What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are applied to issues of critical relevance to business, including talent management, coaching, assessment, selection, training, organizational development, performance, and work-life balance.

Education and Training in I-O Psychology

Neil Hauenstein
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

I am pleased to announce that the incoming coeditors for the Education and Training column are David Costanza (dcostanz@gwu.edu) from George Washington University and Jennifer Kisamore (jkisamore@ou.edu) from the University of Oklahoma. Im sure they are eager to hear from members regarding ideas for future columns on education and training. 

Given that this is my parting shot, I reviewed all the columns that I have edited or coedited since the initial education and training column. The body of work dealt thoughtfully with critical issues including advice on improving the classroom experience, teaching for the first time, and incorporating the practice aspect of the scientistpractitioner model (the topic of the column for this issue) in the educational experience. 

The column for the current issue is written by Lynn Bartels, Therese Macan, Brigid Gutting, Matt Lemming, and Ryan McCrea. They have examined all the graduate training programs in relation to if and how programs train students in the practice aspect of the scientistpractitioner model. Their results provide useful information about the tactics programs use to train students for the practitioner role. 

I believe this is an area that is ripe for follow-up. Most programs indicate that the scientistpractitioner model guides graduate student training, but the phrase scientistpractitioner model means different things to different programs. At a fundamental level, programs view training practice competencies as either an end in and of itself, or as a means through which to expand the knowledge base of I-O psychology, or as a combination of both perspectives. The manner in which a program views itself in relation to the means/ends issue affects program goals in relation to both the amounts and types of training experiences regarding practice competencies. Finally, I believe the phrase scientistpractitioner model contributes to the misguided view that careers in I-O are either research or practice, with researchers working in academe and practitioners working in the real world. I encourage those advising students interested in careers in I-O to refrain from this oversimplification. I tell interested students that careers in I-O are either in academics or outside academics. Within academics, positions range from those that are almost all teaching to those that are almost all research. Outside of academics, careers range from those that are almost all research/development to those that are almost all selling/implementation. My characterization of careers in I-O is also an oversimplification, but I find this heuristic more useful for helping students match career interests to training programs than the simple dichotomy of research versus practice. 

Teaching the Practitioner Side of the ScientistPractitioner Model

Lynn Bartels
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Therese Macan, Brigid Gutting, Matt Lemming
University of MissouriSt. Louis

Ryan McCrea
Humane Society of Missouri

Both the SIOP Guidelines for Education and Training at the Masters Level in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (1994) and Guidelines for Education and Training at the Doctoral Level in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (1999) advocate a scientistpractitioner model of education. The Doctoral Guidelines note it is not enough that students know each topic in a theoretical sense. They also need to know how to design and apply their knowledge to solve real problems. 

More recently, Blakeney, Broenen, Dyck, Frank, Glenn, Johnson, and Mayo (2002, April) described the implications of a job analysis they conducted on I-O psychologists. In addition to describing job duties, respondents were asked to indicate for which duties newcomers seem least prepared. Blakeney et al. (2002) concluded there is room for improvement in university training programs, especially in applied areas (p. 30). Training should focus on developing students abilities to apply their knowledge to real-world problems and relate effectively to clients. The challenge for doctoral and masters programs that espouse the scientistpractitioner model, therefore, is how to teach practice and to help students develop the KSAs necessary to work as practitioners. 

The 1998 SIOP Salary Survey (see Burnfield & Medsker, 1999, April) indicated that close to two-thirds of I-O psychologists are employed as internal or external consultants. In addition, a substantial number of academic I-O psychologists consult. Therefore, I-O psychology training should ensure that the graduate possesses an appreciation of the roles of both theory and practice and is able to develop new ideas and also to apply relevant information to solve workplace problems (Guidelines, 1999, p. 17). The 1999 Doctoral Guidelines identify several competencies that are critical in the development of a successful I-O psychology graduate. In creating the guidelines, several contributing I-O psychologists expressed concern that previous guidelines have been too focused on theory (p. 3). They addressed this concern by adding a new competency: Consulting and Business Skills. Graduate students need to develop skills such as communication, business development, and project management. Practitioner skills are important, but how does a student acquire them? What techniques do graduate programs use to teach this practice component? As a first step in answering these questions, we collected data on current practices of graduate programs. 

We searched the SIOP Web site listing of graduate programs and incorporated into an SPSS database all programs with posted information. This resulted in 224 programs: 102 doctoral and 122 masters programs. Of the 224, 61.2% (N = 137) indicated that they followed a scientistpractitioner model, 17.9% (N = 40) reported they were mainly applied and 13.4% (N = 30) had a research orientation (see Table 1). Because we were concerned primarily with examining the practice component within balanced theory and practice programs, we based the rest of our analyses on programs that followed the scientistpractitioner model. (Percentages calculated combining programs reporting a scientistpractitioner focus and an applied focus yielded results not substantially different from those reported below for scientistpractitioner programs only.) 

Table 1

Orientation of Graduate Programs
____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
¹ Information from 2004 SIOP Web site.

Many of the SIOP program Web pages provided unclear or vague descriptions, or information pertaining to practitioner training was missing. Therefore, we reviewed each programs Web site for more information on how they delivered applied training to students. The majority (N = 128; 93.4%) used at least one technique to develop the practice component and several programs used multiple techniques (N = 35; 25.5%). Based on the results of our search, we divided the techniques into three categories: (a) supervised experience, (b) formal course, and (c) consulting experience.

Supervised experiences included internships, practica, and fieldwork supervised by external personnel. Our analyses reveal that 88.3% of graduate programs offered some type of supervised experience (79.7% of doctoral, 95.9% of masters; see Table 2). Although this type of experience may be overseen by a faculty member, this could be categorized as an external technique because training is primarily delivered by field personnel. Munson, Phillips, Clark, & Mueller-Hanson (2004, July) surveyed SIOP members in applied positions about I-O internships. One of the interesting conclusions from their study was that only 78% of the internship supervisors provided feedback to their interns. It may be useful to examine whether supervised experiences are sufficient and effective in developing students skills as practitioners.

Table 2: 

Frequency of Supervised Experience Techniques^{1, 2
______________________________________________________________________________________________}

                              _________________________________________________________________

                                        ____________            _________            ____________          ____________

__________________________________________________________________________________

¹ Information from 2004 SIOP Web site
² Based on programs with scientistpractitioner orientation

Formal courses refer to teaching practice in the classroom (e.g., consulting and business skills course; applied project as a course requirement). Our analyses showed that 22.6% of graduate programs deliver consulting and business skills through some type of class in their curriculum (see Table 3). Again, the actual number may be higher because our electronic search was limited (e.g., programs may informally set up courses, information may not be available on Web site). In this approach, faculty may take a more active role in developing students professional skills. Shoenfelt (2003, October) provides a helpful checklist for coordinating I-O class projects for instructors interested in incorporating this type of training into their programs.Consulting experiences refer to faculty-driven applied projects conducted either outside of academic duties or through a program-sponsored center. Our analyses show that 16% of graduate programs offer a consulting experience, with the majority found in doctoral programs, primarily driven by departmental applied centers (28.1% of doctoral, 5.5% of masters; see Table 4).

Table 3: 

Frequency of Formal Coursework Techniques^{1, 2
_______________________________________________________________________________________________}

___________________________________________________________________________________

                                        ____________            _________            ____________          ____________

__________________________________________________________________________________

¹ Information from 2004 SIOP Web site
² Based on programs with scientistpractitioner orientation

Table 4: 

Frequency of Consulting Techniques²
__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

                                        ____________            _________            ____________          ____________

__________________________________________________________________________________

¹ Information from 2004 SIOP Web site
² Based on programs with scientistpractitioner orientation

In conclusion, our analyses focused on I-O graduate programs that espouse the scientistpractitioner model. We were interested in examining how practice skills are developed in these programs. Although the teaching methods for the scientist side of the model are fairly well-established, it is less clear what techniques are used to develop consulting competencies. Scientistpractitioner programs should, in some way, address the practitioner side of the model. To study how this is accomplished, we identified three main types of practitioner training techniques used in graduate programs. The most commonly used technique was supervised experiences, where faculty rely on external sources to develop practitioner skills. Considerably fewer graduate programs used internal techniques such as formal courses or consulting experiences that may require more program resources. 

Similar to any research, there are a few limitations to our qualitative approach. We used Web-based data that may not have been complete or kept updated. In addition, important information may not have been gathered from using the Web, such as any informal training that may take place (e.g., student presentations in classes). Given these shortcomings, I-O programs might want to examine the completeness of the practice information they provide on the Internet because it could be a means of recruiting new students. In addition, our findings open the door to future questions and issues. How should the practice component be delivered? Is there a best way? 

References

     Blakeney, R., Broene, R., Dyck, J., Frank, B., Glenn, D., Johnson, D., & Mayo, C. (2002, April). Implications of the results of a job analysis of I-O psychologists. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 39, 2937.
     Burnfield, J. L. & Medsker, G .J. (1999, April). Income and employment of SIOP members in 1997. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 36, 1930.
     Munson, L .J., Phillips, G., Clark, C. C., Mueller-Hanson, R. (2004, July). Everything you need to know about I-O internships: Results from the 2003 SIOP internship survey. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 42, 117126.
     Shoenfelt, E. L. (2003, October). Utilizing applied projects in I-O graduate training: A checklist to help ensure successful experiences. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 41, 109115.
     Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. (1994). Guidelines for education and training at the masters level in industrial-organizational psychology. Bowling Green, OH: Author.
     Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. (1999). Guidelines for education and training at the doctoral level in industrial-organizational psychology. Bowling Green, OH: Author.

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