... Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes ... They have afforded me the freedom to explore topics I find interesting while offering insightful feedback ...

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