PSY 272 – Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Spring – 2009
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:30 – 11:20 UNIV 317

Instructor: Rustin Meyer, M.S.

Office: PSY 2192 Email: meyer@psych.purdue.edu

Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:00-2:00 Webpage: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~meyerrd/
Any other time by appointment

TA: Dina Krasikova

Office: PSY 2196 Email: dkrasiko@psych.purdue.edu

Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30-2:30

Course Overview

Industrial/Organizational Psychology is the study of human behavior, cognition, and emotion at

work. I/O Psychologists study and apply concepts such as employee recruitment and selection,
performance appraisal, training, motivation, leadership, job satisfaction, and work stress. Thus,
I/O is focused on enhancing our understanding of individual and organizational effectiveness and
well-being.

By the end of this course, students should:

• Be aware of the major topics studied by Industrial/Organizational Psychologists

• Better understand the techniques I/O Psychologists use to draw scientific inferences
• Be aware of the major theories and research findings in I/O Psychology
• Better appreciate the complex, socio-psychological dynamics of work
• Improve your own work life, as well as those of your coworkers and subordinates
• Be a better consumer of scientific information

Policies and Procedures

Attendance: Attendance is only required (and will be taken) on two days: 1) test day; 2) the day
after a test. I do this because I believe students learn more from going over the exam and
understanding why they missed each question than they do from actually taking the exam. Please
note, however, that I reserve the right occasionally reward attendance in whatever way I see fit.

Absences from required days must be documented in accordance with official university
policies. If you fail to provide a documented reason for missing an exam, you will receive a
score of 0 (zero) for that exam. If you fail to provide a documented reason for missing the day
after an exam, 5 (five) percentage points will be deducted from that exam.
 Course Materials

Text:
Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2nd
Edition). Author: Landy & Conte. Publisher: Blackwell.

Course Webpage

Grades, announcements, lecture outlines, supplementary readings and other miscellaneous

information will be posted on Blackboard (https://blackboard.purdue.edu). Check it frequently.

Communicating with the Instructor & TA

Please send all email correspondences to Dina, she will address your questions or forward them
to me. Please put: ‘PSY 272’ in the subject line to ensure that it is given proper attention. Please
do NOT use the Blackboard email system, as neither of us checks it regularly. You are also
always welcome to speak to me before class, after class, or during office hours.

Class Notes

Notes will be posted at least 24 hours before class. It is your responsibility to print them out
ahead of time. Please email Dina if you have technical problems with Blackboard. Please note
that the posted lecture notes are only rough outlines and should not be used as a substitute for
class attendance, note taking, and reading the assigned pages. Moreover, the slides presented in
class will contain more information than those posted on Blackboard as a means of rewarding
and encouraging class attendance.

Student Evaluation

There will be three exams throughout the semester. Each exam will constitute 25% of your final
grade. Anything that happens in class should be considered “fair game.” This includes (but is not
limited to) assigned readings, instructor comments, information from films/activities and
information written on the overhead projector/chalkboard. If you miss class, you are still
responsible for this material (e.g., getting it from a classmate). The final exam is not cumulative,
in that it covers only the last third of the course material.

There will also be six assignments throughout the semester. Each assignment will be worth 10
points; the average percentage of your best five will constitute the remaining 25% of your final
grade (i.e., each assignment will constitute 5% of your overall grade). Inadequate spelling,
grammar, or usage will result in reduced points. Late assignments will not be accepted under any
circumstances (minus hospitalization from the entire week of information covered).

Final grades are assigned as follows:

A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89.99%
C = 70% - 79.99%
D = 60% - 69.99%
F = 59.99% and below

*Pluses & minuses will be assigned on the basis of every 3.33 percentage points
(e.g., A- = 90.00 – 93.33; C = 73.34-76.67; B+ = 86.68-89.99).
 Make-ups

At his discretion, the instructor may allow make-up exams in the event of documented personal
emergencies or documented medical illnesses/injuries. Make-ups, if permitted, may differ from
the original exam in terms of the number of questions asked and/or question format. It is your
responsibility to contact the instructor (within three weekdays from the day you were absent) if
you missed an exam. Failure to do this will result in 0% (F) for said exam.

Students with Disabilities

If you need a reasonable accommodation to course policies due to a disability, please inform me
within the first two weeks of the semester or within the first week of adding the class, whichever
is later.

Academic Integrity

The official Purdue University document entitled “Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students” is
available at http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/osrr/integrity.htm.

Please become thoroughly familiar with this document as I do not tolerate academic dishonesty.
Consequences for such behavior may include (but are not limited to) receiving a failing grade for
the course.

Non-Native Speakers of English

During an exam, any student—whether or not he or she is a native English speaker—may ask for
the meaning of a word he or she does not understand to be explained. Assistance will be
provided unless it would compromise the integrity of the exam question. Use of dictionaries
during exams is not permitted.

Students Athletes

Student athletes must provide me with an official schedule of their activities for the entire
semester. Failure to do so will preclude opportunities for event-related make-ups. Make-ups will
generally not be allowed for events that are not documented on the official schedule. Make-ups
for events documented on the official schedule will generally occur prior to the regularly-
scheduled exam.

About the Instructor

Rustin is a finishing his PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He graduated from the

University of Northern Iowa in 2003 with a BA in Psychology and a certificate in Social Science
Research; he received his MS from Purdue in the Spring of 2006 and will be joining the
Psychology faculty at Georgia Tech in August of 2009.

The main goal of his research is to better understand the complex ways in which individuals and
their surroundings interact to affect human behavior at work. He is especially interested in
human intelligence, the personality variable ‘conscientiousness,’ the taxonomical structure of
situations and the psychometric/statistical techniques needed to study these phenomena.

When not pursuing his academic interests, Rustin enjoys spending time with his wife Hollie, his
greyhound Moosie, reading, hiking, bicycling, golfing and catching up on sleep.
 Tentative Schedule of Events*

Date Topic Assigned Reading Special

Module 1 – Foundational Concepts in the Study of Work

Jan 12 Course overview

Jan 14 A Brief History of I/O Psychology Ch. 1: 2 – 14
Jan 16 A Brief History of I/O Psychology Ch. 1: 14 – 25
Jan 19 MLK Day – No Class No Class
Jan 21 Research Methods, Stats, & Psychometrics Ch. 2: 48 – 59
Jan 23 Research Methods, Stats, & Psychometrics Ch. 2: 62 – 71
Jan 26 Research Methods, Stats, & Psychometrics Ch. 2: 73 – 82
Jan 28 Understanding Performance Ch. 4: 161 – 182 Assign. 1 Due
Jan 30 Understanding Performance Ch. 4: 183 – 201
Feb 02 Understanding Performance Ch. 4: 201 – 209
Feb 04 Catch up/Review Catch up/Review
Feb 06 Exam 1 Exam 1 Assign. 2 Due

Module 2 – Industrial Psychology

Feb 09 Go over Exam 1 Go over Exam 1

Feb 11 Performance Measurement Ch. 5: 211 – 235
Feb 13 Performance Measurement Ch. 5: 236 – 243
Feb 16 Performance Measurement Ch. 5: 245 – 256
Feb 18 Individual Differences – Theory Ch. 3: 86 – 99
Feb 20 Individual Differences – Theory Ch. 3: 99 – 110 Assign. 3 Due
Feb 23 Individual Differences – Assessment Ch. 3: 113 – 123
Feb 25 Individual Differences – Assessment Ch. 3: 125 – 144
Feb 27 Staffing Decisions Ch. 6: 259 – 264
Mar 02 Staffing Decisions Ch. 6: 267 – 272
Mar 04 Staffing Decisions Ch. 6: 274 – 283
Mar 06 Staffing Decisions Ch. 6: 285 – 286
Mar 09 Staffing Decisions Ch. 6: Catch up
Mar 11 Catch up/Review Catch up/Review
Mar 13 Exam 2 Exam 2 Assign. 4 Due

Module 3 – Organizational Psychology

Mar 16 Spring Break – No Class No Class

Mar 18 Spring Break – No Class No Class
Mar 20 Spring Break – No Class No Class
Mar 23 Guest Lecturer Guest Lecturer
Mar 25 Go Over Exam 2 Go Over Exam 2
Mar 27 Motivation – Intro Ch. 8: 332 – 339
Mar 30 Motivation – Classic Theories Ch. 8: 341 – 347
Apr 01 Motivation – Modern Approaches Ch. 8: 350 – 360
Apr 03 Motivation – Practical Issues Ch. 8: 364 – 371
Apr 06 Attitudes, Emotions & Work Ch. 9: 376 – 386
Apr 08 Attitudes, Emotions & Work Ch. 9: 390 – 397
Apr 10 Attitudes, Emotions & Work Ch. 9: 398 – 405
Apr 13 Attitudes, Emotions & Work Ch. 9: 408 – 415 Assign. 5 Due
Apr 15 Stress & Worker Well-Being Ch. 10: 418 – 432
Apr 17 Stress & Worker Well-Being Ch. 10: 435 – 438
Apr 20 Stress & Worker Well-Being Ch. 10: 442 – 448
Apr 22 Stress & Worker Well-Being Ch. 10: 450 – 459
Apr 24 Leadership Ch. 12: 494 – 506
Apr 27 Leadership Ch. 12: 506 – 523
Apr 29 Leadership Ch. 12: 526 – 538
May 01 Catch up/Review Catch up/Review Assign. 6 Due
TBA Final Exam Week Final Exam Week Exam Week
*
The above dates and activities should be considered tentative and subject to change, any
changes will be announced at least one class period in advance. Exam dates will not change.