Bridging Divides in Industrial and Organisational Psychology in Canada:
An Action-Oriented Collaborative Framework
Silvia Bonaccio and François Chiocchio
University of Ottawa
Alain Forget
Société Conseil Alain Forget, Laval, Québec, Canada
Claude Forget
André Filion et Associés, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Roland Foucher
Université du Québec en Outaouais
E. Kevin Kelloway
Saint Mary’s University
Thomas A. O’Neill
University of Calgary
This article discusses 4 divides that characterise the Canadian landscape of industrial and organisational
psychology and proposes action-oriented solutions for bridging them. It is in part based on a panel
discussion held at the 74th Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association (Bonaccio,
2013). This article draws on theory on collaboration and knowledge transfer to discuss divisions in
science and practice, language, geography, and psychology and business academic settings. Furthermore,
the article draws on the analysis of 7 authors who happen to represent these various groups and who, in
most cases, have already bridged these divides. The ultimate goal of this article is to generate a
boundary-spanning conversation and to provide a roadmap that will unite industrial and organisational
psychology enthusiasts.
Keywords: industrial psychology, organisational psychology, IO psychology, knowledge transfer, train-
ing
To effectively collaborate requires people to shift their mind-set (or
mental models) from one of control to one of learning. But collabo-
ration is often psychologically threatening because of what the solu-
tions should be in order to find solutions that take full advantage of the
collaboration itself. And under conditions of threat, we cling to the
very mind-set that makes effective collaboration less likely. In short,
our thinking undermines the outcome we say we want.
—Schwarz (2006, p. 283)
Industrial and organisational psychology is a complex field
of knowledge and practice. It is fuelled by the contributions
from academics in psychology departments and business
schools, consultants, and graduate students in specialized pro-
grams and internships. Research and practice is conducted in
close partnerships with large and small public or private or-
ganisations. These organisations are forced to ever-increasing
levels of efficiency and productivity while striving for the
well-being of their workforce. In Canada, those passionate
about industrial and organisational psychology are spread out
geographically. Of course, both French- and English-speaking
industrial and organisational psychology enthusiasts benefit
from a deep and rich history. Although the Canadian industrial
and organisational community’s diverse landscape is an asset
for meeting the difficult challenges of organisations, teams, and
individuals, we will argue that the consequences of current
divides causes its full potential to not yet be realised. Despite
differences and divides, individuals and organisations enthusi-
astic about the field share a common goal: fostering the ad-
vancement of industrial and organisational psychology. As
such, any lingering divides within the industrial and organisa-
tional psychology community is detrimental to the field itself.
Silvia Bonaccio and François Chiocchio, Telfer School of Manage-
ment, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; Alain Forget, Société
Conseil Alain Forget, Laval, Québec, Canada; Claude Forget, André
Filion et Associés, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Roland Foucher, Dé-
partement de relations industrielles, Université du Québec en Outa-
ouais, Gatineau, Québec, Canada; E. Kevin Kelloway, Department of
Psychology, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;
Thomas A. O’Neill, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
This article was made possible by grants from the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada held by S. Bonaccio
(410-2009-0821), F. Chiocchio (410-2010-2004), and E. K. Kelloway
and T. A. O’Neill (430-2012-0059). The first two authors contributed
equally to the article. The remaining authors are listed by alphabetical
order. We also want to thank Carolyn Hass, Sophie Ouellet, and Cecilia
Tellis for their help on earlier version of this article. Opinions expressed
by the authors do not necessarily represent the associations they belong
to.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Silvia Bonaccio, University of Ottawa, Telfer School of Management,
55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Canada. E-mail: bonaccio@telfer
.uottawa.ca
Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne © 2013 Canadian Psychological Association
2013, Vol. 54, No. 4, 213–222 0708-5591/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0034544
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