Department of Psychology

Industrial/Organizational Program Core Faculty

The program in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Penn State combines course work, research, and supervised practical experience to prepare students for positions in a variety of industrial, governmental, consulting, and academic settings. Students participate in seminar topics such as personnel selection, training and development, and organizational psychology. In addition to conducting research for their master's theses and doctoral dissertations, students participate in practice that provide the opportunity to work on real-world problems in industrial and government organizations. Teams of I/O graduate students, under faculty supervision,

Jeanette Cleveland, Ph.D., 1982, The Pennsylvania State University
Jeanette Cleveland's research interests include personal and contextual variables in work and family interfaces including program assessment, performance appraisal and management, workforce diversity, and international implications for HR practices, family, and diversity issues. She is particularly interested in the application of traditional industrial and organizational psychology content areas to diverse groups, and collaborating with interdisciplinary research teams to address societal, organizational and individual considerations in the above research areas. She was consulting editor for Journal of Organizational Behavior and has served or is currently serving on the editorial boards of Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, and International Journal of Management Reviews.

James L. Farr, Ph.D., 1971, University of Maryland
James Farr's research interests are in the area of industrial/organizational psychology with emphasis on personnel selection, criterion development, and work motivation. Current research projects are concerned with the evaluation of personnel selection systems; the effects of individual and workgroup factors on performance feedback seeking and giving; factors affecting work performance evaluations; and issues related to older workers' job performance and motivation.

Alicia Grandey, Ph.D., 1999, Colorado State University
Alicia Grandey's interests are in the area of industrial/organizational psychology. Of general interest are the factors which contribute to employee stress and well-being, as well as potential interventions and moderators. Previous research topics have included organizational climate (politics and support), justice perceptions, and work-family conflict. Current research projects focus on emotions in the workplace, especially the emotional labor of customer service employees.

Sam Hunter, Sam Hunter, Ph. D., 2007, University of Oklahoma
My research interests fall into two broad domains: leadership and innovation management. Within the area of leadership, my interests revolve around the identification and consideration of outstanding leadership with emphasized interest on pragmatic leadership. Within the area of innovation, my interests focus on the enhancement and development of creativity and innovation in the workplace. Across both areas of research, I take a multi-level perspective to understanding and investigating relevant phenomena. My secondary interests include: teams, organizational climate, alternative research methods, leader errors as well as the investigation of “darker” leadership behaviors such as Machiavellianism and ideologically-based leader violence.

Rick R. Jacobs, Ph.D., 1978, University of California, Berkeley
Rick Jacobs studies several topics in industrial psychology. In work in performance analysis, Dr. Jacobs studies individuals longitudinally to understand why, with seniority, some people improve while others remain relatively stable or deteriorate. He also studies the conceptual and practical distinctions between seniority and experience. In work on personnel decision making and applied information processing, Dr. Jacobs studies individuals' use of multiple cues in forming composite judgements (e.g., for decisions on managerial promotions, risk analysis in nuclear power plants, union participation). In work with teachers, Dr. Jacobs uses results from surveys of more than 47,000 teachers to test hypotheses concerning gender differences, the impact of seniority on various job attitudes, and the link between job attitudes and the intention to leave the profession of teaching.

Susan Mohammed, Ph.D., 1996, The Ohio State University
Susan Mohammed's research interests are primarily in the area of organizational psychology, with an emphasis on decision making and group/team dynamics. Her decision making work investigates the processes by which individuals with different perceptions arrive at group-level interpretations of strategic issues. Her current team research is examining the influence of various types of team composition variables on group processes and outcomes. In addition, she continues to build on earlier conceptual work on team mental models by exploring ways to expand measurement options.

Kevin Murphy, Ph.D., 1979, The Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Murphy's areas of research include personnel selection and placement, performance appraisal and honesty in the workplace. Current research projects focus on the role of contextual factors and rater goals on performance evaluations. Kevin is the Editor of Journal of Applied Psychology, and serves as a member of the editorial boards of Human Performance, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Industrial Psychology, International Journal of Management Reviews and International Journal of Selection and Assessment.