The Elderly in the Workplace :: Psychology, Civil Rights Act

While Industrial and Organizational Psychology can be traced back almost to the very beginning of psychology, it did not truly become the science that it is today until 1964 (Landy & Conte, 2010). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was â€Å"federal legislation that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin† (Landy & Conte, 2010, p. 22). The Act, which made a great impact on the workplace, may not have been directly connected to I/O Psychology, but it appears to have ushered in the modernization of I/O Psychology (Landy & Conte, 2010). The first of many changes that occurred in I/O Psychology occurred in 1973 (Landy & Conte, 2010). It was then that the word organizational was added to the Industrial Psychology name to make it I/O Psychology (Landy & Conte, 2010). This change came about after it became apparent that it was just as beneficial to study group behavior rather than just individual behavior in the workplace (Landy & Conte, 2010). Our textbook says that the name was altered to stress that an individual who is part of an organization will be subject â€Å"to a common goal and a common set of operating procedures† (Landy & Conte, 2010, p. 23). The changing of the name may be one of the most blatant changes in I/O Psychology, but there were other changes as well. For instance, prior to the field being modernized, it placed great emphasis on mental ability tests (Landy & Conte, 2010). Currently, instead of being the main focus, they are now viewed as just being one of many things that are considered important to I/O Psychologists. A second example is that the individual branches of industrial psychology used to see themselves as separate entities and were perhaps competing rather than working together for the same goal (Landy & Conte, 2010). Luckily, the individual branches now see the importance of working together and have switched their views regarding work behavior and have now adopted a systems view (Landy & Conte, 2010). This changed outlook recognizes that there are multiple variables that impact the behavior that is seen at the workplace (Landy & Conte, 2010). One challenge that is affecting today’s workplace and that could be addressed by I/O Psychologists involves the elderly and the technology that seems to be constantly advancing. Elderly people are retiring at a later age than they did in the past, which can be connected to the economy as well as to other things.