In an ideal world, every student takes an I-O psychology course, but this is not the case. Below, we expand on ways to generate interest in I-O psychology by explicitly including either I-O psychology content or principles within non-I-O psychology courses, such as broad survey courses.
Explicitly include I-O content
It is challenging to find a psychology course that does not have some translation to the workplace. Even abnormal psychology has implications for work (see Tokarev etal., Reference Tokarev, Phillips, Hughes and Irwing2017). You might include a whole unit on “X” topic in the workplace. The unit might start with an introduction to I-O psychology, then a broad strokes discussion about how the course content applies to selection, training, teamwork, or other aspects of work. Another option is to include a “how does this apply to work” section or assignment for each unit. Not only will this bring I-O to the forefront of the course, it may better engage your students with the material by providing an opportunity for application and integration (e.g., Tomcho etal., Reference Tomcho, Foels, Rice, Johnson, Moses, Warner, Wetherbee and Amalfi2008).
You may also include applied projects for your courses that engage students with I-O psychology. For example, one of the authors teaches an advanced research course in which students conduct an applied research project working with student and employee resource groups (e.g., the student health center, center for teaching). Although projects are on broader issues on campus (e.g., student resilience, effective teaching), students are exposed to, and use, I-O psychology literature and resources. Similarly, another author’s Personality Theories course includes a project in which students are required to act as a career consultant for themselves. They complete a personality inventory and map the results to the descriptions of three jobs they choose (a dream job, a nightmare job, and a third job) pulled from O*NET. This allows students to apply course material, exposes them to O*NET, helps them think critically about their career choices, gives them an opportunity to write in a technical way, and provides insight into one potential aspect of an I-O psychologist’s job. Adjacent I-O psychology projects in non-I-O classes instill course content, resonate with work-bound students, and help students learn about and think like I-O psychologists.
Outside of your own courses, you might also offer to guest lecture for Introduction to Psychology or other psychology courses, even those at the high school level. This provides much-needed (and often first-time) exposure to I-O psychology. Guest lectures also offer great opportunities for graduate or advanced undergraduate students to educate nonmajors about the field while simultaneously honing their skills as lecturers. Guest lectures can also offer nonacademic I-O psychologists an opportunity to stay involved with education and serve as visibility agents for I-O psychology. To facilitate these lectures, there are plenty of resources available (see SIOP’s Instructor’s Guide for Introducing Industrial-Organizational Psychology, a useful list of premade lectures and resources within the larger “I-O Resources for Teachers” page on siop.org, or SIOP’s “Teaching Tools,” which has a range of I-O psychology topic presentations).
Explicitly include I-O psychology principles
If you are not comfortable explicitly including I-O psychology content in your classes, you can still bring attention to I-O psychology through your course design and delivery. Introduce yourself as an I-O psychologist and explain what I-O psychologists do. As you follow the suggestions put forward by Kath and colleagues (Reference Kath, Salter, Bachiochi, Brown and Hebl2021) throughout your course, explicitly state why you are integrating I-O psychology principles. For example, when assigning group work as suggested, include a team charter for all group members to sign. Show a brief slide or two on the science of team charters and why you are using them. This will help the team charter and the group work itself feel less like busy-work and more like the application of I-O psychology to a real-life scenario.
You may also start your courses or units within the course with a needs assessment. Training needs assessments and analyses are critical components of designing effective workplace training (Ferreira etal., Reference Ferreira, da Silva Abbad and Mourão2015). Ask students to evaluate their current knowledge and comfort level with this planned content. Either directly before or after this assessment, you can deliver a short lecture on what needs assessments are, how we use them in the workplace, and why they are useful. Mini or shortened needs assessments can also be designed for specific sections or modules that you expect may be new or challenging for your students, instead of using a larger needs assessment at the beginning of the semester.
You can also use applied questions and projects as an opportunity to explain the principles of training and assessment in I-O psychology. Use applied work as an opportunity to explain how personally relevant and varied practice enhances learning (e.g., Salas & Cannon-Bowers, Reference Salas and Cannon-Bowers2001). Perhaps you can discuss why applied projects represent a higher fidelity assessment similar to assessment centers or skills assessments, whereas traditional questions and papers may only assess knowledge or may be lower fidelity. You can also explain that interactive skills assessments are seen as more face-valid and enjoyable (e.g., Richman-Hirsch etal., Reference Richman-Hirsch, Olson-Buchanan and Drasgow2000).
You have
Access
The field of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology has a lot to offer but has struggled with visibility and generating awareness among the public. However, many of us are fortunate enough to have large audiences in the form of college students. This commentary extends Kath etal.’s (Reference Kath, Salter, Bachiochi, Brown and Hebl2021) focal article by focusing on recommendations for teaching I-O psychology content and principles to generate interest and involvement from nonpsychology majors through course design of (a) I-O psychology courses and (b) broader, survey-level courses. We write this from the perspective of two faculty and two graduate instructors within a psychology department at an institution that primarily instructs computer science and engineering majors. We hope to help the reader better reach students who may not be traditionally interested in I-O psychology.
Reaching non-majors in I-O classes
Outside of the classroom
One of the primary hurdles we must overcome is getting students into the I-O psychology class in the first place. Students registering for courses rely upon three pieces of information: (a) course titles, (b) course descriptions, and (c) course requirements. Faculty and administrators can strategically leverage this information to make an I-O psychology course explicitly appealing and encourage enrollment by advocating for the importance of this course within curricula.
Make the class sound appealing
Our field’s name is not ideal for branding (e.g., Ryan, Reference Ryan2003). For many students, this may be reason enough to not investigate the class further. Consider renaming the class. This may require departmental approval and changes to course catalogues, but we argue doing so has the potential to improve the appeal and visibility of your course and our field. For example, “Work Psychology” may be perceived as more relevant or interesting in comparison with “Industrial-Organizational Psychology” because students attend college to prepare themselves for work. Also consider changing the course description. The course description allows you to sell your class and our field to those who likely have never heard of it. Make it clear in the course description that the content is something that everyone can benefit from. For example, “This course offers students a behind the scenes look at how companies make decisions about hiring, training, and promoting people. We also explore ways to make work motivating, healthy, and meaningful” is more descriptive and appealing than the real course description of “An introduction to industrial-organizational psychology providing an overview of behavior in the workplace and psychology applied in industrial and organizational settings.”
Advocate for I-O psychology
If your institution does not have an I-O psychology course, you can advocate for its existence by talking to department chairs, chairs of undergraduate studies, or curriculum committees. If the institution does offer an I-O psychology course, advocate for it to fulfill foundational curriculum requirements if it does not already. Another avenue is to advocate for the course’s inclusion in other departments’ majors/minors. At the authors’ institution, the I-O psychology course fulfills a requirement for computer science majors who have an emphasis on human–computer interaction. Make allies with undergraduate advisors and faculty in other majors and departments who may be able to point interested students in your direction, or pass along your course description, when it comes time to register for classes.
Last, advocate for minimal prerequisites for I-O psychology courses. This is key to reducing barriers for nonmajors. Students can still learn the content if you provide additional foundational psychology or statistical resources (e.g., optional videos, websites, worksheets, or handouts to fill in knowledge gaps that you cannot address in class). This not only can help ease the instructor’s worries about setting students up for failure by eliminating prerequisites but also can serve to show that you care about making the course accessible to all.
Within the classroom
There are many pedagogical techniques and strategies I-O psychologists can use to make the content of their courses more accessible and interesting to all individuals; however, we focus on two that expand on Kath etal. (Reference Kath, Salter, Bachiochi, Brown and Hebl2021) and have served the authors of this paper well. First, we argue that when teaching material in I-O psychology, instructors can strive to make content relevant to the present and very near future. We then discuss strategies for reducing perceived burden and pressure while reinforcing learning objectives.
Emphasize present and very near transfer
For many students who are not immediately going into human resources or managerial positions, the opportunity to transfer the knowledge and skills learned in an I-O psychology class may seem far off. We argue that instructors ought to make it clear how students can use the material now. One strategy is to apply I-O psychology concepts to coursework, current events, and internship experiences both in class and through student reflection assignments. For example, discussions of leadership, motivation, personality, selection, and training can be discussed in light of current events, such as the Wells Fargo fraud scandal or students’ participation in campus organizations. Instructors can also apply I-O psychology theory and concepts to nonpsychology major topics. For example, when one of the authors taught self-regulation and control theories, a student drew a comparison to a control theory in engineering that describes self-regulation of dynamic systems (e.g., a thermostat). By explicitly drawing these connections between I-O psychology content and the content students are learning in their major courses, you can make our field and material more accessible and relevant.
Course content can be framed as insider knowledge that gives the students a leg up in the search, application, and interview processes. Such framing helps address the ubiquitous complaint of “I’m never going to use this” by pointing out that even if they will not use it, the material is being used on them. Point students toward resources (e.g., O*NET, SIOP Selection Principles, SIOP White Papers) that guide employment, and discuss how they will be used from the employer’s side on the students as they apply to and start their jobs.
Taking the pressure off
Many of our students take I-O psychology as a perceived reprieve from their highly rigorous and demanding major coursework. In teaching I-O psychology primarily to nonpsychology majors, we have learned a few strategies to design our courses such that they both encourage learning I-O psychology material but are not overly burdensome or overwhelming. One strategy is to keep it simple by focusing on a few big-picture learning objectives. You can also use short-term knowledge assessments rather than opting for large midterm or final exams to test these learning objectives with lower stakes. For example, one author uses weekly multiple-choice and short-answer quizzes that sometimes have cumulative items, although they focus primarily on the focused learning objectives for the week. Students have commented that these quizzes keep them engaged and make learning the material manageable, particularly given that the rhythm of most courses creates “hell weeks” in which major exams all align together. If your I-O psychology course has a reputation for being manageable while still informative, that can boost nonmajor enrollment in, and enjoyment of, your class, while still providing effective learning evaluation.
Reaching non-majors in non-I-O classes
In an ideal world, every student takes an I-O psychology course, but this is not the case. Below, we expand on ways to generate interest in I-O psychology by explicitly including either I-O psychology content or principles within non-I-O psychology courses, such as broad survey courses.
Explicitly include I-O content
It is challenging to find a psychology course that does not have some translation to the workplace. Even abnormal psychology has implications for work (see Tokarev etal., Reference Tokarev, Phillips, Hughes and Irwing2017). You might include a whole unit on “X” topic in the workplace. The unit might start with an introduction to I-O psychology, then a broad strokes discussion about how the course content applies to selection, training, teamwork, or other aspects of work. Another option is to include a “how does this apply to work” section or assignment for each unit. Not only will this bring I-O to the forefront of the course, it may better engage your students with the material by providing an opportunity for application and integration (e.g., Tomcho etal., Reference Tomcho, Foels, Rice, Johnson, Moses, Warner, Wetherbee and Amalfi2008).
You may also include applied projects for your courses that engage students with I-O psychology. For example, one of the authors teaches an advanced research course in which students conduct an applied research project working with student and employee resource groups (e.g., the student health center, center for teaching). Although projects are on broader issues on campus (e.g., student resilience, effective teaching), students are exposed to, and use, I-O psychology literature and resources. Similarly, another author’s Personality Theories course includes a project in which students are required to act as a career consultant for themselves. They complete a personality inventory and map the results to the descriptions of three jobs they choose (a dream job, a nightmare job, and a third job) pulled from O*NET. This allows students to apply course material, exposes them to O*NET, helps them think critically about their career choices, gives them an opportunity to write in a technical way, and provides insight into one potential aspect of an I-O psychologist’s job. Adjacent I-O psychology projects in non-I-O classes instill course content, resonate with work-bound students, and help students learn about and think like I-O psychologists.
Outside of your own courses, you might also offer to guest lecture for Introduction to Psychology or other psychology courses, even those at the high school level. This provides much-needed (and often first-time) exposure to I-O psychology. Guest lectures also offer great opportunities for graduate or advanced undergraduate students to educate nonmajors about the field while simultaneously honing their skills as lecturers. Guest lectures can also offer nonacademic I-O psychologists an opportunity to stay involved with education and serve as visibility agents for I-O psychology. To facilitate these lectures, there are plenty of resources available (see SIOP’s Instructor’s Guide for Introducing Industrial-Organizational Psychology, a useful list of premade lectures and resources within the larger “I-O Resources for Teachers” page on siop.org, or SIOP’s “Teaching Tools,” which has a range of I-O psychology topic presentations).
Explicitly include I-O psychology principles
If you are not comfortable explicitly including I-O psychology content in your classes, you can still bring attention to I-O psychology through your course design and delivery. Introduce yourself as an I-O psychologist and explain what I-O psychologists do. As you follow the suggestions put forward by Kath and colleagues (Reference Kath, Salter, Bachiochi, Brown and Hebl2021) throughout your course, explicitly state why you are integrating I-O psychology principles. For example, when assigning group work as suggested, include a team charter for all group members to sign. Show a brief slide or two on the science of team charters and why you are using them. This will help the team charter and the group work itself feel less like busy-work and more like the application of I-O psychology to a real-life scenario.
You may also start your courses or units within the course with a needs assessment. Training needs assessments and analyses are critical components of designing effective workplace training (Ferreira etal., Reference Ferreira, da Silva Abbad and Mourão2015). Ask students to evaluate their current knowledge and comfort level with this planned content. Either directly before or after this assessment, you can deliver a short lecture on what needs assessments are, how we use them in the workplace, and why they are useful. Mini or shortened needs assessments can also be designed for specific sections or modules that you expect may be new or challenging for your students, instead of using a larger needs assessment at the beginning of the semester.
You can also use applied questions and projects as an opportunity to explain the principles of training and assessment in I-O psychology. Use applied work as an opportunity to explain how personally relevant and varied practice enhances learning (e.g., Salas & Cannon-Bowers, Reference Salas and Cannon-Bowers2001). Perhaps you can discuss why applied projects represent a higher fidelity assessment similar to assessment centers or skills assessments, whereas traditional questions and papers may only assess knowledge or may be lower fidelity. You can also explain that interactive skills assessments are seen as more face-valid and enjoyable (e.g., Richman-Hirsch etal., Reference Richman-Hirsch, Olson-Buchanan and Drasgow2000).
Conclusions
We argue that colleges, universities, and even high school psychology courses offer an opportunity to spread the word about our field. Our recommendations are not exhaustive but hopefully expand upon those by Kath and colleagues (Reference Kath, Salter, Bachiochi, Brown and Hebl2021) in a way that helps readers feel confident and excited about generating interest in I-O psychology, thereby encouraging every student to learn about, and love, our field.