Starting the Conversation – I-O Psychology and Humanitarian Work

By Jeff Godbout, Alex Gloss,  Joy Calleja, and Judith Marasigan de Guzman,  SIOP Bloggers

Being undervalued, underrepresented, and often, unrecognized, are states of affairs that many I-O psychologists are quite familiar with. While I-O psychologists often face many hurdles to being recognized, appreciated, and understood in for-profit settings, it might not be too far off the mark to say that they nearly always face these hurdles in the humanitarian aid and development world. Our anecdotal experiences in aid and development work have certainly validated the limited recognition and perceived applicability of I-O psychology to humanitarian aid and development.

We are of the opinion that I-O psychology is eminently applicable to real problems in the aid and development sector, and that it is time our community undertook a more systematic approach to help solve those problems. We emphasize that I-O psychology should not seek influence for the sake of influence, but because we have something important to add to the already complex field of actors who are attempting to solve many of our world’s most pressing challenges.

Are we talking a ‘drop everything and reevaluate the entire discipline’ type of change? Well maybe, but at this point we do believe that, at the minimum, it is important to take a collective ‘step back’ and examine the full scope of our identity and priorities as I-O psychologists. Of paramount importance will be the consideration of whether the problems we address and the questions we ask are really the most pressing ones to humanity. This process of reflection will likely be one that helps I-O psychology develop deeper roots with the humanitarian themes running through the discipline of psychology. In addition, we hope that this process of reflection will highlight the need to assist those organizations and individuals, especially in lower-income settings, that work to promote human welfare, empowerment, and dignity. In short, we hope that this process of reflection will reinforce the need to develop a sub-discipline of humanitarian work psychology.

The sub-discipline of humanitarian work psychology is already being developed by a number of academics, practitioners, and students from around the world, and fortunately, all signs indicate that the I-O community is responding. For example, there has been a proliferation of humanitarian work psychology based symposiums, roundtable discussions, and workshops hosted by SIOP, EAWOP, and the Australian Psychology Society. In addition, thanks to the untiring work of many at SIOP, that group was granted official consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (http://www.siop.org/tip/oct11/19un.aspx). SIOP has also supported humanitarian directions by sponsoring columns in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist that focus on the international and pro-social practice of I-O psychology (e.g., http://www.siop.org/tip/oct11/16thompson.aspx; http://www.siop.org/tip/oct11/15carr.aspx). Many of these efforts have been supported by a group of I-O psychologists who make up the Global Task Force for Humanitarian Work Psychology (GTF; www.humworkpsy.org). This group seeks to represent and support scientists and practitioners in low and high income countries engaged in the application of their discipline to aid and development. The efforts of the GTF have been recognized by the International Association for Applied Psychology which established a group meant to support the efforts of the GTF (www.iaapsy.org).

We are greatly encouraged by these developments, but despite these important symbolic and strategic efforts, we believe there is so much more the I-O community can offer. In future blogs entries we hope to:

1. Highlight examples of what we as emerging scientists and practitioners can do, and already are doing, to help positively contribute to, for example, the global fight against poverty, the promotion of decent work, and struggles for social justice.
2. Demonstrate the applicability of I-O psychology to populations that are not normally represented or considered by our discipline, including: indigenous peoples, migrants, and those affected by conflict and extreme poverty.
3. Give a unique emerging and international angle on these issues – not just from our own perspectives, but from the perspective of young people and students from a diverse range of geographic settings and sociocultural backgrounds.

We are also especially interested in your thoughts and opinions. For example, what are your thoughts are about the need for humanitarian work psychology? How do you feel the I-O community could be more responsive to humanitarian issues? What are examples of work you or others are doing that you feel should be considered humanitarian work psychology? We look forward to hearing from you!