| Abstract: | Utilized the competencies reported by a random sample of 2,900 (20%) of psychologists who responded to both the National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel and to an American Psychological Association (APA) questionnaire dealing with qualifications to consult on public policy and social problems in 1968. The Register questionnaire allowed Ss to specify a maximum of 5 specialities, while the APA questionnaire respondents could check as many public policy or social problem areas as were applicable. A correlation matrix of psychological specialities with social problems and public psychological specialities were developed which revealed definite patterns of relationships, as well as many isolated but reasonable correlations. The 31 factors observed had a possible use for program planning in that they show the actual clustering of specialities for working psychologists rather than a traditional or theoretical grouping. Discussion of the matrix centered around 2 approaches: (a) examination of a particular social problem and the factors related to it; and (b) the specialty factor, its relationship to problems and the transferability of psychological skills to problem areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
