Early Industrial Psychology: A Very Brief and Highly Selective History

Abstract

This essay provides a brief overview of the historical contributions of early industrial psychology to organizational studies. A description of present-day industrial–organizational psychology is first presented. Factors both inside and outside psychology that influenced the development of industrial psychology are discussed, followed by the history of industrial psychology in the early years of the twentieth century. In the USA, initial activity in industry by psychologists was in advertising; however, employee selection then became the major focus. Reflecting their training in experimental psychology, early industrial psychologists favored a quantitative, scientific approach to selection that emphasized empirical verification of the effectiveness of their interventions. Part of finding a niche for their scientific approach to organizations was debunking pseudoscientific approaches to selection such as character analysis.