Organizational Psychology an Interesting Subfield, Organizational Psychology

Organizational Psychology

An interesting subfield, organizational psychology is that portion of Industrial/Organizational Psychology which concerns itself with understanding social processes within organizations (Jex, 2002). Further, it is an applied psychology in that organizational psychologists use the information regarding social processes within organizations to improve the effectiveness within those organizations (Jex, 2005). Organizational Psychology has evolved from a variety of related disciplines and as a result of various influences (Koppes and Pickren, No Date). Further, Organizational Psychology shares commonalities with other disciplines including organizational behavior and social psychology (Jex, 2005). To gain a better understanding of Organizational Psychology it is useful to examine the evolution of the discipline. It has a rich history which is beneficial to understanding the sometimes slight nuances between Organizational Psychology and other related disciplines.

The influences giving rise to Organizational Psychology began prior to the 1900's but the focus was primarily on Industrial Psychology. It is important to note that several factors at the turn of the twentieth century influenced the rise of organizational psychology. These factors included Taylor's development of scientific management (Christine, 2011). The early 1900's also saw Weber initiating the scientific study of the structure within organizations (Christine, 2011). Further influencing the development of organizational psychology, the Hawthorne studies were conducted in the decade spanning the twenties and the thirties (Christine, 2011). Also during the twenties and the thirties, unionization was spreading and effecting the work environment (Christine, 2011). One of the most important events to occur during that decade was Kurt Lewin immigrating to the United States (Christine, 2011). During the 1940's and 1950's organizational psychology was further developed in part due to the advent of World War Two and the industrial boom that resulted (Christine, 2011). Additionally, It was during this time frame that Vitele published his book "Motivation and Morale in Industry" (Christine, 2011). At the same time, the perspective of Human Relations grew in popularity (Christine, 2011). Lewin also swings into action during this decade with his "action research" projects (Christine, 2011). These projects were conducted on behalf of the Commission on Community Relations (Christine, 2011). During this era, at M.I.T., Lewin also established the Research Center for group Dynamics (Christine, 2011). Clearly, the stage is being set for modern organizational psychology.

With the advent of the Vietnam War in the 1960's and 1970's came another boom in industry which also contributed to the development of Organizational Psychology (Christine, 2011). It was during this era that the APA changed its division 14 to the Industrial/Organizational division (Christine, 2011). Organizational Psychology began to exhibit a multi-level perspective (Christine, 2011). Additionally, factors such as retirement, stress, and work-family conflict began receiving a great deal of attention (Christine, 2011). Organizational has now become a scientific discipline in its own right and is recognized as an invaluable tool within organizations.

Factors giving more credence to the discipline of Organizational Psychology in the 1980's and the 1990's were multiple (Christine, 2011). The 'economy was becoming increasingly globalized' (Christine, 2011). The 'demographics within the workforce were changing' (Christine, 2011). Temporary employees and contract employees were being utilized more frequently (Christine, 2011). Essentially, because of increasing awareness of the workforce and management the term "job" took on a new conception (Christine, 2011).

While Organizational Psychology was developing, so were other related disciplines such as Organizational Behavior and Social Psychology (Koppes and Pickren, No Date). Organizational Behavior is concerned with a number of factors, but what differentiates it from Organizational Psychology is that it is concerned with the structure and strategies of the organization itself (Jex, 2002). Social Psychology is obviously a related discipline but differs in that it does not limit its focus to individual behavior within organizations (Koppes and Pickren, No date). Thus, though many fields share commonalities with Organizational Psychology, they have variations which make them distinguishable.

An extremely important aspect of Organizational Psychology is its application of the scientific method in studying organizations (Jex, 2002) . In fact, research and statistics are so important to this field that some would argue that they should be a subset of the discipline itself (Jex, 2002). Without quantifiable research methods and results, this discipline would not exist and it is impossible to apply Organizational Psychology without a thorough understanding of statistics and scientific research methodology (Jex, 2002).