Industrial/Organizational Psychology: An Applied Approach

by Michael G. Aamodt

Michael Aamodt's Fifth Edition of INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN APPLIED APPROACH appeals directly to students by incorporating a high degree of scholarship along with many real-world examples that make the excitement of this field obvious. This text integrates charts and tables to simplify such complicated issues as employment law, job satisfaction, work motivation and leadership. While striking a balance between research, theory and application, Aamodt introduces humor to make the student's reading more enjoyable. Students will be able to relate to industrial/organizational psychology by viewing such practical applications as how to write a resume, survive an employment interview, write a job description, create a performance appraisal instrument, and motivate employees.

Genres: Psychology, Textbooks, Nonfiction, Business, Reference

632 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Mike Aamodt is a professor in the Psychology Department at Radford University, where he conducts research and teaches courses in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He also is an experienced consultant, adding to the text's unique and applied approach. He received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and both his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. As a teacher, Mike teaches courses in employee selection, employee training and development, job analysis and evaluation, organizational politics, organizational influence, forensic psychology, program evaluation, and psychology of the criminal mind. As a consultant, Mike has helped a wide variety of organizations deal with issues such as employee selection, performance evaluation, downsizing, organizational change, compensation, salary equity, affirmative action, and employee motivation. As a trainer, Mike is a frequently requested speaker and is known for his fast-paced, humorous presentations. Mike has published over 50 articles in professional journals and presented more than 90 papers at professional conferences. He is the author of INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN APPLIED APPROACH, now in its sixth edition, as well as the author of RESEARCH IN LAW ENFORCEMENT SELECTION, LAW ENFORCEMENT SELECTION: RESEARCH SUMMARIES, I/O PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, and is the coauthor of HUMAN RELATIONS IN BUSINESS AND STATISTICS FOR HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS. Mike is the editor of APPLIED HRM RESEARCH, the technical affairs editor for the ASSESSMENT COUNCIL NEWS, and an associate editor for the JOURNAL OF POLICE AND CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY, and the JOURNAL OF BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY. In his spare time, Mike likes to make lame attempts at being athletic, cook what at times turn out to be edible meals, travel, and SCUBA dive. He lives in Pulaski, Virginia with his wife Bobbie, three neurotic dogs (Gretchen, Ally, and Sydney), and a three-legged cat named Ilean.

Reviews

[Kenny Kidd · Rating 3 out of 5]

You guys ever see that Nic Cage movie “Next?” The concept behind it is that the main character (a distractingly shaggy Cage) has the ability to see all possible futures contingent on each decision he makes; it’s a cool idea! Not a very good movie, but the kind of thing that I wouldn’t be averse to seeing a remake of to, like, finesse and perfect the idea behind it, if that makes sense.

Anyways, if I had Nic Cage’s Next powers, I’m pretty certain that none of these possible futures contain me doing Industrial/Organizational Psychology :-/ Maybe if I, I dunno, have a family to take care of and I’m laid off from another job that I assuredly would have been enjoying more, I’d turn to it out of need? But man. It just seems so dull to me; it’s a valuable service, and I super admire people who pursue it as a career! It’s just not for me, methinks 🤷‍♂️

Oh and the book is fine! Like most textbooks, I think enjoyment is pretty much reliant on how interested you are in the topic, and I wasn’t really; the chapters on organizational communication, leadership, and legal issues were interesting! Other than that, reading this was an exercise in discipline for me 😤

(Almost gave this an extra star because, in one chapter, the author makes some joke about one employee asking a new employee to use the intercom system and ask for “Jack Meoff?” And the sheer shock value of a naughty pun like that in this dry textbook was enough to garner some admiration for it, I think!)

[Timotheos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aamodt makes I/O Psychology easy. I also like his jokes and anecdotes scattered in every chapters. In addition to this, his tips on preparing a cover letter, resume, and training are very helpful. I applied most of them in my career right now. Thank you Aamodt!

[Daemsien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I never knew that an I/O psychology book could be a page-turner.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This will count on my reading challenge because yes, I read the whole thing.

I will be wholly objective about this, because even though I didn't enjoy the class it wasn't the textbooks fault (or maybe it was because all I did was read the textbook -_-)

In terms of a book, I liked how it was laid out. It was easy to read and the indexing and flow worked great for open book tests.

However, I didn't like the content of the book. Every subject and topic was given only the briefest of overviews. And maybe this is all I/O Psychology is but the first several chapters was just about how the workplace works. There was no evidence on why some of these trends we are seeing actually exists, just that the data and research shows that they do. From a psychology standpoint, this book was a disappointment. From an interesting in-depth research standpoint, this book is a deep disappointment. The writing is also too "humorous" which the author may have intended to make the book easy to read but it felt jarring instead, and didn't make me want to read this book any more than I did.

Furthermore, some of the Focus on Ethics questions for each chapter felt incredibly skewed in how they were asked. Like they phrased the questions to elicit a certain prompting for the answer. Not in every chapter, but there were enough that it was made known to me.

Perhaps I came to this book with the wrong expectations. Whatever the case, there were more things that disappointed me than things that made me care about this topic. The last two chapters were the only ones I felt were interesting in the least. So overall, not the best textbook I've read.

[Hezekiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a textbook, I thought that it was fairly comprehensive and informative of what Industrial/Organizational Psychology about and how it discusses the many different dimensions of a job. It's also quite well-referenced, especially with how each claim is backed-up with its source and how the greater scientific community perceives the research. Different theories and explanations are provided to explain why people behave or react a particular way to certain events or circumstances in the workplace.

I thought the strongest part of the textbook was its middle area. The first parts of the textbook does a good job introducing the subject matter; however, it overextends its welcome and I felt like it took long for the textbook to reach the more focused chapters. In a similar way, the final chapters of the textbook didn't add a lot of new information and I felt that it was a drag to get through some of those chapters. In contrast, the middle part of the book taught me on different theories of motivation, leadership styles, what actions can be done to promote productivity, and many other information that made me see the beauty of Industrial/Organizational Psychology as a field of study.

Overall, the textbook made me see how many aspects there are involved in the success of a company and the success of its employees. There are many aspects out of the control of an Industrial/Organizational psychologists, but also many other aspects that they could provide assistance on to support a company and its employees. And that, one of the things that are important to their role is the willingness of the superiors to enact positive change in the work environment.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a new topic on the y12 psychology course so I read this for work. Some useful parts but very heavy going and I doubt I will use much.
It is not an area of psychology I have any interest in so I would not have plodded through if I didn't feel I had to know more than the kids. Might be interesting for someone who actually wants to run or improve a business rather than someone who has no intention of ever being the boss of anything but themselves.

[P. A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bueno, lo leí por obligación para una materia escolar, no obstante me pareció que para mi contexto muchas de las cosas abordadas no aplicaban.

[Bubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

exact rating: 3.5

the book's a bit outdated, but it's still a good textbook for I/O Psychology. i wish you are doing well out there, mr. michael g. aamodt.

[Jireh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic views on industrial and organizational psychology and reviews from real personnel who experience industrial and organizational psychology can be found in the book. Examples included are easily explained.

[Eresvida Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

(y)

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Sonia Duma]

An unfortunate read for my class, can’t wait to finish university or university will finish me🥸

[Ellen]

I read the 7th edition