Law and psychology in Canada: The need for training and research.

Since most laws are enacted to regulate behavior, the law must make various assumptions about the way people act and how those actions can be controlled. The social scientific knowledge and skills of psychologists have many broad applications to the law. However, the full potential of law and psychology has not yet been realized in Canada. There are no joint law and psychology graduate programs in Canada, and a majority of the current psychological research has been narrowly focused on forensic issues. There is a need for increased training and research in this area to address unique Canadian issues and to avoid continued dependence on American psycholegal scholars. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some teachings from the history of social psychology.

Explores several questions relating to historical inquiry in the field of social psychology. During its Golden Age, 1945–1970, social psychology was busy defining different fields and paradigms, building theories, and verifying hypotheses; there was little time and need for reflection. The 1970s saw an era of doubts, critique and crisis, during which the constituted knowledge bases were undermined on a number of fronts: methodological, ethical, and theoretical. Examples of how critical history may serve a heuristic function for social psychology are given. The question of how to conduct historical inquiry is addressed, even for as problematic an object as social psychology's development in France. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social psychology, experimental psychology and the social psychology of the experiment.

Discusses the recent growth of experimental social psychology which has involved wholesale adoption of classical methodology as conceived by experimental psychology. Paradoxically, research and writings on the "social psychology of the experiment" raise serious questions about certain assumptions implicit in classical methodology, i.e., those concerning the nature of the subject matter and the relationship between E and S. The views of R. Rosenthal, M. T. Orne, and others are discussed in this context and general implications considered in the light of the humanistic movement in American psychology. The general conclusion is that the values and criteria for all experimentation in psychology may be destined to undergo a radical reorientation. (French summary) (32 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational psychology in the postmodern era: Comment on Richardson (1993).

M. S. Richardson (see record 1994-07341-001) has proposed that vocational psychology be repositioned to a new theoretical location from which to produce knowledge about work in people's lives. This article underscores the importance of Richardson's proposal and comments on 3 features of the new location that is mapped out for vocational psychology: defining work as a social activity of everyday life, using multiple realities constructed by perspectivity, and legitimizing knowledge by its usefulness in practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rebuilding the ship at sea: The historical and theoretical problems of constructionist epistemologies in psychology.

Argues that constructionist positions may provide important answers to critiques of psychological theories in the twentieth century. Focus is on the mental characterization of psychology and the intentional nature of the mental. The constructionist argument in psychology is drawn by tracing its roots in the sociology of knowledge and antifoundational philosophy. The problems of language bear centrally on the constructionist thesis, particularly the view that psychological phenomena are inherently linguistic and lingual. In recent years, constructionist programs in psychology have begun to reorient and reconstruct understandings of the subject matter in such areas as social, developmental, and cognitive psychology. The charge of relativism remains a serious challenge for the constructionist, although a coherentist interpretation of constructionist justifications may resolve this issue. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applied social psychology: A partial response to Sarason's suggested divorce.

S. B. Sarason (see record 1977-06620-001) has recently called for a divorce of community psychology from clinical psychology and community mental health, and has proposed as an alternative a loose confederation among community psychology, ecological psychology, and the social sciences. Sarason's rejection of social psychology as having little to offer community psychology is countered by a call for the rejuvenation and full development of applied social psychology, involving a creative integration of theory, research, and practice at all levels of human social functioning. Examples of useful concepts, research, and practice skills are given for 8 levels of interaction, and the advantages of approaching the community from an applied social psychology perspective are made clear. (French summary) (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some thoughts on health promotion.

Defines health promotion as the planned use of resources to encourage the maintenance and enhancement of health and prevention of disease. A study by G. J. Botvin (1980) is described in which the psychological factors affecting cigarette smoking in adolescents were examined. The study illustrated the relationship between psychological knowledge and health promotion. It is suggested that health promotion is an area in behavioral medicine with applications for applied social psychology and for applied psychological research. (French abstract) (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task perceptions and behavioural expectations: A process-oriented approach to subject behaviour in experiments.

Because of its emphasis on the documentation of artifact, previous research on the social psychology of the psychological experiment has not appreciably advanced understanding of S behavior. Prior research has tried to classify Ss' behavior as representing 1 of 4 preconceived roles that presumably bias data. The present study, in contrast, used an approach that regarded Ss' behavior as an integral part of the process of experimentation and attempted to explore Ss' perceptions of the dimensions relevant to experimental behavior. Specifically, this approach conceived of a single, multidimensional S role and viewed Ss' reactions as natural and legitimate within the experimental situation as it was experienced. Data from 858 college students are presented that identify some dimensions of Ss' perceptions of experimental tasks and their expected behaviors. The interrelationship of the behavioral expectations and task perceptions suggests that this process-oriented approach may provide a more constructive alternative to prevailing theory and research on the social psychology of the experiment. (French abstract) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disappearances, silences, and anxious rhetoric: Gender in abnormal psychology textbooks.

Argues that from a feminist perspective the history of clinical psychology reveals a troubled relationship with women. Diagnoses and treatments have at times controlled and victimized women. Over the past 25 yrs, feminist scholarship, activism, and practice have contributed to knowledge. Yet, these accomplishments may go unnoticed in the field of abnormal psychology. Besides sexism, there may be other sources of resistance. Textbooks present disorders as abstracted, medicalized entities. Within this frame of reference, everyday identities, social categories (such as gender), and cultural politics are rendered irrelevant. Textbooks present an idealized image of psychology as a scientific, objective discipline that is humane and beneficent. That image could not be sustained if an accurate account of its history and social relations were given as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the three worlds: As reflected by the crisis in social psychology and the move toward indigenous third-world psychology.

The three worlds in which psychologists research and practice are distinguished: The first consists of the United States, the second comprises the other developed nations, and third is made up of the developing countries. The three worlds have unequal capacities for producing and disseminating psychological knowledge and for shaping psychology; the dominant power is the first world. The crisis in western social psychology is reviewed and is interpreted as partly arising from an attempt by the second world to establish a distinct social psychology, independent of that of the United States. The movement toward a third-world psychology indicates a possible challenge to the domination of first- and second-world psychologies in third-world societies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The implications of social influence research for a conceptual framework for psychological social psychology.

The conceptual framework of psychological social psychology is scientific (in the image of the natural sciences) and includes, but is not limited to, determinism, behaviorism, and individualism. Focusing on research on social influence, this paper demonstrates problems with, and changes occurring in, that conceptual framework while setting the research in its historical context. Those problems, it is argued, are fundamental to, and not resolvable within, the conceptual framework of the subdiscipline. A reformulation of the conceptual framework of psychological social psychology is recommended. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reappraisal of Wundt's influence on social psychology.

Discusses the social psychology of Wundt and its link to current developments in the constructionist movement in modern psychology. The historical lines of descent from Wundt's experimental psychology to American behaviorist social psychology are traced, and the relationship between Wundt's (1911) Volkerpsychologie to the social scientists who kept alive Wundt's social psychological orientation and who figure as antecedents of postmodern constructionism is delineated. With historical hindsight, the behaviorist program for social psychology may now be seen as an aberrant detour around the fundamental questions of social psychology. The questions asked by Wundt appear to be perennial questions. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in applied social psychology: Rationale and core experiences.

Argues that training in applied social psychology should build on the definition, characteristics, and role possibilities of the field to create a unique identity for graduates. Core experiences include a socialization process that integrates theory, research and practice, continuous interdisciplinary involvement in field settings, and apprenticeship training combined with independent scholarship. The graduate program at the University of Saskatchewan is cited as an example. (French abstract) (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The potential role of theory in the training of applied social psychologists.

There are a number of deficiencies in contemporary social-psychological theory as both a knowledge base and a guide for research and practice in applied social psychology. In principle, theory should be integrated with research and practice and should serve both a knowledge building and a guiding function for the discipline. In practice, much contemporary theory, based on laboratory experiments on intra- and interpersonal processes, is limited in its capacity to explain complex, real-world social behaviour. This paper discusses the actual and potential role of social-psychological theory in applied social psychology in relation to graduate training. A graduate programme offering the M.A. and Ph.D. is described in terms of objectives, requirements, and job placements. A survey of graduates is also reported. The role of theory in training M.A. students is problematic: theses are often atheoretical with an emphasis on research methodology, particularly programme evaluation. The Ph.D. programme requires the integration of theory with research and consultation activities and is attempting to increase the use of theory in the development of social programmes, the amelioration of social problems, and the formation of social policy. It is proposed that social-psychological theories covering several levels of analysis are necessary to understand social behaviour and to provide an adequate base for applied training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The idea of an interdisciplinary social psychology: An historical and rhetorical analysis.

Discusses the notion of interdisciplinarity in the history of social psychology. Disciplinary historians generally have some axe to grind, some reasons for telling their tale as they do. But interdisciplinarity also has a rhetoric, one of "sharing" and "bridge-building," "integration" and "synthesis." Some of the functions of these rhetorics are identified. The paper ends with a rejection of the notion of an interdisciplinary social psychology as a solution to social psychology's problems and endorses the call for a "flexible union" of the human sciences. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social psychological research and clinical practice: An academic paradox.

Social psychological research has not had the impact on clinical practice that the nature of its subject matter indicates is appropriate. A major reason for this lack of impact is a paradox inherent in academic life. As they climb the academic ladder, social psychologists, who presumably have chosen their field of study because of an interest in the way in which people live and think, become increasingly remote from and increasingly aloof from the everyday life of normal people. Five aspects of academic training and institutional life that reinforce and maintain this paradox are identified. Two examples of a type of research that can overcome the paradox and increase the impact of social psychology on clinical practice are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhancing the social ethics of psychology: Toward a psychology at the service of social change.

Presents a proposal for furthering the social ethics of psychology under the general term conscientization (P. Freire, 1971), which entails carrying out 2 tasks, denunciation and annunciation. It is argued that in contrast to its considerable efforts to insure proper ethical behavior toward individual clients, psychology has virtually neglected its moral obligations to society. Psychology can contribute to the advent of social change toward a "good" society by making explicit the process by which people come to accept the current social order as the best possible one, and by proposing strategies to counteract this pervasive phenomenon. This article illustrates how psychological research and psychologists can significantly transform social structures incapable of promoting human welfare. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trends in conformity research.

Performed a content analysis of all English-language journal articles (1967–1973) studying behavioral conformity. The literature provides little indication of change from established modes of operation since the E. P. Hollander and R. H. Willis (1967) review. Little attention had been paid to role-related motives; criticisms of the ANOVA design; alternative responses to social pressure; theory construction; use of nonreactive techniques; and replication and programmatic research. Problems in conformity research are seen as general problems confronting the researcher/theorist in contemporary social psychology. (French abstract) (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic Aptitude and Prior Knowledge as Predictors of Student Achievement in Introduction to Psychology.

Earlier research has shown that prior knowledge of psychology is positively associated with course achievement. But are these effects attributable to preexisting differences in general ability or aptitude? The authors administered 2 pretests to 353 students early in an introductory psychology course and obtained measures of general student aptitude (i.e., ACT scores), subsequent course participation, and exam performance. In regression analyses, the pretest of psychological knowledge uniquely predicted significant variance in exam scores even with the influences of ACT scores and course participation controlled. A second pretest judging the accuracy of everyday psychological concepts also positively correlated with exam performance but did not predict unique variance in the regression. Thus, beyond general ability, domain-specific prior knowledge facilitates student learning in introductory psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The explosion of knowledge, references, and citations: Psychology's unique response to a crisis.

The knowledge explosion has created enormous difficulties for researchers to be aware of, access, and process the volume of new literature. Electronic literature retrieval systems and specialization on narrow topics have been strategies used to cope with these problems. In this study, the authors examined the additional effects of the knowledge explosion on researchers' writing, referencing, and citing. Counts of references within sampled empirical journal articles in sociology, physics, biology, and experimental and social psychology revealed impacts of the knowledge explosion in all disciplines but the greatest effects within psychology. Detailed analyses indicated that substantial changes in the numbers of references and citations and in their format and use within the research article are psychology's unique response to the knowledge explosion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)