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Industrial-Organizational Psychology Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Industrial-Organizational Psychology distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

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Quick Reference

Job Analysis

A systematic process of collecting information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, outcomes, and work environment of a particular job. It forms the foundation for virtually all human resource functions including selection, training, performance appraisal, and compensation.

Personnel Selection

The process of using evidence-based tools and methods to identify and hire candidates who are most likely to succeed in a given job. Effective selection systems rely on validated predictors such as structured interviews, cognitive ability tests, work samples, and assessment centers.

Performance Appraisal

The systematic evaluation of employee job performance and contribution to the organization. Modern performance management systems include goal-setting, ongoing feedback, and multi-source (360-degree) evaluations to reduce rater bias and improve accuracy.

Organizational Justice

Employees' perceptions of fairness in the workplace, encompassing distributive justice (fairness of outcomes), procedural justice (fairness of processes), and interactional justice (fairness in interpersonal treatment). Justice perceptions strongly predict job satisfaction, commitment, and turnover.

Transformational Leadership

A leadership style in which leaders inspire and motivate followers by articulating a compelling vision, serving as role models, stimulating intellectual curiosity, and providing individualized consideration. It contrasts with transactional leadership, which relies on contingent rewards and management by exception.

Job Satisfaction

An employee's overall evaluative judgment about their job, reflecting the degree to which they find their work fulfilling, meaningful, and aligned with their values. It is influenced by factors such as pay, autonomy, relationships, and opportunities for growth.

Organizational Commitment

The psychological bond an employee feels toward their organization. Meyer and Allen's three-component model distinguishes affective commitment (emotional attachment), continuance commitment (cost of leaving), and normative commitment (sense of obligation).

Training and Development

Systematic efforts to improve employee knowledge, skills, and abilities through instructional design, on-the-job learning, coaching, and development programs. Effective training follows a needs assessment, uses evidence-based instructional methods, and measures transfer of learning to the job.

Employee Motivation

The internal and external factors that energize, direct, and sustain work behavior. Major theories include Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, and Locke and Latham's goal-setting theory.

Workplace Diversity and Inclusion

The extent to which organizations attract, develop, and retain employees from varied demographic backgrounds, and create a climate in which all individuals feel valued, respected, and able to contribute fully. Research shows that well-managed diversity improves decision-making and innovation.

Key Terms at a Glance

Adverse Impact:A substantially different rate of selection that disadvantages members of a protected group, often assessed using the four-fifths (80%) rule.
Assessment Center:A standardized evaluation methodology using multiple job-related simulations and multiple trained assessors to measure competencies.
Burnout:A syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment resulting from chronic workplace stress.
Criterion-Related Validity:The degree to which scores on a predictor (e.g., a test) correlate with scores on an outcome measure (e.g., job performance ratings).
Distributive Justice:The perceived fairness of the outcomes or allocations that individuals receive, such as pay, promotions, or recognition.
Employee Engagement:A positive, fulfilling work-related state characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption in one's work.
Expectancy Theory:Vroom's theory that motivation is the product of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.
Goal-Setting Theory:Locke and Latham's theory that specific, challenging goals with feedback lead to higher performance than vague or easy goals.
Hawthorne Effect:The alteration of behavior by subjects due to their awareness of being observed, first identified during the Hawthorne studies.
Job Analysis:A systematic process of collecting detailed information about the duties, tasks, and requirements of a particular job.
Job Satisfaction:An employee's overall evaluative judgment of their job, influenced by pay, autonomy, coworkers, supervision, and the work itself.
KSAOs:Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other characteristics required for effective job performance, typically identified through job analysis.
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX):A theory focusing on the dyadic relationship between a leader and each individual follower, distinguishing in-group from out-group members.
Meta-Analysis:A statistical technique that combines results from multiple studies to derive a more accurate and generalizable estimate of an effect size.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior:Discretionary, extra-role behaviors that benefit the organization but are not formally required or rewarded by the job.

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Industrial-Organizational Psychology Cheat Sheet - Quick Reference Guide | PiqCue