WORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN SPAIN

José MĒ Peiró * and Lourdes Munduate **

* Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia

** Department of Social Psychology, University of Sevilla

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C ONTENTS


 INTRODUCTION
1. SOCIETAL SETTING OF W/O PSYCHOLOGY IN SPAIN.
2.INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES OF W/OPSYCHOLOGY IN SPAIN.
3. TRAINIG AND DEVELOPMENT OF W/O PSYCHOLOGISTS IN SPAIN
3.1. Undergraduate Training.
3.2. Postgraduate Training
4. PROFESSIONAL TRENDS AND ROLES.
5. RECENT RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS
5.1. Some General Characteristics
5.2. Research development in some relevant topics
5.2.1. Introductory Textbooks.
5.2.2. Personnel Selection.
5.2.3. Work Values, Labor Socialization, School-Work Transition and Training
5.2.4. Motivation, satisfaction, climate and quality of Working Life.
5.2.5. Health promotion at work
5.2.6. Power, Participation, Conflicts and Negotiation.
5.2.7. Ergonomics and Psychosocial Aspects of new Technologies.
5.2.8. Unemployment and Alternative Forms of Work.
5.2.9. Miscellanea
6. THE DIFFUSSION PROBLEM
7. OUTLOOK. THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE.
8.REFERENCES

ABSTRACT

This article offers an overview of recent developments and future perspectives of Work and Organizational Psychology as a scientific discipline and as a profession in Spain. These developments have taken place against a background of sociopolitical and economic change. The historical background of Work and Organizational Psychology in Spain is briefly presented. Recent developments in graduate and postgraduate W/O Psychology training and in professional roles within this discipline are also described. Special attention is given to current developments in research in addition to the institutional and social context in which they have been developed. Finally, the current status of Spanish W/O Psychology is considered in the context of European developments and some trends and future considerations are outlined.

INTRODUCTION
Historically, the antecedents of scientific work psychology in Spain are clear. In the sixteenth century Juan Huarte in "Examen de Ingenios" (1575, published in English in 1594 as "The Examination of Men´s Wits: Discovering the Great Differences of Wits Among Men and What Sort of Learning Suits Bests with Each Genius" set out to study "the way people use their talent to choose the more helpful science". Tests of ability and vocational counseling were recommended to ensure the best match between a person and a given occupation. This made him a clear 'father' of the psychology of human differences and of vocational and professional guidance. Nevertheless, it was only at the end of the nineteenth century that scientific psychology was introduced in Spain and started to develope until the end of the Spanish Civil war (For a historical review see, Peiró, 1985).

Currently W/O Psychology in Spain is regarded as "complex, diverse, rich, fragmented, dynamic and with many angles insofar as academic and research aspects are concerned as well as professional aspects" (Peiró,1990, p. 294). Thus, it is difficult to offer a complete and detailed overview of this field.

                           JOSÉ RAMÓN CORREAS GONZALEZ
                      

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