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Branches of Psychology

Consulting Psychology

Organizational Psychology and Human Resources

Consulting psychology is the branch of psychology that addresses assessment and intervention at the individual, group and organizational level. Its major reference work, the Handbook of Organizational Consulting Psychology, surveys the field's specific areas of study and application, and its major journal is the Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. Consulting psychologists typically work within business or nonprofit organizations, within consulting firms, or in private practice, and are professionally licensed as psychologists.

Facts
Central Question
How a psychologist applies and extends specialized psychological knowledge through consultation to problems of human behavior in organizations. 1
Key Debate
Where the line falls between a consulting psychologist's advisory role and direct responsibility for outcomes, since the field's own definition holds that assistance is advisory in nature and the consultant carries no direct responsibility for whether it is accepted. 1
Connections

Associated With

Elton Mayo, Psychologists

His Hawthorne studies founded organizational consulting psychology's attention to worker behavior and morale.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Consulting psychology
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Defining consulting psychology section, American Psychological Association definition
    Consulting psychology shall be defined as the function of applying and extending the specialized knowledge of a psychologist through the process of consultation to problems involving human behavior in various areas.
  • Defining consulting psychology section, American Psychological Association definition, second sentence
    Such assistance is advisory in nature and the consultant has no direct responsibility for its acceptance.
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