The Scope of Psychology

Historical Background

The Psychological Century

Psychology touches us all, and yet there are many misconceptions

“Psychologist” doesn’t just mean “clinician”• 42% APA• 11% APS

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How old is the discipline of Psychology?

What is your best guess?As old as the existence of humankind?400 years?100 years?

What factors led to the development of Psychology?

Shifts from External to Internal explanations for behaviorThe Age of ReasonThe Scientific RevolutionThe Plague

Paradigm Shift

Science of “behavior and mental processes”, with both being measurableOur behavior is part of the natural worldNatural laws could govern behavior as they do other “forces of nature”Our mental experience is just a “model of reality”

Changing values – the 19th

CenturyOpenness to changeChallenges to authority (church, academics, etc.)Art, music, etc.

Industrial Revolution

Faith in technologyLogic + technology=understanding the mind?

Weber and Fechner – psychophysicsWundt and the “atomic elements” of the MindShift away from “Mind” to technology of behavior (John Watson)

So what is Psychology today?

A richly diverse disciplineIncludes a wide variety of applicationsA field few people leaveBUT . . . Public opinion has been slow to change – treating mental disorders (clinical psychology) is the popular perception

Didn’t begin with Freud and psychotherapy

The American connection

A strong focus on the application of researchA tendency to emphasize:

PracticalityMaking money

Laboratory vs. Field researchBalance between control and applicability

Pure vs. Applied

A real “pecking order” problem!Example: Hugo Munsterberg and Harvard University“scholarly” studies not for public consumption – often misunderstood

Ex. Planaria and Skinner boxes

Why didn’t Applied Psychologists give up?

Employment options were expanding

Business and industry, schools, mental health clinics, etc. sometimes offered better-paying options than the traditional academic settingsOpportunities were available for women that were unavailable in academia

Many problems remained . . .

Applying psychology – “intellectual prostitution”?American Psychological Association didn’t want the “riff raff” so required:

Ph.D.Publication in two “respectable” journals

Eventually, the riff raff took over!

By 1924, America was suffering from “an outbreak of psychology”Why?

Mobility of societyChanging values (e.g. desire for fulfillment)Interest in child rearingCompulsory educationBusinesses wanted ability assessmentsMilitary wanted to match people with tasks, etc.

Growth in Applied Psychology

Its own respectable publication: The Journal of Applied PsychologyAn increase in concern about the importance of values of psychology (just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean it is the moral thing to do

Ethics has become an important focus, with APA publishing guidelines