Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Melissa Wojcik
PSY 435
May 28, 2012
James Cunningham

Industrial and Organizational Psychology
The area of industrial and organizational psychology has been studied since the infancy of psychology itself (Spector, 2008). Originally, industrial and organizational psychology was concerned with the industrial side of the field that concentrated on the management aspects of business and emphasized human resources as opposed to the organization side, which is concerned with improving work conditions in the workplace. As the field has grown over the years it has come to include the complete range of industry and organization. Strictly speaking, industrial and organizational psychology is defined by “an applied field that is concerned with the development and application of scientific principles to the workplace” (Spector, 2008, p. 5). On the practical level, the aim of industrial and organizational psychology is to, “improve the quality of the environment for employees as well as to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of employee behavior in that environment” (Barnes-Holmes, 2006, p. 56). The concise definition and practical application of industrial and organizational psychology are only the capstone to an understanding of the length and breadth of the field. A full examination of the evolution of industrial and organizational psychology as well as an explanation of how research and statistics work throughout I/O psychology are needed to form the foundation on which the capstone is placed.
Evolution of I/O Psychology
I/O psychology came about during the beginning of the discipline of psychology in the later era of the 1800s. Walter Dill Scott and Hugo Munsterberg were recognized for the initial work in industrial and organizational psychology. Hugo and Scott were prominent instructors and experimental psychologists