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The Scope of Psychology

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 Assignment: Visit these sites. How old is the discipline of Psychology?.

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The Scope of Psychology

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  1. The Scope of Psychology Historical Background

  2. The Psychological Century • Psychology touches us all, and yet there are many misconceptions • “Psychologist” doesn’t just mean “clinician” • 42% APA • 11% APS • Assignment: Visit these sites

  3. How old is the discipline of Psychology? • What is your best guess? • As old as the existence of humankind? • 400 years? • 100 years?

  4. What factors led to the development of Psychology? • Shifts from External to Internal explanations for behavior • The Age of Reason • The Scientific Revolution • The Plague

  5. Paradigm Shift • Science of “behavior and mental processes”, with both being measurable • Our behavior is part of the natural world • Natural laws could govern behavior as they do other “forces of nature” • Our mental experience is just a “model of reality”

  6. Changing values – the 19th Century • Openness to change • Challenges to authority (church, academics, etc.) • Art, music, etc.

  7. Industrial Revolution • Faith in technology • Logic + technology=understanding the mind? • Weber and Fechner – psychophysics • Wundt and the “atomic elements” of the Mind • Shift away from “Mind” to technology of behavior (John Watson)

  8. So what is Psychology today? • A richly diverse discipline • Includes a wide variety of applications • A field few people leave • BUT . . . • Public opinion has been slow to change – treating mental disorders (clinical psychology) is the popular perception • Didn’t begin with Freud and psychotherapy

  9. The American connection • A strong focus on the application of research • A tendency to emphasize: • Practicality • Making money • Laboratory vs. Field research • Balance between control and applicability

  10. 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

  11. 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 settings • Opportunities were available for women that were unavailable in academia

  12. 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

  13. Eventually, the riff raff took over! • By 1924, America was suffering from “an outbreak of psychology” • Why? • Mobility of society • Changing values (e.g. desire for fulfillment) • Interest in child rearing • Compulsory education • Businesses wanted ability assessments • Military wanted to match people with tasks, etc.

  14. Growth in Applied Psychology • Its own respectable publication: The Journal of Applied Psychology • An 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

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