Specialist Option 4: Organisational Psychology
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Organisational Psychology overview and key studies
Organisational Psychology overview
• Specialist Option 4: Organisational Psychology - Organisational psychology is the study of behaviours within the workplace. Candidates will need to consider how social, physical and psychological environments affect individual and group behaviour in the workplace. For this option, candidates will look at aspects of job role, satisfaction, motivation, safety and leadership. Candidates should have the opportunity to explore the different issues and debates relevant to the psychological theories and concepts and the research methods used to investigate people working in organisations and workplaces. For all topics and studies, candidates should be able to: - describe, evaluate and compare the psychological theories, research, approaches, and explanations. - describe and evaluate research methods and methodological concepts (for AS and A Level) - consider how the topic area relates to psychological issues and debates (for AS and A Level) - apply the findings of the study and topic area to the real world. After each topic there is a list of issues and debates and research methodology which are most relevant to the topic. This list is not exhaustive and teachers may use other relevant issues and methodology in their teaching.
Organisational Psychology key studies
• Key studies for Organisational Psychology - Landry, A T, Zhang, Y, Papachristopoulos, K and Forest, J (2019), Applying Self-Determination Theory to - understand the motivational impact of cash rewards: New evidence from lab experiments. International Journal - of Psychology, 55(2): 487-98 - Cuadrado, I, Morales, J F and Recio, P (2008), Women's access to managerial positions: an experimental study - of leadership styles and gender. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11(1): 55-65 - Claypoole, V L and Szalma, J L (2019), Electronic Performance Monitoring and sustained attention: Social - facilitation for modern applications. Computers in Human Behavior, 94: 25-34 - Swat, K (1997), Monitoring of Accidents and Risk Events in Industrial Plants. Journal of Occupational Health, - 39(2): 100-04 - Giacalone, R A and Rosenfeld, P (1987), Reasons for Employee Sabotage in the Workplace. Journal of - Business and Psychology, 1(4): 367-78
Organisational Psychology key-study requirements
• For each key study, candidates should know, understand and evaluate - the context of the study and relationship to other studies - the main theories/explanations included in the study - the aim(s) and hypotheses of the study [if stated] - the design of the study, including all methodology as appropriate, such as the research method(s) used, sample size and demographics [if known] and sampling technique [if known], procedure, technique for data collection - the results, findings and conclusions of the study - the main discussion points of the study. - describe and evaluate research methods used in and methodological concepts included in the study (for AS and A Level) - describe and evaluate the psychological issues and debates (for AS and A Level) included in the study.
4.1 Motivation to work
4.1.1Need theories
• 4.1.1 Need theories - Maslow's hierarchy of needs including five needs, including a study, e.g. Saeednia (2011). - McClelland's theory of achievement motivation including need for achievement, affiliation and power. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, cultural differences, determinism versus free-will, validity.
4.1.2Cognitive theories
• 4.1.2 Cognitive theories - Latham and Locke's goal-setting theory including goal-setting principles - SMART goals. - Vroom's VIE (expectancy) theory. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: individual and situational explanations, cultural differences, reductionism versus holism, determinism versus free-will, idiographic versus nomothetic.
4.1.3Motivators at work
• 4.1.3 Motivators at work - extrinsic motivators at work: types of reward systems including pay, bonuses, profit-sharing, performance-related pay. - intrinsic motivators at work: non-monetary rewards including praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging. - Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory including competence, autonomy and relatedness (exemplified by the following key study). - Key study for applying self-determination theory to motivational rewards: Landry et al. (2019), focus on study 1, specifics of methodology from study 2 will not be needed. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: individual and situational explanations, reductionism versus holism, determinism versus free-will, idiographic versus nomothetic, generalisations.
4.2 Leadership and management
4.2.1Leadership theories
• 4.2.1 Traditional and modern theories of leadership - universalist theories including great person, charismatic, and transformational leaders. - behavioural theories including Ohio University and Michigan University behavioural explanations. - Heifetz's six principles in meeting adaptive challenges; responsibilities of an adaptive leader. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, nature versus nurture, reductionism versus holism, generalisations.
4.2.2Leadership style
• 4.2.2 Leadership style - Muczyk and Reimann's four styles of leader behaviour. - Scouller's levels of leadership including public, private and personal levels - Leadership style and gender (exemplified by the following key study). - Key study on leadership style and gender: Cuadrado et al. (2008) - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, reductionism versus holism, idiographic versus nomothetic, generalisations.
4.2.3Leaders and followers
• 4.2.3 Leaders and followers - Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Practices Inventory including five practices. - Kelley's (1988) followership including definition of followership, two dimensions and five followership styles. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, cultural differences, idiographic versus nomothetic, self-reports, psychometrics.
4.3 Group behaviour in organisations
4.3.1Group development
• 4.3.1 Group development and decision-making - Tuckman and Jensen's (2010) stages of group development. - Belbin's nine team roles. - faulty decision-making, explanations and strategies to avoid it: - - groupthink including features with examples - - Forsyth's cognitive limitations and errors including types and subtypes. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, reductionism versus holism, idiographic versus nomothetic, generalisations.
4.3.2Group performance
• 4.3.2 Individual and group performance - individual and group performance focusing on social facilitation and social loafing including definitions, drive theory and evaluation apprehension, social impact theory. - group performance across cultures focusing on social loafing in individualistic and collectivist cultures, including a study, e.g. Earley (1993). - performance monitoring of employee productivity (exemplified by the following key study). - Key study looking at concentration levels when being monitored: Claypoole and Szalma (2019), focus on experiment 1, specifics of methodology for experiment 2 will not be needed. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, cultural differences, determinism versus free-will, idiographic versus nomothetic, quantitative and qualitative data.
4.3.3Conflict at work
• 4.3.3 Conflict at work - levels of group conflict (intra-individual, inter-individual, intra-group and inter-group). Causes of organisational and interpersonal group conflict. - Thomas-Kilmann's five conflict-handling modes. - bullying at work; types, phases and causes, including a study, e.g. Einarsen (1999). - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, cultural differences, reductionism versus holism, idiographic versus nomothetic.
4.4 Organisational work conditions
4.4.1Physical work conditions
• 4.4.1 Physical work conditions - impact of physical work conditions on productivity and the Hawthorne effect, e.g. Kompier (2006). - impact of the design of the work environment focusing on open plan offices, including a study, e.g. Oldham and Brass (1979). - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: determinism versus free-will, experiments, questionnaires, longitudinal studies, quantitative and qualitative data.
4.4.2Temporal work conditions
• 4.4.2 Temporal conditions of work environments - design of work: shiftwork: rapid rotation and slow rotation, on-call and flexitime including definitions and examples of each. - effects of shiftwork on health and accidents, including a study, e.g. Gold et al. (1992). - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, determinism versus free-will, questionnaires, quantitative and qualitative data, validity.
4.4.3Health and safety
• 4.4.3 Health and safety - accidents at work focusing on human errors (errors of omission, commission, sequencing and timing) and system errors in operator-machine systems (machine controls and displays). - reducing accidents at work: token economy, including a study, e.g. Fox et al. (1987). - monitoring accidents (exemplified by the following key study). - Key study on the monitoring of accidents and risk events: Swat (1997). - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: individual and situational explanations, idiographic versus nomothetic, longitudinal studies, objective and subjective data, generalisations.
4.5 Satisfaction at work
4.5.1Theories of job satisfaction
• 4.5.1 Theories of job satisfaction - theories of job satisfaction: Herzberg's two factor theory including hygiene and motivational factors. - Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics theory including job characteristics and psychological states. - techniques of job design: enrichment, rotation and enlargement, e.g. Belias and Sklikas, (2013). - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, cultural differences, reductionism versus holism, idiographic versus nomothetic, generalisations.
4.5.2Measuring job satisfaction
• 4.5.2 Measuring job satisfaction - job satisfaction rating scales and questionnaires focusing on the job descriptive index (JDI). - Walton's quality of working life (QWL) including eight dimensions to evaluate QWL. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: individual and situational explanations, quantitative and qualitative data, psychometrics, validity, reliability.
4.5.3Attitudes to work
• 4.5.3 Attitudes to work - workplace sabotage including methods and reasons for sabotage (exemplified by the following key study). - Key study reasons for sabotage in the workplace: Giacalone and Rosenfeld (1987). - Blau and Boal's absenteeism and organisational commitment model including types of absence, categories of commitment. - Relevant issues and debates and methodology for this topic include: application to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, reductionism versus holism, idiographic versus nomothetic, generalisations. knowledge and skills to explore the challenges plays a key role in every student's education.'