Multicultural Training Experiences as Predictors of Psychology Students' Cultural Competence

The psychologists in the western world, including Australia, are required to be culturally competent because of the cultural diversity of these societies. Previous studies conducted in North America and Europe have found multicultural teaching, clinical experience with culturally diverse clients, and discussion of multicultural counselling issues in supervision to be related to the practitioner's cultural competency. The present study examined factors contributing to trainee psychologists' perceived level of cultural competence. It was hypothesised that multicultural teaching, clinical experience, and supervision would be related to students' level of cultural competence. One hundred twenty‐seven postgraduate clinical psychology students completed an online survey battery that included demographic information, a social desirability measure, and the Multicultural Mental Health Awareness Scale. This hypothesis was partially supported. Clinical experience and supervision focusing on multicultural issues were found to be related to participants' perceived cultural competence; however, multicultural teaching was not. These results provide insight into how universities around Australia can facilitate future psychologists' competence in working with clients from different cultural backgrounds.     

Toward a Psychology of Human Agency

ABSTRACT— This article presents an agentic theory of human development, adaptation, and change. The evolutionary emergence of advanced symbolizing capacity enabled humans to transcend the dictates of their immediate environment and made them unique in their power to shape their life circumstances and the courses their lives take. In this conception, people are contributors to their life circumstances, not just products of them. Social cognitive theory rejects a duality between human agency and social structure. People create social systems, and these systems, in turn, organize and influence people's lives. This article discusses the core properties of human agency, the different forms it takes, its ontological and epistemological status, its development and role in causal structures, its growing primacy in the coevolution process, and its influential exercise at individual and collective levels across diverse spheres of life and cultural systems.     

Collective Consciousness and the Psychology of Human Interconnectedness

The authors explore the nature of consciousness from the perspective that our species aggregates, such as groups and intergroups, not only organize but have the capacity for consciousness. They insist that the individual serves as a medium, but not as the sole carrier of consciousness. Tapping on their interconnected reflective capacity allows social systems to transform. They give examples from their work with groups and organizational consultation.     

Development of Community Psychology

The growth and development of community psychology in Zambia has been necessitated by many social problems encountered by Zambians be they health, economic or psychological. The work of governmental and nongovernmental organizations at community level has contributed to the development of this sub-field of psychology. Community psychology in Zambia has many challenges to overcome, including the lack of trained manpower and availability of funds. Community psychology has great potential to contribute to the wellbeing of different communities in Zambia.     

进化发展心理学：发展中的人类本性

进化发展心理学研究社会能力与认知能力发展背后的基因与环境机制,以及基因与环境机制在特定社会文化中的表现。进化发展心理学探讨的主要问题与设计到的主要概念包括：（1）自然选择在毕生发展的早期阶段发挥作用;（2）进化发展心理学特别重视适应在婴儿期及儿童期发展中的作用;（3）儿童期的延长有助于儿童学习人类社会的复杂性;（4）发展背景的方法可以用来理解成人外显行为的进化起源;（5）基因与环境因素相互影响约束个体发展;（6）认知能力与行为活动敏感于早期环境,但二者发展也具有可塑性     

The Indeterminacy Paradox: Character Evaluations and Human Psychology

You may not know me well enough to evaluate me in terms of my moral character, but I take it you believe I can be evaluated: it sounds strange to say that I am indeterminate, neither good nor bad nor intermediate. Yet I argue that the claim that most people are indeterminate is the conclusion of a sound argument—the indeterminacy paradox—with two premises: (1) most people are fragmented(they would behave deplorably in many and admirably in many other situations); (2) fragmentation entails indeterminacy. I support (1) by examining psychological experiments in which most participants behave deplorably(e.g., by maltreating “prisoners” in a simulated prison) or admirably(e.g., by intervening in a simulated theft). I support (2) by arguing that, according to certain plausible conceptions, character evaluations presuppose behavioral consistency (lack of fragmentation). Possible reactions to the paradox include: (a) denying that the experiments are relevant to character; (b) upholding conceptions according to which character evaluations do not presuppose consistency; (c) granting that most people are indeterminate and explaining why it appears otherwise. I defend (c) against (a) and (b).     

The Psychology of Human Resources Development: A Consequent of Radical Cultural Change in America

The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the principal features of an exciting new field concerned with developing HUMAN resources in organizational settings, i.e., aiming at maximizing employees' pertinent talents, productivity and well-being in the service of organizations. The Psychology of Human Resources Development has arisen of practical necessity from the array of functions and employee services commonly performed by personnel departments since the beginning of this century and their more recent consequents, departments of human resources development. These services and functions in turn were further stimulated by the growing social turbulence subsequent to the early 1960's and the economic prosperity of the 1980's. Upon close examination, however, the sophisticated deployment of these functions and services actually necessitated substantial psychological knowledge and that of allied disciplines. Moreover, in the current, rapidly emerging arena of global competition among businesses, it is clear at present that America's economic fate will turn importantly upon how well business organizations can promote and effectively utilize the intelligence and skill of its workforce. To this end, and those previously stated, it is the mission of the Psychology of Human Resources Development to explore any tactical methods and related subject matters within the purview of ethical decorum that are helpful in promoting the development of employee abilities and general well-being for organizations' strategic ends.     

当代教育心理学的研究和发展

随着教育心理学的发展,其学科的独立性愈加明显,研究课题也发生了相应的变化,并且表现出所受当代心理学新理论影响的敏感性。在本文中,作者通过以上三个方面,来跟踪与评述当代教育心理学的研究与发展,强调了中国文化作为教育心理学重要资源的意义,提倡了一种东西方心理学和积极心理学的观点。     

人际沟通能力研究进展

人际沟通能力是现代管理者必须具备的素质之一。国内对沟通能力的研究限于言语表达能力,国外对沟通能力的研究从70年代就引起了人们的重视。由于人际沟通能力结构的复合性(是一种综合性能力而非单一能力),人际沟通行为机制的复杂性(外部受制于特定的情境、文化和人际关系等因素,内部受制于人的目的、认知、情感、动机等因素),至今,对沟通能力的内涵和结构的理解尚未形成统一看法。综观历史,人们对沟通能力及其结构研究有两种思路：一是自上而下的演绎,一是自下而上的归纳。前者是从理论的推演概括沟通能力的含义和成分,这种研究思路存在很大争议,主要体现在情境论(situation)及状态论（state)与特质论(trait)之争(20世纪80年代);行为表现论(performative competence)与过程论(process competence)之异(20世纪末)。     

多元文化论与跨文化心理学的发展

多元文化论强调文化因素对心理学研究的重要性。它主张文化的多元性和平等性,反对跨文化心理学研究中的“文化帝国主义”倾向。在多元文化论的影响下,跨文化心理学开始摆脱“欧美中心主义”偏见,出现了普遍性研究策略和特殊性研究策略相结合、跨文化心理学与文化心理学、本土心理学相结合的趋向。