Automation, human engineering, and psychology.

"The age of automation presents a challenge for the industrial psychologist. At the same time it clearly presents problems of interest to other areas of psychology besides industrial—social, counseling, and experimental among them." "Broadly defined, human engineering is a phase of engineering which applies knowledge of human factors to design of machines—or of products." "The age of automation confronts not only the industrial psychologist but the entire profession with changes in research and training." "Let the engineer learn more about man—and the psychologist more about the machine. Together with other human factor experts, they will help industry to supply all of us products of greater efficiency, comfort and safety." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convention publicity: should it grow?

"The question of what sort of public information program the APA should have generally starts a lively discussion." A principal obstacle "… that impedes the flow of a tremendous amount of psychology to the public… calls for the professional skills and intuitions of a public information specialist… ." The "… APA can get constructive publicity, in quantity, in all the mass media, not only at convention time, but throughout the year… " and the author believes "… that the APA should want it." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

American psychology in the sixties.

"I have arrived at an anticipated APA membership in 1970 between 30,000 and 33,000… . (It seems probable that APA will stabilize at about 30,000 members… . The PhD output of our graduate schools by 1970 will not be likely to exceed 1200." It is estimated that some 1200 APA members (6% of present total membership) are in full-time private practice in clinical psychology. "The principal reason for the growth in private practice of clinical psychology probably will be found in the acute and growing shortage of professionals available to meet mental health demands… . Sensible or not, the growth in psychology continues to be in the direction of application rather than basic research." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between psychology and psychiatry: the hidden issues.

The "… underlying bases of friction between professions of psychology and psychiatry" are explored. Friction emanating from psychiatry stems from the medical pretense of omniscience, an elevated regard for the M.D. degree, and the psychiatrist's position as "… low man on the medical totem pole." Activities of psychologists entering private practice represent "… an economic threat to psychiatrists." The "psychiatrist's theoretical dogmatism… can be attributed to lack of training and sophistication in the content and methods of psychology." Friction emanating from psychology stems from a claim to omniscience, an elevated regard for the degree in psychology, and psychologists trained in areas other than clinical becoming clinical psychologists "… by fiat alone… ." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gestalt psychology today.

The background of gestalt psychology is traced and relationships of gestalt psychology to physics are indicated. The notion of insight is reformulated. Certain trends in American psychology are not fully approved: "I doubt whether it is advisable to regard caution and a critical spirit as the virtues of a scientist, as though little else counted… . Too many young psychologists, it seems to me, either work only against something done by others or merely vary slightly what others have done before." Human experience in the phenomenological sense requires study. A gestalt view of motivation is presented "in terms of… forces which operate between certain perceptual processes and processes in another part of the brain, where a need may be physiologically represented." With de?mphasis on differences in Behaviorist and Gestalt schools and more emphasis on positive contributions of each, constructive work can be accomplished together. "It would be an extraordinary experience—and one good for psychology." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural trends and the task of psychology.

It is essential to "review some of the nonhardware implications of cultural change, particularly with reference to our profession of psychology. 3 aspects merit a particularly close look: the population explosion, the impact of automation, and man's violence toward man." An answer to the 1st aspect resides in world population control; many obstacles to that goal are attitudinal in nature. The impact of automation in our culture is only beginning to be felt. What is new is the number and variety of jobs being taken over by automatic operations and its result on the structure of society. "We are shaping a new robotized culture in which many people will be surplus amidst an economy of abundance." We seem to be heading toward a 2 class society—the essential and the surplus citizens. Hitler incinerated 6,000,000 Jews, Stalin starved 3,000,000 Kulaks; a significant task or goal is "that of proscribing violence in all forms of man toward man." It seems "likely that another world war will intervene before the 1st steps can be taken toward achieving a golden age for mankind. Emotionally, however, I do not feel pessimistic." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community psychology: Impressions of the Boston conference on the education of psychologists for community mental health.

Mental health "is shifting from the amelioration of illness to preventive intervention at the community level… community psychology is more than a by-product of clinical… it depends upon and interacts with all the basic areas of psychological knowledge. Particular emphasis [is] given to the contributions of social psychology, group dynamics, and child development." The Conference recommended that "some permanent organizational medium be established… to facilitate communication among psychologists with vital interest in community psychology." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New perspectives regarding positive mental health.

Critical comments regarding the terms "mental health" are indicated. "Needed is some rubric that at once retains the good will and enthusiastic participation of members of the mental health profession and their medical, health, and welfare colleagues, and yet effectively elicits the involvement of members of other social sciences, the humanities, education, religion, and philosophy—groups already committed to the exploration of new horizons and to guiding man toward the fulfillment of his aspirations." 4 areas of injury are noted "to illustrate some of the new perspectives for psychology in research and action regarding positive mental health or creative growth.… Greatly needed at this time are new conceptualizations that have compelling significance for all psychologist." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

1957 and 1958 Russian books in psychology, psychophysiology, and related areas in psychiatry.

"I have in my possession 51 Russian books in psychology, psychophysiology, and related areas of psychiatry—24 published in 1957 and 27 in 1958." The increased quantity of Russian books "is by all tokens being matched by a rise in quality." The "most outstanding books are in psychophysiology and not in psychology proper… . I would be glad to lend my books to Russian-reading psychologists planning published reviews." An annotated list of the 51 books is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creative health and the principle of Habeas Mentem.

"In the coming years, in order to keep our experts from imposing their own ideas and values on the not-so-expert, we may need to weave into all codes of professional conduct the principle of habeas mentem"—the right of a man to his own mind. "It seems to me a practical necessity for psychology to take definite steps to ensure that technical knowledge about human beings is made widely available to human beings." Four trends "… likely to affect the way life is lived in 1975… " are specified; the changing role of professions and the increasing concern with behavioral health are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explorations in ecological psychology.

The "great diversity of coupling between psychologists and psychological phenomena can be divided into 2 types which produce data of crucially different significance for the science of psychology." (1) Psychologists as Transducers—T Data: The psychologist transforms data and in effect is a translating machine. (2) Psychologists as Operators—O Data: The psychologist "achieves control which allows him to focus upon segments and processes of particular concern to him, via data that refer to events which he, in part, contrives." Psychologists "as operators and as transducers are not analogous, and… the data they produce have fundamentally different uses within science. A central problem of our science is the relation between ecological events (the distal stimuli) at the origin of E-O-E [environment-organism-environment] arcs and the succeeding events along these arcs." There "are a number of reasons for avoiding the role of transducer in psychological research… . The skills and personality attributes required of a successful transducer are different from those of a successful operator… . The techniques of the transducer are in many respects more difficult than those of the operator." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the design of machines.

Because of "human errors," psychologists were asked to help engineers produce machines which required less of the man and which, at the same time, exploited his special abilities. Psychologists, with the help of anatomists, physiologists and engineers "started a new inter-discipline aimed at better machine design and called variously human engineering, biomechanics, psychotechnology, or engineering psychology." The engineering psychologist: (1) studies the psychology of the human as a system component; (2) assists the engineer in experimentally evaluating prototype man-machine systems; and (3) cooperates actively with engineers in the design of machines. Some day "psychology, biology, and physics will… all employ the same physicomathematical metalanguage when describing the behavior of those particular system components which fall within their purview." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Philosophical embarrassments of psychology.

Philosophers "can fulfill a useful auxiliary role… in collaborating with productive scientists… as critics and catalysts." Theories "so conceived as to be irrefutable by any sort of evidence" constitute a methodological embarrassment for psychology. "The quest for certainty, the craving for infallibility, has produced the embarrassments of emptiness and circularity." The "most painful philosophical embarrassment of psychology" is "the definition of its very subject matter… . The embarrassment of unanswerable questions can be avoided if we do not introduce absolutely unconfirmable entities into our theories." In theory construction psychology's embarrassment is a methodological one. "The time has come to emancipate ourselves from the radical empiricism of the operationists and the behaviorists. A more liberal view of the nature of scientific theory will help us more adequately and clearly to assign to psychology its proper place in the uniting sciences and to remove many of the philosophical embarrassments that have stood in the way of scientific progress." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concerning professional ethics.

The ethical problem "is often too narrowly defined… . Whom or what should a profession serve? The nation? Its own economic interests? The public? The will of God? Humanity? Creative evolution? Or what?… How shall one draw the line between 'objective documentation' and a simple violation of confidences? Are certain methods appropriate to the very elite of psychology but in journalism appropriate only to those who are considered to be the scandal mongering fringe? This issue illustrates the perennial ethical problem of the relation between means and ends. Are certain methods meritorious when pursued by progressives, but unspeakably vile when used by conservatives? Or vice-versa?… The greatest power in the world is the power of rational decision. Atomic physics deals with the release of great forces, but answers to ethical questions may be the decisive ones for the future of humanity." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

And Esau was an hairy man.

Attention is focussed on "certain aspects of the professional behavior of industrial psychologists… . It is within the realm of possibility for legitimate PhDs in the profession of psychology to exhibit various shades of professional behavior under various levels of motivation. Both inside and outside the profession of psychology, alarms have arisen about the potential misuse of behavioral sciences in the control of human behavior." Attributes of professional and nonprofessional occupations are distinguished. What can be done to preserve our present status as professionals and also insure true professional behavior on the part of industrial psychologists? Realistic ethical codes will only guide the way. "Industrial psychology cannot operate under the rules of the open market. Either we develop acceptable rules of professional service to society or society will define the conditions of psychological practice by legal restrictions. The choice is up to us as to who will shape the future of industrial psychology. Smooth men or hairy ones." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Report of the executive Officer: 1961.

Psychologists "must continue to speak to college students, and with greater effectiveness than may be true at present." American Council on Education evidence "suggests that psychology, against the index year of 1955, may be losing ground proportionately as an undergraduate major field… . If we fail in creating an adequate perception of psychology among college students, we may mortgage our future beyond redemption." In governmental affairs "psychology's voice… is not as clear nor its message as self-assured as the voices of other scientists and scholars." The factors influencing processes in which the APA Central Office becomes involved are considered briefly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symposium on reciprocal influences in international psychology.

"The question of reciprocal influences was considered in terms of the number and distribution of psychologists throughout the world… . It was quickly conceded that, at present, influences in international psychology are not reciprocal and, perhaps, cannot be for some time to come. This problem is complicated not only by the sheer preponderance and resources of American psychology, but also by a general tendency to ignore attainments abroad, unless conveniently published in readily available English-language journals." Psychology "is an international science, to which psychologists everywhere can and do contribute… . We share a common enterprise with common goals and aspirations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of human behavior: The clinical psychologist.

The psychologist "has derived some benefit by the mixture of being a doctor but not being identified with the mentally ill person." By reviewing personal and cultural forces the attempt was made to establish the variety of emphases current in clinical psychology. "Nearly every adjustment pattern observed among clinicians has occurred as a result of training and experience in some university, school or clinic. As yet, no completely satisfying or dominant component of needs has been discovered for the training and role of the clinical psychologist… . But it is a backward step to discard special curricular requirements for clinical psychologists." A prime requirement for a profession is "a disciplined and recognizable training program." The public that supports us will demand "a real and inexorable service contribution that we have implicitly promised… . We evolved on the impetus of service need." A number of current conflicts of the clinical psychologist are indicated. "The only way professional psychologists can hold to a responsible place is by partial separation from the academic, basic science psychologists." Leaders in clinical psychology should "be more than 80% in real clinical work with ill patients." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology and the search for identity.

Students "are not given an integrated model with which to identify but are confronted instead by 2 apparently conflicting models—the scientific-research model and the clinical-practitioner model." To resolve the dissonance "most students tend to identify with either the research or the practitioner model, and to blot out or defend… against the other." There are severe identity problems for the clinical psychologist. "… the most pressing need in clinical psychology pertains to a reorganization of training, practice, and research in our approved university settings" to help provide a sound identity for clinical psychology and for eventually allowing a worthwhile contribution to be made to problems of personality maladjustment and change. Psychology requires its own clinical facility where research and practice are intimately related and tied together. "The psychological center would not only emphasize both research and practice, but would demonstrate the mutual interaction and reciprocal relationship of the 2." (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)