Defining ourselves: I/O psychology's identity quest. The IndustrialOrganizational Psychologist

I-O psychology is involved in a continuing identity quest. In my year of service to you as SIOP president, the greatest challenges have related to our identity as a field. These challenges occur because we haven’t clarified what our identity is, we haven’t been able to convey our identity well, and because we don’t have a clear sense of what direction we would like our identity to evolve in. I will begin by briefly noting these challenges we are facing, using quotes from last year’s survey of the SIOP membership to illustrate the issues. I will define organizational and occupational identity and describe how lessons from other professions can be applied to developing our identity as a field. I’ll then discuss a direction for our identity quest, referring to theory and empirical research to support what we need to do. Mostly, I’m going to offer my opinions on what I see as the critical challenges facing I-O and how I think we can and should tackle them. While my ideas have been influenced by conversations with so many of you—and I thank you for your insights