Confronting psychology's power (original) (raw)
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The Society celebrates its centenary in 2001, a fitting juncture at which to explore the relationship between psychology and the public. The history of this relationship is longer than a hundred years: at the beginning of the last century, psychology had already come a long way from its roots. In its 'long past' psychology had been entwined with philosophy. Yet by the late 1800s, psychology had met a crossroads, one fork leading to the spiritual psyche, the other to scientific methods and aims of debunking . Henceforth psychology was not only concerned with communicating the substance of research, but also with secularisation: severing 'spiritual' psychology from the canon of scientific activity.
On the Cover Psychologists in action
2013
a professor of psychology and the director of the Center for the Study of Diversity at the University of Delaware, is considered one of the leading experts on prejudice, racism, and diversity in academia. Over the course of his career, he has secured millions in federal grants to advance the education and training of generations of minority psychologists. In 2011, APA presented him with an Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology Award for his career as a scientist, academic, author, administrator, thinker, innovator, and social justice advocate. (© Lloyd Wolf) melba J.t. vasquez, PhD, 2011 APA president, is an independent practitioner from Austin, TX, with over 3 decades of experience in APA governance. As a leader in her field, she has focused on raising the visibility and participation of women and ethnic minorities in psychology, developing feminist and culturally competent services for women and minorities, and advancing scholarship and ethics within the field. (© www.fotomatt.com) valarie mOlaisOn, PhD (left), and tiffany Griffin, PhD, are among a select group of APA members who spend a year on Capitol Hill as APA congressional fellows, directly participating in the federal legislative process. Molaison is working in the office of Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), and Griffin in the office of Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). Molaison is funded by the American Psychological Foundation (APF) as the Jacquelin Goldman Fellow; Dr. Goldman made her bequest to APF to support a psychologist with a background in developmental psychology. (© Lloyd Wolf) Keith D. CiCerOne, PhD, director of neuropsychology and rehabilitation psychology at the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison, NJ, specializes in helping patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) return to fully functional, independent lives. He has been called on by the military to help develop guidelines for treating TBI and is working to ensure that soldiers with TBI get the services they need.
2017
No man can be acquainted with all of psychology today, as our convention program proves. The scene resembles that of a circus, but a circus grander and more bustling than any Barnum ever envisioneda veritable week-long diet of excitement and pink lemonade. Three days of smartly paced performance are required just to display the new tricks the animal trainers have taught their charges. We admire the agile paper-readers swinging high above us in the theoretical blue, saved from disaster by only a few gossamer threads of fact, and we gasp as one symposiast thrusts his head bravely between another's sharp toothed jaws. This 18-ring display of energies and talents gives plentiful evidence that psychology is going places. But whither? (p. 671). This was the key question: whither? In other words, where was psychology going? Or, more generally: what was it that was going? And thus, similarly: where has 'it' been? Cronbach's metaphorical circus is a common topos for many psychologists, but usually under a more down-to-earth name: psychology's crisis of disunity. Much has been written about it since the 1950s. And not only by psychologists-just looking at the history of the naming conventions trying to delimit psychology as a science is indicative of how interesting this question was and is for historians and sociologists. 1 1 For a sample of the many treatments of disunity by psychologists,
Foreword: Meanings of “Psychology as Politics”
Political Psychology, 2001
The theme of this special issue, Psychology as Politics, signals an important new line of thinking in political psychology that has until now rarely been explored in this journal. This is not to say that psychologists or philosophers have not written about this theme in the past; they have. Some contributors to this issue have written extensively on the subject, but on the whole, political psychology and the established discipline of psychology have neglected this theme. This is somewhat peculiar, because first, it clearly falls within the scope of these disciplines' interest. Second, it seems to me that this theme must inevitably have preoccupied many psychologists, including political psychologists. It constitutes the "backbone" of the discipline and can be related to various issues that each psychologist, including political psychologists, must have had to consider in his or her career. I assume that in fact many of us were concerned with the theme at least in passing, because it touches the foundations of our being as academic professionals. It raises basic questions about the roots and foundations of political psychology, about our identity as political psychologists, about the state of our discipline, about the professional organization, about the relationship between the society we live in and our discipline and personal contribution, and about the criteria for success in our profession. Nonetheless, some aspects of psychology as politics have never received wide legitimacy as themes for study. In my opinion, this is a reflection of the difficulties in contemplating these problems, writing about them, and publishing work about them in established psychological journals (see below). It is therefore a significant advance that Colin Wayne Leach and Ken Gergen have attempted to open the closet for us, to peek inside and explore the theme, through this special issue of Political Psychology. The theme Psychology as Politics is not a clearly circumscribed or easily recognized area. It indicates the state of affairs in psychology, or rather the states, as there are various meanings of psychology as politics, each highlighting a different aspect or state of affairs. Because psychology is a discipline whose
Activism Encyclopedia of critical psychology
The relationship between psychology and activism has taken many forms. Throughout the history of the discipline, psychologists have used psychological research in order to under- stand and address issues of inequality and injustice, to promote social and political change, while others have taken activism and social movements as objects of inquiry. Some of the most powerful and radical activism within psychology has come from those who have challenged the power structures and practices of the discipline itself. This rich, though often omitted, history of activism in psychology has informed and inspired an ongoing tradition of critical activist work in and around psychology.
The political unconscious of psychology: Clinical psychology and social change
Professional Psychology, 1970
What role should psychologists play in attempting to solve social problems? Where does being a psychologist end and being an activist begin? Is there in fact a dichotomy between professional and political roles? This essay will attempt to show that, at least in the mental health professions, it may be impossible to differentiate professional from political functions. Further, the author will attempt to show that since its inception, and despite the explicit liberalism of many of its practitioners, clinical psychology has been committed to a political perspective that has consistently led it away from a productive involvement in social change.