Psychology in the Public Forum : Unity in Service?

　While a theoretical and methodological unity is beyond the grasp of contemporary psychology, it could be argued that a unity of purpose might be possible if it is recognized that specialized psychological systems and methods, even if irreconcilable at the moment, have all been tapped to provide some sort of service to the wider community. It might be said, therefore, that a kind of unity in diversity actually exists, this unity being in terms of the public service dimension of the psychological enterprise. It is true that much more could be done than is actually being accomplished at the moment. DeLeon (1986) suggests ways in which the societal contribution of organized psychology can be enhanced. He urges psychologists to become involved in the public policy process which, while extraordinarily difficult at times, provides the only effective channel for funneling psychological expertise to those segments of society where such expertise is desperately needed (DeLeon, 1993). Louttit (1992) and Johnson (1992) make similar points. For too long behavioral scientists have been out of the room when policies that regulate human behavior are developed. In these particular areas psychologists have a great deal to contribute but the effectiveness of their contribution is directly related to their ability to mobilize and synthesize their knowledge in ways that the lay community can understand. Sloan (1992) asks psychologists to grapple with global issues, to risk leaving the relative security of the university or laboratory environment for the real world of issues and problems with significant psychological dimensions. As Bevan (1991), Miller (1969), Fowler (1990) and many others have urged in recent years, it is time to make psychology more responsive to the needs of the larger society of which it is a part. A certain ecological relevance is now in order. Increasing recognition of the fact that psychology has much to contribute to the community despite its current lack of theoretical and methodological unity may, in fact, encourage a kind of cooperation between isolated sub-specialties by fostering a kind of unity of purpose in the public forum. 　All this has implications for the ways psychologists will be educated in the future. McGovern et al (1991), in their analysis of psychology as a liberal arts major, suggested that the tensions between scientific and applied concerns and between breadth and depth relate to the fact that many traditional research and academic psychologists emphasize scientific values while health service providers emphasize humanistic values. As a corrective to this situation, they advocate that undergraduate psychology majors be involved as a matter of course in some sort of community service as part of their educational experience in psychology. Students should be given training in interpersonal skills so that the psychological knowledge they acquire can be transmitted to the wider communities to which they will return following graduation. Instilling a sense of responsibility for the wider community is a critical component of informed citizenship in their estimation. 　Schneider (1990) also argues for a revamping of current educational practices in psychology. He encourages the establishment of colleges of biopsychosocial studies to enable students to grapple effectively with the major problems affecting contemporary society. Anchored as it is at the biological and social ends of the spectrum, psychology could take the lead in such an endeavour. Schneider encourages new relationships with cognate disciplines in the field of health care delivery including cardiology, oncology, pharmacology, preventative medicine, immunology, family practice, pediatrics, etc. Links with schools of public health, law, environmental studies, architecture, engineering and the humanities are also proposed. Schneider encourages psychologists to "consider activities that can be tied to graduate education, involving students in basic, applied, evaluative, and policy research in a variety of community settings; consultation, including direct and indirect services emphasizing prevention, conflict resolution, problem solving, and the empowerment of people with problems of living; dissemination and diffusion of research findings and the active pursuit of their application; and a variety of educational activities for scientists, professionals, and the community." (p.525). 　Psychology remains a discipline and a profession in search of itself. This is not surprising for psychology emerged as an independent discipline a mere 120 years ago. The complexity of its subject matter and the complex, multi-disciplinary nature of its origins continue to work against the attainment of a grand synthesis, an overriding paradigm, which would confer a theoretical and methodological unity on the discipline. Despite this, or because of it, much progress has been made in more narrowly demarcated sub-specialties, which, while still tending to remain in relative isolation from one another with respect to theoretical and methodological issues, do hold in common the promise of considerable relevance to the public forum where many of the problems and issues of widespread concern have significant psychological components. The extent to which psychologists can commit themselves to offering their diverse specialized expertise to the wider community of which they are a part may just serve as a catalyst for bringing seemingly disparate communities together in a spirit of reconciliation and unity based on the recognition that psychology has much to contribute to the amelioration and solution of the major problems affecting our local, regional, national and international communities

DISCRIMINATIVE COURTSHIP CONDITIONING IN THE PIGEON, COLUMBA LIVIA

Fifteen male pigeons, were exposed to a Pavlovian discriminative conditioning procedure in which presentations of CS＋ were followed by brief access to a female conspecific while presentations of CS- were not. The conditioned behavior which emerged to the CS+ in this context were found to bear a clear topographical resemblance to various elements of the unconditioned courtship repertoire of this species. Moreover, a substantial number of these conditioned responses were directed at the CS+ object, itself. The most noteworthy responses to CS- presentations took the form of an increase in the frequency and intensity of the advertising call vocalization plus a marked tendency to turn away from the CS- object itself when illuminated. These observations were discussed in light of their significance for current theoretical accounts of Pavlovian conditioning

Refections on the Cross-Cultural Challenge to Western Psychology : Implications for Theory and Practice

　This paper has sought to document significant aspects of the cross-cultural challenge to psychology as an academic discipline and a profession. As an academic discipline, psychology is increasingly obliged to incorporate the notions of cultural and historical context in its formulations of the dynamics of a wide range of psychological phenomena. Ethnocentric biases in such efforts must now at least be recognized if not eliminated. Those who offer psychological services in culturally pluralistic communities must be aware of the complications which may arise if the perspectives and practices they bring to bear on a problem are inconsistent with its culturally-linked origins and symptomology and the expectations of the client. Fowers and Richardson (1996) have recently noted how powerful a force multiculturalism has become in contemporary American psychology. The growing appreciation that American norms, or the norms of any particular society, are not necessarily universal has encouraged the American Psychological Association (APA) to publish guidelines for the practice of psychology with culturally diverse populations such as are found in the United States. Psychology is facing an ongoing cross-cultural challenge which will ultimately transform the discipline and the practice in highly significant ways. As Fowers and Richardson attest, multiculturalism in psychology, while initially threatening to the status quo in many ways, is essentially good in the longer run in forcing researchers and practitioners to consider the wider validity of their assumptions, models, theories and professional practice