1.6 The Profession of Psychology: Past and Present

school psychologists

offer guidance to students, parents, and teachers.

American Psychological Association

an organization that represented psychology as a profession In 1892, the APA had 31 members, all of whom were White men. Today, about half of all APA members are women, and the percentage of non-White members continues to grow. Surveys of recent PhD recipients reveal a picture of increasing diversification in the field. In 1950, women represented only 15% of all students receiving PhDs in psychology, but that proportion had grown to 70% in 2010, and the proportion of racial minorities grew from a very small number to 24% during that same period. Clearly, psychology is increasingly reflecting the diversity of American society.

hub sciences

emerged in the data: math, physics, chemistry, earth sciences, medicine, psychology, and social science. There were also smaller subfields that fell between the hub sciences: public health and neurology fall between psychology and medicine, statistics between psychology and math, and economics between social science and math.

industrial/organizational psychologists

focus on issues in the workplace. These psychologists typically work in business or industry and may be involved in assessing potential employees, finding ways to improve productivity, or in helping staff and management to develop effective planning strategies for coping with change or anticipated future developments.

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930)

he first woman elected APA president, suffered from the sex discrimination that was common during her lifetime. Despite academic setbacks (such as Harvard University refusing to grant women an official PhD), Calkins went on to a distinguished career in research and teaching at Wellesley College.

Students intending to pursue careers in psychology typically finish college and enter graduate school in order to obtain a PhD

some particular area of psychology (e.g., social, cognitive, developmental). During graduate school, students generally gain exposure to the field by taking classes and learn to conduct research by collaborating with their professors.

After receiving a PhD

students often go on for more specialized research training by pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of an established researcher in his or her area, or they apply for a faculty position at a college or university or a research position in government or industry.

Kenneth B. Clark (1914-2005)

studied the developmental effects of prejudice, discrimination, and segregation on children.

Association for Psychological Science

to focus specifically on the needs of research psychologists

Studies like these are useful to university administrators, funding agencies, and also to students

to help them understand the relationships between different academic departments and how the scientific work of one field relates to the scientific field more broadly. They also show the reach of psychology to other disciplines and support the idea that knowledge about psychology has relevance for many r elated disciplines and career paths

counseling psychologists

who assist people in dealing with work or career issues and changes or help people deal with common crises such as divorce, the loss of a job, or the death of a loved one.

clinical psychologists

work in private practice, often in partnerships with other psychologists or with psychiatrists (who have earned an MD, or medical degree, and are allowed to prescribe medication).