Introduction to change experiences and the psychology behind them

Covering Assessment Criterion 2.4 of 5CO01, this video introduces the psychological foundations that underpin how people experience organisational change. Rather than treating change as a straightforward operational event, the video examines why disruption to identity, competence, and security produces emotional responses even when the change in question is a positive one. The discussion establishes the conceptual groundwork needed before engaging with the specific models addressed across this part of the unit — namely the Tannenbaum and Hanna three-stage model, the Kübler-Ross adapted model and coping cycle, and Spencer and Adams' seven-stage model.

Central to the video's argument is the role of psychological safety in shaping how individuals move through change. The video considers why two people facing identical organisational circumstances can have markedly different experiences, and how factors such as perceived job security, status, and self-image influence the emotional trajectory of a change journey. The concepts of readiness for change and resistance to change are introduced as part of this psychological framing, situating them within the broader question of why people respond to disruption in patterned, recognisable ways.

The video also draws a deliberate distinction between descriptive and prescriptive uses of change models, positioning the frameworks covered in this unit as tools for diagnosing where individuals are in a transition rather than as rules about how people ought to feel. This distinction is presented as directly relevant to how people professionals calibrate their support — recognising, for instance, that someone who has just been informed of a restructure is at a different point in the change experience from someone who has had several weeks to process the same news.