Free Post #3: How Psychologists Are Depicted in Film

Many times when film producers try to represent careers in the movies, they represent them completely different from the truth. When it comes to representing psychologists in movies, just how accurate are they?

I started wondering about this when I started my Industrial and Organizational Psychology class this semester. I didn't know what Industrial and Organizational psychology, but from this class, I've learned a lot. The very first day of the class my professor showed us a clip from Office Space. We discussed how Industrial and Organizational Psychologists were reenacted in much of the movie, and we concluded that they were pretty accurate in doing so.

I was very curious about this because It is one of the many psychology based jobs that I am considering on pursuing. Many people have no clue what I/O psychologists even do. Here is a clip from the movie 'Office Space', which can give you an idea.

I/O Psychologists are a very unique type of psychology. It is the psychology of the business world. The two men who you just saw interviewing the worker are I/O psychologists. They are hired by companies, to identify the effectiveness of the companies workers.

The workers go through job evaluations where they get interviewed. The Psychologists do this to get an idea of what each worker actually does for the company, and how valuable they are to the company. They can then calculate and determine whether the company is over or under hiring workers, and if they are over hiring they can help the company identify which employees to keep as well as the ones they should let go. This decision is all based on the I/O's data of how effective and valuable each employee is to the company.

The goal is to save the company money by getting the most effective use of their employees. That is why the primary areas of  I/O Psychology are selection, training, organizational development, performance management, quality of work life, and human factors.

In conclusion, it is clear that the movie 'Office Space' did a pretty good job at giving the audience an inside look at I/O psychologists. I am excited to learn more about Industrial and Organizational Psychology when I interview my Professor this Friday. Stay tuned and by next week I will go through the interview with her so we can get an even closer look and real life look into the world of I/O or Business Psychology.

Sources:
 Cornhol24. "People Skills Office Space the Bobs." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Dec. 2011. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
Chang, C. "Lectures #1-7." Industrial and Organizational Psychology Class (PSY 255). North Kendze Hall, East Lansing, MI. Jan. 2014. Lecture.