EPILOGUE – LINKING THE PAST AND PRESENT

Dr. Nancy Alvarado

William James was Pessimistic “…not a single law in the sense in which

physics shows us laws, not a single proposition from which any consequence can causally be deduced. We don’t even know the terms between which the elementary laws would obtain if we had them. This is no science, it is only the hope for a science.”

James, 1892, p. 468 Is his pessimism justified?

Where do we stand now?

Certain psychological phenomena are now understood and some laws of behavior have been established.

Knowledge of the structure and functions of the nervous system and the biological bases of psychological phenomena has advanced rapidly. The 1990’s were called “the decade of the

brain.” Development of psychoactive drugs has

radically changed clinical practice.

More Advances

Development of new statistical procedures has changed the analysis and interpretation of psychological data. Factor analysis, modeling.

Computers and electronic instrumentation make more precise measurement possible.

Cognition has been restored to a central position in psychology.

The normative approach to development has been replaced by stage and life-span theories.

Psychology has Grown

There are 51 divisions in the APA, the largest psychology professional organization. Psychology has become more specialized into

subfields. Psychology has become one of the most popular

majors on university campuses nationwide. The bitter split between clinical practitioners and

scientifically oriented psychologists leading to formation of APS in 1988 has been healed. The groups now coordinate efforts and communicate.

We Stand on their Shoulders We stand on the shoulders of those who came

before us. The literature review is our contact with past

generations. We can expect their struggles to be our

struggles. Perseverance can be found in the lives of all who

made strong contributions. Some people were lucky, with early continuing

success. Others have been unjustly forgotten. We can find

them and celebrate their lives too.