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Organizational Psychology

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Organizational Psychology
Teresa Rochevot
University of Phoenix
Organizational Psychology/PSY/428
July 1, 2010

Organizational Psychology Psychology is the study of human behavior, and organizational psychology is basically psychology at work. Most adults work for a living as well as spend numerous hours each year in a workplace setting. Human behavior at work can influence many areas in our lives; therefore, understanding and predicting individual behavior in the world of work can prove to be beneficial for any organization to increase productivity and maintain higher quality services. When study of the human element is considered in the areas of business, industry, government agencies, and non-profit organizations, a wealth of knowledge is available through exploration and application improve organizational effectiveness and achieve success. The purpose of this paper is to define organizational psychology, explain the role of research and statistics in organizational psychology as well as describe how organizational psychology can be used in organizations.
Define Organizational Psychology
Organizational psychology is a legitimate component of the much larger field industrial psychology (Jex & Britt, 2008). The science of industrial/organizational psychology is concerned with applying a scientific approach to study processes that occur in organizations and solving problems in the workplace. Both industrial/organizational psychology are intertwined in many aspects; however, organizational psychology relates more so with understanding and predicting individual behavior in an organizational environment.
Jex and Britt (2008) stated, “In the most general sense, organizational psychology is the scientific study of individual and group behavior in formal organizational settings” (p. 2).
In an organizational atmosphere, understanding the patterns and

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