I-O Psychology

Graduate and Postgraduate Students, Undergraduate Students February 4, 2018

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.

Undergraduate Students July 10, 2017

How Do I Discover My Dream Job in Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychologists use theories and principles from psychology to scientifically study working populations and improve the effectiveness of organizations. However, for aspiring I-O psychologists, it may not be clear what path to follow to land their dream job. In this post from APA’s Division 14, or the Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP)  Visibility Committee, we point students towards some helpful resources as they start to think about choosing and preparing for a career in I-O!

Undergraduate Students May 8, 2017

A day in the Life of an Industrial Organizational Psychologist

On my annual family camping trip, I was out on the lake fishing with two of my brothers. We were making small talk as we were getting our lines ready to throw in the water.

“How’s work?”
“Good. Busy.”
“You? How’s work?”
“Same, busy.”

Then my brother asked a question that seemed almost comical, “Amanda, what do you do, anyway?” My other brother piped in curiously, “Yeah, what do you do??” The question came after I had been in my current position for a couple years, and I had been working as an I-O Psychology practitioner my whole career.

Graduate and Postgraduate Students, Undergraduate Students April 10, 2017

Interested in learning more about I-O Psychology? SIOP has you covered.

Professional organizations are great resources for people already working in a field, but it turns out that they’re great for students, too! As I-O psychologists, our field bridges the gap between so many different specialty areas that it can be tough to find all the different organizations that can provide the best resources for us. The best place to start is the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), of course!

Graduate and Postgraduate Students, Undergraduate Students March 6, 2017

I-O Psychology: From Early Origins to Current Trends

What is I-O psychology?

Industrial-organizational psychologists research and apply principles of psychology to the world of work. Their mission is to identify and apply techniques that benefit not only employers, but also employees. In general, the more efficient an organization is (be it a for-profit corporation, non-profit agency, or government entity) the more all stakeholders benefit. For more about what I-O psychologists do click here.

Undergraduate Students February 13, 2017

From Classwork to Applied Experience: Understanding the life of an Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology Graduate Student

The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP) Visibility Committee recently wrote a blog introducing students to the rapidly growing field of Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology. As a quick reminder, I-O psychologists study behavior in the workplace and are employed in various academic and organizational settings. Perhaps you are now seriously considering graduate school in this field, and while knowing the benefits of a future career in I-O, still have some questions about what life might be like as an I-O student. We can help with that!

I-O Psychology

High School Students, Undergraduate Students, Undergraduate Teachers March 14, 2016

Interested in I-O Psychology? Here’s What You Need to Know

How do teams of astronauts creatively solve problems? What makes a CEO, police officer, or teacher motivated? How do we recruit, hire, and retain the best performers for our workforce? How do we eliminate discrimination against women and minorities in companies? What can we do to keep our military service members safe and healthy?

These are all questions of interest to Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychologists, who use science to improve not only the effectiveness of organizations, but also life for employees.