Industrial Organizational Psychology

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

The I-O doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma is rigorous and rich with a variety of opportunities for students interested in a range of applied and translational programs of research, covering laboratory and field work as well as quantitative, qualitative, and modeling techniques. We follow a scientist-practitioner model. Our primary objective is to train individuals seeking the Ph.D. degree to conduct research and to practice in the areas of industrial psychology and organizational behavior.

Faculty include: Shane Connelly, Adrienne Carter-Sowell, Eric Day (Program Coordinator) , Elif Demirag Burak, Yaqing He, and Lori Snyder

Graduate Students Include: Ares Boira-Lopez, Joshua Chappell, Brandon Choi, Cooper Delafield, Rachel Detherage, Sophia Fischer, Kyra Gallion, Cecelia Gordon, Benyt Hagler, Yomna Helmy, Josie Koubek, James Lue, Maddison North, Joshua Rice, Raechel Sanger, Amanda Stephens, Joseph Stewart, and Piper Winsett.

Grant supported research and publications in reputable, peer-reviewed journals are vital to the program. We strive for a strong collaborative and supportive research culture, where students share ideas and help each other on theses, dissertations, and other research projects. Co-authorships involving several graduate students is the norm for publications and conference presentations. While students will spend significant time and effort working in their major professor’s lab, students are also encouraged to work with other faculty labs outside their major professor’s including those of other psychology faculty and researchers outside the department. We value interdisciplinary collaborations.

For example, in recent years students have contributed to collaborative, interdisciplinary projects funded by National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Federal Aviation Administration-CAMI, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education, U.S. Army, and U.S. Navy and papers published in a variety of high-profile I/O and management journals, such as Journal of Applied Psychology, The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, Organizational Research Methods, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, and Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Our students regularly present at the annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology as well as the American Psychological Association, and Association for Psychological Science.

Internships are not a requirement of our program. We typically do not encourage students to pursue internships until after their second year of study (i.e., thesis is completed), and in many cases not until after the general exam has been passed. Nevertheless, our students have thrived across a range of internships in high-profile organizations such as Amazon; National Security Agency; U.S. Army Research Institute; CMA Consulting; National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE); JetBlue; Lockton Companies; The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; Proctor and Gamble (P&G); Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E); and Hogan Assessment Systems.

Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP) 2018 Rankings

The latest rankings reported by the SIOP show that OU’s I-O doctoral program is ranked 6th and 2nd out of 53 programs in research productivity overall and per faculty, respectively, as indexed by total research journal publications (as well as interdisciplinary publications). Congratulations to our department’s I-O faculty and students! Full story: SIOP Rankings.

Program Features and Current Projects

We do not accept students who are seeking a part-time program. Students have the opportunity to teach in-person and online courses during their time in the program, but research is the top priority regardless of whether students are interested in pursuing an applied or academic career.

We do not have a terminal master’s degree program. Rather, students entering the program with a BA or BS degree earn a Master’s of Science en route to their Doctorate.

Our approach to student development is based on an active learning model. As part of their education, students are expected to apply what they learn in the classroom in faculty-directed research or consulting projects. Students receive training in:

Designing and conducting research studies
Preparing and presenting research proposals
Working with funding sponsors and clients in organizational settings
Developing and implementing new assessment measures, training, and other organizational interventions

Students often work as part of a team addressing a broader research or organizational problem. With experience, students are given the opportunity to take responsibility for a significant aspect of a project.

Example Projects

Some examples of work recently and currently being done by students and faculty include:

Distinguishing team viability’s role in models of team effectiveness
Examining the interplay between leadership and group dynamics
Studying the effects of toxic triangle factors (personalized leader, susceptible follower, situation) on follower outcomes (e.g., ethical behavior, job performance)
Examining the effects of leader emotions during feedback to employees
Untangling the role of negative emotions and creativity
Investigating the nuanced roles emotions and emotion regulation play in skill learning and work performance
Developing and testing models of self-regulation, complex skill learning, and adaptive performance
Testing the extent to which brain and other physiological measures (e.g., EEG, ECG, and GSR) can be combined to distinguish self-regulation strategies from the stress response in relation to complex performance demands
Developing and validating scales for distinguishing dimensions of state epistemic curiosity
Understanding how AI can be used during the creative process
Examining how AI integration in the workplace is related to job crafting, work engagement, well-being, and career development across a range of personal and work climate factors
Investigating the work experiences of vulnerable workers (e.g., victims of intimate partner aggression).
Understanding LGBTIQ+ workers’ stress, health, and career.
Examining factors that influence employees’ overwork (e.g., after-hours work demands) and well-being
Investigating personal and social factors that impact the success and well-being of Native American undergraduates and early career employees
Combining experimental and applied interventions to study and mitigate the ramifications of social invisibility and marginalization across a variety of social, psychological, and physical aspects of well-being
Demonstrating the critical role of belonging in individual and collective development—how fundamental belonging is for effective recruitment, retention, and overall growth in diverse environments
Studying how satisfaction of basic social needs enables individuals to excel, persist, and surpass expectations
Conducting organizational change through developing and testing an innovative model of faculty annual evaluation
Investigating moral disengagement mechanisms in ideologically motivated online communication
Understanding how social identity information affects processing and responding to social media posts
Exploring the importance of community engagement and perceptions for renewable energy development and deployment
Examining ethical decision-making in organizations and research
Designing and implementing strategies for pivotal life transitions such as entering the workforce, navigating social networks, and strengthening support systems

I-O Topics

Topics addressed within the program via research and coursework enable students to work with organizations in the areas of:

Competency Modeling
Counterproductive Work Behaviors
Creativity in the Workplace
Diversity and Discrimination
Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Emotions in the Workplace
Employee Motivation and Productivity
Employee Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment
Employee Selection and Placement
Ethics in Organizations
Fairness in the Workplace
Group and Team Dynamics
Human Resources Planning
Ideological Groups and Organizations
Innovation in Organizations
Knowledge and Skill Retention
Leader Assessment and Development
Leadership Skills, Behavior, and Processes
Needs Assessment
Occupational Health and Well-being
Occupational Safety
Organizational Citizenship
Organizational Climate and Culture
Organizational Design and Development
Performance Management and Feedback
Talent Recruitment and Management
Team Cohesion and Effectiveness
Technology in the Workplace
Training and Development
Work, Job, and Task Analysis
Work-Family Balance