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The Future of Psychology
The Grand Unified Theory of Behavior
Forces Shaping the Field
National Politics and Research Funding
• Self-Interest versus Quality of Life
• 1950s – Behavioral sciences viewed as Communistic
• 1980s – Attempts to eliminate research funding for Psychology from government agencies
• Currently – Biological/Neuroscience funded better than Clinical/Social
Evolution of Science
• Lines between traditional disciplines are blurring
• Methods and instruments shared across disciplines
• Multidisciplinary research
• Movement towards becoming problem-centered
Developing Infrastructures
• Internationalizing of data sharing and collaborative research
• Increasing availability of large research databases
• Electronic publishing• Interactive textbooks• Classes without classrooms
Biology
• Behaviorism and Cognitive Psychology ignored biological substrates for years
• Linkage of external manipulations with internal biological changes
• Bodies, minds, and environments interact with each other– e.g., Psycho-neuro-
immunology
Evolution of Measurement
• The complexity of statistical procedures may have exceeded the ability of researchers to use them well
• Large bodies of research more difficult to understand
• Meta-Analysis revisited• Chaos Theory
Obstacles to Productivity
The Identity Problem
• Who are we?– Neuroscientists– Cognitive Scientists– Behavioral Scientists
• A diaspora to other departments; splitting of departments
Information Management
• Too much information; too many studies• Specialized sub-disciplines• Must determine the most important findings• Must determine how to disseminate the most
important findings• Integrate disparate results into more
comprehensive explanations of behavior
Access to New Tools
• Cost and availability of tech such as brain imaging machines
• Rising costs for animal research
• Large scale database management for audio and video
Training Approaches
• Greater inclusion of biology and genetics into graduate programs
• Training in information infrastructure
• Tech training in brain imaging, etc.
• Emphasis shifted to multidisciplinary training and research