Theory L1 - Science-Practitioner Model Flashcards
What are the origins of the scientist-practitioner model?
- Boulder Conference, 1949 - wanted to bring order to psychologists’ practicing
- background of WWII - new roles for psychs, there was increased demand.
What were the initial reasons for joint scientist-practitioner training?
- to develop interest and motivation in both areas.
- improve practice as rapidly as possible
- select a particular ‘type’ of graduate student and thus create a unique professional identity - an identity for psychs that wasn’t just assessment.
- encourage researchers to work in the real world.
What does the scientist-practitioner model put forward?
- the s-p model for education and training in psychology is an integrative approach to science and practice, where each must continually INFORM EACH OTHER.
- model represents more than a summation of both parts
- s-p psychs embody a research orientation in their practice and a practice relevant in their research.
What are the implications for training from the scientist-practitioner model?
- All psychs should be trained to CONDUCT RESEARCH - thus a research thesis is a requirement of professional training programs.
- The practice of psych should be grounded in EVIDENCE-BASED PROCEDURES - thus, students must be trained in evidence-based principles, and trained to evaluate research to determine if a particular treatment has sufficient scientific credibility.
What does “scientist-practitioner” mean?
- psychological science is foundational to the work of the professional psychologist
- basic principles of psych should be derived from scientific investigation, not just experience.
- represents a style of thinking - practitioner is a data gatherer and a hypothesis tester (testing hypotheses in relation to clients)
- privileged position of scientific knowledge
Critique of the scientist-practitioner model?
(O’Gorman Reading)
(a) that the philosophy of science that underpins it is now out of date - What is science? Positivism/Constructionism.
(b) that it fails to pay due regard to the tacit knowledge of the practitioner - practitioners acquire and apply knowledge that does not derive from psychological and/or scientific research.
(c) that there is a lack of knowledge in psychological science and its research that is valuable to practice.
(d) that professionals trained in programs applying the model do not perform as scientists, as indicated by their low publication rates.
What does the critique of s-p refer to when it cites the changing view of science?
- When the model was first proposed, there was a belief that there were knowable facts in psychology, like in physics for example.
- This was challenged and it was believed that our knowledge of the world is constructed and influenced by prior experience, especially cultural experience - the way we view the world changes with biases and experiences and culture - so can we really KNOW things?
- With this shift in our understanding of science, the notion of scientific facts providing a foundation for psychology has been challenged.
- However, there may be some interpretations of the world that have more evidence than others - some interpretations may be better, on the basis that they’re more coherent and have more evidence.
What does the critique of s-p refer to when it cites the role of tacit knowledge in practice?
‘Tacit’ = knowledge gained from practice.
- the pure science model claims that only the knowledge the practitioner can own is that which comes through science.
- appears to reject tacit knowledge that comes from practice!
- but research has now shown the importance of interpersonal and communication skills. This shows that tacit knowledge can also be research scientifically, however.
What does the critique of s-p refer to when it cites that practitioners don’t research?
- argued that practitioners rarely publish their research
- practitioner can still use approaches that are evidence-based, however.
- “Every clinical intervention is a research project”
What is the argument for clinical judgement?
- Zeldow, 2009
- too many problems that a clinician will encounter is outside the realm of scientific evidence
- no escape for the subjectivity and the patient, preferences and values and expectations
- decisions about the way we characterise people’s problems, con- duct therapy, and assess outcomes are not determined by scientific criteria alone.
- clinicians disagree how to integrate research practice with clinical judgement and patient expectations and values
What is the reflective practitioner?
- the reflective practitioner deals with problems that are messy and indeterminate, that is, real-world problems that are not simply amenable to the application of technical rationality
–> importance of tacit knowledge in practice.
Zeldow defended clinical judgement. What were the responses to this?
Fago (2009)
- tried to find a way of bringing the opposing ideas together. Both are acceptable and important.
- Proposed that there were two levels of issues/research: micro and macro levels
micro - therapeutic relationship - issues of transference, therapist expressing empathy or confrontation, and the timing of interpretation or suggestions. More amenable to single-case analysis.
Macro - psychotherapy outcome research - essential to validation of new therapeutic techniques and procedures, and are more interest to policy specialists.
Reconceptualisation of the s-p model?
Stricker - 2002.
LOCAL CLINICAL SCIENCE MODEL (LCS)
- begins with the assumption that is science is not defined by activities or generalisation but by ATTITUDES (your approach to what you do).
- all scientists should be keen observers who are characterised by:
disciplined thinking
critical thinking
imagination
rigor
scepticism
openness to change in the face of evidence.
^ a psychologist who adopts these attitudes is a LOCAL CLINICAL SCIENTIST.
- an LCS must raise hypotheses (e.g. what’s wrong with the patient) in the consulting room, and seek confirmatory/discomfirmatory evidence in the immediate response of the patient (the ‘local’ component of the LCS model).
What is the Local Science Model?
A remodel of the S-P model.
- begins with the assumption that is science is not defined by activities or generalisation but by ATTITUDES (your approach to what you do).
- all scientists should be keen observers who are characterised by:
disciplined thinking
critical thinking
imagination
rigor
scepticism
openness to change in the face of evidence.
^ a psychologist who adopts these attitudes is a LOCAL CLINICAL SCIENTIST.
- an LCS must raise hypotheses (e.g. what’s wrong with the patient) in the consulting room, and seek confirmatory/discomfirmatory evidence in the immediate response of the patient (the ‘local’ component of the LCS model).
What are the four things that the LCS model says psychologists should do broadly?
- when doing clinical work, they display a QUESTIONING attitude and search for CONFIRMATORY evidence
- they APPLY research findings directly to practice
- they undertake EVALUATION of their actual practices - they assess the problem and the extent of it (prior to intervention), and assess if their treatment helped.
- they PRODUCE RESEARCH either collaboratively or more traditionally.
can also do this in treatment selection.
