The overall goal of organizational and industrial psychology is to increase the productivity of the workplace. In essence, this means getting into the heads of employees to try to motivate them to perform a more efficient manner. Industrial psychology is heavily focused on using both the qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method is conducting research using a more humanistic perspective. In qualitative research, you would examine actual employees, conducting interviews and gathering data from their perspectives and opinions.

Quantitative research is using data that is derived from provable evidence. In quantitative research, you use numbers and statistics to prove, in this case, whether there is a measurable difference in the productivity of your workers. Some areas of research in industrial psychology might be, for example, whether the current working conditions inside an office are the most conducive to productivity and creativity. For example, many businesses started to copy what office managers at Google had done in terms of the set up of their office complexes, seating, arrangement of office space, and so on after seeing the immense jump in productivity that Google employees demonstrated.

Industrial psychology is one of the fastest growing areas of concentration in the realm of psychological science, and for obvious reasons. Virtually every business in the world is looking for an edge on their competition, and a more efficient labor force is one of the keys toward achieving that goal. The included articles may help you on your way to better understanding the importance and function of industrial and organizational psychology.