Contemporary Psychology: Theories, Research Areas, and Professional Practice

  • Overview and context: Final video in the introductory section of "What is Psychology?," focusing on contemporary psychology as described in the textbook (likely Table 1.2).
  • Contemporary vs. historical perspectives: Some early perspectives are no longer actively taught or studied today.
  • Alive vs. dead theoretical perspectives:
    • Major "dead" perspectives include structuralism, functionalism, and pragmatism.
    • A perspective is "alive" if there are active schools, faculties, and students continually trained in that tradition (academic reproduction).
    • These "dead" perspectives lack ongoing programs, even if historical associations exist.
  • Historical anchors and dates (rough estimates):
    • Psychoanalysis: Dates back to around 1900 (Freud in late 1800s); older than the slide's initial date.
    • Evolutionary psychology: Newest, rooted in the 1980s, developed in the 1990s.
    • Takeaway: The list shows major contemporary perspectives and their general historical development, not precise chronology.
  • Purpose of the table for exam prep:
    • Provides a compact summary of the history of psychology from the textbook (first 13–14 pages).
    • Handy study tool for consolidating subject matter and basic premises for each perspective.
    • Focus on two columns for exams: subject matter and basic premise for each perspective (not memorizing names).
    • Example question: "Which theoretical perspective focuses on unconscious motives and experiences in early childhood that govern personality and mental disorders?" Answer: b) psychoanalytic.
  • Relationship to future course content: All theoretical perspectives will be explored in greater depth later in the course.
  • Psychology today: vigor and diversification:
    • Psychology is vigorous and diversified, reflecting growth across many cultures and groups.
    • Textbook Figure 1.6 (page 18) visualizes major research areas as a pie chart, showing the percentage of psychologists in each area.
    • Focus on understanding what each area studies (definitions), not exact percentages.
  • How people become researchers or specialists:
    • Specialization occurs in graduate school; admission depends on program offerings.
    • Many students pursue developmental, social, educational, or health psychology.
    • Kent State's program groups cognitive, psychometrics, personality, and physiological psychology under experimental psychology.
  • Areas of research vs. areas of professional specialty:
    • Figure 1.6 (research areas): Focus on what each area studies.
    • Figure 1.7 (professional specialties): Shows sizes of different practice areas.
    • Clinical psychology constitutes the vast majority of practicing psychologists at 72.1%72.1\%, with counseling, industrial-organizational, school, and "other" areas making up the remainder.
  • Clinical vs. counseling psychology:
    • Clinical psychologists: Trained for more severely disturbed populations.
    • Counseling psychologists: Focus on everyday adjustment problems (e.g., grief, relationship issues).
    • Both can assess, diagnose, and provide psychotherapy; psychologists generally do not perform surgery or prescribe medication in most U.S. states.
    • In practice, there's overlap, and some clinicians may work beyond their formal designation through further training.
  • Industrial-organizational (IO) psychology:
    • Known as the "big money" area due to its role as a consultant to business and industry.
    • High earning potential, even with a master's degree.
    • Kent State does not have an IO psychology graduate program or full-time faculty.
    • University of Akron emphasizes IO due to its regional corporate ties, creating a regional specialization pattern (Akron for IO, Kent State for clinical).
  • What this means for students and career planning:
    • Plan early for intended major and graduate specialization to ensure program availability.
  • Next steps and key ideas:
    • The next section covers the research process in psychology (Chapter 2).
    • All psychological knowledge is a product of scientific research; understanding methods is crucial for evaluation.
    • For exams, treat tables and figures as summaries, focusing on subject matter and basic premises