World War I

During the post – World War I years industry first began to show an interest in the discipline of industrial psychology. Certain firms such as Procter & Gamble, the Philadelphia company, and the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric all formed their own personnel research programs. In fact, it was at the Hawthorne Western Electric plant that the famous “Hawthorne” studies were begun in 1927 (Roethlis berger and Dickson, 1939). These studies, which lasted into the middle 1930 are considered by many, to be probably the most significant series of research studies ever carried out in industry in terms of the impact they had on the growth and development of industrial psychology. They provided the foundation and impetus for the expansion of industrial psychology beyond the realm of selection, placement, and working conditions into the study of motivation, morale, and human relations.