Psychologist
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Spring, 2003 Volume 38 Number 1 The Psychologist A publication of the Society for General Psychology Division One of the American Psychological Association Officers 2003 President J.Bruce Overmier Professor of Psychology University of Minnesota N-218 Elliott Hall 75 E River Rd. Minneapolis, MN 55455\ Email: [email protected] Tel: 612-625-1835 Past–President Linda Bartoshuk President–Elect A year ago, TGP went online with Peter Salovey a pdf version available on the Secretary Michael Wertheimer Society’s web page. Members Department of Psychology University of Colorado with email addresses were noti- Boulder, CO 80302 fied and more than 90% of these Treasurer began to receive their issues in Lee H. Matthews this fashion. This meant that Members-at-Large Wayne Camara some 60% of the members were Frank Farley able to save the Society the cost Susan Mineka Bonnie Strickland of printing, postage and handling Wendy Williams the three issues from last year, a Representative to APA Council Michael Wertheimer savings of several thousand dollars and a big stack of paper. Editor: The General Psychologist C. Alan Boneau All those who have been partici- 6518 Ridge Drive Bethesda, MD 20816 pating in this experiment are [email protected] hereby thanked. Historian Donald Dewsbury This is the election issue with Editor: Review of General Psychology bios and blurbs from candidates Douglas Candland for the office of President-Elect Department of Psychology Bucknell University of the Society contained within. Lewisburg, PA 17837 [email protected] The Psychologist Messages from Society President Overmier One of the challenges that faces our Society of economics and not in psychology. Indeed, the war General Psychology is to know who we are in terms is between psychologists offering psychological of our specific interest areas as well as our interest services and non-psychologists purporting to offer in “General Psychology”. This led me to lookup the psychological services, for examples, in treatment degree to which our members are also members of of anxiety disorders it is clinical psychologist ver- other divisions of APA and the degree to which sus aroma therapists (or others who may or may not other divisions’ members are members of Society of be degreed but are not psychologists), or in setting General Psychology. I thought the results were of up behavioral screens for potential anxiety drugs it sufficient interest that I want to share them with you. is between experimental psychologists and neuro- Approximately 10% of our members also belong to scientists not trained in behavioral methods. In each of the Divisions 2 (Teaching), 3 (Experimen- both cases, the inexpert are intruding upon the tal), 8 (Personality and Social), 12 (Clinical), 26 domains of the expert—and nobody likes that. (History), 29 (Psychotherapy), and 42 (Independent Not only are practitioner and experimental psy- Practice). Reciprocally, 10% (or more) of the mem- chologists not in different camps, but they comple- bers of Divisions 2 (Teaching), 3 (Experimental), 6 ment each other. NIH funds university researchers (Behavioral Neuroscience & Comparative), 10 primarily in hopes of eventually finding new prin- (Arts), 21 (Applied Experimental & Engineering), 24 ciples for developing better diagnoses and treat- (Theoretical & Philosophical), 26 (History), 34 ments. The practicing clinician finds phenomena (Population & Environmental), and 52 (Interna- that need principled understanding and pose chal- tional) belong to the Society of General Psychol- lenges to research; for example, they may find that ogy. Clearly, the members of Division 1, the Society some unusual treatment works (and can in fact be of General Psychology, are diverse in focal inter- empirically validated such as EMDR) but the prin- ests while maintaining their commitment to one ciple remains elusive and awaits experimental dis- psychology as a whole. Should we be surprised by covery (probably ‘exposure’ as I read the current this? No, I think not; consider that we all went to literature: e.g., Shepherd, Stein, Milne, 2000, school together and were trained in a common Psychol Med, 30, 863-871). It is this interplay that epistemology. has advanced our field in clinical practice, in hu- One thing that makes overlap of members espe- man factors, in testing and evaluation, in educa- cially interesting is that there are many who are tion, etc., and was foundational in the commitment always trying to divide psychology and psycholo- to the Boulder model of training. Commitment to gists into “camps”. For example, Carol Tavris that model may be waning and perhaps for good recently wrote in the Chronicle of Higher Education reasons; I cannot be certain, and, thus, I retain my that groups within APA are at war with each other. commitment to the Boulder model. My recently I think that is false. It is true that those who are in deceased colleague, Paul Meehl, was the perfect salaried positions—as epitomized by academic re- example the Boulder-type psychologist and the searchers—and those who are entrepreneurial— mutual enrichment and real gains for psychology as epitomized by those in independent as a whole that arise from the interplay among real practice—do want and expect different things from world phenomena, experimental data, and theory. APA, their national organization, in helping them Would that I could emulate him more closely. hold onto and advance their psychological activi- ties. So they do have conflicts about how APA One very difficult (indeed “taboo”) area of dis- should use its resources to advance the public agreement that is important has to do with persons image of psychologists and psychology, to whom trained in our Psychology Departments who termi- these efforts should be directed, and even how nate their training with a Master’s degree. While training should be construed. But this is different APA struggles with maintaining its membership, from being at war with each other, and the root is in Spring, 2003 Volume 38:1 Pages 3 - 4 4 there are some 270,000 MA persons from Psychol- Dear Colleagues in Division 1. ogy Departments that are employed in the USA (federal data). But these Masters level (MA) per- Alan Boneau has informed me that he wishes after sons are not afforded full membership in APA, nor many years of service to the Division to give up his encouraged to join, nor served well— while at the responsibilities and pass them on to another. same time APA now solicits college and even high Alan is the Editor of our division newsletter, THE school students as affiliates. This seems strange to GENERAL PSYCHOLOGIST, which appears 3 me! The reasons behind this are those economic times per year carrying to our members news of the ones I have mentioned above. Many worry that division and its activities, news of the division’s Masters level psychologists compete with the PhD annual program, and—to my reading—some im- level psychologists in the providing of services. To portant, insightful, and fun papers by members reduce the competition, CAPP proposed and APA (and sometimes about them—if you read the inter- has long endorsed efforts to prevent Master level view with Corsini). I have saved some of the indi- persons from (1) becoming full members of APA vidual papers for my reference for years; I found and (2) from being licensed as “psychologists”. Greg Kimble’s discussions of general psychology This is called the protection-of-title. Oddly, APA especially insightful. This newsletter is an im- has not pursued the protection of scope-of-practice, portant part of the division’s services to members which one would presume could be reasonably and key to retaining our members. It is also our divined from the differences in training and levels division’s voice to carry messages about the state of expertise. [Scope-of-practice protection is what of psychology. This job is both a responsibility physicians have, and it is this they use to differen- and an opportunity. tiate themselves from physician assistants, among others.] I certainly agree and support differentiat- We need to identify from among our members, ing practices of PhDs and MAs, and I accept the candidates for the editorship of THE GENERAL PhD level as that required for full independent PSYCHOLOGIST. We want someone whose vi- practice. However, somehow, membership in APA sion and enthusiasm for general psychology can and licensing have become conflated issues. They be a lens for focusing on our activities and for need not be, and indeed there are advantages to all selecting (and soliciting) papers to appear in THE in separating these issues. While some of APA’s GENERAL PSYCHOLOGIST. Nominations are members may see advantages to current policy, now in order (including self nominations). others—primarily the academic and science mem- Please take this call very seriously and give some bers—perceive disadvantages. While the federal thought to who might serve as the new editor. If tables are organized in less than perfect ways, it you have a person in mind, you might also give appears that about 50% of the MA psychologists them a call to assess their willingness. (and perhaps two thirds —depending on how one reads the tables) are not involved in providing Ideally, Al would like to have the person on board clinical services, but rather employed in manage- so that they could work together on the second ment, industry, R&D, consulting, educational insti- issue of this year, with transfer by the final issue. tutions, and government. And, these are valued But other transition phasing may be possible if we colleagues in using psychology to solve real world beg a bit. problems. The real threat to psychology and its quality practice is from other professions (e.g., So- Thank you for your help on this.