History of Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Learn about the evolution of I-O psychology from its inception in 1913 to 1973.
- 1913
Hugo Munsterberg released Psychology and Industrial Efficiency, the seminal text for I-O psychology - 1920s
The Hawthorne Studies were conducted in the 1920s by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger - 1945 - 1946
1945: Division 14 of the American Psychological Association (APA), Industrial and Business Psychology, was founded
1946: First APA conference that contained programming for Division 14 - 1949
First APA Division 14 newsletter published - 1964
First issue of The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist (TIP) published - 1973
Division 14 of the APA became the Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
Lillian Gilbreth and her husband Frank B. Gilbreth, Sr. were early pioneers in I-O psychology. SIOP Past President Milt Hakel came into possession of a set of stereoscopic photos and a letter from Frank Gilbreth to Hugo Munsterberg. These items were donated to the Dr. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (CHP) and are featured in one of the center’s blog posts.
Additionally, you can view more of the photos at the CHP website and Archive.org. Some of the videos that the Gilbreths took for job analysis and time motion studies are also available.
Before becoming an eminent researcher, Frank Gilbreth was a general contractor who was involved in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.
Hugo Munsterberg
Hugo Munsterberg is often cited as the founding father of I-O psychology. SIOP Past President Frank Landy has written two articles in the Journal of Applied Psychology that cover Munsterberg’s career questioning him a victim or visionary and his role as an early influence.
A written biography also appears on the Harvard website and a video biography appears on YouTube. You can read Munsterberg’s APA Presidential Address. Shown below is a dissertation acceptance statement signed by Hugo Munsterberg in 1895.

The Hawthorne Works
The Hawthorne Studies were conducted in the 1920s by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger. You can view some videos about the the electrical plant studies and studies from 1924-1932.
Thomas Edison – early employment test developer
Among Thomas Edison’s many inventions is an early employment test. Learn more about his test here in this Smithsonian Magazine article and Mike Aamodt’s TIP article. The test was published in this New York Times article.