ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY = A branch of Psychology that applies the principles of Psychology

to the workplace.

• Org Psycs apply Psychological theories to explain and enhance the effectiveness of human
behaviour in the workplace (Canadian Psychological Association)

• Org Psyc = science of people at work. Org Psycs analyse organisations and their people, and
devise strategies to recruit, motivate, develop, change, and inspire (APS College of Organisational
Psychologists).

• Org Psyc is the science behind how and why people in organisations think and behave.

• Org Psycs use this knowledge to enhance effectiveness, productivity & wellbeing at work.

AIM/PURPOSE OF ORG PSYC: Enhance individual and organisational effectiveness, productivity,

and wellbeing • Enhance the dignity and performance of human beings, and the organisations
they work in, by advancing the science and knowledge of human behaviour.

Common TERMS for the field: • Industrial/Organisational Psychology (I/O Psych) • Organisational
Psychology • Occupational Psychology • Business Psychology • Work Psychology

FIELDS OF ORG PSYC:

1) INDUSTRIAL Psychology • Industrial settings • Key issues: Industrial safety, Organisational vs.
individual goals & Teamwork.
2) OCCUPATIONAL Psychology • Organisational Psychology • Key issues: Recruitment, Selection
& Management.
3) HUMAN FACTORS • The integration of humans and machinery within complex and/or high
risk environments • Key issues: • Safety/Production balance, training, accident investigation.
Concentrate on: workplace design, human-machine interaction, ergonomics, and physical
fatigue and stress
4) PERSONELL Psychology • Human Resources • Key issues: • Recruitment & Selection •
Training • Equal Employment Opportunity. • Study and practice in such areas as: analysing
jobs, recruiting applicants, selecting employees, determining salary levels, training
employees, and evaluating employee performance.
5) VOCATIONAL Psychology • Life Coaching • Key issues: • Career counselling • Specialised
field within Counselling Psychology and I/O Psychology.
6) CONSUMER Psychology • Specialised field within Social Psychology and Organisational
Psychology • Key issues: • Marketing strategies • Consumer behaviour

HISTORY of I/O Psychology

• Science of Psychology founded in 1879(Wilhelm Wundt)

• Underlying issues requiring the need for I/O Psych were emerging much earlier

• Main contributors to school of thought:

• ARISTOTLE ‘Politics’ – foundation for modern management

• MACHIAVELLI ‘The Prince’ 1527 – authoritarian structures
• THOMAS HOBBES 1651 – bringing order to man’s chaos
• JOHN LOCKE 1690 – leadership is granted by the governed
• ADAM SMITH 1776 – division and specialisation of labour.
• The Early Years (Pre-WWI): Several key developments:

• 1881 – First school of professional management at The University of Pennsylvania

• Fredrick Taylor 1883 – Development of Scientific Management
• W.L. Bryan 1903 – address to the American Psychological Association (APA) for psychologists to
study “concrete activities and functions as they appear in everyday life” - The culmination was
the start of real life applications of the science of psychology.
• Walter Scott 1903 – psychology in advertising • WWI – personnel procedures within the army
• Frederick Taylor 1911 - ‘The Principles of Scientific Management’ – two key principles 1.
Scientifically design work methods for efficiency 2. Select best workers and train them in the best
methods
• Hugo Munsterberg 1913 – ‘Psychology and Industrial Efficiency’ - personnel selection and
equipment design - “The Father of Industrial Psychology” - Encouraged government funding into
industrial psychology.

• World War I (1917-1918): Psychology entered the war:

• Robert Yerkes – screening of army recruits

• Walter Scott – placement, evaluation, and job duties
• 1917 Journal of Applied Psychology began

Between the Wars (1919-1940): Significant events:

• James Cattell 1921 – Psychological Corporation • Aim: To advance psychology and promote its
usefulness to industry • Today: Publishers of Psychological Tests
• 1920s – first doctoral degrees in Industrial Psychology • Leading United States Universities
• Hawthorne Studies 1939 – insight into human behaviour in the workplace • The Hawthorne
Effect – change in behaviour following the onset of a novel treatment (increased attention) wears
off (behaviour returns to original) as the ‘novelty’ dissipates
• Likert and Thurstone 1920s-1930s – measuring attitudes
• 1927 – Australian Institute of Industrial Psychology formed
• Morris Viteles Trilogy – clinical aspects of I/O Psyc
• ‘Industrial Psychology’ 1932
• ‘The Science of Work’ 1934
• ‘Motivation and Morale in Industry’ 1953
• Kurt Lewin 1939 – effects of leadership styles

• World War II (1941-1945): I/O Contributions:

• Selection and placement (US, UK, and Australia)

• Army General Classifications Test
• Classify soldiers into military jobs
• Tests of performance under situational stress
• US Office of Strategic Service (OSS) – the first intelligence agency • Test identified best
candidates for OSS
• 1946 I/O division of APA formed, USA

• 1950s and 1960s: Significant events:

 • 1950 – Ergonomics Society Began (UK)
• 1954 – John Flanigan outlined Critical Incident Technique
• 1964 – Civil Rights Act passed in the US
• Illegal to discriminate in the workplace
• Mid 1960s onwards – job analysis techniques

• 1970s - 1990s: Significant events:

• 1970s - Rise of cognitive approach in I/O psych research • Response to civil rights led to
research of bias in organisations
• 1980s - Interest in participatory management techniques • Organisational climate/culture
• 1990s – rise of meta-analysis allowed for combination and re-analysis of past datasets • Work
stress and family/work balance of interest • Workplace aggression/workplace violence

• 2000+: Current focus:

• Personnel development
• Workforce health
• Occupational stress
• Leadership research
• Risk assessment
• Positive psychology in organisations
• National, Organisational, and Safety culture
Areas of Specialisation

• Workforce planning and role definition • Recruitment and selection • Learning and
development • Coaching, mentoring and career development • Workplace advice and advocacy •
Change management • Organisational development

• Concerned with the issues of leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation, organizational
communication, conflict management, organizational change, and group processes within an
organization.

• Measuring employee opinions and other workplace research • Performance management •

Well-being, stress and work-life balance • WHS • HR program evaluation • Consumer behaviour
and marketing

Psychological Knowledge Required

• Theories of abilities, skills, and personality of individuals

• Social psychology of group behaviour
• Values, attitudes, and motives
• Measurement and statistical presentation
• Psychological testing
• Perceptual and motor skills
• Learning and cognitive development
• Behavioural principles and behaviour change
• Psychological health and mental health problems
• Communication skills
• Interviewing and surveys
What distinguishes Org Psyc vs. Business Management:

1) Main difference is the application of psychological principles  Similarity in tasks and goals,
differences in techniques and the reasons behind them
2) I/O Psych examines the factors that affect people in organisations (Business Management is
focused on the broader aspects of running the organisation)
3) I/O Psych relies heavily on research methods.
4) I/O programs focus almost exclusively on issues involving the people in an organisation.
RESEARCH METHODS in I/O Psych

• Hypothesis Testing
• Literature Reviews
• Laboratory and Field Research
• Main Research Methods:
• Experiments
• Quasi-Experiments
• Archival Research
• Meta-Analysis
• Statistical Analysis
• Data / Result Reporting (Reports and Presentations)

LECTURE 2

DEFINITION OF A JOB ANALYSIS

• The process of gathering, analysing, and structuring information about a job’s components,
characteristics, and requirements

• A systematic investigation of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job and the necessary
knowledge, skills and abilities a person needs to perform the job adequately.

• The process of identifying how a job is performed, the conditions under which it is performed,
and the personal requirements it takes to perform the job

• The first step in HR processes such as Recruitment and Selection

• It begins with a consideration of the organisation’s strategy such as designing selection criteria
or determining remuneration
JOB ANALYSIS COMPONENTS

1. Writing job descriptions • Written product of the job analysis • Summary of the main tasks
and job requirements • Basis for HR activities such as selection, evaluation, and training.
2. Employee selection • Based on Job Description details • Development of selection methods
• Select tests • Develop interview questions
3. Training • Knowledge of job activities can be used to develop training programs
4. Person power planning • Worker mobility and promotion potential • When aiming to
promote from within, job analysis can help to identify the best candidate(s) for a new
position within the organisation
5. Performance appraisal • Construction of a job-related performance appraisal instrument •
Job-relatedness leads to improved accuracy.
6. Job classification • The classification of jobs into groups • Determined by similarities in
required knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as the job requirements.
7. Job evaluation • Establish the worth of a job in relation to other jobs within the organisation
• Enables the establishment of a rational pay structure
8. Job design • The process of work arrangement • Determines the optimum way in which a
job should be performed • Aimed at reducing employee dissatisfaction and increasing
productivity levels.
9. Compliance with legal guidelines • Job-relatedness is a legal requirement for all employee
decisions and HR tasks.
10. Organisational analysis • Identification of weaknesses within the organisation • Addressing
the problems will enable the organisation to improve its functions.

JOB DESCRIPTION

• A formal account of an employee’s responsibilities for completion of a particular job • Written

report with sufficient detail to enable HR decisions such as selection and training • Dynamic
document – can and should be updated • Recommended to include the phrase “and performs
other job-related duties as assigned”.

Job Description Sections

1. Job title 2. Brief summary 3. Work activities 4. Tools and equipment used 5. Work context 6.
Performance standards 7. Compensation information 8. Personal requirements

Job Title • Describes the nature of the job • Assists in employee selection and recruitment •
Affects clarity of resumes • Affects perceptions of job worth and status • Employees feelings
of personal worth • Job Evaluation results.

Brief Summary • Summarises the nature and purpose of the job • Useful for recruitment
advertising • Should be written in an easy to understand style • Jargon and abbreviations
should not be used • Used in company advertising and website information.

Work Activities • A list of job-related tasks and activities (job duties) • Information grouped into
categories • Grouped by tasks • Grouped by KSAOs: • Knowledge • Skills • Abilities • Other
Characteristics

Tools and Equipment Used • A list of all the tools and equipment used to perform the work
activities • Target information for employee selection and training
 Work Context • Work schedule • Degree of supervision • Level of responsibility • Ergonomic
information • Physical and Psychological Stress • Indoors vs. outdoors • Lighting, heat,
noise, and physical space • Clean vs. dirty environment • Standing, sitting, bending, and
lifting

Performance Standards • Outlines the standards of performance • Describes how performance is

evaluated • Standards used • Frequency of evaluation • Evaluation dimensions • The person
doing the evaluating.

Compensation Information • Documents the pay grade • Based on KSAOs and/or experience •
Job evaluation dimensions • Job group

Personal Requirements • Common Names • Job competencies • Job specifications • Knowledge,

skill, ability, and other characteristics (KSAOs) • Examples of ‘other characteristics’ are
interests, personality, and training • KSAOs should be separated • Those needed before hire
(selection focus) • Those that can be obtained after hire (training focus)

Preparing for the Job Analysis

Who will conduct the job analysis? • Professional trained in Job Analysis • Human resources
personnel • Supervisor • Consultant • Graduate I/O Psychology Student • Supervised, in-class
exercise

What type of information should be gathered? • Requirements: • Formal – writing reports /

conducting interviews • Informal – picking up the mail / photocopying

• Level of Specificity (detail): • Dependent on the nature positon / industry • Should be

consistent across all tasks, knowledge, and statements.

Step 1: Identify Tasks

• Collective Information: • Main dimensions, specific duties, tools and equipment, working
conditions • Methods: • Gathering existing information • Interviewing subject-matter experts
(SMEs) • Individual interviews • SME conference • Ammerman technique • Observing incumbents •
Job Participation

Step 2: Write Task Statements

• Task inventory: • A questionnaire containing a list of tasks each • The job incumbent rates each
task on a series of scales such as: • Importance of task • Time spent on task

Required elements of a task statement: • Action (what is done) • Object (to which the action is
done)

Step 3: Rate Task Statements

• Task Analysis - SMEs rate each task statement on the frequency and importance of the task

Step 4: Determine KSAOs

Step 5: Select Tests for KSAOs

• Determine the best methods to assess applicant KSAOs: • Interviews • Work samples • Ability
tests • Personality tests • The ratings from Step 4 are used to weight test scores • KSAOs with the
highest ratings (frequency & importance) will receive more weight in selection test results •
Reference checks • Integrity tests • Biodata • Assessment Centres

• Alternative Structured Methods: • Provides information on 4 main factors: • Worker activities,

tools and equipment used, work environment, and competencies

Structured Job Analysis Method: Worker Activities

• Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) • 194 Items • 6 main dimensions: • Information input •
Mental processes • Work output • Relationships with others • Job context • Other • Easy to use •
Standardized, reliable

Job Structure Profile (JSP): • Designed as a replacement for the PAQ • Easier to read than the PAQ •
Good reliability

• Job Elements Inventory (JEI): • 153 items • 10th grade readability level • Correlates highly
with PAQ

Functional Job Analysis (FJA) • Identifies the amount of time spent on: • Data • People • Things

Structured Job Analysis Method: KSAOs

• Job Components Inventory (JCI) • Over 400 questions • 5 main categories: 1. Tools and equipment
used 2. Perceptual and physical requirements 3. Mathematical requirements 4. Communication
requirements 5. Decision making and responsibility • Good reliability

Threshold Traits Analysis (TTA) • 33 items • 5 main categories 1. Physical traits 2. Mental traits 3.
Learned traits 4. Motivational traits 5. Social traits • Reliable, short, and user-friendly.

Job Adaptability Inventory (JAI) • 132 items • 8 adaptability dimensions • Handling emergencies or
crisis situations • Handling work stress • Solving problems creatively • Dealing with uncertainty and
unpredictable situations • Learning work tasks, technologies, and procedures • Demonstrating
interpersonal adaptability • Demonstrating cultural adaptability • Demonstrating physically oriented
adaptability.

• Critical Incident Technique (CIT) • Job incumbents generate incidents of excellent and poor
performance • Job experts examine each incident to determine if it is an example of good or poor
performance • Job incumbents sort incidents into categories • Job analyst combines and names
categories • Other job incumbents cross-check assigned categories • Number of incidents per
category provides an idea of the importance of each category.

JOB EVALUATION

• The process of determining the monetary worth of a job • Next step after job analysis and
writing a detailed job description • The ideal compensation system: • Will attract and retain
desired employees • Will motivate current employees while also providing
job security • Is equitable • Is in compliance with legal guidelines

• The process of determining the monetary worth of a job

• Two main considerations: • Internal pay equity • External pay equity

 Determining Internal Pay Equity

• 3 step process to determining internal pay equity:

1. Determining compensable job factors

2. Determining the levels for each compensable factor

3. Determining the factor weights

Internal Pay Equity: Step 1

• Determine compensable job factors: • Factors that differentiate the relative worth of jobs

• Examples of compensable job factors: • Level of responsibility • Physical demands • Mental

demands • Education requirements • Training and experience
requirements • Working conditions

Internal Pay Equity: Step 2

• Determine the levels of each compensable job factor

Internal Pay Equity: Step 3

• Determine the factor weights • Weights are assigned to represent factor importance

• Procedure: 1. Job evaluation committee determines the total number of points 2. Each factor
weighted by assigning points – the greater the importance, the greater the weighting.

Determining External Pay Equity

• Worth based on external market • Determined through salary surveys which identify: • Salary
range • Starting salary • Actual salaries paid • Other benefits • Determine market position
and where to sit among it • Direct and indirect forms of compensation contribute to the total
remuneration package • Limitations: response rate, comparable jobs

LECTURE 3 Topic: Recruitment and Selection

Validity

• Construct validity - Measures what it is said to

• Criterion validity - Relates to job criteria (KSAOs)

• Predictive: job performance of new hires

• Concurrent: job performance of current workers

• Content validity - Knowledge tests and job relevancy

• Face validity - Does it look relevant to the applicant

Recruitment

• The process of attracting employees to an organisation

• Internal Method: • Recruiting employees already employed by the organisation

• External Method: • Recruiting employees from outside the organisation

Recruitment Methods

Formal or Direct - Media Advertisements, Point of Purchase, Direct Mail, Employment Agencies
University/College Recruiters Computer Databases Special Events Employee Referral Programs

Informal or Indirect - Situation-wanted Ads, Direct Applicants Employee Referrals

Effective Recruitment

• Effective recruitment methods should: • Get the attention of the public • Screen unqualified
applicants • Motivate qualified people to apply • Be cost effective • Be timely

Evaluating Effectiveness

• Evaluating recruitment effectiveness – points to consider: • Number of applicants • Time to fill

position • Job performance • EEO/diversity impact • Cost per applicant • Cost per qualified applicant
• Employee retention rates.

Employee Selection Techniques

• Selection: • Ensuring the best person for a specific job

Optimal Employee Selection Systems: • Are valid • Reduce the chance of a legal challenge • Are
cost effective

Optimal Employee Selection Systems

• Are valid: Based on job analysis (content validity) - Predict work-related behaviour (criterion
validity).

• Reduce the chance of a legal challenge: Face validity - Don’t invade privacy or intentionally
discriminate - Minimise adverse impact.

• Are cost effective: Cost to develop/purchase, administer, and score

Employment Interview

• Interviews vary on three main factors:

1. Structure • Structured vs. Unstructured

2. Style • One-on-one, panel, group, or serial interviews

3. Medium • Face-to-face, telephone, or video-conference.

• Structured Interview • Source of questions is a job analysis (job-related) • All applicants are asked
the same questions • Standardised scoring to evaluate each response

• Unstructured Interview • Does not require consistency in what is asked of each applicant • No
standardised scoring of responses

• Highly structured interviews are more reliable and valid than those with less structure.

Structured Interview Goals

• Understand the Applicant: Clarify and confirm resume information • Obtain new information
• Predict Job Performance: Ask questions focused on past behavior • Ask questions focused on
knowledge and skills • Ask questions focused on future behaviour.

• Predict Organisational Fit: Use several interviewers • Combine interview impression with test
scores

• Sell the Organisation to the Applicant • Provide information about the position and the
organization • Answer the applicant’s

Creating a Structured Interview

1. Conduct a thorough job analysis

2. Determine best way to measure each KSAO

3. Construct the interview questions

4. Create a scoring key for interview answers

5. Choose interviewers and panel member’s questions

Constructing Interview Questions

• Clarifier - clarifies information on the resume/application

• Disqualifier - a wrong answer disqualifies the applicant from further consideration

• Skill-level determiner– taps specific knowledge/skill

• Future-focused(situational) - applicants are given a situation and asked how they would handle it

• Past-focused (behavioural description) – tap experience

• Organisational fit – assess how well an applicant’s personality and values fit with the organisational
culture.

Employee Selection Methods

1. Training & Education

2. Knowledge

3. Ability

4. Skill

5. Experience

6. Personality & Character

7. Medical

1. Training and Education

• Minimum standards for applicant consideration

• Education standard can predict performance: GPA is a valid predictor of performance on the job,
training performance, starting salary, and more… • GPA is most predictive in the first few years after
graduation • People with high GPAs are: • Intelligent (r = .50) • Conscientious (r = .34)
2. Knowledge

• Job Knowledge Test: A test that measures the amount of job-related knowledge an applicant
possesses • Standardised Tests for certain occupations (e.g., Lawyers) • Highly specific for particular
jobs • Excellent content, criterion, and face validity.

3. Ability

• Cognitive • Perceptual • Psychomotor • Physical

• Cognitive Ability – abilities involving the knowledge and use of information such as math and
grammar • Cognitive Ability Test – measures the level of intelligence or amount of knowledge of an
applicant • High validity (ρ = .51) • Predicts training and job performance for all jobs • The more
complex the job, the better cognitive ability tests predict performance.

• Perceptual Ability – measure of facility with such processes as spatial relations and form
perception • Vision • Colour discrimination • Depth perception • Glare sensitivity • Speech •
Hearing.

• Psychomotor Ability – measure of facility with such processes as finger dexterity and motor
coordination • Dexterity (finger, manual) • Control precision • Multilimb coordination • Response
control • Reaction time • Arm-hand steadiness • Wrist-finger speed • Speed-of-limb movement.

• Physical Ability Test – measure an applicant’s level of physical ability required for a job

• Common methods: • Simulations • Tests of physical agility

• Main Issues: • Job relatedness (is it necessary?) • Passing scores (how much is enough?) • When
the ability must be present (at graduation?).

4. Skill

• Assess the degree to which an applicant already possesses a job-related skill

• Two main techniques: • Work sample • Assessment centre

• Work Sample • Applicants perform tasks that replicate actual job tasks • Advantages: • Job-
related and provide realistic job previews • Good criterion validity • Verbal work samples (ρ = .48) •
Motor work samples (ρ = .43) • Excellent content and face validity • Disadvantages: • Can be
expensive to develop and maintain.

• Assessment Centre • A selection technique that uses multiple job-related assessment exercises
and multiple assessors to observe and record behaviours of candidates performing the tasks •
Multiple techniques may be used such as: • Work samples • Job Simulations • Structured interviews
• Testing.

Assessment Centre Requirements: • Based on a job analysis • Use multiple assessment techniques •
Includes at least one simulation • Use multiple trained assessors • Behavioural observations and real
time recording of behaviour • Behavioural reporting • Overall judgment based on collective
information • Overall evaluation cannot be made until whole process is complete.

5. Experience

• Ways to measure applicant experience: • Experience ratings • Biodata • Reference checks •

Interview
Experience Ratings • Past experience will predict future job performance • Points to consider: • The
amount of experience • The level of performance demonstrated during the previous experience •
How related the experience is to the current job • Recency and duration of experience.

Biodata • A selection method that considers an applicant’s life, school, military, community, and
work experience • A biographical questionnaire that contains questions that research has shown
measure the difference between successful and unsuccessful performers on the job • Good validity
(r = .36, ρ= .51) • Can predict for variety of criterion measures • Easy to administer • Relatively
inexpensive.

Reference Checking • Reference check- the process of confirming the accuracy of resume and job
application information • Confirm accuracy of information provided • Identify work-related issues •
Discover new information about the applicant • Positivity bias • Poor predictor of future success.

6. Personality and Character

• Personality Inventories are a form of psychological assessment designed to measure various

aspects of an applicant’s personality • They predict performance better than past research
suggests • Low in adverse impact.

Five Factor Model of Personality

1. Openness to experience (bright, inquisitive) 2. Conscientiousness (reliable, dependable) 3.

Extraversion (outgoing, friendly) 4. Agreeableness (works well with others, team player) 5.
Emotional stability (not anxious, tense).

Personality Testing • Predict performance at low but statistically significant levels • Add incremental
validity to the use of other selection tests • Conscientiousness is the best predictor of performance.
Job-relatedness • Selected and used based on job analysis.

Interest Inventories: • Interest Inventory – A psychological test designed to identify vocational areas
in which an individual might be interested • Poor predictors of job performance (ρ = .13) • Better
predictors of job satisfaction.

Integrity Tests • Integrity Test – A psychological test designed to predict an applicant’s tendency to
steal • Used mostly in retail, but gaining acceptance for other occupations • Electronic integrity tests
(such as polygraphs) have largely been outlawed • Pen-and-paper integrity tests and inexpensive
and useful predictors of employee theft.

Conditional Reasoning Tests: • Conditional Reasoning Test – Tests designed to reduce faking by
asking test-takers to select the reason that best explains a statement • Identifies the tendency for
people to engage in aggressive or counterproductive behaviour.

Credit History Check - assess whether the applicant has a good or poor credit history • Adverse
impact • Low validity.

Graphology- a method of measuring personality by looking at the way in which a person writes, also
referred to as handwriting analysis • Limited research / no clear evidence of effectiveness • Validity
depends on content of the writing sample.

7. Medical

• Drug Testing – tests that indicate whether an applicant has recently used a drug • Drug users are
more likely to: • Miss work • Use health care benefits • Be fired • Quit • Have accidents on the job.
Rejecting Applicants

• Guidelines for writing a rejection letter: • Actually send a rejection letter (post or email) • Don’t
send it immediately • Be personable and specific • Include a statement about the characteristics of
the individual who received the job offer (such as level of experience) • Be honest • Do not include
the name of a contact person.

WEEK 4 SOCIAL PSYC

Old and New Theories of Intergroup Conflict
Overview
(I) Old theories: (a) Realistic conflict theory and social identity theory, (b) Brown’s (1978) factory
workforce study.
(II) New theories: (a) self-categorization theory, (b) optimal distinctiveness theory, (c) uncertainty
reduction theory, (d) terror management theory, (e) social dominance theory.

Intergroup Conflict in the Workplace: Examples

Employers vs. employees; Company A vs. company B; Workgroup A vs workgroup B (in same
company); Senior employees vs. junior employees; Age discrimination; Sexual discrimination; Racial
discrimination; Religious discrimination; National discrimination; Disability discrimination

(I) Old Theories

A) Realistic Conflict Theory (Sherif, 1966)
Intergroup relations depend on the nature of the goal relations between the groups:
(1) Superordinate group goals: Require interdependence between groups for their achievement and
therefore lead to intergroup cooperation.
(2) Mutually exclusive group goals: Require competition between groups for their achievement and
therefore lead to intergroup conflict.
(3) Independent group goals: The groups have separate goals. Results in neither cooperation nor
conflict.

(b) Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979)

Social identity is self-perception as an in-group member sharing stereotypical similarities with other in-
group members. When social identity is salient, self-esteem is derived from intergroup comparisons
between your group and other groups. People have a need for self-esteem. Hence, when social
identity is salient, people are motivated to engage in in-group-enhancing forms of behaviour (e.g.,
social competition).

Intergroup Conflict in a Factory Workforce (Brown, 1978)

The factory manufactured aircraft engines. The workforce was divided into two groups:
(1) Development group (D): 2,000 men had the job of developing and testing new engines.
(2) Production group (P): 3,500 men had the job of producing the finished engines.
D and P were located in separate parts of the factory and had their own management personnel.

Intergroup Differences
(1) D contained more skilled men, leading D to believe that they were of a higher status than P.
(2) D’s earnings were linked to the productivity of P.
(3) D were paid slightly more money than P.
(4) D had better working conditions than P.
Stereotypes: “the unskilled Production worker” and “the Development worker living off our backs”
(Brown, 1978, p. 406).

A Realistic Conflict Explanation?

How would we characterize the goal relations between P and D?
(1) Mutually exclusive group goals? No. “There is nothing inherently competitive in the factory set-up,
so that what P workers lose in terms of wages (say), will be gained by D workers” (Brown, 1978,
p. 406).
(2) Independent group goals? No. “The two areas share a common economic role in the
company’s…financial structure” (Brown, 1978, p. 406).
(3) Superordinate group goals?: Yes. D and P are linked by the common goal of securing higher
wages from the same employer.

The Research Question "The interesting question is then: why, despite the objectively present
‘common predicament’ and despite their proximity, have the two groups in question not tended to
‘enter into transactions with one another’, as Sherif predicted, but have, if anything, done quite the
reverse? " (Brown, 1978, p. 407). Brown aimed to compare social identity theory and realistic conflict
theory as potential explanations of the conflict.

Survey
Brown (1978) surveyed 17 P and 15 D shop stewards.
(1) Wage structures: Participants were asked to choose wage structures between the two groups
using specially designed reward matrices that pitted various psychological and economic
strategies against one another (e.g., Tajfel et al., 1971).
(2) Intergroup cooperation?: Participants were presented with a hypothetical situation in which 10%
of the workforce (both P and D) faced the threat of redundancy. Participants were asked for their
proposed responses to this situation.

Results
(1) Wage Structures: P participants tended to choose responses on the matrices that indicated
fairness between P and D. (Given the initial intergroup status, this can be considered as a form of
social competition.) D participants tended to make sure that D got more than P, even when it
meant that D got less than was available.
(2) Intergroup Cooperation?: Most participants did not consider the possibility of intergroup
cooperation between P and D in order to fight against redundancies.

(II) New Theories of Intergroup Conflict

(a) Self-Categorization Theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987)
"The cognitive representations of the self take the form, amongst others, of self-categorizations, i.e.,
cognitive groupings of oneself and some class of stimuli as the same (identical, similar, equivalent,
interchangeable and so on) in contrast to some other class of stimuli" (Turner, 1987).

Explanation of Intergroup Bias: The need for self-esteem motivates the positive evaluation of self-
categories. In-groups are evaluated positively to the extent that they are perceived to be more
prototypical than out-groups of superordinate self-categories. The need for self-esteem motivates in-
group members to use the strategy of social competition in order to make their group more
prototypical of the next more inclusive superordinate category than the out-group.

(b) Optimal Distinctiveness Theory (Brewer, 1991)

Social identity involves a compromise between two opposing needs: (1) The need for assimilation, (2)
The need for differentiation. People are motivated to identify with groups that provide an optimal
balance between these two needs.

Explanation of Intergroup Bias: Intergroup bias is motivated by two needs: (a) The need to affirm
the satisfaction derived from identification with an optimally distinct group (Leonardelli & Brewer,
2001). (b) Given a certain degree of identification, intergroup bias is motivated by the need for
intergroup differentiation (Brewer, 1991).

Supportive Evidence (Hornsey & Hogg, 1999): Looked at intergroup bias between humanities and
maths-science students. Found a positive association between the perceived inclusiveness of a
superordinate category (University of Queensland students) and intergroup bias at the sub-group
level (humanities vs. maths-science students). Supports the differentiation motive.

Optimal Distinctiveness in the Factory: Intergroup distinctiveness seems high between P and D:
(1) Separate working areas.
(2) Separate management personnel.
(3) "they were as different as chalk and cheese".
Enhances need for assimilation in both groups. The Production group was slightly larger (n = 3,500)
than the Development group (n = 2,000). Hence, the Production group should have a stronger need
for intergroup distinctiveness and should discriminate more?

(a) Uncertainty Identity Theory

(Hogg & Abrams, 1993; Hogg, 2007)
People are motivated to reduce their subjective uncertainty. One way to reduce uncertainty is to
identify with social groups that provide clear normative prescriptions for behaviour.

Explanation of Intergroup Bias: The reduction of uncertainty caused by in-group identification

imbues people who are associated with this reduction (i.e., in-group members) with a positive
valence. In-group favouritism is a reflection of the resulting difference in the perceived positivity of in-
group and out-group members.

Supportive Evidence (Hogg & Grieve, 1999)

Assumption: The standard minimal group paradigm causes relatively high subjective uncertainty due
to its subjective novelty.
Rationale: Practice trials should reduce this uncertainty and, consequently, reduce the motive to
identify with the in-group.
Results: Participants showed less in-group bias after completing practice trials compared to
participants who took part in standard minimal group experiments with no practice trials.

Uncertainty Reduction in the Factory: The threat of redundancy might increase uncertainty and
lead to greater in-group identification? Hence, the threat of redundancy might increase intergroup
conflict, rather than reduce it?

(d) Terror Management Theory (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1991)

People have a need for self-preservation and continued existence. This need is frustrated by the
certainty of their own death. People have the potential to be paralyzed by the terror of their own
mortality. People adopt a cultural worldview in order to buffer the anxiety that they feel about their own
death. Cultural worldviews imbue subjective reality with stability and permanence and hence the
possibility of symbolic and/or literal immortality.

Explanation of Intergroup Bias: People are continually attempting to validate their cultural
worldview through social interactions. People evaluate in-group members positively because similar
others are assumed to support, and therefore validate, their own cultural worldview. People evaluate
out-group members negatively because dissimilar others are assumed to threaten their cultural
worldview.

Supportive Evidence: Christian participants only showed in-group favouritism and out-group
derogation towards Christian and Jewish targets under mortality salience conditions (Greenberg et al.,
1990). Minimal group members showed greater in-group favouritism under mortality salience
conditions (Harmon-Jones et al., 1996). American participants assigned more blame to a Japanese
car manufacturer than to an American car manufacturer when considering the causes of a car
accident, and this intergroup bias was only significant under mortality salient conditions (Nelson et al.,
1997).

Terror Management in the Factory: Factors that increase the salience of mortality will increase
intergroup conflict. Would discrimination in the factory be greater under dangerous working
conditions?

(e) Social Dominance Theory (Sidanius, 1993)

Society contains ideologies that either promote or attenuate intergroup hierarchies. Individual
differences in the extent to which these competing ideologies are accepted are represented by social
dominance orientation (SDO). Individuals with a high SDO have a strong desire to promote intergroup
hierarchies and for their in-groups to dominate their out-groups.

Supportive Evidence: There is a large body of evidence showing that SDO correlates positively with
nonegalitarian political and social attitudes, including sexism, racism, chauvinism, patriotism, and
nationalism (for reviews, see Sidanius & Pratto, 1999; Sidanius et al., 2000). There is less evidence
showing that people with high SDO engage in specific instances of intergroup bias in order to achieve
or maintain in-group dominance (Sidanius et al., 1994).

Social Dominance and Occupation: People with high SDO should have hierarchy-enhancing jobs
(e.g., government prosecutor, police officer, businessperson) and people with low SDO should have
hierarchy-attenuating jobs (e.g., civil rights lawyer, charity worker).

Job Assortment Processes:

(1) Self-selection: Individuals choose jobs that are compatible with their SDO levels (Sidanius, Pratto,
 Sinclair, & van Laar, 1996).
(2) Institutional selection: Employers select personnel with SDO values that are compatible with the
institution’s hierarchy function (Pratto, Stallworth, Sidanius, & Siers, 1997).
(3) Institutional socialization: Institutions change individuals’ personality via formal rules and
incentives, peer pressure, dissonance reduction, etc. so that their SDO level becomes more
compatible with their job requirements (Sinclair, Sidanius, & Levin, 1998; Teahan, 1975).

Social Dominance in the Factory

(1) Self-selection: Do people with a high SDO want to become Development workers rather than
Production workers?
(2) Institutional selection: Does the factory hire people with high SDO to become Development
workers?
(3) Institutional socialization: Does the factory change people’s personalities so that Development
workers develop high SDO and Production workers develop low SDO?