The SIOP Exchange

The Votes are In!

Members Turn Down Bylaws Amendment

The SIOP voting membership has spoken, and "Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology" (SIOP) will continue to be the Society’s name.

SIOP beat TSOP by a very narrow margin, with 500 ballots cast for a bylaws amendment to change the Society name to "The Society for Organizational Psychology" and 515 ballots cast against the bylaws amendment.

Read a full story about the election tomorrow on the SIOP Web site or discuss your reactions now by leaving a comment below!

What Will We Call Ourselves? SIOP Prepares for Bylaws Vote

The ballots have all been tallied for the first round of voting on a potential SIOP name change, and now it is time to decide: what will we call ourselves?

After the first round of voting, The Society for Organizational Psychology (TSOP) beat the two other choices by a large margin, garnering 1,734 votes, while Society for Work Psychology (SWP) took 476 votes and Society for Work and Organizational Psychology (SWOP) had 490.

Voting SIOP members will now have the opportunity to decide whether to keep the current name (The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology) or change to The Society for Organizational Psychology by voting on a bylaws amendment. Voting will begin on December 4 and continue through January 4, 2010.

Since the name of the organization is stated in the SIOP bylaws, an amendment to the bylaws is necessary to make a change. A simple majority via an electronic vote is required to make a bylaws change. A majority “yes” vote would amend the bylaws and change the name of the organization. If “no” voters prevail, the name would remain the same.  Voting will once again take place online, and SIOP voting members will receive e-mails detailing how to submit their ballots.  Results of the final name change vote will be announced in mid January.

How Did We Get Here?

SIOP Name Change Vote Begins!

This summer, the SIOP Executive Board introduced plans to hold a vote of the Society’s membership to determine whether or not SIOP should change its name. After taking member comments into consideration via the SIOP Exchange, the board has made the decision to begin the first step of the voting process October 1.

Last Chance to Comment on Possible SIOP Name Change!

Note: the last day for comments to be considered by the Executive Board before deciding on the final alternate name list was July 31, 2009. Comments and discussions may still be posted, however, and are encouraged.

In May, the SIOP Executive Board asked members to provide their opinions on a possible name change for the Society via the SIOP Exchange blog.

The Board has since compiled these comments and is in the process of using them to gauge members’ interest in a possible name change and decide if there will be a vote in the fall between the current name and an alternative name that would replace “industrial-organizational psychology” with “organizational psychology.”

To learn more about a possible name change, visit the Executive Board's previous posts under the "SIOP Name Change" category to the left.Those posts include the following:

From the Executive Board: Should SIOP Change Its Name?

Proposed SIOP Name Change FAQs 1

SIOP Name Change FAQs 2-What is Involved in a Name Change?

SIOP name Change FAQs 3-Why Organizational Psychology?

You can still give your opinion on a possible name change now by commenting on this post or by publishing comments on any one of the previous name change posts.

While the Board is no longer taking suggestions for the final name change vote, the name change discussion is still open and further comments and opinions are welcome!

From the Executive Board: Should SIOP Change Its Name?

By The SIOP Executive Board

There have been multiple initiatives to change the name of our field – and SIOP – over the past 30 years. As noted by Highhouse (2007), the most recent effort occurred in 2004 when 554 members voted for a name based on a choice between five alternatives, including the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Society for Organizational Psychology, and the Society for Work Psychology.  As Highhouse noted, “although there were more votes from the membership to change the name than to retain the I-O label …, no name change occurred.” That is, SIOP was retained as the name for our society, even though it received less than 50% of the votes. A number of SIOP leaders including Milt Hakel and, more recently, Frank Landy, have opined that in a vote of two alternatives, members would likely vote for an alternative to the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.