Of models and men.

"Although already too complicated for the average psychologist to handle… [theories of learning] are not yet adequate to account for the behavior of a rodent on a runway." A mathematical model is proposed and considered in terms of certain empirical data. Game theory is also considered. A mathematical model emerges which then has a guiding role in the planning and interpretation of further experiments. Correspondences between properties of the model and properties of human behavior are sought as both model and man are "confronted with a series of increasingly novel and complex learning situations." The writer has "found that the steepest obstacle to theory construction in psychology is not the complexity of behavior." Rather it is a combination of centuries of prescientific stereotypes and "the pronouncements of the academicians who have always known in advance, apparently by divine inspiration, exactly what kind of theory is possible and proper for psychology." Experimental subjects will indicate through their behavior to what kind of theory psychology is entitled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A terminal course for psychology majors.

A special course for senior psychology majors "… in which one step has been taken in the direction away from the conservative tradition of lecturing and examining" is described. The students' first assignment is to list "… the ten most persistent and pressing problems of personal and social living… " and the second is to "… select the ten concepts, laws, or principles which you believe to be the most significant… ." From these the "… subject matter of the rest of the term is established." There is "… frequent and favorable reaction from students… ." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in flux: The academic-professional bipolarity.

The "main fission in psychology is that between academic psychology and professional psychology." Clinical, industrial, and social psychology, among other applied fields, have expanded dramatically since World War II. Experimental psychology itself is now being professionalized. Serious problems stem from the fact that most graduate curricula are oriented to training "pure scientists" as scholars while most psychology graduates will "wind up in professional work outside universities and colleges." One solution is "to set up a school forthrightly embracing both academic and professional graduate training." There would be an "academic department" and a separate "professional department." (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)     

At random: Sense and nonsense.

"It is often said that psychologists are captivated by the magic of words." One example of this is the epidemic use by psychologists of the word 'design.' " "Despite glib talk about using factor analysis to test hypotheses, practically no users of factor analysis ever test hypotheses." A psychologist may "trudge off weighted down with a box full of statistical tools in search of a research problem that permits him to display skill with his tools." Most psychologists "without intentional eavesdropping know that occasionally their theory oriented colleagues simply discard all data of an experiment as bad data if not in agreement with the theory, and start over. The theory is, of course, always good." The theorist who has the one and only approach and solution to all, or nearly all, psychological problems "tends to lure those among us who have a low tolerance for the ambiguity that flourishes in psychology." This "model business is nothing more than a new name for old hat stuff… . The question of the usefulness of mathematical models and, to a certain extent, the value of high powered statistical techniques is debatable." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate training for community clinical psychology.

"In this paper we will review some of the basic principles which seem to underlie the training of psychologists for professional careers in the field of mental health, examine these principles in relation to the developments that have occurred in this field since World War II, explore the implications of these factors for graduate training in psychology in general and clinical psychology in particular, and describe a training program in which we are attempting to apply these principles." The program at the University of Nebraska "has developed over the last 13 years." In it there has been a shift from "teaching psychological tests to teaching the use of psychologist tests as an aid to understanding people's problems." (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)     

Psychology as a general social science course.

Acourse entitled "An Introduction to the Sciences of Human Behavior" which "… represents a serious effort to coordinate and integrate the data of… " psychology, anthropology, and sociology is described. "The orientation is toward problem solving in a scientific sense, but not in the sense of applied science." Research indicates that "… freshmen in the inter-disciplinary course learn as much psychology as sophomores in the traditional course." The course is organized around three lectures and one discussion session a week. A brief resumé of the major psychology topics considered in the course is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High school psychology: A history and some observations.

Psychology has been in the secondary curriculum by title since at least 1895. 390 questionnaires were sent to superintendents and principals in 46 states. "Returns were received from 39 states which represented 64% of the original mailing." A table indicating dates for the introduction of psychology into the curriculum ranged from 1895 to 1959 discloses "a gradual increase in the number of schools introducing the course up to the modal year 1948." Once in the curriculum it tends to remain. Schools indicate 3 major reasons why psychology is not being offered and why others drop it: (a) an already crowded curriculum; (b) lack of trained teachers; (c) since "the trend of today is toward a more intense development of science, psychology cannot be offered." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychologist of the future: Scientist, professional, or both.

A familiar issue in psychology is the "relation between our science and its applications." As the goal of doctoral training, the present explicit model of the psychologist as the combination scientist-professional is considered. 3 alternative conceptions are considered: (a) to train psychologists exclusively as scientists; (b) exclusively as professionals; (c) to "train two brands, one for scientific work only, the other for professional work only." Each proposal is considered. Criteria proposed "lead me to prefer our present models for training psychologists to any of the alternatives available." Major topic headings are: the scientist-professional conception of the psychologist in practice, alternative conceptions of the psychologist, re-examination of the scientist-professional model, training the scientist-professional, the psychologist of the future. (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)     

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)     

The case of clinical psychology: A search for identity.

Clinical psychology presents itself in a state of chronic anxiety, great ambivalence, insecurity, and self-doubt." Clinical psychology is confused concerning its identity. The "role of the internship in the training of clinical psychologists is a crucial one." It should provide a clear example of the role model the clinician will eventually be expected to assume. "Both academic departments and internship training centers must assume fully their responsibility for training clinical students in the role society demands of them." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology: Comments and suggestions.

Society is in need of and has demanded psychological services; there is an increase in concern with the professional problems inherent in offering services to the public. A 6-point program is offered: (a) Experienced clinicians are needed to teach university courses in psychotherapy or diagnostic testing. (b) Full professional responsibility must await postdoctoral experience. (c) Psychology must take active steps to encourage high school students and undergraduates to seek psychology as a vocation. (d) New measures must be taken to develop a genuine "research attitude," if productivity in the clinical as well as other areas of psychology is to be increased. (e) A new journal is needed that will provide space for airing clinical professional problems, clinical case studies, clinical theoretical articles, and similar material. (f) Psychological organizations should take heed of the needs and demands of the service-oriented psychologists, "to place high on the agenda problems of professionalization." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Flesch counts of eight current texts for introductory psychology.

100-word samples were taken from ten pages randomly selected from eight introductory psychology texts. These samples were analyzed for objective reading ease and human interest according to the techniques discussed by Flesch. It was concluded that by "Flesch's standards, none of the eight books could be classified as Easy or Interesting to read." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A personal view of some issues facing psychologists.

"First of all, I am concerned that the general climate of American psychology today does a great deal to discourage original and creative thinking, and little to foster it." "A second concern which I feel is in regard to the risk of becoming parochial. There appear to be strong forces at work in our field to narrow psychology." A third area "… which I feel troubled about is the trend in psychology. It seems to me that there is, in our profession, a real fear of thinking about the meaning of what we are doing." These issues are briefly discussed, questions are raised regarding the issues, and some suggestions are made for resolution of the problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychologist as a behavioral scientist in the business school.

There is now a need for entering faculty personnel in business schools "to apply the behavioral science point of view as integrated members of the business faculty, rather than as distinguished visitors from the psychology department." Recent studies critical of business curricula have stressed the importance of the behavioral sciences in the business school curriculum. The "educational and research experiences leading to the doctorate in industrial psychology" gives the industrial psychologist the opportunity to "fill the role of behavioral scientist in the business school." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in nineteenth century high schools.

"Psychology as a teaching subject in high schools has been a topic of active discussion by groups and individuals for the past decade." In the writer's collection of textbooks by American authors published prior to 1890, "there are seven which the authors claim are intended for use in high schools, although in two cases it is made clear that the texts are intended for teachers and not pupils." "While we have no data on the amount of use made of these textbooks in secondary schools, the fact that they were issued for such use suggests that the teaching of psychology in high schools has been considered possible for over a century." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Force Four Psychology: Interactionism.

Notes that the three previous major forces setting the direction of applied psychology have been psychoanalytic, behavioral, and humanistic. All of them have been blended to some extent, but all, over time, have retained their basic flavors. The persons today most closely associated with each of the three forces are S. Freud, B. F. Skinner, and A. Maslow, respectively. Behaviorism was an attempt to make psychology more scientific. Humanistic psychology, the third force, is a reaction or really the antithesis to the first two. The current author describes "interactionistic psychology" or "force four psychology" as a possible synthesis of the previous three forces. A working definition of interactionism, taken from a quote by S. Chess (1979), is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)