PSYC312 - HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 9 Notes - New Professions of Psychology Profession Defined - The word profession emerged in the 12th century, meaning "a business ... that one publicly avows" or professes to be. - Profession is defined as: " A calling that requires specialized knowledge and often long and intensive preparation . Includes instruction in skills and methods, maintaining high standards of achievement and conduct, and committing to continued study to render a public service. - Components inherent in what is defined as a profession include: · Specialized knowledge involving intensive training " High standards of practice supported by a code of ethics . Continuing education . Provision of a service to the public. - Psychology meets the criteria for a profession: · Requires a doctoral degree " Requires a full year of internship work · Must practice under a written code of ethics. - Continuing education is typically required for psychologists to maintain licensure. Most professions have a standardized curriculum, ensuring comparable training across programs: - " Professionals belong to national, regional, and local organizations -> important for professional development (e.g., APA, CPA) · Professionals have journals published in field that address issues of concern to professional practice. · Professionals are certified or licensed > licensing laws dictate what a professional can do, protecting activities associated with profession. - Chapter 9 discusses professionalization of psychology in terms of those characteristics. Experiences in WWI - Applied psychology was already in progress before WWI - During WWI: " Psychologists were placed in new applied settings they had not experienced before > even those who were not interested in doing applied work before the war - Robert Yerkes + Army Alpha & Beta Test " Psychologists played a crucial role in testing soldiers using Army Alpha and Army Beta " Study was headed by Yerkes -> president of APA in 1917 when US entered the war " Tested soldiers to assess intelligence and cognitive abilities of U.S. Army recruits. o Army Alpha -> written test administered to literate soldiers o Army Beta -> nonverbal test designed for illiterate and non-English speaking soldiers. " Tests aimed to classify recruits according to mental abilities and assign them to appropriate positions " Testing program was seen as a significant for applied psychology -> helped establish the field as a useful tool for practical problems beyond academia. - Walter Dill Scott · Psychologists were also involved in a personnel selection project headed by D. Scott · Developed more than 100 selection instruments for 80 different Army jobs " Tested 3.5 million soldiers using one or more of the tests o Tests were not developed from scratch -> some were modified from tests developed by psychologists before war initially designed to select salespersons/business occupations - Psychologists were exposed to psychiatric cases in Army hospitals at the end of WWI · 40 Army hospitals employed at least one psychologist - Harry Hollingworth
· Initially did research on advertising . Was stationed at the Army hospital