Tilburg University Work & Organizational Psychology at The

Tilburg University

Work & organizational psychology at the cross-roads Roe, R.A.

Publication date: 1995

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Citation for published version (APA): Roe, R. A. (1995). Work & organizational psychology at the cross-roads: A European view. (WORC Paper / Work and Organization Research Centre (WORC); Vol. 95.07.016/4). Unknown Publisher.

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11 i,i~t rrur( Ol ;~ur 9585 1995 17 iiiuiuuuuuuiiiiiuiuniiiuiiiiiiiium VVork Rz Organizational Psychology at the Cross-roads. A European view

1z1 Prof.dr. Robert A.Roe

WORC PAPER 95.07.01614

Key-note lecture given at the 4th European Congress of Psychology Athens, July 2-7, 1995

WORC papers have not been subjected to formal review or approach. They are distributed in order to make the results of current research available to others, and to encourage discussions and suggestions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This key-note lecture was given at the 4th European Congress of Psycho- logy, Athens, Greece, July 2-7, 1995. Work 8z Organizational Psychology at the Cross-roads. A European view

Prof.dr. Robert A. Roe WORC, Tilburg University, The Netherlands

Past-President of the European Association of Work 8z Organizational Psychology

Keywords: W~O-Psychology, theory, technology, profession, Europe

Since its inception, about a century ago, Work and Organizational Psychology has undergone a number of important developments. Over the years the discipline has lost its character of applied science and turned into basic science. IVow it offers fundamental knowledge on complex forms of human behaviour and basic principles of the design of situational arrangements, in addition to methods for the solution of singular problems used by practitioners. At the same time there has been an increasing recognition of the role of local factors, bound to particular societal settings, in explaining and modifying work related behaviours. Furthermore, Work and Organizational Psychology has discovered and developed its intersections with numerous other disciplines, including engineering, economics, law and medicine. All this has had a significant impact on the current state of affairs in theory as well as in psychologists' professional activity. The position of Work and Organizational Psychology at the crossroads between applied vs. basic science, monodisciplinary psychology vs. interdisciplinary work science, universal vs. local science, is a source of uncertainty and dispute. Some of the problems encountered in this situation are discussed, and some options for the future development of Work and Organizational Psychology are presented. After looking at the challenges and difficulties implied in these options, it is concluded that the discipline faces a fundamental dilemma as the pursuit of scientific and technological advance seems to stand in opposition to remaining part of the unitary science of psychology.

1. Introduction

Since its inception, about a century ago, Work and Organizational Psychology has grown tremendously. Researchers and practitioners in W8t0 psychology now constitute the second largest group of psychologists in the world, after clinical psychologists. In the market sector they are number one, i.e. they represent the only professional group in psychology that is economically self-reliant. There is a great interest in their work from industry, business and public administration. The same is true for students of psychology and business rnanagement. In Western-European countries W8z0 psychology takes the second place in terms of students' preference, at some universities (e.g. in the Netherlands) even the first one.

1 These facts suggest that W8z0 psychology has a promising future. The question is what kind of future this will be, in which direction W8r.0 psychology will develop. Ii~ fact, W8c0 psychology seems to have arrived at the crossing of a number of roads, and its future will depend on choices being made today.

I will offer some reflections on the future of W8i0 psychology, looking at its position in psychology, within the sciences in general, the professions and in Europe. I will start with a retrospective view on the developments in past decades and give a brief analysis of the present situation. Finally, I will present some ideas about where W8i0 psychology might go from here on. Throughout this paper I will stress the European perspective of W8c0 psychology.

2. History in brief

The roots of W8z0 psychology lie in 'psychotechnics' (Munsterberg, 1914; Moede, 1924) and 'applied psychology' (Geissler, 1917; Poffenberger, 1929). Initially it was equivalent to applied work based on methods and concepts of the different fields of psychology, and related applied research. Examples are studies on attention, fatigue, learning, work methods etc. Such studies were focused at the solution of practical problems from industry and transport. The period of applied psychology ended around 1940 (Roe, 1994). From that moment on one can note a relatively autonomous development of applied research focused on problems of industry, leading to several new and specialized methods, as well as empirical data and theories. In fact, a distinct field of applied psychology emerged, called industrial psychology, focusing on such issues as selection, job evaluation, human factors at the work place, safety, etc. The successive editions of the handbook 'Industrial Psychology' by Tiffin and McCormick (first edition 1942) nicely demonstrate how the field has grown over the years. It also shows that while methods and notions of general psychology were incorporated, the largest part of the developments was initiated and directed by demands from industry on the one hand, and notions from other branches of applied science (including engineering, educational science, clinical psychology etc.) on the other hand. The main orientation of the field remained the resolution of practical problems, particularly in industry, with the help of psychological tools.

2 Work and organizational psychology as it is presently known started to develop around 1960. The scale of research expanded enormously and efforts of researchers cuncentrated on developing theory rather than solving practical problems of industry. An important change, compared to the past is, that psychologists with an interest in work and organization do no longer take the problems of industry for granted. Adopting a more general view of human behaviour in organizations, their interest is in explaining where certain types of problems come from and which factors control their emergence and solution. There is a clear drift away from singular questions raised by practice and towards the development of more general methods, models and theories. Another important change is that during the last 35 years W8z0 psychologists have created their own theoretical base. Recognizing that the fragmented knowledge of general psychology cannot be matched to the complex forms of behaviour encountered in work related contexts they have developed their own, more comprehensive theories and models, as well as specialized methods of study (Zapf 8r. Ruch, 1991; Lutz von Rosenstiel, 1993; Roe, 1.994). This change in focus and way of working is well documented in the major journals (e.g. Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational 8z Organizational Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, Personnel Psychology, Academy of Management Journal) and handbooks (e.g. Drenth et al, 1984; Dunnette 8z Hough, 1990-1993).

This development is of great significance for the many psychologists who deal with problems of W8c0 in professional practice. Although it may require additional effort from them to stay informed about the results of focused W8z0 research they profit from the fact that the problems on which they work are much better matched by the new findings and methods than was the case before, when one had to pick relevant pieces of information from general psychology (cf. Zapf 8t Ruch, 1991).

This brief account of history makes clear that W8z0 psychology has lost its character of applied psychology more than 50 years ago. It has gone its own way, developing into a distinct field of psychology characterized by its own object of study and its own body of knowledge. Schdnpflug (1991) reflecting on the relationship between W8z0 psychology and general psychology suggests that W8z0 psychology has developed independently from the very beginning. Rather than the metaphor of general psychology as the mother and W8z0 psychology ass the daughter, which he considers to be false, he proposes the metaphor of two successful career women who

3 have both 'made it' and now wonder how much they could profit from cooperating (ibid; p. 52).

3. Current situation

W8r.0 psychology as a scientific discipline is a combination of a basic science and a technology (Roe, 1990a). As a basic science it studies the behaviour of people engaged in work with the purpose of describing and explaining such behavioral phenomena taking account of the situations in which they occur (Roe, 1994). Here it should be noted that work is typically performed in collaboration with other people, on the basis of some division of tasks, using certain tools, within certain boundaries of time and space - in other words, in what is usually called an 'organization'. W8z0 psychology as a technology has a different orientation. It tries to find generic solutions for prototypical problems emerging in relation to work and organization, starting from normative positions about what is and what is not desirable (Hermann, 1993). It provides answers to such questions as: how to achieve effective collaboration between people, how to define tasks and jobs, how to design machine interfaces, how to structure working hours, how to arrange work places etc.

In Europe the field of W8r.0 psychology is typically divided into three areas (Roe et al., 1994), i.e. work psychology, organizational psychology and personnel psychology, each of which comprises both basic theory and technology. The areas are distinguished on the basis of their object of study, i.e.:

a. work behaviour in sensu strictu, i.e. the execution of work tasks - studied by work psychology; b. organizational behaviour, i.e. behaviour related to the fulfilment of roles in an organization - studied by organizational psychology; c. relational behaviour, i.e. behaviour aiming at the establishment, maintenance, development and termination of a labour relationship between an individual and an organization - studied by personnel psychology.

It will be clear that these types of behaviour cannot be discriminated very sharply. E.g. task performance is part of executing an organizational role, while changing an

4 Table 1: Some examples of situations and behaviours studied by WOP

Area Situation Behaviour

Job Activity Task Performance Equipment Sensorimotor learning Physical environment Work load WORK Information Fatigue PSYCHOLOGY Production process Boredom Time structure Stress Burnout Errors Accidents

Occupations Career orientation Job characteristics Career choice PERSONNEL Life career stages Application PSYCHOLOGY Retirement Occupational socialization Job loss Entrepreneurial activity Unemployment Leisure activity

Division of labour Satisfaction Organizational structure Communication Organizational change Decision making Innovation Conflict Computerization Participation Management ORGANIZ- Leadership ATIONAL Delegation PSYCHOLOGY Boundary spanning activity Absenteeism Turnover Climate Culture Organizational performance

5 organizational role can be seen as redefining a labour relationship. This produces some inevitable overlap between the three areas. Nevertheless, the distinction makes sense since each type of behaviour is looked at from another perspective, which brings along a different way of defining situations and interpersonal relationships.

E.g. work behaviour is typically seen as activity of a single individual, while organizational behaviour concerns the social aspects people in their mutual relationships, and relational behaviour typically concerns the individual in relationship with several other people (i.e. the organization).

Table 1 gives some examples of behavioral phenomena that are studied in the three areas of W8z0 psychology. Work psychology deals with situations defined in terms of jobs and tasks, equipment and physical environment, time structure, etc. and studies their relationships with behavioral phenomena known as work activity, performance, work load, effort, fatigue, boredom, stress and burnout, errors and accidents. Organizational psychology studies organizational structure (divïsion of labour), organizational change, innovation and automation etc. in connection to such behavioral phenomena as communication, decision making, conflict, leadership, delegation, participation, boundary spanning, organizational learning etc. Personnel psychology deals with jobs and occupations, employment, career stages, in connection with career behaviour (orientation, planning, choice), occupational socialization, organizational entry, etc.

The main technologies of W8z0 psychology are listed in Table 2. They include techniques for task and job analysis, organizational assessment, as well as several methods for work design, career development, organizational structuring, productivity enhancement, etc.

The examples in Table 1 make clear that the behavioral phenomena studied by W8z0 psychology differ from those studied in general psychology (in which I include developmental, personality and social psychology). The main difference is that W8z0 psychology concentrates on relatively complex phenomena. The behaviours that W8c0 psychology investigates are molar unities taken as a whole in order to understand their internal structure and the processes by which they are organized.

6 Table 2: Some examples of technologies in WOP

Area Technologies

Task analysis Task design WORK Work scheduling PSYCHOLOGY Ergonomic equipment design Software ergonomics

Job analysis Job evaluation Performance appraisal Recruitment Selection PERSONNEL Employment testing PSYCHOLOGY Training 8z development Training needs analysis Career planning Career counselling Vocational guidance

Job design Job enrichment Organizational assessment Organizational development Productivity management ORGANIZ- MBO ATIONAL Self-management PSYCHOLOGY Team building Organizational behaviour modification Organizational design Organizational development Survey-feedback-method Socio-technical systems design

7 Such unities cannot be broken down into smaller elements, as general psychology tends to do, without loosing the view of the interrelations of such elements. E.g. the rcgulation of a complex activity, like operating a automated system, cannot be understood from knowledge of isolated acts such as detecting signals and moving levers. Nor can strategic management behaviour be understood from fragmented knowledge on individual decision making, communication, and conflict resolution.

Studying more complex unities of behaviour means that several facets of human activity that are isolated in the study of more basic processes become interconnected. Task fulfilment, applying for a job, and organizational learning thus comprise aspects of information processing, attitude formation, emotional expression and management of self-esteem, all at the same time. As the higher level of complexity brings the object of study closer to the roles fulfilled by people in daily life, it opens the possibility of studying the facet of ineaning and sense-giving, which is absent in most of general psychology (Roe, 1994).

W8t0 psychology shares this interest in molar rather than molecular units of behaviour with other fields of psychology, such as clinical, educational or traffic psychology. But it differs from these disciplines in its way of defining these molar units. Van Strien (1990) calls the disciplines referred to here as 'object-disciplines' within psychology and contrasts them with the 'aspect-disciplines' of general psychology. While the latter disciplines study certain aspects of human behaviour from the viewpoint of development, personality, social interaction and so on regardless the particular setting and roles, the object-disciplines focus on certain settings and roles and take including all aspects of behaviour. The difference between the W8z0 psychology and the other object-disciplines lies in the way in which the object is defined.

The way in which it delineates its work object has far-reaching implications for W8z0 psychology. A first implication is that the phenomena under study are more specifcc and confined to particular conditions. The lower the level of abstraction needed to allow greater complexity, implies less generality. In this sense sales performance is broader than performance as such but also more specific; organizational conflict comprises more factors than conflict as such, but is also more specific. W8z0 psychology has an apparent tendency to differentiate. It studies e.g.

8 informal groups, autonomous work groups, quality circles, works councils, rather than groups as conceived by social psychology. Similarly it distinguishes between types of organizations, and categories of workers, thereby generating knowledge of a more focused nature. This is not to say that W8z0 psychology is not interested in generalization. It certainly is (e.g. Cellier et al., 1990; Robertson 8z Kinder, 1993; Schriesheim et al. , 1994), but the boundaries of generalization are inevitably narrower than in general psychology.

A second implication is that the findings of W8t0 psychology are more dependent on contextual factors than is the case in general psychology (Roe, 1994; Westlander, 1992). The more complex and specific the behavioral phenomena are, the greater the likelihood is that they are dependent on contextual factors. E.g. cognitive processes and social comparison may appear to be the same regardless the type industry were the subjects are taken from and the society in which they are observed. But job performance, and responses to different wage systems may not be identical. Actual- ly, many of the phenomena that W8r.0 psychology studies seem to depend to some degree on the type of industry, the economy, culture, demographic factors etc. Several studies in W8z0 psychology have shown the influence of so-called 'contingency factors' that determine the relationships between the variables under study. Well known examples are studies on leadership styles and on organizational performance. The influence of the societal context is demonstrated by many cross- cultural studies (Bhagat et al., 1990). The sensitivity to contextual factors also implies a dependency on time. Patterns of behaviour may change over time because of collective learning and influence, as well as because changes in the societal context (e.g. economic growth or decline, technological change, political reform). Thus W8z0 psychology is forced to study changes explicitly (Roe et al., 1993; 1995) .

A third implication is that W8z0 psychology, due to the way in which its object of study has been delineated comes into contact with and is induced to cooperate with other disciplines, which address other facets of the same settings, the same roles, or similar behavioral phenomena. After all 'work' and 'organization' are by no means exclusive psychological categories (Greif, 1994). There are numerous scientific publications showing the cooperation between W8z0 psychology and the technical sciences, e.g. in ergonomics (Sperandio, 1980; Wickens, 1992), human-computer-

9 interaction (Frese et al., 1987; Rasmussen et al, 1991), and job design (Hacker 8c Richter, 1980; Campion 8t McClelland, 1991). Similar examples could be given for links with sociology (organizational structuring, industrial relations), economics (remuneration, productivity enhancement), management science (strategic decision making, human resources management), medical sciences (stress, fatigue), biology (diurnal rhythms, ageing effects). W8z0 psychology is also one of the disciplines involved in research and theory-building on the relationships between behaviours in different life spheres, such as family, leisure and work (e.g. Bamberg, 1986), or leisure, work and health (Richter et al., 1989; Swanson, 1992). A considerable part of this work has a technological orientation, but there are several cases of explanatory research as well. Thus W8c0 psychology exhibits a definite inclination towards interdisciplinary research.

From a scientific point of view these three implications may appear to be complica- tions, that make the tasks of the researcher much more complicated. For professionals in the field of W8z0 they may look quite attractive, however. The knowledge provided by psychology in the past suffered exactly from lack of comprehensiveness and specificity, too little sensitivity to situational conditions, and insufficient links with knowledge from other disciplines. Thus, the theoretical progress W8z.0 psychology may be seen as bringing theory closer to practice.

4. At the cross-roads

The development of W8z0 psychology has had far-reaching consequences for its present situation. In fact, W8z0 psychology has become a field surrounded by tension, conflict, and uncertainty ab~ut the future (cf. Bungard 8z Hermann, 1993). Let me make this clear by examining the position of W8c0 psychology from four different perspectives, i.e. those of psychological training and research, scientific research in general, professional work, and the links between countries. a. The position in psychology

The relatively autonomous development W8z0 psychology has lead to a debate about its position within psychology in general, both with respect to theory-building and

10 the training of (undergraduate) students. The general issue underlying the discussions is that of the unity of psychology. The question is how well present-day W8c0 psychology fits into psychology as a whole, and whether it should become more integrated in the mother-discipline.

As the brief account of history given above has shown, W8z0 psychology has gone its own way in theorizing and methods development maintaining only weak relationships with the aspect-disciplines of general psychology. In their turn these disciplines have shown limited interest in the complex and seemingly applied problems of W8z0. As a consequence the present position of W8c0 psychology is unclear. It can be seen as part of psychology, but also as part of a multidisciplinary 'science of work' (cf. 'Arbeitswissenschaft', Luczak et al., 1987). The present situation is such that W8z0 psychology research and research in other fields of psychology has few connections. Researchers in areas such as cognitive and social psychology do sometimes study problems related to work, and W8z0 researchers build upon ideas from general psychology, but on the whole there are joint research efforts are scarce. W8z0 psychology is research is driven by the interests of individual researchers in theoretical issues on the one hand, and the objectives stipulated by funding bodies and companies on the other hand. Signs of integration are absent.

As for the training of students, it is evident that the needs for university training as expressed by representatives of the discipline of W8c0 psychology are not in agreement with the views of those who represent general psychology. Professors responsible for the training in W8c0 psychology in Europe have expressed their view on minimal standards for training in a European 'Reference model' (Roe et al., 1994; ENOP, 1995). The model calls for a general introduction in W8z0 psychology, introductions in the areas of work, personnel organization, covering both explanatory and technological theory, skills-oriented courses in assessment and intervention in each of these three areas, an apprenticeship and a research project. In addition a number of integrative courses (e.g. on new technologies) are held desirable. In opposition to this stands the view that the training of psychologist should be general and give a broad coverage of theories and methods from the various fields within general psychology, assessment and research methods and so on, with a limited room for specialization into W8z0 psychology or other areas (e.g. Poortinga, 1994). The impression one gets from the debate about curricula is that

11 whereas some defend the proper training in the specifics of W8z0 psychology, others strive to implement in the training of students what psychology has not been able to achieve in its scientific and professional development, i.e. a fruitful recon- ciliation of general psychology and specialized disciplines. It is clear that this debate is full tension (e.g. Greif 8c Bamberg, 1994; Lunt, 1994) and without a prospect of agreement. b. The position among the sciences

The development of W8z0 psychology into a basic and technological science oriented at studying work-related behaviour may be understandable and commend- able for insiders, this does not imply that it receives proper recognition within the wider scientific environment. In spite of the impressive growth of knowledge on work and organization during the last decades, the scientific status ~ of W8z0 psychology has not increased. On the contrary, since W8z0 psychology studies phenomena that are typically too complex to be well-controlled and that are sensitive to contextual variables the question has been raised whether W8z0 psychology can still be seen as a universal science. The fact that knowledge and methods of W8z0 psychology are conditioned by language, culture and history is often not considered as a strength, but as a weakness of the discipline. And the necessity for W8z0 researchers to communicate research findings to people in the field, i.e. to man- agers, works councils, unions, workers, as well as to professionals - an activity necessarily taking place in the local language - is generally not recognized as an supplementary task that W8i0 researchers have to fulfil in addition, but rather and mistakingly as a poor substitute for producing scientific publications. Writing reports and professional publications in European languages other like German or Spanish is taken as an indicator of poor academic performance, as the publication of articles in international English language journals is considered to be the exclusive standard of good scientific performance.

In countries with a conservative approach to science policy, based on a natural sciences model, W8z0 psychology tends to suffer from poor evaluations and lack of funding from public science budgets exactly because the phenomena under study are not simple and universal enough, and because the relative performance in publishing in international journals is took weak. There are other factors that may enhance the

12 negative evaluation of W8r0 psychology. Among them are the unfamiliarity with the theoretical and methodological categories of the discipline and the general dislike for interdisciplinary research among evaluators with a background in general psychology. A case illustrating an unduly negative appraisal of research in W8c0 psychology can be found in a recent evaluation report on psychological research in the Netherlands (VSNU, 1994; see also De Wolff 8t Roe, 1994).

The situation outlined here holds the risk that the discipline of W8c0 psychology will be moved to the margin of the established institutions of science policy and made more and more dependent on other sources of funding. Even though W8z0 psychology succeeds in attracting substantial resources from industry as well as from national and European funds, this would not be a desirable development, since the specific orientation of these funds would steer the research in specific directions and might restrain the scientific process of theory and methods development.

c. The position arnong the professions

Among the psychological professions W8L0 psychology takes a rather distinct position as well. It is evident that the occupational situation and roles of W8z0 psychologists are rather different from those of clinical psychologists and child psychologists, and also - to a lesser degree from that of psychologists dealing with other social institutions. Most W8c0 psychologists work in the private sector, have resourceful organizations as their clients, work with mature subjects etc. Their clients are faced with complex and dynamic problems in which technological, economic, legal and other factors play an obvious role. They have to work in a problem-oriented way and to adopt an interdisciplinary attitude. They find themselves confronted with competitors of different backgrounds who may claim success on a different ground than that of psychology. Among them are specialists and consultants with an education in business administration, economics, sociology, human resources management, engineering, law, etc.

As a consequence of their special occupational position W8c0 psychologists experi- ence different problems and have different needs for training, accreditation, emuner- ation and so on, in comparison with their counterparts in other psychological specialties. In fact, they may and often do loose their identification with the

13 discipline of psychology after working in practice for some years, calling themselves e.g. organization, management or HRM consultants. Many opt for a career in (personnel or general) management after having been a consultant for some years. Only a limited number of W8r0 psychologists remain active as specialists, i.e. as company psychologists or ergonomists, over a longer time.

This difference in position and interests with clinical and other psychologists tends to create tensions within professional associations. This is visible in both national and international associations. As clinical psychologists are typically in the majority and therefore take a dominant position, there is a potential risk that W8L0 psychologists will leave the associations in order to better promote their own interests. In the United States W8z0 have actually left the American Psychological Association and established their own association (SIOP), several years ago. In Europe there are some cases where a split in professional associations seems very near. There are also several examples of separate associations for work and organizational psychology not having links to larger national associations. d. The position across different countries

The stage of development of W8z0 psychology and the numbers of people involved as researchers, teachers, professionals and students are widely different across different countries. As can be seen from Table 3 which gives figures of inembers of the constituent associations involved in the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP), the discipline is strongly represented in the highly industrialized countries of Western Europe, i.e. the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and France. It is relatively weak in southern with a predominant agricultural economy, like the Greece and Turkey, and in the former communist countries where the industry was relatively developed but the growth of W8z0 psychology was controlled. Between the countries there are rather conspicu- ous differences in the occupational roles assumed by W8z0 psychologists.

Publications on W8r.0 psychology in different European countries reveal a great deal of diversity in theoretical approaches and methodologies, as well as in practical activities (De Wolff et al, 1981; Zamek-Gliszcynska, 1981; Roe, 1995a). A favourite subject of French work psychologists is the analysis of work activity and

14 thought (e.g. LepLat, 1992; Amalberti et al., 1991; Weill-Fassina et al., 1993). The subject is also well-elaborated in German (Frei 8L Ulich, 1981; Richter, 1988; Hacker, 1986) and Russian work psychology (Velichkovsky, 1988; Galaktinov 8z Vavilov, 1992). A subject that has received considerable attention in Scandinavian, German and Dutch W8z0 psychology is industrial democracy (e.g. IDE, 1981; Wilpert 8c Sorge, 1984). Occupational testing and selection are strongly represented in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and recently in Spain (Schuler et al. , 1993). W8z0 psychologists in the Scandinavian countries have excelled in research on working conditions and occupational health (e.g. Frankenhaueser 8L Johansson, 1986). And so on.

Table 3: Members of EAWOP Constituents - 1995

Country Constituent ~ No. of inembers

Germany BDP-ABO 2700 Germany DGP-Fachgruppe A8z0 ? United Kingdom BPS-OP Section 2300 Spain COP 2000 The Netherlands NIP 1400 The Netherlands WAOP 150 France SFP~APTLF ? Italy SIPs - Division L8t0 ? Finland WOPF 400 Czechia CAWOP 240 Slovenia DPS 150 Hungary MPT 140 Belgium VOCAP 200 Switzerland SGWOP 70 Bulgaria BSWOP 30 PAP PAP 30 Ireland PSI 25

15 Systematic comparative research on European W8c0 psychology that might give more detail on differences between countries in particular areas is scarce. A few studies have concentrated on recruitment and selection methods (e.g. Schuler et al., 1993; Clark, 1993; Smith 8c Abrahamson, 1992). They show e.g. that France is strong in using graphology as a selection tool, while the United Kingdom is strong in using CV's and recommendations. Biographical data are more frequently used in France, Spain and the Benelux countries (cf. Schuler et al. , 1993).

As for the methodology one can note interesting differences between the northern countries (United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and the scandinavian countries) where empirical-analytical approaches are strongly favoured and the southern countries (Italy, Spain and France) where subjective approaches, including phenomenology are well-accepted (Antalovits et al., 1988). In Russia and other Eastern Europe one finds examples of complex theorizing with little empirical foundation (Roe, 1995a).

After the decades of relative isolation that followed the second world war, the contacts between the European countries have increased considerably. Thereby the cultural domination of Western-European countries by the United States and the Eastern-European countries by the Soviet-Union have come to an end (Roe, 1990b). The activities of the European Network of Organizational and Work psychologists (ENOP; see ENOP, 1994), the bi-annual European Congresses of W8z0 Psychology (starting 1983; cf. Koopman-Iwema 8z Roe, 1983), and in recent years the activities of the European Association for W8z0 Psychology (EAWOP) have contributed a lot to exchanges and collaboration in research and training. European Community (European Union) programmes, such as COMMETT, FAST, ERASMUS, TEMPt1S, Human Capital and Mobility, COPERNICUS have also helped to simulate cooperation across Europe. Yet, there are still significant cultural and language barriers between national communities of W8z0 psychologists, especially the professionals, that are not likely to quickly disappear. Hence, a certain differenti- ation of W8c0 psychology in terms of position and content may continue to exist (cf. Roe, 1995b).

16 5. Where to go from here?

As was said in the beginning, W8z0 psychology finds itself at the crossing between several roads of development. The questions is what will happen in the coming years and how one might take an influence on the likely course of events. a. Will Wc~ 0 psychology remain part of psychology ?

Whether psychology will remain a unitary science does not depend on W8z0 psychology. Centripetal tendencies are present for long. Probably the greatest challenge for psychology is to maintain its bridging position between the biological and the cultural sciences. It is clear that the combined study of man from a natural science point of view, looking at reproducible units of behaviour, and from a social science point of view, looking at unique complex forms of organized behaviour that reflect the interaction of man with his cultural and historical environment evokes enormous tensions. Such tensions may increase further and lead to a split between the aspect-oriented fields of general psychology on the one hand, and several object- oriented psychologies, including W8z0 psychology on the other hand. But this is not the only possible scenario. If these tensions could be controlled and channelled into combined approaches for research and intervention, a breaking-up of psychology might be prevented.

It seems worthwhile for W8z0 psychology to stay within the larger psychological family, since - in spite of its broader orientation - it is based on psychological study of human behaviour. To this purpose explicit efforts should be undertaken to improve the links between the aspect-oriented disciplines and object-oriented disciplines. This should be done from two sides: one must ensure that W8z0 psychology gets in touch with and incorporates new knowledge from experimental, developmental, personality and social psychology. At the same time knowledge from W8z0 psychology (and other object-oriented fields) which offers unique knowledge on complex patterns of behaviour must be incorporated into general psychology. Examples are results from research on work and personality development (e.g. Grote 8z Udris, 1991; Demick 8c Miller, 1993), and on work and learning (Frei et al., 1984; Greif, 1991). At this point I would like to plea for an integrative, multi-level theory of human behaviour that encompasses both knowledge on elementary forms

17 of behaviour and knowledge on complex patterns of behaviour, much in the sense of the general psychology advocated by Duijker in the 1950's (Duijker e.a., 1960).

This does not imply that W8z0 psychology will loose its links with other disciplines. There are no reasons at all to assume that the participation in interdisciplinary research will decline. The funds for the study of complex social and economic problems that are available at the national and international level will give a further impetus to the development of interdisciplinary approaches. As a consequence W8r.0 psychology may be one of the channels by which psychology as a science is related to interdisciplinary theory about present-day society. b. Will WázO psyc{tology continue to be recognized as a science?

If the national institutions of science policy will continue to maintain~ a natural science point of view with regard to the behavioral and social sciences, there is little advance to be expected in future psychological research. Such an orientation would favour the study of human beings as biological organisms, but fail to support the study of behaviour in connection with the societal context. It would deprive psychology of its position as the prime science of human behaviour and reduce its potency in explaining why people behave as they do in daily life. In this scenario W8z0 psychology would be marginalized further and loose its recognized position as part of the science of psychology. Altogether, this would not mean the end of psychological research and theory-building on W8z0 psychology, of course, but it would imply a different orientation, and a lower-ranked position of the discipline. One of the likely responses of W8c0 psychology would be to seek closer links with other disciplines and interdisciplinary theory.

The perspective might change if a more pluriform conception of science would be adopted, leaving room for a greater variety of research paradigms and for theories with greater validity and less generality. This may in fact occur, as an effect of the growing inclination of national governments to adjust the objectives and means of science policy to their overall economic and social strategy. Any change into this direction may improve the future perspectives of W8t0 psychology as a field of science.

18 c. Will Wc~O professionals remain psychologists?

T'riere are no indications that the occupational differences between W8c0 psychologists and other psychological professionals will diminish and that their needs and interests will converge. Therefore it is likely that current tensions within the professional associations will continue and accumulate, and that they will sooner or later result in a separation. Such an outcome may, however, be prevented by recognizing the differences between W8r.0 psychologists, clinical psychologists and other professional groups, and by making the existing structures of psychological associations more elastic. One would have to give greater autonomy to these different groups, differentiate membership packages and fees, and adopt a federative or network model for regulating mutual relationships. Enabling the psychological professions to find the optimal form to satisfy its needs and interests, and loosening the links between them seems to be the only viable way to maintain bonds between these professionals. For W8z0 psychologists a loose form of association might be preferable as it would enable them to stay in contact with other psychologists and at the same time identify with other occupational roles, especially that of consultant. d. Will Wc~O psychology in Europe converge?

With the economic reform and development of Southern and Eastern Europe, one may expect a considerable growth in training and professional work in W8z0 psychology. The social and economic integration within the European Union and its further economic development will also have a stimulating effect on the discipline. But this does not imply that W8z0 psychology will have the same content in all countries. On the contrary, in view of the differences in language, as well as in conceptualization, theory-building and approaches of study, one would not to expect that European will show great convergence in the coming years (Roe, 1995b). Another reason to expect diversity is that real differences in living and working conditions and hence in peoples' behaviours at work will only be levelled off slowly. As for professional work one must take into account that professional roles of W8z0 psychologists are still rather different. E.g. Spanish W8z0 psychologists play a much larger role in occupational testing than their colleagues in other countries (Schuler et al., 1993).

19 Language differences will continue to play a role, but not only as barriers. Different languages are excellent tools for analyzing and expressing different cultural and social realities. Therefore one should therefore not try to press for one common language (i.e. English) like some scientists do, but rather encourage the use of local languages and develop strong local language platforms as an intermediary level for communicating results of psychological research to and from professionals on the one hand, and the international scientific community on the other hand (Roe, 1995b).

European W8c0 psychology will anyhow not develop into something similar as north-American IIO psychology. Apart from having a different catalogue of theoretical and professional issues, it will remain much more diverse. In this way it will be reflecting both the heterogeneity of European society and the variety in theoretical views and methodological approaches. A good communication structure will be needed to prevent that, promoted by nationalistic tendencies (Roe, 1995b), local communities will lock-up and turn themselves away from Europe, and to stimulate that Europe's diversity works as an asset to the whole of W8i0 psychology.

6. Conclusion

In the foregoing it has appeared that W8z0 psychology is a basic discipline and a technology in-between psychology and the several interdisciplinary fields of science. Its relationships with psychology are characterized by tension in research and training, as well as in the professional domain. There is no simple answer to the question what the future of W8t0 psychology will look like. Depending on the positions taken by other parties and W8z0 psychologists themselves in the contexts of research institutes, schools, bodies of science policy and professional associations, and international networks several scenarios are open. It is not unrealistic to assume that W8t0 will separate from the remainder of psychology and finds its own scientific and professional way. But it is also possible that the links with psychology will be redefined and thereby sustained. Within that scenario W8z0 psychology would be both connected to psychology and to the interdisciplinary 'science of work' and have a promising future indeed.

20 References

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26 pI~I1ÏqÍ1~ÍlÍÍ~ÏIIII

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