Unity in Psychology: Possibility or Pipedream?

by Sternberg, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9781591471561
• ISBN10: 1591471567
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-08-01
• Publisher: AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Summary

Psychology is becoming an increasingly specialized but fragmented field. Forces within psychology and society at-large have tended to push psychologists apart. It will take a concerted belief in the importance of unity to combat these forces and mend psychology's splintering image. Unity in Psychology: Possibility or Pipedream? examines the opportunities for psychologists to come together and unify. A distinguished group of contributors share their common belief that, at some level, the fragmentation of psychology is a mistake. There is a "cure," namely, an approach that emphasizes studying psychological phenomena from a variety of different perspectives. There is nothing new in this idea. On the contrary, it has been around for many years. Williams James certainly was a unified psychologist! Unity in Psychology: Possibility or Pipedream? will provoke psychologists to examine the forces that define the field and take an active role in shaping the future.

Table of Contents

Contributors	ix
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Chapter 1. Unifying the Field of Psychology	3	(12)
Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 2. Unification Through Diversity	15	(22)
Florence L. Denmark and Herbert H. Krauss
Chapter 3. Case-Based Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology	37	(24)
Daniel B. Fishman and Stanley B. Messer
Chapter 4. The American Psychological Association and the Search for Unity in Psychology	61	(16)
Raymond D. Fowler and Merry Bullock
Chapter 5. Scientific Psychology: Should We Bury It or Praise It?	77	(14)
Howard Gardner
Chapter 6. Paradigm Lost, Paradigm Regained: Toward Unity in Psychology	91	(16)
Gregory A. Kimble
Chapter 7. Unification of Professional Psychology Through Social Relevance	107	(18)
Ronald F. Levant
Chapter 8 Paradigms, Narratives, and Pluralism in Undergraduate Psychology	125	(20)
Thomas V. McGovern and Charles L. Brewer
Chapter 9. Unification in Theory and Method: Possibilities and Impossibilities	145	(14)
Joseph F. Rychlak
Chapter 10. A Road to, and Philosophy of, Unification	159	(20)
Arthur W. Staats
Index	179	(6)
About the Editor	185