Standing on Their Shoulders: Reflections on the Founding Vision of Business Psychology

By Clodagh O’Reilly. 

There is something quietly powerful about looking back at a key document that was central in shaping the profession we now take for granted.  

Today, the Association for Business Psychology (ABP) has become the professional home for many Business Psychologists and practitioners. It is where we gather, learn, debate ideas, share practice, and support one another. But that was not always the case. There was a time when those working at the intersection of psychology and business felt they had no real professional home. 

This month, with The ABP’s theme of Change at Work, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what has changed, and what has stayed the same, since a group of forward-thinking consultants developed the idea that resulted in the formation of the Association. 

Where It All Began 

Reading the original proposal to establish a Division of Business Psychology, within the British Psychological Society (BPS), makes one thing very clear: It was written by practitioners who believed deeply in the value of psychology in organisations, but who also recognised that the profession (as structured at the time) was not serving those working in commercial practice. 

Their proposal was, in many ways, an act of courage. And for those of us who benefit from the community that exists today, it is worth pausing to reflect on just how significant those early steps were, and where they led us. 

A Profession Without a Home 

The founders began from a simple observation: many psychologists working in business did not feel represented within the existing professional structures. 

They noted that those working in commercial environments were increasingly describing themselves not as occupational psychologists or academics, but as Business Psychologists. 

“Nowadays, those working in commercial consultancy are much more likely to refer to themselves as Business Psychologists than to any other title.”  

Yet despite the growth of this identity, there was no professional body designed specifically for them. 

Many practitioners were operating independently or in small consultancies. They were advising executives, supporting leadership teams, designing assessments, coaching leaders, and helping organisations navigate complex human challenges. But they were doing so largely as individuals rather than as a visible profession. The founders described the industry at the time as fragmented. 

“Most practitioners work in ones and twos, many from their own homes. In fact we have become archetypal cottage industry.”  

It is striking how honest, and even slightly frustrated, the tone of the document submitted to the BPS was. The authors believed that psychology had enormous value to offer organisations, but that the profession had allowed itself to become disconnected from the world of work. 

A Profession Losing Influence 

One of the most compelling themes in the proposal was the sense that psychology had lost influence in business. 

The authors worried that, while organisations increasingly needed insight into human behaviour, psychologists were no longer the obvious people to provide it. 

“Although most people spend a significant part of their lives within working organisations, this is an important part of human behaviour which has become increasingly remote to the profession of psychology.”  

At the same time, other professions were stepping into the gap. Management consultants, trainers, recruiters, and HR professionals were all shaping organisational practice. Psychologists were still present, but their collective voice was quieter than it should have been. 

Those who later became The ABP’s founders knew that, individually, many practitioners were highly respected by their clients. But they also recognised that respect for individuals did not automatically translate into recognition for the profession. This was observed, with a touch of humour and exasperation. 

“People who would never dream of purchasing a race horse without getting the opinion of a vet will happily employ a senior executive without having a professional assessment.”  

Their concern was not simply professional pride. It was about impact. They believed organisations could make better decisions, and people could have better working lives, if psychological expertise had a stronger voice. 

The Vision: A Professional Home for Practitioners 

The founders did not simply diagnose the problem. They proposed a solution. 

They argued for the creation of a professional body that would unite practitioners working in business contexts and promote the value of psychological insight in organisational life. 

They described several practical benefits of such a body, including: 

• promoting psychology and its applications in business 
• creating a unified community of commercially based practitioners 
• raising standards of professional practice 
• offering a counterbalance to simplistic or “managerialist” approaches to people in organisations 

As they wrote, they were seeking “a professionally recognised body which exists to promote the profession of psychology and all its applications within business.”  

Their ambition was not to dilute psychology or make it less rigorous. Quite the opposite. They wanted to ensure that psychological expertise could thrive in real organisational environments. 

Business Psychologists, they argued, needed to combine professional knowledge with commercial understanding: 

“Business Psychologists… must market their services and place a monetary value upon them… having a need for a broad commercial and business understanding in working with their client group.”  

In other words, they were advocating for a profession that was both scientifically grounded and commercially relevant. 

The Courage to Create Something New 

Looking back now, it is easy to assume that creating a professional body for Business Psychology was inevitable. But at the time, it was far from guaranteed. 

The founders were proposing something different from the existing structures of psychology. They were asking for recognition of a professional identity that crossed traditional boundaries between academic psychology, consulting, and organisational practice. 

They were also challenging the profession to look outward, to engage more directly with business, leadership, and organisational life. 

It is clear from the proposal they prepared that they knew the path would not be easy. They even acknowledged that they would need to demonstrate sufficient demand among practitioners before the proposal could move forward. 

Yet they pressed ahead. 

And in doing so, they laid the foundations for what would eventually become the Association for Business Psychology. 

What They Made Possible 

For those of us who are members of The ABP today, it is worth reflecting on what those early efforts made possible. Because the founders succeeded, Business Psychologists now have: 

• a professional community built around practice as well as theory 
• a forum for sharing applied insights and real organisational experience 
• a platform for promoting the value of psychology in business decision-making 
• a network of peers who understand the unique challenges of working in organisational contexts 

The ABP has grown into a community where consultants, HR leaders, coaches, academics, and researchers can come together around a shared interest: applying psychology to improve work and organisations. 

Perhaps most importantly, the profession now has a collective voice. That voice shows up in conferences, research, thought leadership, and professional dialogue. It helps translate psychological science into practice. And it ensures that the insights of psychology remain part of conversations about leadership, performance, culture, and the future of work. 

The Founders’ Vision Still Matters 

Reading the founding proposal today, what stands out most is how relevant many of its themes still are. 

The profession continues to evolve. Organisations face new challenges, from AI and technological change to wellbeing, trust, and sustainable performance. 

But the underlying mission remains remarkably consistent with the founders’ vision: to ensure that psychological insight plays a meaningful role in shaping the world of work. 

The founders believed that Business Psychology had the potential to make a profound difference to organisations and to the people who work within them. 

“Business Psychology has a great deal to offer to both individuals and organisations… It is important… that we begin to project a much louder voice in this important area of human behaviour.”  

Today, thanks to their foresight and determination, that voice exists. 

And those of us who benefit from the community they created – who find professional identity, collaboration, and inspiration through The ABP – are standing on the shoulders of the people who first believed that Business Psychology deserved its own place in the profession. 

Their vision was not simply about creating an organisation. It was about creating space for a profession to flourish. And that is exactly what they did! 

Related Materials

For a first-hand account of the founding of The ABP by Brian Baxter, the ABP's first Chair, visit youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS7cxMtcELY

For a podcast reflecting on The ABP's history, featuring Pauline Grant, Steve Whiddett and Claire Lish, listen at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3bJRFYx1hqx1zB8vuQZeOl?si=TJ3oBsLWTeapYg-uF23p-g

For ABP Members:

• Browse more practitioner-authored articles.
• Browse all webinar recordings.

Not a member? We invite you to join us at The Association for Business Psychology!

About the Author 

Clodagh O’Reilly was an early supporter of The ABP. She is a Certified Principal Business Psychologist and Honorary Member who served as Chair of The ABP from 2013 to 2015, and again in 2023 and 2024. She founded and led the ABP Workforce Experience Awards, is Editor of six ABP books, and currently runs The ABP’s Member Services team. Her focus is on demonstrating The ABP’s values of inclusivity and accessibility, whilst promoting and celebrating high standards of practice in the industry. 

From our Archives (c.1999):  

Proposal to Council Requesting Approval to Explore the Demand and Feasibility of Forming a DIVISION OF BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGY 

Contents 

• Introduction 

• Historical Background 

• The Current Situation 

• The State of Our Industry 

• The Need for a Business Division 

• Distinctive Features of the Business Psychologist 

• The Way Forward 

• Qualifications for Division Membership 

• Academic Support 

• Summary 

• Acknowledgement 

APPENDIX I – Fellow and Associate Fellow Proposers 

APPENDIX II – Steering Group 

Introduction 

This proposal is to request approval to form a Division of Business Psychology (DBP), which will address the needs and interests of those members who operate in the commercial sector or within commercial organisations. 

Nowadays, those working in commercial consultancy are much more likely to refer to themselves as Business Psychologists than to any other title. The growth in this area has produced a need for a separate body to cater specifically for people working in the commercial area or in a consultancy role within the public or not for profit sectors. 

Members of the DBP will come from many different areas. Most will be trained within Occupational Psychology (OP). Many will be members of the BPS but have an academic background in other disciplines. However, a large majority of eligible members will be from a group working in the field but who are not currently BPS members. 

People who work as Business Psychologists come from a variety of academic backgrounds within psychology. Some are occupationally trained, some have clinical or educational training, others come from family or psychotherapy and yet others who graduated in psychology, come from a management background. 

There is, therefore, an opportunity to unite this group within a new Division which will represent them and which will respond to and promote their interests. 

Whilst this represents a departure in the UK, for many years it has been the case that in the USA, two distinct branches of “work” psychology have been formally recognised. The APA has two separate divisions Industrial/Organisational (which is broadly equivalent to our OP) and Consulting (which is akin to the proposed DBP). 

Historical Background 

The relevance of the background leading to the need for a group of practitioners who are suitably and properly designated as Business Psychologists lies in:- 

• the early renowned experiments concerned with shop floor productivity and the growth of Ergonomics 

• the Industrial Sections of the BPS and the NIIP 

• the growth in use of psychologists and the armed services during World War II, especially the success of selection, in what has been carried forward to DERA 

• testing and interviewing under Alec Rodger as Senior Psychologist to the Admiralty, dramatically reduced failure rates on training courses 

• the post war influence of Alec Rodger in the BPS, at Birkbeck, with Government Departments and with Executive Recruitment (e.g. MSL) 

• the Civil Service Selection Board (CSSB) psychologists panel 

• the influence of a few notable (often American) companies who imported the use of psychologists especially in selection and training 

• the growing professionalism of business management in the 60s and 70s which was later embraced by the public and not for profit sectors, through Tec, Business Schools, company management training, the Civil Service College, changes in the law, and privatisations, which has, over time, produced a realisation that human resources are indeed one of the major assets of an organisation 

• the emergence of human resource based consultancies 

• the consequent overall movement from the welfare activities of the Personnel Officer through to the HR Board Member with strategic responsibility, demands for HR best practice and the growing number of Chief Executives and senior managers who recognise their need for advice, often on a one-to-one basis 

There is now a wider field of employment opportunities in both private and public organisations for which psychologists are not being adequately prepared but for which they would otherwise be very well suited. 

The Current Situation 

Although most people spend a significant part of their lives within working organisations, this is an important part of human behaviour which has become increasingly remote to the profession of psychology. 

There are some respected members of our profession, many now retired, who have held senior management positions within household name organisations or in consultancy. Almost universally, these people believe that we have given our profession and that potential clients are no longer able to distinguish what we offer from the intervention of management consultants or other non-psychologists. 

Many individual Business Psychologists are held in high regard but collectively, we need to ensure that our profession is more highly valued than it has now become. Many of us have come to realise that even clients who rate us very highly, will often consider our psychological expertise as an optional extra. For example, people who would never dream of purchasing a race horse without getting the opinion of a vet will happily employ a senior executive without having a professional assessment. People who have become used to paying £30-40,000 for the services of a head hunter will resent paying £2,000 for the arguably more insightful service that we provide. 

We are informed by our elders that several decades ago, a degree in psychology was a prerequisite for those wishing to become a Personnel Director within major organisations. This is certainly no longer the case. 

Recently, a number of our members were sent a survey from the BPS under the title of “Mapping the Domain” ostensibly to discover exactly what Business Psychologists do. Included were a number of questionnaires which we were asked to give to clients asking them why they used psychologists. This caused some mirth but also a degree of irritation at the apparent lack of understanding within the BPS of how psychologists actually work in the commercial sector. 

The sad fact is that almost all of us are employed irrespective of whether or not we are psychologists. Clients use us for the quality of our work and we are again largely satisfied. None would stop using us if we ceased to be psychologists. In fact very many of our members who work in the private sector, never refer to themselves as psychologists, as they consider this to be a drawback to commercial business. In the commercial world “branding” is more important than it has ever been. Other professions such as accountants or lawyers have long been recognised the value of a professional brand and have structured their activities and image accordingly. 

The State of Our Industry 

Whereas ever more people are applying to do Masters degrees in Occupational Psychology, our profession has been allowed to fall into decline and has a decreasing influence in the business world. 

There are fewer than 100 British Members of the Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP) including a majority of academics and a substantial number of retired people. That leaves just a few hundred BPS members with an active role in the day-to-day application of psychology to commercial enterprises. 

There are no large companies in Business Psychology. Very few commercially based business psychology companies employ as many as ten psychologists or have a turnover of £1 million per annum. Most practitioners work in ones and twos, many from their own homes. In fact we have become archetypal cottage industry. 

We rarely compete with each other. Our competitors are more likely to be trainers, management consultants, recruitment professionals, psychologists, MBAs and increasingly, business studies students employed by the large accounting and IT based consulting firms. 

Yet those of us who work in the profession are acutely aware of the distinctive contribution that a psychologist can make. The work we do has a profound and demonstrably positive impact on individuals and organisations but we know that we are not doing nearly enough of it. 

Perhaps the fact that the two professions have steadily grown apart (i.e. OP is a progressively more academic discipline whereas Business Psychology works in a range of applied activities) has resulted in an unhealthy drift that is of benefit to neither. 

It is undeniable that there has been a decade or two of lost opportunity and that a speedy catching up period is required. It will be important for the BPS, the DOP, the proposed DBP and academic institutions to co-operate on revisions and developments to postgraduate programmes in psychology, to relate them more closely to the content of accredited current employment. There needs to be a regular review of Psychology Studies. 

Despite the fact that ever more people are graduating from MSc courses, only a minority are able to find jobs in the industry, largely because, for the most part, they are unable to speak the language of business. 

Although there are hundreds of applicants for every junior vacancy that occurs, it is very difficult to find suitable people to fill the senior roles which require them to interface with Chief Executives and senior management. 

This deficiency is one of the important issues that this proposal seeks to address. 

The Need for a Business Division 

We believe that a body that was focused on promoting the profession of psychology and all its applications within business, would be of substantial benefit to our members and would broaden its appeal and influence on the whole of psychology as a profession. 

This is not simply a plea for a stronger focus on “applied OP” but is distinctively different in aim and approach, to the benefit of potential members, OP and the BPS as a whole. 

We believe that there are five main pragmatic benefits arising from a lively DBP:- 

1. A professionally recognised body which exists to promote the profession of psychology and all its applications within business. 

2. A recognisably unified body of commercially based practitioners who bring their applied knowledge to bear, on clients business issues, in a professional way. 

3. An antidote to the often crude, populist and “managerialist” perspectives of dealing with people in organisations. 

4. A professionally based counterbalance to the accounting dominated large consulting practices, who through lack of insight into psychological best practice, deliver psychologically weak solutions to their clients. 

5. A “must have” professional qualification for all people based consulting and business practices in the commercial world, in order to raise standards and share best practice. 

Business Psychologists would like to have the backing of a strong professional body but have rapidly come to realise that there is little practical value in BPS membership and that, at the present time, we remain as members out of nostalgia or goodwill. 

Our members have come to the realisation that if we were not chartered or even AFBPS, it would not matter if we left the BPS for that matter, it would not affect the ways we earn our livings in any way. If we were all expelled from the BPS the only concern would be affected would be the status and image of our membership fees. Regrettably, there is very little in the BPS that Business Psychologists could not live without. 

Increasingly those working as Business Psychologists see the Institute of Personnel Development (IPD) as having far more relevance to their profession and its central role in employment and management. There are many more people who could be potential members of a DBP who are not members of the BPS, than those currently within the Society. The creation of the DBP would be certain to attract many of these people into formal membership of our profession. 

There are a large number of independent consultants working in our field and it is our intention to create an attractive professional body, which will act and maintain standards. We intend to make a clear distinction between those who are professionally recognised and accredited and the unregulated amateur. 

Distinctive Features of the Business Psychologist 

Business Psychologists can be distinguished as:- 

• coming from a variety of psychological backgrounds and having experience from within the business and commercial areas 

• carrying out their work in the commercial environment in which they must market their services and place a monetary value upon them 

• having a need for a broad commercial and business understanding in working with their client group, who are predominantly in senior executive positions 

• being regarded as experts, in the same way as lawyers or accountants 

• having a forward thinking approach and being engaged for their judgement gained from practical experience and professional knowledge 

The Way Forward 

A realistic appraisal of the current state of our profession points not just to the size or the task but also to the potential scope of our opportunities. 

In the first place, we need to grow the profession. Having many more skilled, as opposed to merely qualified, practitioners will raise the profile of the profession, in the business world, for the benefit of all our members. 

Secondly, we are well aware that the process of qualification for our branch of the profession is almost universally found to be unsatisfactory by those who go through it. The process, as it stands, is not user friendly to private sector psychologists and effectively supervision is a great problem for many. Few academics are willing to take on the role of supervisor. The argument given is that there is no real chartered psychologist in the workplace but the reality is that for most affiliates, there are no qualification psychologists in their workplace. However, it is not our intention to make qualification less rigorous but we do wish to proactively intervene to take greater responsibility for developing skilled members of our profession. 

Thirdly, setting up a body such as the DBP could be seen as a device to create a restrictive professional practice. This is certainly not our intention. Indeed, it is our purpose to define more clearly our product offerings and to invest in ensuring that many more of our members are given the skills to enable the profession to demonstrate to clients the added value it brings to a professional psychologist. 

More than any other part of the profession, Business Psychologists need to employ effective marketing and publicity skills. Following the exercise to clearly define our product offerings, we intend to pay particular attention to this area. 

Qualifications for Division Membership 

It is our intention that qualification for full membership of the proposed Division should be no less rigorous than required for any other Division of the Society. Indeed, we would expect qualification to be even more demanding as we would require evidence of relevant practitioner experience within organisations, as well as the academic qualification associated with Division membership. 

Membership would be open to those employed within the commercial sector, typically as consultants but also those working as psychologists within commercial organisations. Those working as psychologists within a Personnel or Training department of a public sector organisation would also be eligible for membership. 

We propose to operate as a unified body but with different grades of membership. This will be likely to involve full, affiliate for those in the process of qualification and associate (for those working in the profession but not seeking Chartered status) membership. 

The Rules of the Division would be similar to those which apply to other Divisions of the Society, having been amended with reference to Business Psychology. 

Academic Support 

We mentioned earlier that there are increasing numbers applying for MSc courses in OP. At the same time undergraduate Business Studies and MBA degrees remain popular. However, it appears that any psychology learning to business has virtually disappeared from the undergraduate curriculum. Nowadays, Business Psychology and Departments, Organisations tends to be located in Business Schools and Management Departments. 

We believe that an undergraduate degree and Masters degrees in Business Psychology Studies would be hugely popular. This would be psychology based but would also include relevant modules in marketing, finance, strategy, operations management, personnel etc. 

It will be necessary to draw up a suitable curriculum and to find members of academic departments with the enthusiasm to promote the offering of Business Psychology degrees and we would be very pleased to have discussions with any member of Council who may be attracted to this proposal. 

Since the early drafts of this report we have become aware that a current member of Council is offering the equivalent of an MSc in Business Psychology Studies at the Aston Business School. We believe that there is something similar at the University of Westminster and we have information that members of Council would be keen to see further developments at the Open University Business School, Cranfield, the University of East London, City University and Surrey Psychology Studies. 

There may be several more but our preliminary discussions have convinced us that there is a great deal of interest in offering Business Psychology Studies degrees, given a clear professional body. We have little doubt that following on from the establishment of the DBP, there would be an explosion of Business Psychology Studies degrees, in quite a short period, which would be directed at those wishing to study Business Psychology. 

Summary 

Business Psychology has a great deal to offer to both individuals and organisations but due to lack of focus and a distinctive professional body, the profession has been allowed to decline to such a level where there is no longer a meaningful collective influence or impact. 

It is important for both Business Psychology and psychology as a whole, that this decline is arrested without further delay and that we begin to project a much louder voice in this important area of human behaviour. 

We envisage a healthy relationship with our academic colleagues, as one where academic institutions conduct research into areas of work, which Business Psychology can turn into marketable services and products, capable of being disseminated through organisations. 

The notion of a Division of Business Psychology has generated a great deal of interest and enthusiastic support. Already we have had almost one hundred BPS members who have learned of our proposal and who have spontaneously contacted us to express their support and desire to become DBP members, including many of the most respected members of our profession. 

We now respectfully request the approval of Council to be allowed to proceed to the next stage which requires us find 1% of the membership who are both qualified and willing to become members of the proposed Division. To succeed in this objective, without to clearly demonstrate the demand but if we are unable to do so, our case fails, without further argument. 

This particular requirement represents a formidable hurdle. Although Business Psychology is a fast growing itself, the profession has been allowed to fall into such a state of decline that to meet the 1% requirement will involve gaining approval which will not fall far short of a unanimity of all those commercial practitioners who are still members of the BPS. 

However, if we succeed, we will then attempt to attract many of the potentially qualified psychologists who are not presently BPS members. 

A healthy, successful and vigorous Division of Business Psychology will address an important area of human behaviour and bring credit to the profession of psychology as a whole. 

We therefore request the approval and support of Council for this worthwhile, challenging and well supported project. 

Acknowledgement 

The Steering Group would like to express our thanks and appreciation for the help and advice given by Colin Newman, in enabling us to prepare this proposal. We are mindful that this will be one of the last acts that Colin will carry out for the Society. His expert knowledge offered on the critical issues and procedures, has been invaluable. He has nursed us through a difficult pregnancy like a caring, concerned and loving father and we feel a considerable sadness at knowing he will not be present at the birth. 

APPENDIX I 

The following, being 5 Fellows and 35 Associate Fellows of the British Psychological Society, in good standing, wish to support the proposal to form a Division of Business Psychology. 

Fellows 

Dr Valerie Barden – 1546 
Dr John Boddie – 1812 
Sylvia Downs – 2443 
Dr John Nicholson – 3980 
Reg Sell – 4705 

Associate Fellows 

Dr Brian Baxter – 7804 
Nicholas Bennett – 1914 
Tony Borrowski – 2348 
Dr Len Bricklin – 2640 
Simon Brittain – 2356 
Max Choi – 2292 
Dr Frances Clark – 4556 
Leo Crossfield – 1964 
Dr Douglas Duckworth – 2820 
John Evans – 3622 
Dr Richard Ford – 1456 
Joshua Fox – 2982 
Dr Nicholas Georgiades – 2889 
Dr Michael Greenspan – 3217 
Malcolm Hatfield – 3777 
Victoria Howard – 722 
Christopher Kiddy – 5308 
Catherine King – 3799 
Prof. Kevin Kingsland – 6377 
Ronny Larden – 3584 
Bill Lubbock – 21087 
Dr Colin Parker – 20753 
Arwyn Reynolds – 706 
Dr Christopher Ridgeway – 16416 
Andy Roberts – 5989 
Baron Sleigh of Carbury – 5519 
Rob Stickland – 15276 
Brian Sullivan – 5784 
Dennis Swain – 13191 
Penny Taylorme – 2819 
Frank Thomasson – 5676 
Christopher Wacey – 36722 
Andrew West – 11761 
Tony Winkless – 30360 
Malcolm Young – 8540 

APPENDIX II 

Steering Group for the formation of a Division of Business Psychology 

Malcolm Ballantine – Independent Consultant 
Dr Valerie Barden – The Drayton Surgery 
Dr Brian Baxter – Kiddy & Partners Limited 
Dr John Boddie – Development Associates Group Limited 
Leo Crossfield – CPA (Holdings) Limited 
Tony Draper – Draper McKenzie 
Marion Farr – FOA Consulting Limited 
Dr Nicholas Georgiades – NGX Consulting Limited 
Pauline Grant – YSC Limited 
Malcolm Hatfield – Hatfield, Jefferies 
Catherine King – CK Associates Limited 
Kevin Kingsland – TSR International Limited 
Ronny Larden – The Kell Centre 
Bill Lubbock – Lubbock Associates Limited 
Karen Moloney – Moloney & Gealy Limited 
Christopher Ridgeway – The ODL Consultancy Partnership 
Timothy St. Ather – The Abbott Bromley Group Limited 
Frank Thomasson – Retired 
Tony Winkless – Tony Winkless Associates