Seminar - I_O Psychology

1.

SEMINAR
I/O Psychology in Action: From Theory to Practice
Today we don’t just listen — we investigate, interview, debate, and pitch
5 min
Warm-Up: True or Myth? Round 2
15 min
Structured Interview Lab
20 min
The I/O Detective: Research Methods in Action
15 min
Fishbowl: Ethics Debate
20 min
Career Crisis Role-Play
5 min
Exit Ticket & Reflection
Introduction to I/O Psychology — Seminar • AUCA • 25 students
01 / 08

2.

WARM-UP
True or Myth? Round 2
5 minutes
1. The best engineer will make the best team lead.
MYTH: technical skill and people-management skill are different competencies — this is the classic "Peter Principle."
2. An experienced interviewer can just tell who’s a good fit.
MYTH: without structure, experience barely improves prediction accuracy — intuition is a surprisingly weak, biased predictor.
3. Work should feel fulfilling every single day, or you’re in the wrong job.
MYTH: satisfaction is built from many factors over time — it’s normal not to feel inspired every day.
02 / 08

3.

ACTIVITY 1
15 minutes
Structured Interview Lab
THE TASK
In pairs: pick a real job posting (or use the example below) and write 4 structured behavioral interview questions in the format
“Tell me about a time when...”.
1. Draft
2. Swap
5 min for 4 questions, in pairs
Pass your questions to another pair
3. Rate
Using the checklist below
EVALUATION CHECKLIST
Is it about real past behavior (not hypothetical)? • Is it relevant to real tasks in the role? • Is it free of hidden bias?
03 / 08

4.

ACTIVITY 2
20 minutes
The I/O Detective: Research Methods in Action
THE TASK
Groups of 4–5. Your group gets a messy, real workplace problem. Design three mini-investigations — one survey, one field study, one experiment —
to find out what’s really going on.
PICK YOUR CASE
Software developers are quitting after
6 months.
Customer service agents are burning
out fast.
New sales hires miss targets in their
first quarter.
Survey
Field Study
What would you ask, and who?
What would you observe, and where?
Remote employees feel disconnected
from culture.
Experiment
What would you test, and how?
1-MINUTE PITCH
How would you gather this data ethically — without violating employee privacy?
04 / 08

5.

ACTIVITY 3
15 minutes
Fishbowl: Ethics Debate
DEBATE QUESTION
Should employers have access to employees’ burnout test results?
COMPANY SIDE
Team and customer safety, early support for the employee, lower risk of
burnout-related errors.
EMPLOYEE SIDE
Right to privacy, risk of discrimination based on results, trust as the
foundation of the employment relationship.
FISHBOWL RULES
4–5 people debate in the center (2–3 min per side) — everyone else observes. Every 4 minutes, rotate: one person from the center swaps with an
observer.
With 25 students: aim for 5–6 rotations so most of the room gets a turn in the center.
05 / 08

6.

ACTIVITY 4
20 minutes
Mapping the Career Paths: Client Crisis Role-Play
THE CLIENT CRISIS
TechNova Inc., a fast-growing 300-person software company: customer complaints have doubled in 6 months, three team leads just resigned, and an
internal survey shows only 40% of employees understand their role. Leadership calls in five I/O consultants for an emergency pitch session.
EACH GROUP GETS ONE LENS
HR Specialist
OD Consultant
Talent Mgmt Expert
Workplace Coach
Researcher / Academic
THE PITCH (10 min prep)
90 seconds: your diagnosis through this lens, your fix, and why your specialty matters most here.
After all 5 pitches — a quick class vote: which lens made the most convincing case?
06 / 08

7.

CLOSING
Exit Ticket
5 minutes
On a card or in the shared form — one sentence:
“One thing I’ll do differently after today’s seminar —”
Anonymous. No names. Honest.
FOR THE INSTRUCTOR
These answers give you a quick read on what actually landed — and what to redesign next time.
07 / 08

8.

Great work!
From research design to a five-way pitch battle — in 90 minutes
Introduction to I/O Psychology — Seminar • AUCA
08 / 08