Personnel psychology
Personnel psychology is a specialized area within organizational psychology that focuses on the recruitment, selection, and evaluation of employees. This field has evolved significantly since its early development during World War I, when psychological aptitude testing was implemented to identify suitable candidates for military roles, particularly pilots. Today, personnel psychologists play a critical role in various organizational settings by designing job descriptions, creating assessment tests, and conducting interviews to match candidates with appropriate positions based on their skills and personality traits.
Key areas of personnel psychology include training and development, ergonomics, and organizational development, with a strong emphasis on maximizing economic outcomes for businesses. Psychological screening and evaluation methods are often employed to ensure that hires are well-suited for their roles, which can lead to improved job performance and reduced turnover. Furthermore, the concept of person-organization (P-O) fit is important, as it considers the alignment between an individual's values and the organizational culture. As organizations increasingly prioritize diversity, employee engagement, and work-life balance, the insights provided by personnel psychologists are essential for fostering a productive and harmonious workplace.
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Personnel psychology
Personnel psychology focuses on recruiting, choosing, and evaluating personnel. Personnel psychologists also study various elements of employment, including worker/manager relations, job satisfaction, and workplace morale. It is one of many subfields of organizational psychology, which developed in the early twentieth century. Much of the original research was devoted to military concerns, such as evaluating service members to find the best candidates for pilot training. Such research and screening are still used by the armed forces, as well as organizations such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Later in the twentieth century, the focus of organizational training shifted to serving economic concerns. In many organizations, personnel psychologists help determine job duties, aid in preparing job postings, and devise screening tests for applicants, among other responsibilities.
Background
World War I was the impetus for the development of psychological aptitude testing. This was the first war in which aircraft played a significant role, and American military leaders recognized the necessity of evaluating large numbers of service members to find those best suited to train as pilots. The scope of the war demanded a great increase in the size of the military, so leaders sought an efficient system that could be employed quickly.
A number of prominent psychologists devised a pair of aptitude tests in 1917 and 1918. Army Alpha, a group-administered test, measured verbal ability, numerical ability, ability to follow directions, and knowledge of information. Army Beta was devised to test recruits who were illiterate, unschooled, or non-English speaking. An estimated 1.5 million recruits were tested. These tests were the basis of a variety of other aptitude tests developed by the military.
When the United States entered World War II, the Army General Classification Test (AGCT) and the Navy General Classification Test (NGCT) replaced the Army Alpha and Army Beta tests. An estimated 12 million recruits took the AGCT, and about 3 million sailors took the NGCT. Other tests used during WWII included specialized tests for technical aptitude, languages, and clerical tasks. The branches of the US military continue to rely on interviews and testing to place recruits.
During the latter part of the twentieth century, organizational psychology became increasingly important to industry. The emphasis was on economic—rather than military—strength. Many companies were concerned about getting the most from hiring decisions, and a number of assessment tests were developed to screen applicants.
As countries became more invested in the global economy, smart hiring practices became vital. Industries have focused attention on issues such as virtual work spaces, Internet-based recruitment, work-life balance, diversity, business agility, employee engagement, and innovation.
Topic Today
The six areas often regarded as elements of personnel psychology are recruitment, training and development, ergonomics, assessment, work life, and organizational development, which includes economic goals and maximization of profit. In many organizations, however, personnel psychologists' duties are strictly related to hiring employees, steering them into the most appropriate positions based on their strengths and weaknesses, and possibly evaluating them for promotions. Organizational psychologists often oversee employees' work experiences, including professional development and morale concerns, to help companies achieve economic goals.
Some organizations use psychological screening tests to evaluate applicants. These are particularly useful for high-stress roles, and are commonly used by such organizations as NASA, which carefully screens astronaut applicants on a variety of topics. Personnel psychologists may design tests that can be taken in person or online, and use interviews to more thoroughly evaluate an applicant.
Such information may recommend individuals for certain jobs, and eliminate them from others. One's ability to make quick decisions, work within a team or independently, cope with stress, and respect authority all provide information about the types of work for which an individual is best—or least—suited. Such details also influence decisions to promote individuals, especially if the promotion will put the employee in charge of others.
The work of personnel psychologists may begin long before an interview, however. They may be called upon to help managers create job descriptions, and decide what qualities and skills are most valuable for specific positions. This information can be included in job postings and used by human resources staff in conducting interviews. Such information can also benefit prospective applicants, who can determine, based on the language used in a job posting, if they might be a good fit for the position and with the organization. This concern for person and organization complement is called P-O fit. A common example is the dot-com organization, which usually attracts individuals who enjoy workplace freedoms such as bringing one's dog to work, but may be expected to work all night to complete a project. Some workers may balk at having to work irregular hours, making them a poor P-O fit.
Evaluating personality often helps companies. Positive personality traits have generally proven to be good indicators of job performance. Conscientiousness, for example, is a trait that usually is a predictor of good job performance. Conscientious employees are dependable and ensure work is completed correctly.
Preemployment screening has become increasingly common and important. Forbes magazine reported in 2011 that nearly 90 percent of firms that tested applicants said they would not hire individuals whose testing revealed them to be lacking in basic skills.
Such screening processes raise some concerns. First among these is the question of validity. Competent personnel psychologists must develop tests that measure the criteria the employer seeks. Employees hired based on these evaluations should be shown to perform well, while those who do poorly on the tests would be expected to perform the jobs poorly. An engineer would not be evaluated on typing ability, for example. The second concern is reliability. An individual should score about the same on the same test each time he or she takes it. A test should be proven to be reliable before it is used in the hiring process. Test developers and those who administer them must also ensure the tests do not discriminate. Tests should adhere to federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws.
Properly administered preemployment testing can save money for companies. Individuals who are qualified and good fits for positions are more likely to succeed, which reduces turnover, increases productivity, and generally boosts morale. This economic benefit has made the expertise of personnel psychologists vitally important to businesses.
Bibliography
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Jex, Steve M., and Thomas W. Britt. Organizational Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Approach. 3rd ed., Wiley, 2014.
Lewis, Tanya. "The Right (Mental) Stuff: NASA Astronaut Psychology Revealed." Space.com, 12 Aug. 2014, www.space.com/26799-nasa-astronauts-psychological-evaluation.html. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
McMahon, Mary. "What Does a Personnel Psychologist Do?" WiseGeek, 3 Mar. 2024, www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-personnel-psychologist-do.htm. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Quast, Lisa. "Pre-Employment Testing: A Helpful Way for Companies to Screen Applicants." Forbes, 13 Sept. 2011, www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2011/09/13/pre-employment-testing-a-helpful-way-for-companies-to-screen-applicants/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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