Work and organizational psychology on Brazil: Contemporary scientific development

Abstract

This paper is a survey about Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP) of articles published from 2001 to 2005 in the following Brazilian journals: Estudos de Psicologia, Psicologia e Sociedade, Psicologia em Estudo, Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, Psicologia USP, and Psicologia: Organizações e Trabalho. The analysis examined the number of papers, themes, methodology, references, professional education and the authors' area of practice. Out of 1105 published papers, 178 (16%) were on WOP. The papers were classified in nine theme categories. From the total amount of papers analyzed, 30% were theoretical and 70% empirical. Most authors are psychologists and are connected to universities. Among the main results, it was highlighted the thematic and methodological diversity of scientific production on WOP as well as the concern on social, economic, political and technological changes. The knowledge production provides data for interventions as well as for improving theoretical development of this area.