Definition and History of Industrial Psychology

Inspiration. Although John Watson made tremendous waves in the study of behavioral psychology, he was not the first to explore it. Much of his inspiration was drawn from the ideas of Ivan Pavlov, one of his most known achievements being the conditioning of dogs. In the experiment, Pavlov was testing to see if he could make dogs, which would salivate in the presence of food, salivate over the sound of a bell by ringing it in the once the dogs were to be fed (How to Train a Brain, 2014).

some of history of psychology that led to the current state of affairs, beginning at World War 2.

The history of psychology is in infancy at the present time. Many philosophers can be credited to the development of this science. Starting in the early 18th and 19th centuries philosophers such as Rene’ Descartes and John Locke opened the world of what we know as psychology today. The British empiricists also contributed to psychology. Some of these men include David Hume and David Hartley.

26) Which early American psychologist taught philosophy at Harvard, studied medicine, had strong interests in literature and religion, and wrote one of the most important psychology texts ever, The Principles of Psychology, in 1890?

Psychologist, born in Susquhanna, Pa. He studied at Harvard, teaching there (1931-6, 1947-74). A leading behaviorist, he is a proponent of operant conditioning, and the inventor of the Skinner box for facilitating experimental observations.

William James (1842-1910), James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944), Lightner Witmer (1867-1956), and John B. Watson (1878-1958) were major contributors to the study psychology at this time. James was a pioneer to the development of functional psychology, following the work of Wilhem Wundt (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 131). Cattell was known for his mental tests that were used to measure mental capabilities and intelligence (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 166). These mental test developed into IQ tests determining the intelligence of a person going into the army or being qualified for a job. Witmer began clinical psychology. He developed diagnostic and treatment approaches as they were needed for treating children with hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and poor speech and motor development because he was the first one to do it (Schultz &Schultz, 2012, p. 175). There were no examples for him to follow to see what is wrong or right way to address the needs. Also, Watson became a powerhouse in field of psychology. He had major influences in behaviorism. He provided stern guidelines for child rearing stating that parents should never “hug and kiss them, never let them sit on your lap” (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p.

Scientific management or "Taylorism" is an approach to job design, developed by Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) during the Second World War. With the industrial revolution came a fast growing pool of people, seeking jobs, that required a new approach of management. Scientific management was the first management theory, applied internationally. It believes in the rational use of resources for utmost output, hence motivating workers to earn more money. Taylor believed that the incompetence of managers was the major obstacle on the way of productivity increase of human labour. Consequently, this idea led to the need of change of management principles. On the base of research, involving analysing controlled experiments under various working

William James’ book was entitled: Principles of Psychology which was published in 1890 and also established him as one of the greatest thinkers of his time.

One of the most influential psychologists of all times is Burrhus Frederic Skinner, also known as B. F. Skinner, who was born on March 20, 1904 in a small town called Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. B. F. Skinner was raised in a warm and wealthy home. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a stay at home mom. In Skinner’s early childhood, it was noted that he and his younger brother, Edward James, liked to build things such as arrows and shack in the woods, to name a few ( ). These construction skills would enable an older Skinner to build the equipment invented for his psychology research. As he grew up, he went through all twelve grades at the same school, graduating with less than eight students. Within these years, he developed an interest in art and literature through drawing and later reading Shakespeare (Dews, 1970).

Frederick Taylor was an engineer who ran experiments in the 1880’s on the common manufacturing process of his time. His goal was to increase the productivity of the workers. The experiments measured the time to perform different tasks. He created recommendations for the workplace that became business standards and were enforced in the workplace. Businesses used these as a measure of productivity and rewarded wages and other rewards on a basis of performance. These changes created a shift in the workplace and a demand for higher compliance became the norm. Taylor helped create the need for standards in the workplace.

There were contextual forces as well as work in America to foster the growth of applied psychology. The number of people with a Ph. D. in psychology rose and there were not enough academic positions to employ them, and when one attained a teaching job many administrations did not value (or fund) psychology programs. As psychology was a newest science when compared to physics and chemistry…received smallest financial support, so need to proof that psychology is useful in solving social, educational and industrial problem in order to improve budgets. An emerging societal problem was a dramatic increase in public school enrollment, which opened doors for some psychologists. Thus, the focus of psychology shifted towards the application in solving real-world problem.

History and Systems of Psychology is a course requirement offered to Psychology majors and minors. This course is used to provide majors and minors with the foundation and the evolution of the field of psychology. Within this class, many scholars of discussed. Two scholars that stood out to me in this course would be John Watson and Max Wertheimer. These two particular scholars are responsible for two of the most influential and famous schools of thought, behaviorism and Gestalt psychology. These two schools of thought are responsible for changing the field of psychology and introducing the field to new theories and ways of thinking. Although the two schools of thought are similar in being influential but they are different in many ways. The two schools of thought are even said to be contradictory of one another and one is even said to be the cause of the fading out of the other.

over time, due to psychologists coming to light in the modern world. This essay will also

Alfred Binet was one of the most influential psychologists in history. He developed the first Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test, which was to become used throughout the world. Whilst he pioneered intelligence testing, he also influenced other psychologists to explore and expand on the testing, such as Theodore Simone, Lewis Madison Terman, Henry Herbert Goddard and Jean Piaget.

Industrial psychology is concerned with people at work. It is also called personnel psychology. A closely related field is known as organizational psychology. Traditionally, industrial psychologists have assessed differences among individual workers and have evaluated individual jobs. Organizational psychologists generally seek to understand how workers function in an organization, and how the organization functions in society.