07-08-2021
HS485
Psychology at
Workplace
(3-0-0-6-3)
Course Instructor
Dr. Parwinder Singh
Lecture 1
Introduction to the
course
Why work is important to you
• Pay cheque????
• Not only economical security, but give us emotional
security, self-esteem and contentment, sense of
identity, status, learning opportunities, positive social
experiences, opportunities for forming new
relationships………………etc*.
*conditions apply
Only if you choose it wisely
Maintain it positively
Otherwise it may be tedious, monotonous, hazardous,
stressful and boring……
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What research Says
• Selection of work is the most significant decision
of your life.
• Work-related dissatisfaction is negatively
associated with physical and emotional health
• In other words, and more straightly, Satisfaction
with one’s work is the most reliable single
predictor of one’s quality and quantity of life
Course Objectives
• To equip students with the knowledge about
the psychological principles governing
human behaviour at work place.
….Knowledge acquisition
• To train prospective workers to apply gained
knowledge about human behaviour in order
to adjust well at workplace…..capacity
building
To help students in utilizing their potential to
the maximum to enhance their productivity
and efficiency
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Course Outline: Modules
1. Introduction to Organizational Psychology
(3 lectures)
▫ Introduction
▫ Psychology
▫ Applied Psychology
Organizational Psychology(Division 14, APA)
Personnel Psychology
Understanding Job Performance(7 lectures)
▫ Job performance
▫ performance appraisal,
▫ Adaptive performance areas,
▫ the ‘Great eight’ competencies of adaptive performance,
▫ counterproductive work behaviours
Course Outline: Modules
Work Motivation and job satisfaction(11 lectures)
Meaning and importance of motivation at workplace,
Job characteristic model,
cognitive bases of motivation,
Antecedents and consequences of Job
satisfaction/dissatisfaction
increasing job satisfaction
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Course Outline: Modules
Leadership(07 lectures)
Meaning and approaches to leadership,
theories of leadership,
styles of leadership,
characteristics of successful leadership,
problems of leadership
Stress in the workplace(08 lectures)
Meaning and theories of stress,
sources of worker’s stress,
consequences of stress,
primary and secondary prevention strategies,
specific techniques to reduce stress
Course Outline: Modules
Engineering Psychology(06 lectures)
Introduction to engineering Psychology
person-machine system
workplace designs and displays
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Learning evaluation Plan
Particulars Weightage(%)
Major/End Sem examination 40
Mid-Sem examination 20
Quizes-2 (10 marks each: First after 12th lecture and 20
second after 33rd Lecture)
Active Participation Assisnment-2(Self-promotional 20
activities and related write up: 10 marks each)
Important points
• Institute policy regarding assignments of the grades would be followed strictly.
• The minimum pass marks for this course will be 35%.
• Evaluation plan is subjected to Institute’s timely instructions released as per the existing
scenario, however changes, if any would be communicated in advance
Classes
• Mandatory Plan
▫ Minimum online sessions:14
▫ Recorded Lectures: 28
• Options
▫ 21 online and 21 recorded
▫ 28 online and 14 recorded
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07-08-2021
HS485
Psychology at
Workplace
Module:1
Introduction to
Organizational
Psychology
Lecture 2:
Introduction to
Psychology
Objective
• After this class you will come to know
▫ What is Psychology
▫ What is behaviour
▫ How do we study behaviour…..Methods of Psychology
▫ Different Areas of Psychology
▫ Applied Psychology
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Popular Psychology Knowledge…
Truth or Fiction?
• “Psychology is face reading”
• “Psychology is common sense”
• “The polygraph test accurately detects lies”
• “It is better to express anger than to hold it in”
• “Most people use only 10% of their potential brain
power”
• A person’s handwriting is a valid and reliable
indicator of their personality traits
• We can accurately and reliably determine if another
person is lying by examining their facial expressions.
Can we always trust our Common Sense?
❑ Birds of a feather flock together ❑ Opposite attract
❑ Absence makes the heart grow fonder ❑ Out of sight, out of mind
❑ Two heads are better than one ❑ Too many cooks spoil the broth
❑ Action speak louder than words ❑ The pen is mightier that the sword
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Conceptualization
• Psychology was born as the hybrid offspring of
Physiology and Philosophy
• “Psychology is the study of Soul..?”(Psyche+logos)
• “Psychology is the study of Mind…?”
• “Psychology is the study of Consciousness…?”
• “Psychology is the study of Unconsciousness…?”
• “Psychology is the study of Behaviour…?”
Psychology is the scientific study of Human
Behaviour and Mental Processes!!!!
• Key words
▫ Scientific Study
▫ Behaviour
▫ Mental Processes
Scientific Study……..
• Psychology Is an Empirical Science: Psychological science relies
on empirical evidence as a way of knowing about how we think,
feel, and behave
• A method to create knowledge as objective as possible
• the set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that scientists
use to conduct empirical research.
▫ Objectivity Skepticism Repeatability
▫ Verifiability Systematic Reliability
▫ Validity (tools)
Sciences view things from nowhere, from no ones’ perspective
………………Thomas Negal….what is in actual.
A detached understanding of the physical world
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Behaviour…..and why it is difficult to understand
• Any action caused by any stimulus
▫ Action can be internal or external.
▫ Stimulation can also be internal or external
• Too inconsistent/variable to be explained
▫ Different reactions to same stimulus by different
individuals
▫ Different reactions to same stimulus by same individual in
different time and situations
• Too sensitive, affected by so many specific variables and their
interactions.
• Behaviour is a function of the attributes of the
▫ Environment(stimulation, nature of situation, cultural factors)
▫ Person(intelligence, traits, interest, values, aptitude, mood )
B=f(P,E)…….Kurt Lewin
It is Multiply Determined
Mental Processes
• Our inner experiences
• Higher cognitive processes
▫ Attention
▫ Perception
▫ Memory
▫ Forgetting
▫ Thinking
▫ Reasoning
▫ Decision making
▫ Problem Solving
▫ Concept Formation
▫ Intelligence etc.
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Goals……………What we want to do
❑ Describe………………………………What is aggression
❑ Explain…….why we behave aggressively as we do
❑ Predict………..
❑ Control ……….how to reduce aggression
Ultimate goal to modify human behaviour in order to
enhance efficiency and well-being leading to overall
productivity of the individual and concerned agency
To make a person more adaptive, happy, efficient
Psychology aims to evaluate
common beliefs and misconceptions about
behavior and mental processes scientifically
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07-08-2021
HS485
Psychology at
Workplace
Module-1
Introduction to
Organizational
Psychology
Lecture-3
Psychology &
Organizational
Psychology
Research
• Attempt to develop principles of behaviour and
mental processes………….Basic research
▫ Why people sometime do and sometime dont help
▫ Why people behave aggressively as they do
▫ Why workers/students are not putting their best
efforts
• Application of psychological principles in solving
individual’s or organization’s issues in order to
make them more efficient…….Applied Research
▫ Modifications of thinking pattern.
▫ Changing communication pattern
▫ Changing work environment……..etc
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Methods: how do we proceed…..
• Introspection
▫ Looking within………..Objective self-observation…..
• Observation
▫ Outer behaviour
• Case study
▫ Detailed analysis of one unit
• Interview
▫ One to One Interaction
• Questionnaire
▫ List of questions, statements, items with varied types
of responses
• ……..EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
▫ Seeking Cause & Effect relationship.
Where do Psychologists work
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Organizational Psychology …Various titles….
• Organizational Psychology
• I-O Psychology
• Personnel Psychology
• Work Psychology
• Occupational Psychology
• All are related to a domain in which knowledge
about psychological principles is applied to the
workplace
• It significantly contribute to the performance and
productivity of the workplace
WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY?
• Psychology is the science of human behavior
▫ Work psychology is the science of human behavior at work
• Dual focus
▫ Efficiency/productivity of organizations
▫ Health/well-being of employees
• Dual nature
▫ Application of the science of psychology to the workplace
▫ Development/discovery of scientific psychological principles at
work
Aim of I/O Psychology:
“to enhance the dignity and performance of human beings, and the
organizations they work in, by advancing the science and
knowledge of human behavior”
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Organizational Psychology
Organizational psychology represents the area of
psychology that applies psychological principles to
the workplace, including the structure of organizations,
the ways its members work together, and how the
organization attempts to improve itself through
motivation, diversity, work attitudes, leadership,
culture, and other related processes (Levy, 2006).
Major Activities
◆Personnel Psychology (The “I” in I/O)
▪ Defining and analyzing jobs
▪ Recruiting and selecting employees for jobs
▪ Training employees
▪ Assessing performance
▪ Promoting and retaining employees
▪ Test development and Validation
▪ Legal Issues
◆Organizational Psychology (The “O” in I/O)
▪ Determining how people feel about work
▪ Determining why people act as they do at work
▪ Examining the effects work has on people
▪ Examining the effects people have on one another
▪ How organizations are structured and function
▪ How work is designed
▪ Tool and equipment usage on the job
▪ Examining work relevant health, safety, and well-being issues
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I-O psychology
• Helping people do their jobs
▫ helping employers treat employees fairly
▫ helping make jobs more interesting and satisfying
▫ helping workers be more productive
Treating employees fairly
• Treating people from diverse backgrounds fairly
▫ selecting people for jobs
identifying the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other qualities
that are necessary to perform well, a process called job
analysis,
identifying and/or designing tests and measures to assess
applicants’ levels on those key job requirements,
administering the tests, and
determining the applicants most suitable for a given position.
▫ providing training
▫ rewarding promotions/raises
▫ addressing harassment
▫ Assessing performance accurately
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07-08-2021
Making jobs more
interesting/satisfying
• Designing jobs people will find satisfying
▫ rewarding work
▫ safe, efficient work areas (Human Factors)
• Motivating employees to perform
• Creating teams that work well together
▫ combining diverse talents and perspectives
Leading Historical Figures and seminal
contributions
• Hugo Münsterberg: Psychology and Industrial
Efficiency
• Walter Dill Scott: The Theory of Advertising
• Frederick Winslow Taylor: Scientific Management
• Robert Yerkes: Army Alpha and Beta tests
• Lillian Gilbreth: Time and motion; Human factors
• Bruce V. Moore: First I/O PhD?
• Hawthorne Studies
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Questions
• Is Work Psychology required at all?
• If yes, then how can it impact job performance and
well being of the employees?
