What is industrial-organizational psychology (commonly known as I\/O psychology)? How is it different from counseling and clinical psychology? And what career paths are available with an I\/O psychology degree?<\/p>\n
Rebecca Loehrer<\/a>, PhD, and faculty chair of the Industrial\/Organizational Psychology specialization within Capella University\u2019s Harold Abel School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, provides specifics of this program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A. There are a number of ways to define it. The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology<\/a> (SIOP) says it\u2019s the scientific study of the workplace and work\u2014a study of the worker. That includes anything related to work from the viewpoint of psychology. It involves all the psychological dynamics and processes, including motivation, performance, teamwork, leadership, work-life balance, and how to select a career. Human behavior has an impact on all of these factors.<\/p>\n Overall, I\/O psychologists are interested in improving performance of workers and the workplace, through studying how people get along and work together, and how they are affected by group dynamics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A. A big piece is research, as strategies come from evidence-based research. However, there\u2019s also a lot of applied work using that research to develop training, coaching, and consulting within the workplace. What students focus on depends on whether they want to stay with high-level research or apply their expertise directly in the workplace. It\u2019s different from counseling, as it\u2019s not usually focused on mental health issues, but on the workplace and people within it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A. People with many different backgrounds find themselves drawn to study I\/O psychology. Most of our students come to us from the field. They\u2019re more likely middle-aged and have considerable workplace experience. Any workplace that has problems of some sort can create a demand for this type of learning.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve had students from law enforcement, health care, mental health, nursing, psychology, and business. They\u2019re really interested in the human behavioral component in the workplace and want to understand that piece. Or we\u2019ll see counselors who have become a bit burned out and want a fresh approach, and they find I\/O psychology a bit more positive since it doesn\u2019t deal so directly with mental health problems. It\u2019s also popular with people in corporate settings, especially those handling hiring (like human resources), coaching, and training.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A. A successful I\/O psychologist needs to be able to write well and have the ability to understand research. An interest in human behavior and working directly with people is essential. If you like numbers but not human interaction, this is not the field for you.<\/p>\n It also helps to have good intuition related to human relationships, and the ability to stay calm\u2014this field can involve a lot of conflict, with lots of personalities and people mad at each other. Good communication skills are a must, as effective feedback needs to be tailored to various audiences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A. It depends on the degree attained. Doctoral graduates are prepared for an academic position, whether in research or teaching at the graduate level. It\u2019s possible to work on research with just a master\u2019s, but probably as an assistant rather than a lead researcher. Additionally, there are numerous government research positions that require a PhD.<\/p>\n With a master\u2019s, careers can include consultancies, undergraduate-level teaching, or corporate positions. Companies hire master\u2019s graduates for jobs such as Director of Training and Development, Talent Acquisition Manager, Coach, Leadership Coach, or Manager or Director of Human Resources.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learn more about Capella\u2019s <\/em>Master\u2019s in Industrial\/Organizational Psychology<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>PhD in Industrial\/Organizational Psychology<\/em><\/a> degree programs.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Industrial-organizational psychology is the psychology of the workplace\u2014how people work together and what motivates them. Find out potential career paths for I\/O psychologists and what it takes to be successful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":2424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28],"tags":[76],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2393"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2478,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions\/2478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Q. What is I\/O psychology?<\/h4>\n
Q. What is the focus of I\/O psychology degree programs?<\/h4>\n
Q. Who would be interested in studying I\/O psychology?<\/h4>\n
Q. What characteristics or traits should someone in I\/O psychology have to be successful?<\/h4>\n
Q. What types of careers are available for people in this specialization?<\/h4>\n