Organizational Psychology

Organizational Psychology

General psychology is the study of an individual's behavior. The goal of general psychology is to explain and possibly treat maladaptive behaviors. Organizational psychology is the study of an individual's behavior within a group. This paper will define organizational psychology and explain the evolution of the field of organizational psychology. This paper will then compare and contrast organizational psychology with two related disciplines. The role of research and statistics in the field of organization psychology will be analyzed.

Organizational Psychology Defined

Any groups of individuals who are brought together by a common cause are known as organizations (Jex & Britt, 2008). Organizations can consist of card players or a police force. Jax and Britt (2008) place organizations into two more defined groups. The football team is a less formal group which may dissolve if members of the team leave. Formal organization, such as the police force, is the one of interest for organizational psychologists. The scientific method is used in organizational psychology as a way to understand individuals' behavior in the workplace. The goal is making the organization more productive, effective, and efficient (Jex & Britt, 2008).

The Evolution of Organizational Psychology

Organizational psychology is a sub-category of industrial/organizational psychology. Hugo Musterberg, Walter Bingham, and Walter Dill Scott are believed to be the earlier pioneers of industrial/organizational psychology (Katzell & Austin, 1992). Most of the work by Musterberg, Bingham, and Scott dealt with personnel and skill acquisition instead of the behavior of individuals. Frederick Winslow Taylor, a non-psychologist, influenced organizational psychology more heavily. Taylor advanced the doctrines of scientific management (Taylor, 1911). Taylor's work created three important principles: work should not be designed by those who perform the work; favorable incentives creates more diligent work; and workplace issues would be "subjected to empirical study" (Jex & Britt, 2008, p. 10).

Bureaucracies were an outcome of early organization psychology, although today bureaucracies are disliked. Bureaucracies were developed by Max Weber, a non-psychologist. With bureaucracies it is believed that each employee knows what is expected of him or her and a clear chain of command exists. Meritocracy is where employees are rewarded based on merit and this goes along with a chain of command (Jex & Britt, 2008).

Compare and Contrast

Organizational Behavior. Organizational behavior is different from organizational psychology however, the two are closely related. Organizational psychology is the study of how an individual behaves in an organization. Organizational behavior goes beyond organizational psychology because it also contemplates how an individual behaves and interacts with the organization, and the behavior of the organization itself (Jex & Britt, 2008). The difference between organizational psychology and organizational behavior is that organizational behavior observes how an individual interacts in an organization and how the organization behaves. Organizational psychology stops at the point where variables and process influence the individual (Jex & Britt, 2008).

Industrial Psychology. Industrial/Organizational psychology is a discipline on its own. However, each of these observe organizations from a different perspective. Each side of industrial/organizational psychology has differences which include: industrial psychology focuses with classification, recruitment, selection, training, performance