Work Psychology

Code:

LP413

Acronym:

PT

Instance: 2006/2007 - A

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	http://webct.up.pt/webct/public/home.pl
Responsible unit:	Psychology
Institution Responsible:	Faculty of Psychology and Education Science

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LPSI	19	Plano oficial a partir de 2001/02	4	6	11	-

Objectives

1) Knowledge of the historical foundations of the theoretical frame and the intervention project of contemporaneous work psychology: premises and development of industrial society; industrial society, social sciences, psychology and work psychology; evolution of work forms and processes; the “Portuguese reality” and work psychology;
2) Knowledge of a specific project of work psychology development; its epistemological basis; its relations with ergonomic;
3) Knowledge and practice of research and intervention methodologies in work psychology: from work analysis to work ergonomic analysis; concrete work/abstract work; internal and external conditions of a scientific practise in work psychology;
4) Integration and development of this work psychology in some intervention fields (traditional and developing ones): accidents prevention and health promotion at work; professional training; recruitment/selection; performance assessment; work psychopathology and psychodynamics.

Program

I. Historical basis of contemporary work psychology’s theoretical framework and intervention project:
1. Premises of the industrial society and its development;
2. Industrial society, social sciences, psychology and work psychology;
3. The evolution of working ways and processes;
4. “Portuguese reality” and work psychology;

II. Contemporary work psychology: specialization and interdisciplinarity
1. From psychological science to work psychology: specificity of this approach;
2. Some elements to an epistemological reflection about work psychology’s premises;
3. Interconnections between work psychology and ergonomics: progressive definition of basilar concepts;
4. Methodologies of research and intervention in work psychology: from work analysis to ergonomic work analysis; concrete work / abstract work; internal and external conditions of scientific practice in work psychology;

III. Some traditional and/or developing approaches:
1. Occupational accidents prevention and health at work promotion: work psychology’s contributes to conceptualization, analysis and intervention in this field;
2. Professional training – virtues of the articulation with ergonomic work analysis;
3. Recruitment/Selection and performance assessment: Virtues of the articulation with ergonomic work analysis;
4. Work psychopathology and psychodynamics: work as a generator of suffering and health deterioration / work as a mediator of health and pleasure.

Main Bibliography

Journals:
Laboreal: http://laboreal.up.pt
Le Travail Humain, Paris: PUF.
Sociologie du Travail. Paris: Editions Dunod.
Análise Social, 1º. Lisboa, Instituto de Ciências Sociais.
Education Permanente, França: ARCUEIL

Teaching methods and learning activities

Number of hours per week: Theoretical – 2h/Practical – 2h.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Calculation formula of final grade

Two midterm exams – 50%
Group assignment – 50%

Examinations or Special Assignments

Several individual oral presentations and collective discussions will be scheduled throughout the year. These moments will aim at specific questions that characterize the “working world”, articulated with the development of a practical assignment, about a concrete working situation, in a particular activity field.
In what the practical assignment is concerned, the students shall first search for institutional data concerning the activity sector. Meanwhile, workers will be contacted by students (organized in groups of 3 or 4), in order to get access to a specific work situation to analyze. The teacher will help the students throughout the whole institutional process. When the agreement with a worker is reached, the next step is the characterization of its global working conditions. In a second moment, the data collection shall be centered on the professional background, his/her tasks, the way he/she handles his difficulties and constraints. The final result shall be a detailed picture of the real working activity of the worker chosen. The results of the successive steps, shall be periodically presented and orally discussed with the class, and, finally, compiled into a written report (maximum of 30 typed pages, pitch 12, 1,5 spacing).