Organisational Psychology

Many A-level students study psychology in hopes to go to university to be psychologists. However, the range of what psychologists can do is rarely discussed. More often, students have ambitious goals, which are good, but not entirely focussed. I often hear of students who want to become counsellors because these are the psychologists we see in films, television and real life. But what of the other psychologists?

This evening, a good friend of mine with a bachelor`s in chemistry asked me about psychology masters programmes. He has a good and enviable job at a leading kitchen and catering supply firm quality testing new products. He likes his job but he wanted something more-a post-graduate degree which could enable him to excel at business.

Instantly, I knew organisational psychology would be right for him.

Organisational Psychology (also known as industrial psychology) is the branch of psychology that is concerned with the study of behaviour in work settings and the application of psychological principals to change work behaviour. This unique field found its roots in the psychology of advertising and quite apart from this, the field of engineering. One such engineer, Frederick W. Taylor, used scientific management to develop what he called time-and-motion studies, which were experiments whereby work tasks are broken down into simple component movements. These movements were timed to develop a more efficient method for performing the tasks. Although the term `organisational psychology` was not used until the 1970s, these humble beginnings began the valuable application of psychology to the workplace.

Organisational psychology can claim many trophies in the world of psychology that have been used and applied to other fields. The Hawthorne Effect was found by Elton Mayo in 1933 in an experiment testing whether improved lighting in factories improved work output. What he actually found was that when factory workers believed they were being watched, they improved work performance irrespective of lighting. This effect has cross-discipline impacts, in that any experiment where the participants know that they are being observed, will often change their behaviour to either confirm or negate (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939) the experiment`s perceived results.

Another key contribution by organisational psychologists is personality testing. In order to assess workers for psychopathologies/mental illness characteristics that might hinder the performance of sensitive jobs, Starke R. Hathaway and J. C. McKinley developed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; 1970) to measure for personality. However, it later came to be used for testing the workforce for personality characteristics that suit specific jobs, i.e., sales people should score high on achievement and motivation dimensions and bank tellers should score high in responsibility and service orientation. As its use developed, it has even been adopted by the U.S. in screening candidates for the secret services (CIA & FBI).

Organisational psychologists come in many forms and hold a variety of jobs; Human resource managers, staff development officers, efficiency experts, conflict and change managers, union representatives and occupational healthcare workers. Key areas of study for this field is personality assessment, employee training and development, stress and employee health, leadership, office politics and organisational structure.

If you have an interest in organisational psychology, key A-Levels you should study would be Psychology (AQA "B"), Business Studies, Engineering, Sociology and Statistics.