Search Results for industrial

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I-O Psychologists’ Passion Projects: Increasing Fairness for Job Seekers with Criminal Records

We continue our exploration of the field of Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology, the American Psychological Association’s Division 14. If you’ve read our recent blogs, you already know that I-O Psychology is the study of behavior in the workplace. I-O Psychologists frequently help businesses better hire, motivate, and retain employees, but they can apply their skills in many other ways.

In this second blog of a new series, we continue interviewing I-O Psychologists about their passion projects to show you how these individuals are applying their training to make a difference in human or animal lives. The first post explored how an I-O psychologist helped the animal fostering program.


Business team on a morning briefing; business meeting and presentation in a modern office

Why I-O Psychology should be included in Introductory Psychology

Industrial-Organizational Psychology has become the fastest growing field in psychology. Yet, chances are your Introductory Psychology course doesn’t cover it. While there are a multitude of reasons I-O isn’t typically covered in Introductory Psychology courses (not in textbook/curriculum, lack of time, etc.), one big reason is that instructors don’t necessarily consider it a “foundational component” of general psychology.


I-O Psychologists’ Passion Projects: Animal Rescue

While exploring your career options, you may have come across the field of Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology, the American Psychological Association’s Division 14. I-O psychology is the study of behavior in the workplace. I-O psychologists frequently help businesses better hire, motivate, and retain employees. On the surface, this work might not look personally meaningful or exciting. But, dig a little deeper and you’ll find that many I-O psychologists apply their skills in surprising ways and their work can extend far beyond helping businesses succeed.  


Our Top 10 Blog Posts on Education and Psychology From 2018!

It’s hard to believe that 2019 is right around the corner. Our blog had another milestone year: we more than doubled the Psych Learning Curves’ traffic! From summer reading lists to talking about teacher burnout, our most popular topics are as diverse as our readers.

As a wrap up to 2018, I’d like to share with you our most popular posts and articles for the year. We look forward to bringing you more great content in 2019. Happy New Year to our readers and thank you for all your support!


Incorporating I-O Psychology into Introductory Psychology

Interest in Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology, the psychology of the workplace, has gained a lot of traction in recent years. Unfortunately, even with increasing interest many Intro to Psychology students, especially non-psychology majors, rarely get exposed to this dynamic field. Why is this exposure important? First and foremost it broadens a student’s knowledge and understanding of psychology’s application in various contexts. This was the main reason I was drawn to I-O as an undergraduate. I attended a predominately business-oriented college and initially planned to major in economics and finance. That changed when I was introduced to I-O — the perfect marriage of my desire to major in business and my new-found interest in psychology. Secondly, understanding I-O can be extremely beneficial in navigating the world of work, an important skill for students who are starting their careers.



business suit rock climbing

I-O Psychology Gives Back to Society!

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology—what a mouthful! The field originally focused on the prediction and improvement of job performance in industrial and military settings, but after World War II interests in broader organizational phenomena (e.g., leadership, groups, motivation, satisfaction) came into frame. Before APA Division 14 incorporated as the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) in 1982, it was called Division 14, Industrial and Business Psychology from 1945 to 1962. In 1962, “Business” was dropped from the name, and in 1973 “Organizational” was added to the name.


The I-O Playbook: Bringing Psychological Assessments to the NFL

Three industrial-organizational psychologists have brought a whole new field to psychology—Dr. Harold Goldstein, Dr. Kenneth Yusko, and Dr. Charles Scherbaum have given the National Football League (NFL) an innovative and evidence-based tool for selecting players during the draft using their extensive research and experience in personnel selection and industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology. Their work designing, implementing, and validating a new psychological test called the NFL Player Assessment Test (NFL-PAT) has shown how the science of I-O can be applied in new, sophisticated, and very cool ways.


Looking back at 2017: A Year In Review from the Psych Learning Curve.

2017 was a great year for the blog. We highlighted psychologists doing great work, a series on how to get into graduate school and featured many articles on the application of psychology in schools.

As a wrap up to 2017, I’d like to share with you our most popular posts and articles for the year. We look forward to bringing you more great stories from psychology and education in 2018. Thank you for all your support and feedback in our second year!


pencil with a mortar hat and text Is Graduate School in Your Future?

Master’s careers in psychology

For most careers, providing professional services using psychological knowledge requires a doctoral degree in psychology, and these careers are often called professional or health service psychology. However, psychology careers for individuals holding master’s degrees are available in multiple occupational settings and in fields across the discipline. The demand for jobs at this level of training is reflected in the growth of master’s psychology degrees — from slightly below 18,000 in 2003 to nearly 28,000 in 2013. Similarly, the National Science Foundation reports growth during the past decade in research-focused psychology master’s degrees: approximately 15,000 in 2003 and 22,000 in 2011.