ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of Industrial and Organizational Psychology in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on Industrial and Organizational Psychology and its relation with education and training. The research also analyzes many aspects of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and tries to gauge its effect on education and training.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Introduction4

Assessment Centers in Education5

Development and Implementation of Assessment Centers5

Hypothesis for the Research6

Method7

Procedures and Measures7

Results8

Conclusion10

References11

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Introduction

I-O psychology can be defined as the scientific study of behavior and psychological processes in the workplace and the application of the acquired knowledge. I-O psychologists may investigate phenomena occurring outside the workplace, including work-family conflict, work-related legislation, or changing workforce demographics. I-O psychologists do not address psychological or substance use problems that may be experienced by employees. Employees experiencing these difficulties are generally referred to employee assistance programs (Yukl, 2002).

For over 70 years, assessment centers have contributed to employee selection, training, and development in organizations. However, they have not regularly been used for selection of students to an educational program. Given that assessment centers are effective at improving staffing in business settings, it can be speculated that they could also be effective in educational settings. The purpose of this research is to examine the feasibility of developing a selection-based assessment center for applicants to a graduate program in industrial-organizational psychology. An assessment center is an employee data collection method that contains multiple assessments and business simulation exercises, that are developed based on the results of job analysis. Participants spend several hours or days completing the exercises and various measures. Trained assessors then record applicants' behaviors and integrate the observations into reported results (Bray, 2005).

Most of empirical studies have shown that assessment centers are used in thousands of organizations for selection and promotion of managers and executives; very few are used in subordinates. Assessment centers work because they do a good job of measuring and integrating information regarding an individual's traits or qualities. Research examining the validity of assessment centers reports the mean predictive validity to be r =.407 on different types of performance predictors.

Assessment Centers in Education

While many assessment centers are developed for business settings, they are also used in educational settings, although not as widely. For example, Creighton University has developed a clinical assessment center to train competent and compassionate medical professionals. Indiana University Northwest has implemented assessment centers for student development. While these developmental assessment centers are being used, little empirical evidence has been gathered on assessment centers that serve the purpose of selecting prospective students in higher education. This may be because the 'job' for prospective students, on which the assessment is based, is a broad combination of tasks (Austin, 2005).

Development and Implementation of Assessment Centers

When developing assessment centers, it is essential to know that assessment centers are job-specific. They have to start with knowing the tasks, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the targeted job. Based on the findings, assessment centers can be ...