Types of jobs in human factors psychology and engineering include:
- Professor
- Ergonomist
- Inspector
- Product development
- Marketer 
- Research scientist
- Safety Scientist
- Project Consultant

Types of Jobs in Human Factors and Engineering

Influential figures in human factors:

- Frederick Taylor

Influential Figures in Human Factors Psychology

A large room filled with people working at computer stations, as shown in Photograph B, illustrates a typical environment studied by human factors psychology. This field, also known as ergonomics, examines how to design these workstations—including desks, chairs, and computers—to optimize worker productivity, health, and safety.

Example of a Human Factors Psychology Environment

To promote health and safety, an ergonomic computer workstation should adhere to specific guidelines. The monitor should be positioned 19–24 inches from the user's eyes, with the top of the screen at eye level. The chair should feature an adjustable height and provide lumbar support for the lower back. Proper posture involves maintaining 90-degree angles at the elbows, hips (between the torso and thighs), and knees. Wrists should be kept straight while typing. For shorter individuals, a footrest can help maintain correct posture if their feet do not rest flat on the floor.

Ergonomic Guidelines for Computer Workstations

Beyond the traditional desk and chair setup, alternative workstation designs aim to incorporate more physical activity or varied postures into the workday. Examples of these include using an exercise ball instead of a standard chair, working at a standing desk, or utilizing a desk integrated with a stationary bicycle.

Alternative Workstation Designs

Human factors psychology plays a critical role in optimizing the work environment by focusing on three primary goals: ensuring employee safety, enhancing productivity, and improving overall job satisfaction.

Role of Human Factors Psychology in the Workplace

The human-machine interface is the point of interaction and communication between a person and a machine. As the central focus of human factors psychology, its design aims to fit machines to human requirements. This integration can be physical, cognitive, or a combination of both.

Human-Machine Interface

Human factors psychology is distinguished from other areas of industrial-organizational psychology by its specific focus. While other branches analyze the interface between a worker and their team, group, or organization, human factors psychology concentrates on the individual worker's direct interaction with machines, workstations, information displays, and environmental elements like lighting.

Comparison of Human Factors Psychology with other I-O Psychology Areas

In the United States, the field of human factors psychology emerged from the intersection of two distinct disciplines: psychology and engineering. This dual heritage is evident in the work of its early pioneers.

Origins of Human Factors Psychology

Human factors psychologists play a crucial role throughout the lifecycle of work tool development. They may be involved from the initial design stages of tools like software, displays, or machines, or they may contribute during the testing phase of an already developed product. Beyond direct involvement in product development, these professionals also contribute to establishing best practice recommendations and official regulations for design.

Roles of Human Factors Professionals in Design and Regulation

A significant focus of human factors psychology is the enhancement of workplace safety. The field's principles are applied to study and prevent work-related injuries, thereby protecting not only individual employees but also those in their immediate vicinity.

Workplace Safety as a Core Concern of Human Factors Psychology

The safety principles of human factors psychology are not limited to traditional workplaces; they also extend to activities with the potential to significantly impact the public. Consequently, safety protocols derived from this field are crucial in sectors such as commercial driving, aviation, medicine, and law enforcement.

Public Safety Applications of Human Factors Psychology

A checklist is a key method for reducing accidents and enhancing safety in the workplace. It involves a structured list of items or procedural steps that must be verified or followed to ensure tasks are completed correctly and consistently.

Checklists as a Workplace Safety Method

A 2012 study by Bruno & Abrahão provides an example of human factors research, examining how decision volume impacts the accuracy of information security operators. The study, which analyzed 45,000 decisions at a Brazilian bank, found that increased cognitive load from making more daily decisions led to a higher rate of "false positive" errors, where operators mistakenly identified safe events as security threats.

Research on Cognitive Load and Decision Accuracy in Security Operations

Research in human factors psychology is centered on understanding and enhancing the interactions between technology systems and their human operators. A significant portion of this research is dedicated to the field of human-software interactions, reflecting the increasing role of software in modern work environments.

Key Research Areas in Human Factors Psychology

A company that operates a large call center notices a significant increase in employee complaints about back pain and a simultaneous rise in data entry errors. Based on the psychological field concerned with the interface between workers, their machines, and their physical environments, which of the following solutions would be the most appropriate first step to address both issues?

Human factors psychology, also known as ergonomics, is the study of the interface between workers, their machines, and their physical environments. The primary goal of this field is to design machines and systems that better support the workers who use them. This involves researching and designing tools to align with human requirements, considering both physical and cognitive integration. Unlike other areas of I-O psychology, human factors psychology focuses on the individual worker's interaction with specific elements like machines, workstations, and information displays.

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- Industrial psychology 
- Organizational psychology
- Occupational health psychology
- Human factors psychology 
- Humanitarian work psychology
- Process management
- Collective intelligence
- Workplace design
- Productivity

Focuses of Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

The discipline in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate processes, which can be structured and repeatable or unstructured and variable. Though not required, enabling technologies are often used.

Process management

The ways in which environments are created and run to optimize workplace operations. Workplace design can have notable effects on industrial/organizational concepts such as productivity, work-related motivation, wellbeing, and teamwork/group dynamics. 

Workplace Design

Productivity generally refers to the ability of an individual, team, or organization to work efficiently within a given time in order to maximize output. In control management, productivity is a measure of how efficiently a process runs and how effectively it uses resources.

Productivity in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals. When groups of people work together, they create intelligence that cannot exist on an individual level.

Collective Intelligence

Because of its focus on real-world applications, I-O Psychology research is often concerned with the study of human behaviors in industrial-organizational settings. 

Research in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

* Human Resource Management
* Workplace Management
* Organizational Management

Application of Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Industrial psychology focuses on the specifics of jobs and the individuals who might fill them. It involves analyzing job requirements, assessing applicant suitability through methods like testing and interviews, and determining the best fit. Furthermore, this field covers the integration of new hires through orientation and their continuous development via ongoing training. A critical aspect of industrial psychology is ensuring that hiring processes are fair and legally compliant to prevent bias. It also includes the research and application of performance appraisal systems.

Industrial Psychology

As a major branch of I-O psychology, organizational psychology focuses on how social interactions in the workplace impact individual employees and overall organizational productivity. Key areas of study include job satisfaction, management and leadership styles, teamwork, and the influence of organizational culture on performance.

Organizational Psychology

Human Factors Psychology

Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) is an interdisciplinary field that addresses the stress, diseases, and disorders affecting employees due to workplace factors. It examines how an organization influences an employee's quality of work life and the subsequent psychological and behavioral responses. These reactions can extend beyond the workplace into an employee's personal life, an effect known as work-life spillover, particularly when work-life balance is poor. The field is informed by a wide range of research from medicine, biology, psychology, organizational studies, human factors, human resources, and industrial psychology. Its primary goal is to improve the health and well-being of individual workers, which in turn enhances the overall health of the organization.

Occupational Health Psychology

Humanitarian Work Psychology (HWP) is a field of I-O psychology dedicated to assisting underserved and underprivileged populations. Originating from a shared goal among a group of I-O psychologists in 2009 and formally established in 2012, HWP applies psychological principles to help marginalized individuals, such as those with low incomes, find work. The field's practitioners also focus on delivering humanitarian aid during major catastrophes and supporting local community members who lack the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to secure stable employment. A central aim is to empower these individuals by developing durable KSAs, enabling them to improve their lives and reduce the need for aid.

Humanitarian Work Psychology

Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychology is a specialized field that examines the bidirectional relationship between human psychology and the workplace. It investigates how individual and group behavior influences work processes and, conversely, how the work environment impacts the psychological and physical well-being of employees.

Definition of Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Work occupies a central role in the lives of most adults, representing a significant investment of their time and energy. For instance, 2019 data for the United States indicated that workers spent an average of 42 to 54 hours per week on work-related activities, a time commitment surpassed only by sleeping. This highlights the substantial portion of life that is shaped by the work experience.

Significance of Work in Daily Life

The substantial time and energy dedicated to work have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the workplace, influencing the physical and psychological health of workers and their families. These effects can be either positive, contributing to fulfillment and stability, or negative, leading to stress and other health issues.

Impact of Work on Well-being

A manufacturing plant is experiencing a high rate of on-the-job injuries and errors related to the operation of a new piece of machinery. The management believes the issue is not with the employees' skills, but with the machine's complex and non-intuitive control panel. Which type of specialist would be most qualified to investigate and resolve this specific problem?

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