Organizational Psychology

Organizational Psychology

PSY/428

12/22/11

Organizational Psychology

Organizational Psychology (OP) is the scientific study of individual and group psychology in formal organizational settings. OP has a counterpart named Industrial Psychology. Another name for these two is I/O psychology and both are intertwined within each other, but the focus of this paper will be on the Organizational half of the two parts and how the scientist-practitioner method is used to collect, evaluate and practice research and statistics.

Organizational Psychology is the scientific study of individual and group behavior in formal organizational settings. (Jex, S. M. & Britt, T. W.) To better explain the role of organizational psychology the difference between an informal and formal organization must be made. A formal organization is an organization that has a purpose and usually has documented proof stated in writing that it is an “organization”. Formal organizations also usually last for a while and sometimes outlast the original founders of the original organization. An informal organization can take the shape of a spades game played regularly by a group of friends on Fridays, these types of organizations usually do not last if a couple members lose interest or move, do not have a written statement and no stated purpose other than to simply have fun and enjoy each other’s company every Friday night. Organizational psychology is the study of formal organizations not both formal and informal organizations.

Research and statistics are crucial to the study of formal organizations. There are many forms of these tools and resources. Much research has already been done on the subject which can be used and applied to the studies of organizations. Organizational psychologists use researched and proven statistical data to help companies make improvements to run better and more efficiently by taking proven examples of similar situations and applying the facts that have been...