ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we focus on the impact of trends and events in American business and industry as well as changes in the general intellectual climate that influenced the development of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology. Given the nature of this book, we have narrowed our retelling of the I-O psychology story to concentrate on four themes that we believe pervade the history of the field as it has evolved in the United States: concentration on productivity and efficiency, reliance on quantitative methods, a focus on employee selection, and the interplay between science and practice.1 These four themes are not exhaustive; others might question our selection or may find other themes to consider. However, we believe that these four themes can be reasonably used to better understand the evolution of I-O psychology in the United States.
