The article does not reference psychology and I don't think any surveys have
indicated THAT kind of confusion today even if there might have been one
historically. My students sometimes think I am a Dr. Phil, but seldom expect me
to give them a tarot reading. Indeed, psychologists, especially the more
research-oriented kind, have been involved in battling all kinds of
superstitions....perhaps a legacy of earlier skepticism in psychology (e.g.,
Hall, Jastrow, et al) toward James as Chris noted. Psych research does find
connections between superstition and factors of control, uncertainty, etc., so
this use of psychic-astrologers and similar types is not surprising at this
time. Confusions about psych as science (at least in north america) and
struggles regarding its relevance, probably stem more from a generic
well-spring of popular belief in the supernatural and emphasis on a naive
pragmatism that so characterize popular thinking (see E. Taylor's "Shadow
Culture: Psychology and Spirituality in America," 1999).
I wonder if the confusions of psychology with clinical work, in addition to
forms of superstitious quackery, may be partly related to the ways
psychological researchers shun the name psychology itself and refer to
themselves as "cognitive scientists," "neuroscientists," etc.? Gary
Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D.
Professor, Psychology
Saginaw Valley State University
University Center, MI 48710
989-964-4491
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> "Christopher D. Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 11/23/2008 10:35 am >>>
In case you were wondering why (scientific) psychology (still) doesn't
get much respect from natural scientists, psychics are apparently doing
a booming business during the current business bust.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/fashion/23psychic.html?_r=1&ref=fashion
This is quite amusing from a historical perspective. It is exactly the
same battle that psychologists were fighting at the turn of the last
century, when Hall, Cattell, Titchener, Jastrow, and others were
insisting that psychology was a natural science, entirely separate from
the psychics and spiritualists who also called themselves
"psychologists" at the time, but were unable to make the distinction
stick in he minds of the publics and those of other scientists...
especially with William James continuing his lifelong search for
telepathic powers.
Regards,
Chris
--
Christopher D. Green
Department of Psychology
York University
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Canada
416-736-2100 ex. 66164
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.yorku.ca/christo/
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