Industrial and organizational psychology (also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, occupational psychology, or personnel psychology) is the study of the behavior of people in the workplace. Industrial and organizational psychology applies psychological knowledge and methods to aid workers and organizations. Historically, job analysis has been the traditional means for which essential characteristics associated with any particular position are identified. A thorough job analysis takes time, resources and money but its benefits tend to out weigh the costs, especially when the position is of great importance, such as an executive position in a major corporation.

Industrial and organizational psychologists may use psychometric tests to measure the knowledge, skills, abilities, and personality characteristics of people for a variety of employment-related purposes, such as selection for appointment or promotion, or for training and development. They may devise questionnaires to measure employee attitudes such as morale, job satisfaction, or feelings towards management or customers.

Increasingly, people factors are recognized as a major determinant of organizational performance and a key competitive differential. Psychologists therefore may also advise senior managers on the management of organizational climate or culture, on dealing with organizational change, or on group dynamics within an organization. It is probably partly for this reason that management coaching is an increasingly popular part of the psychologist's work.

Industrial and organizational psychology is a diverse field incorporating aspects of disciplines such as clinical psychology, social psychology, personality psychology and psychometrics as well as less closely linked social studies such as law. At one point in time, industrial and organizational psychology was not distinguished from vocational (counseling) psychology or the study of human factors. Although the foregoing disciplines still overlap with industrial and organizational psychology, today they are formally taught in separate classes and housed in separate graduate-level psychology programs within a psychology department.

Many industrial and organizational psychologists specialize in one of the following aspects: psychometrics; time and motion studies; employment law; personnel selection; training; leadership selection, coaching and development; organizational design and change. Some I/O psychologists are academic (working in both business and psychology departments) or non-academic researchers, while many others are engaged in practice, holding positions such as the following:

• executive coach
• diversity consultant
• legislative compliance officer
• labor relations specialist
• human resources specialist
• process improvement consultant
• manager of selection and training

Financial compensation of industrial and organizational psychologists generally is among the highest in the whole field of psychology. While salary and benefits tend to be significantly greater in the private sector, academics who specialize in industrial and organizational psychology may command greater compensation than their faculty peers. Teaching (and sometimes research) opportunities exist in business schools as well as in psychology programs. Business schools typically offer more generous salaries and benefits than do psychology programs. Some academics choose to gain practical experience and access to data, as well as to supplement their incomes, by engaging in consulting work on the side.

• Consulting Psychology
• Vocational (Counseling) Psychology
• Human Resources Development
• Human Factors
• Industrial engineering
• Total quality management
• Psychometrics
• Social psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Labor and industrial relations
• Organizational development
• Personality psychology
• Organizational behavior
• Employment Law
• Labor Law

• Hawthorne studies at Western Electric
• U.S. Army Project A

• Industrial sociology
• List of human resource management topics
• List of psychological topics
• How Occupation and Employment can affect Identity
• Important publications in Industrial and organizational psychology

• Anderson, N., Ones, D. S., Sinangil, H. K., & Viswesvaran, C. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology, Volume 1: Personnel psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.
• Anderson, N., Ones, D. S., Sinangil, H. K., & Viswesvaran, C. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology, Volume 2: Organizational psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.
• Borman, W. C., Ilgen, D., R., & Klimoski, R., J. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of Psychology: Vol 12 Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
• Borman, W. C., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1993). Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance. Chapter in N. Schmitt and W. C. Borman (Eds.), Personnel Selection. San Francisco: Josey-Bass (pp. 71-98).
• Campbell, J. P., Gasser, M. B., & Oswald, F. L. (1996). The substantive nature of job performance variability. In K. R. Murphy (Ed.), Individual differences and behavior in organizations (pp. 258–299). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Hunter, J. E., & Schmidt, F. L. (1990). Methods of meta-analysis: Correcting error and bias in research findings. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Hunter, J. E., & Schmidt, F. L. (2004). Methods of meta-analysis: Correcting error and bias in research findings. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Dunnette, M. D., & Hough, L. M. (Eds.). (1991). Handbook of Industrial/Organizational Psychology (4 Volumes). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
• Lowman, R. L. (Ed.). (2002). The California School of Organizational Studies handbook of organizational consulting psychology: A comprehensive guide to theory, skills and techniques. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Rogelberg, S., G. (Ed.). (2002). Handbook of research methods in industrial and organizational psychology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 262-274.
• Greenberg, Jerald [1]. Managing Behavior in Organizations, Prentice Hall, 2005. [2]

• The Journal of Applied Psychology
• Personnel Psychology
• Academy of Management Journal
• Academy of Management Review
• Human Performance
• The Journal of Organizational Behavior
• Organizational Research Methods
• The Journal of Vocational Behavior
• Administrative Science Quarterly
• Applied Psychology: An International Review
• International Journal of Selection and Assessment

• Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), United States
• The Industrial Psychology Research Centre, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
• Association of Business Psychologists, UK
• Division of Occupational Psychology, The British Psychological Association, UK
• Division 1: Work & Organizational Psychology, The International Association of Applied Psychology
• Academy of Management (AOM), United States
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), United States
• Organizational Behavior Management Network (OBM Network)

It is possible to obtain a bachelor's degree, master's degree, Psy.D., and/or a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology. The types of degrees offered vary by educational institution. There are both advantages and disadvantages to obtaining a specific type of degree (e.g., master's degree) in lieu of another type of degree (e.g., Ph.D.). Some helpful ways to learn more about graduate programs and their fit to one's needs and goals include taking or sitting in on an industrial and organizational psychology course or class; speaking to industrial and organizational psychology faculty, students, and practitioners; consulting with a career counselor; taking a reputable vocational interest survey; and visiting program websites. Regardless of one's needs or goals, admission into industrial and organizational psychology programs can be highly competitive, especially given that many programs accept only a small number of students each year. Specific resources that can help to clarify the fit of particular programs to an individual's needs, goals, and abilities are Graduate Training Programs (Including Program Rankings) - SIOP and Top U.S. Graduate School Programs - U.S. News & World Report.

• Industrial & organizational psychology at The Psychology Wiki