I-O Psychology in Aotearoa, New Zealand: A world away?

Abstract

Industrial-organizational psychology has had a fairly long history in this country, dating back to around the 1920s (Jamieson & Paterson, 1993). To a large extent the field developed initially within universities, although the focus of I-O psychologists’ activities in this country has always been very applied. Inclusion of I-O psychology in university curricula originally started at the University of Canterbury (in the south island) and then Massey University (in the north island); now two other universities (University of Auckland and University of Waikato, both in the north island) also provide training programs in the field. There are about a dozen academics in psychology departments who would consider themselves to be I-O psychologists, and a small handful in management or HRM departments. Clearly the number of academics specializing in this field is very small. Although this poses challenges for the development of I-O psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand, at the same time it helps communication among us.