Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Industrial Psychology

To prepare selected students for statutory registration as Registered Counsellor (Psychometrics and/or Human Resources and/or Employee Relations Wellbeing) and eventual registration as Psychologist (Industrial Psychology) with the Professional Board of Psychology of the Health Professions Council of South Africa(HPCSA).

The Bachelor of Commerce (Psychology), Honours in Bachelor of Commerce (Psychology) and Master of Commerce (Psychology) programmes will provide the necessary foundation training for the proposed Psych qualification aimed at statutory registration as Psychologist (Industrial Psychology).

The Bachelor of Commerce (Psychology) and Honours in Bachelor Commerce (Psychology) qualifications will run parallel to the Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management) and Honours in Bachelor Commerce (Human Resource Management) programmes, aimed at non-statutory registration with the South African Board of Personnel Practice (SABPP).

In providing the necessary ground training for the proposed Master of Commerce(Psychology) and Doctor of Psychology qualifications s aimed at statutory registration as Registered Counsellor and Psychologist (Industrial Psychology) respectively, the Honours in Bachelor of Commerce (Psychology) programme will place a significantly stronger emphasis on Psychology than the Honours in Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management) programme.

The Honours Bachelor of Commerce (Psychology) qualification will build on and expand the academic foundation laid by the Bachelor of Commerce (Psychology) qualification.

Recognition of Prior Learning(RPL)

Access may be granted through the Recognition of Prior Learning.

Entry requirements

• Bachelor of Commerce Psychology or equivalent qualification, Level 7.

Duration and total Credit value of qualification/programme

• Duration; 1(One) year full-time.
• Total Credits: 180.

Minimum Credits required at specific levels

Specify Credits for Fundamental, Core and Elective contents

• Credits for Fundamental content; N/A.
• Credits for Core content; 180.
• Credits for Elective content: N/A.

Total Credits; 180.

1. The ability to multi-paradigmatically psychologically analyse and explain the performance of working man in terms of psychological principles derived from advanced psychological theories.
2. The ability to conduct integrated psychologically assessment in terms of intellectual ability, aptitude, interests, personality, learning potential and leadership, to interpret such assessments and to identify symptoms for intervention.
3. The ability to calculate the appropriate indices and examine the psychometric properties [standardisation, reliability, validity] of assessment techniques and the ability to validate personnel selection procedures [validity, fairness, utility] in accordance with the Guidelines on the Validation and use of Assessment procedures for the Workplace Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology South Africa (SIOPSA) by performing the appropriate statistical analyses on a criterion and predictor data set.
4. The ability to derive human resource management interventions from psychological theory and to organise, lead, monitor/evaluate and improve such interventions.
5. The ability to perform needs analysis, design development programmes and present development programmes.
6. The ability to derive and describe the implications the current nature of the South African work environment and labour market for human resource strategy and practices and, based on this, to forecast future trends in the South African work environment and labour market and deduce the Human Resources Management implications.
7. The ability to plan and design descriptive, explanatory and evaluative research projects/studies.
8. The ability to provide career guidance based on a psychological analysis and explanation of career behaviour and based on an identification of career phases.
9. The ability to diagnose symptoms of individual performance pathology, offer basic supportive counselling and refer to an appropriate health care professional.
10. The ability to conduct/apply and evaluate human resource planning, recruitment, selection, remuneration and performance appraisal in the contemporary organisation.
11. The ability to psychologically analyse and explain the influence of work motivation, group dynamics and organisational change and development on employee work performance and organisational effectiveness.
12. The ability to evaluate Human Resource interventions and practices in terms of labour law [Employment Equity Act, Basic conditions of Employment Act, Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, Skills Development Act, Labour Relations Act] and offer suggestions on aligning practice and law.
13. The ability to make ethically defensible decisions regarding the attainment and use of information based on an internalised understanding and appreciation of the ethical principles governing the obtaining and utilisation of information from clients in psychological assessment, counselling and research.
14. The ability to analyse and explain working man's interaction with the physical working environment in terms of psychological principles.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Can construct advanced psychological explanations from various psychological paradigms when presented with specific examples of outstanding or unsatisfactory work performance.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Can administer, score and interpret psychometric tests on one or more individuals and compile an integrated psychological assessment report when provided with instructions on what to assess through which instruments.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Can pronounce a psychometric verdict on the psychometric quality of a specific assessment technique by calculating the appropriate indices from measures of such an instrument. Can justify the use of a specific selection procedure when provided with the appropriate criterion and predictor data by conducting the required statistical analyses to assess validity, fairness and utility.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Can explicate the nature of an appropriate human resource management intervention to affect a specific change in work behaviour based on a self-initiated psychological explanation/diagnosis for the existing behaviour and can suggest ways of improving existing interventions when presented with information on the characteristics of the intervention.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Can perform a needs analysis, design an appropriate development programme based on the outcomes of the needs analysis and present the programmes when provided with a simulated scenario.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6

• Can describe the existing general nature of the South African work environment and labour market and can deduce the implications of specific changes for the human resource strategy and practices of an organisation and can forecast future trends in the South African work environment and labour market and deduce the Human Resource Management implications.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7

• Can compile a comprehensive research proposal when presented with a first or second-order research initiating question, containing a reasoned argument to justify the proposed research, a systematic reasoned theoretical argument culminating in a theoretical model, substantive research hypotheses, a description and evaluation of the research design, the statistical hypotheses, the statistical analysis techniques, a description and evaluation of the sampling procedure, a description and evaluation of the measuring instruments, expected statistical results and their interpretation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 8

• Can construct psychological explanations when presented with specific examples of career behaviour, identify the career phase the employee is in and provide appropriate basic career guidance.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 9

• Can diagnose symptoms of individual performance pathology, offer basic supportive counselling and refer to an appropriate health care professional when presented with a specific case of pathological work performance.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 10

• Can conduct simulated human resource planning, recruitment, selection, remuneration and performance appraisal when presented with the appropriate information on the organisation and position(s) in question and can evaluate Human Resource initiatives when given relevant statistics.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 11

• Can construct psychological explanations in terms of work motivation, group dynamics and organisational change and development when presented with specific examples of satisfactory or unsatisfactory employee performance and suggest specific interventions to affect the status quo in the desired direction.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 12

• Can evaluate a specific Human Resource intervention in terms of labour law [Employment Equity Act, Basic conditions of Employment Act, Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, Skills Development Act, Labour Relations Act] when provided with information on the developmental history and application of the specific human resource management intervention and can offer suggestions on aligning practice and law.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 13

• Will show awareness for issues like confidentiality, limited scope, informed consent, no physical or psychological harm, equity in low fidelity simulations of applied psychological assessment, counselling and in the compiling of a research proposal.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 14

• Can construct psychological explanations when confronted with specific examples of satisfactory or unsatisfactory interaction between man and his physical working environment and suggest specific interventions to affect the status quo in the desired direction.

Integrated Assessment

A variety of evaluation modes will be used. Case study and low fidelity simulations will require the integration of the specific and Critical Cross-Field Outcomes associated with the programme modules. In addition, oral examinations, formal written tests and formal oral presentations will be used to assess the extent to which Exit Outcomes have been achieved. A pass rate of at least 70% will have to be achieved in an independent Board examination at the end of the programme to register as a Registered Councillor.