Topic 7: The Future of Psychology (Other Critical and Contemporary Movements) Flashcards
Electicism
the willingness to employ the most effective methods available in solving a problem
Hawthorne Effect
the finding that when employees knew that they were being observed and that workplace changes were being made to improve their productivity, that it did improve their productivity, no matter what those changes were
Lillian Gilbreth
a pioneer in the area of industrial-organizational psychology
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
the doctoral degree in clinical psychology that emphasizes training in the professional application of psychological principles rather than in scientific methodology
Weltanschauung
worldview or world-design
Premodernism
the belief that prevailed during the Middle Ages that all things, including human behavior, can be explained in terms of religious dogma
Modernism
the belief that improvement in the human condition can come about only by understanding and applying the abstract, universal principles that govern the universe (including human behavior)
in the search for these principles, unbiased rationality and empirical observation were emphasized
the period during which this belief prevailed is called the Enlightenment
Postmodernism
opposes the search for abstract, universal laws or principles thought to govern behavior
instead of being governed by abstract, universal laws or principles, human behavior, say the postmodernists, can be understood only within the cultural, group, or personal contexts within which it occurs
Language Games
according to Wittgenstein, the linguistic convention that guide activities within a community
taken collectively, language games describe a community’s “form of life”
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951)
argued that philosophical debates are over the meaning of words rather than over some truth or truths that exist independently of linguistic conventions
in other words, he argued that philosophical debates are over language games
he also argued that the ancient concept of essence should be replaced by the concept of family resemblance
Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976)
English philosopher of psychology and long-time editor of “Mind”
his book “The Concept of the Mind” (1949) provided an explanation of the mind-body problem as related to the language used
Family Resemblance
Wittgenstein’s contention that a category does not have a defining feature (essence) that must be shared by all members of the category
rather, there is a set of features distributed among members of a category, with no single feature essential for inclusion in the category
What are the divisions of the American Psychological Association?
founded in 1892 with a handful of charter members
today there are 54 divisions representing diverse areas of interests and specialties
membership becoming less important over time
in 1990 –> 58% female
in 2007 –> 72% female
What is the debate between science and application in the APA?
from psychology’s inception as a science there was tension between those wanting psychology to be a pure science (such as Wundt) and those wanting psychological principles to be applied to practical matters (such as Hall, Cattell, and Munsterberg)
the founding of the APA did not decrease this tension
the tension resulted in Titchener refusing to participate in any of its activities and he created his own organization, The Experimentalists
APA was reluctant to recognize clinical practice
the American Association of Applied Psychologists was also created
What is clinical psychology?
when clinical psychologists began engaging in psychotherapy, they began competing with psychiatrists
thus, they engaged in battles for the kinds of services they could provide
the only battle they had lost up to this point was the ability to prescribe medicine
however, state psychological associations are working toward legislation to gain these privileges
What is the training of clinical psychologists?
Witmer established the tradition that clinical psychology would be closely aligned with scientific psychology
the tradition of scientist-practitioner model was reconfirmed at the Boulder conference
a few years later a new professional degree, the doctor of psychology (PsyD), was instituted for those who were trained as applied clinicians without the research training
What are the characteristics of tender-minded philosophers developed by James?
observed that the tender-minded temperament characterizes members of the humanities
What are the characteristics of tough-minded philosophers developed by James?
observed that the tough-minded temperament characterizes scientists
What are psychology’s two cultures?
communication between tender and tough minded groups are thus all but impossible
research conducted by Kimble found that experimental psychologists tend to be tough-minded and humanistic psychologists and psychotherapists tend to be tender-minded
Is psychology a science?
Koch concludes that psychology is several disciplines, some of which are scientific, some of which are not
Koch believed that it would be more realistic to refer to our discipline as psychological studies rather than as the science of psychology
What is the unification of psychology?
the answer is based on the individual’s view of “unified” and the question remains: should it be unified?
What is diversity in psychology?
most would agree that psychology is still a collection of different facts, theories, assumptions, methodologies, and goals
Who was Sigmund Koch?
an important figure in the study of the history of psychology, best known for his six-volume history of psychology titled Psychology: A Study of Science
“Psychology is misconceived when seen as a coherent science or as any kind of coherent discipline devoted to the empirical study of human beings. Psychology, in my view, is not a single discipline, but a collection of studies of varied cast, some few of which may qualify as a science, whereas most do not.”
the idea of psychology as a science is aspirational
Who was Ludwig Wittgenstein?
complex writer
puts a boundary on what we can know in logical positivism
