NARRATOR: Introduction to industrial and organizational psychology-- have you ever wondered what makes people tick at work, how organizations function and deliver goods and services, how the best candidates are selected, how good leaders prosper? If so, you are thinking like an industrial organizational psychologist. Industrial and organizational psychology, called IO psychology, is a psychology specialty focused on human behavior at work. 

IO psychology is just one of many psychology disciplines that study behavior and mental process. Work organizations vary, ranging in size, industry, and culture. How do industrial organizational psychologists take on such a big task? IO psychologists leverage social science research. 

Let's examine some of the most important history of IO psychology. In the early 1900s, Frederick Taylor founded the scientific management movement. He was interested in the most efficient way of performing tasks and conducted time and motion studies. The principles of scientific management influenced IO psychology. 

In World War I, the American Psychological Association began creating intelligence tests for Army recruits, resulting in a new focus on screening and selection. Also, psychological consulting organizations prospered. In the 1920s, Harvard University researcher Elton Mayo and colleagues famously conducted the Hawthorne studies to see the impact of lighting on productivity. Surprisingly, the study found that observation, not lighting, led to higher levels of productivity. 

This phenomenon is known as the Hawthorne effect. Studies like these spawned a human relations movement which underpins the importance of understanding employee psychology, morale, and social factors and their influence on employee behavior in the workplace. After World War II, IO psychology took on a new life with a renewed focus on personnel testing, selection and evaluation, motivation, and goal setting. In particular, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII bolstered a focus on selection practices. 

Today, IO psychology is one of the fastest growing fields in psychology. Emerging issues such as globalization, increased job complexity, technology, and diversity and inclusion have created a new world of work for IO psychologists. Thanks for watching, and subscribe to Job Canary for more videos.