An Analysis of Industrial-Organizational Psychology’s Indifference to Labor Unions in the United States

Abstract

Although many writers have bemoaned psychology’s indifference toward labor unions, there has been little critical analysis of why this indifference exists. In this article, several explanations that have been offered to explain this indifference are identified and evaluated. These explanations are: (i) limited access to relevant data; (ii) limited financial rewards;(iii) early psychologists’ attitudes toward unions; and (iv) the failure to appreciate power differences between workers and management. The history of psychology in the US is compared with the history of sociology and economics in order to investigate the viability of these hypotheses. It is concluded that the two crucial reasons for the neglect of labor union issues by applied psychologists are the psychologists’ reluctance to address the presence of conflict between employers and employees and the dearth of early, pro-union psychologists.