Community psychology and politics

If community psychology is to profit from its experience to develop an accurate and consistent theory of the effect on individuals of societal pressures, it will need to review reflexively its own position in relation to politics and empowerment. Despite an inspirational and at times positively grandiose rhetoric, psychologists are in fact in no particularly powerful position to influence the factors which cause personal distress, and should not, through a pretence of therapeutic potency, ‘psychologize’ the notion of ‘empowerment’ and reinforce therapeutic ideals which are in fact destructively normative. Without attempting to appropriate politics, community psychology can, however, offer an essentially scientific analysis of power and distress, which may have therapeutically ‘demystifying’ qualities as well as important political implications for the wider society.     

Integrating psychology and methodology

Journal for General Philosophy of Science - The importance of the problem of how to integrate psychology and methodology was rediscovered by Oswald Külpe. He noted that Wundt's psychology...     

Integrating cross-cultural psychology research methods into ethnic minority psychology

Multicultural psychology has 2 related but often disconnected streams, namely cross-cultural psychology and racial and ethnic minority psychology (Hall & Maramba, 2001). We propose that advances in both fields will be facilitated if there is greater cross-fertilization, especially in methodological approaches given that proponents in both fields are interested in studying and understanding the role and impact of culture on human behavior. To facilitate this cross-fertilization, we present 3 methodological approaches that would be of value in racial and ethnic minority psychology. First, we present an overview of the importance of and the approaches to evaluating and establishing measurement equivalence. Second, we discuss recent advances in the understanding of conceptual equivalence in light of indigenous approaches, cultural manipulation, and multilevel analysis. Third, we present a combined etic-emic approach to cross-cultural personality research as illustrated by the Cross-Cultural Personality Assessment Inventory developed by Fanny Cheung and her colleagues.     

Integrating cognitive psychology, neurology and neuroimaging

In the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in research effectively integrating cognitive psychology, functional neuroimaging, and behavioral neurology. This new work is typically conducting basic research into aspects of the human mind and brain. The present review features as examples of such integrations two series of studies by the author and his colleagues. One series, employing object recognition, mental motor imagery, and mental rotation paradigms, clarifies the nature of a cognitive process, imagined spatial transformations used in shape recognition. Among other implications, it suggests that when recognizing a hand's handedness, imagining one's body movement depends on cerebrally lateralized sensory-motor structures and deciding upon handedness depends on exact match shape confirmation. The other series, using cutaneous, tactile, and auditory pitch discrimination paradigms, elucidates the function of a brain structure, the cerebellum. It suggests that the cerebellum has non-motor sensory support functions upon which optimally fine sensory discriminations depend. In addition, six key issues for this integrative approach are reviewed. These include arguments for the value and greater use of: rigorous quantitative meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies; stereotactic coordinate-based data, as opposed to surface landmark-based data; standardized vocabularies capturing the elementary component operations of cognitive and behavioral tasks; functional hypotheses about brain areas that are consistent with underlying microcircuitry; an awareness that not all brain areas implicated by neuroimaging or neurology are necessarily directly involved in the associated cognitive or behavioral task; and systematic approaches to integrations of this kind.     

Post‐truth politics and discursive psychology

This article argues for the potential of discursive psychology (DP) in the study of post‐truth politics. Work produced outside of psychology is considered, particularly from political science and international relations, which have made a promising start. Providing an overview of this body of research, I argue for their respective strengths and weaknesses. The literature so far tends to work with the notion that truth and emotion are matters that are, or at least should be, distinguishable. Instead, I argue that, rather than lament the blurring between truth and untruth, one should look to how these unfold as matters of practical concern in political discourse. DP is a tool particularly suited to the task; it highlights the importance of viewing ‘truth’ as a rhetorical resource. In this light, we can view post‐truth politics as a rhetorical matter rather than a degeneration of truth.     

Integrating consultation and program evaluation in school psychology

Consultation approaches to providing psychological services are widely used by school psychologists. Recently, the need for school psychologists to be proficient in educational program evaluation has been recognized. The present paper discusses how school psychologists can use their existing consultation skills as an approach to program evaluation. The integration of consultation skills with evaluation results in an approach to program evaluation that is particularly useful where program goals and objectives are broad and nonspecific (as in many educational innovations). Also, the consultation approach to evaluation is easier for school psychologists to blend with their other roles in schools than the assessment-oriented evaluator role of some evaluation models. The consultation approach to evaluation is illustrated using a federally sponsored training program for school teachers and administrators.     

Integrating remotely accessible information services into psychology instruction and research

Wide-area computer networks provide a wealth of information services that have the potential to alter the approach toward scholarship taken by both students and researchers. Although it can be argued that the translation of information from hard copy to a publicly accessible electronic form has developed slowly, the total volume of text-based information that has been digitized is already staggering. Two major challenges facing psychologists wishing to develop their skills in network use are to identify and locate pertinent information that is accessible, and to find an easy way to retrieve it. This paper is an attempt to provide an overview of network resources and services that may be of particular interest to psychologists and psychology students. Its focus is on how to learn more about the available information services, as well as how to make access as user friendly as possible.     

Integrating psychology and neuroscience: functional analyses as mechanism sketches

We sketch a framework for building a unified science of cognition. This unification is achieved by showing how functional analyses of cognitive capacities can be integrated with the multilevel mechanistic explanations of neural systems. The core idea is that functional analyses are sketches of mechanisms, in which some structural aspects of a mechanistic explanation are omitted. Once the missing aspects are filled in, a functional analysis turns into a full-blown mechanistic explanation. By this process, functional analyses are seamlessly integrated with multilevel mechanistic explanations.     

Brexit and emergent politics: In search of a social psychology

In this paper, we develop a conceptual and methodological approach that psychologists and other social scientists can employ to study emergence. We consider relevant social psychological approaches and conclude that, for the most part, social psychology has tended to focus on processes of normalisation following disruptions, rather than examining emergence in itself. An exception to this is G. H. Mead, whose work we draw on to theorise emergence with a focus on contemporary “affective politics.” In the second part of the paper, we use focus group data on the European Union referendum in the UK to empirically illustrate our theoretical points. We discuss in particular three axes for exploring the emergent politics of Brexit: political values, political authority, and the authority of affect. We conclude our discussion by reflecting on some of the theoretical and political implications of our analysis.     

Evolutionary sport and exercise psychology: Integrating proximate and ultimate explanations

ObjectivesThis review aims to demonstrate the utility of integrating the insights of evolutionary psychology with sport and exercise psychology. Specifically, we offer a primer on evolutionary psychology that we then discuss in the context of several research avenues in sport and exercise. Next, we discuss how evolutionary psychology can inform our understanding of sporting culture.DesignReview paper.MethodsTheory and research are selectively reviewed in efforts to demonstrate the utility and limits of evolutionary psychology as an approach to sport and exercise psychology.Results and conclusionsEvolutionary psychology offers researchers in sport and exercise psychology an improved capacity to produce proximate explanations (i.e., how psychological mechanisms interact with the environment to produce behavior) by generating productive and novel hypotheses from ultimate explanations (i.e., why a psychological mechanism evolved a particular design; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992, 2005). The worth of integrating proximate and ultimate explanations is demonstrated by the ensuing novel insights of popular avenues of sport and exercise psychology including (a) the interrelation between motivation and reasoning and their relative influence on exercise behavior, (b) sex differences in sport participation, (c) performance in sport, and (d) group dynamics in sport. Unlike specific fields of psychology, evolutionary psychology is a metatheoretical approach that can foster mutually productive linkages between currently disparate areas within sport and exercise psychology, and with neighboring disciplines.     

Integrating sport psychology and sports medicine in research: The dilemmas

Abstract

The recent acceleration of interest in conducting sport psychology research within sports medicine settings has prompted an introspection on the stringency of sport injury-focused research protocols and methodology. Much of the literature relating to the psychology of sport injury is anecdotal, comprised of conjecture, or is an extrapolation from allied psychological study. In addition, retrospective studies, involving the recall of an unpleasant event (i.e., sport injury) proliferate the literature. Quality research that integrates sport psychology and sports medicine presents a unique challenge because of the multifactorial nature of sport injury and the necessity for sound interpretation of research outcomes relative to the nature of psychology. sport, and injury. Confounding and complicating aspects of this integrated research include definition of injury variables, timing of data collection. evaluation of pain. and the physiological sequelae of injury. Research and methodological issues relating to sport psychology and sport injury are discussed.     

Integrating positive psychology applications into the EMDR Peak Performance protocol

IntroductionThis article describes an innovative Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) protocol which applies the standard EMDR protocol, with modifications, to the reduction of performance anxiety and enhancement of skillful performance in higher functioning clients.ObjectiveThe intention was to compare a modified version of the standard EMDR protocol for the reduction of performance anxiety and the enhancement of performance.MethodThe method was applying the special EMDR protocol for peak performance with higher functioning clients. A further enhancement applied three empirically valid techniques drawn from the subfield of positive psychology.ResultsPublished case studies suggest that this special EMDR protocol aided an experienced commercial pilot in overcoming his avoidance and returning to the flight simulator following a failed proficiency check, and assisted an executive in managing his sense of failure following a significant business setback. Athletes preparing for competition have also found the protocol assists them in managing precompetition anxiety. A further enhancement is the application of three techniques drawn from positive psychology which the empirical research in this subfield of psychology suggests can further enhance the benefits of this protocol.ConclusionLimitations are discussed and recommendations for future research are outlined.     

Integrating gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues into mainstream psychology.

Despite the growing clinical and research literature dealing with gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) issues, mainstream psychology has tended to ignore much of the work that has been done in this area. This article illustrates how clinical and research writings on GLB issues continue to remain invisible to mainstream psychology in such areas as life span development and aging, teenage suicide, substance abuse, victimization and abuse, and family and couple relationships. It also deals with some of the determinants of well-being among GLB individuals, such as family support, and notes the benefits accruing to mainstream psychology from studying GLB issues. A network of family members within psychology having GLB relatives has been formed--AFFIRM: Psychologist Affirming Their Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Family--and is dedicated to supporting its own family members, encouraging other family members to do likewise, supporting research and clinical work on GLB issues, and closing the gap between GLB clinical and research work and mainstream psychology.