Charting the psychological literacy landscape: Systematic review highlighting psychology education

Psychological literacy refers to the ability of a psychology student to use psychological knowledge, rather than merely learn it, in the context of personal, social, and organizational issues. Embedding psychological literacy in assessment is a critical step in helping students develop this capacity. This report presents an innovative applied scenarios assignment for a social and developmental psychology module, designed to challenge students to make theoretical and evidence-based explanations or suggestions in relation to novel real-world situations. Across the scenarios, students are required to respond and adapt to a range of tasks and purposes and effectively communicate their knowledge to diverse audiences. Student evaluation ( n = 142) of their experiences and perceived competencies developed from working on the scenarios compared to traditional essay assignments were analyzed. Findings suggest students valued the authentic nature of the assessment and the challenges it presents. They recognized the unique skills they developed, including application and communication skills, and felt that they gained better understanding of psychological content as a result. We hope this report will inspire readers to design similar assessment tasks that provide students with opportunities to practice, and thus develop, their psychological literacy.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applied Scenarios: Embedding Psychological Literacy in Assessment

Einav,

Spence,

Blackie

et al. 2023

“…For too long we, as a field, have been focused on what content we are teaching. Yet, many are calling for a revolution toward the teaching of skills and values-information literacy, scientific literacy, critical thinking, cultural competence, and ethical competence among them (e.g., Cranney et al, 2022aCranney et al, , 2022bGurung & Neufeld, 2022;Naufel et al, 2018;Nolan et al, 2020). To the author's thoughtful assignment above, we might add lessons that address cultural and ethical competence: For example, how does taking the IAT affects students' attitudes toward members of outgroups, and what ethical considerations arise with respect to the use of the IAT?…”

Section: Changing the Subjectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Morris et al (2021) have termed this the “group” approach to conceptualizing psychological literacy; meanwhile, Cranney et al (2022a) have updated the “general” definition as the “intentional values-driven application of psychology Knowledge to achieve personal, professional, and community goals” (p. 3). Scholars in this new field (e.g., Cranney et al, 2022b; Newell et al, 2022) have called for more research, while the implications for “professional” psychologists, including “applied” psychologists/practitioners, researchers, and educators, have been discussed. For example, Dudgeon et al (2018) argued that a “seismic shift is required in the culture and practice of psychology whereby the definitions of knowledge construction and education are de-colonised, challenged and contested” (p. 123), and that “the education and training of psychology students and practitioners becomes an essential component of the change agenda, and psychological literacy within a de-colonised and critical pedagogy framework offers the methodology to achieve it” (p. 124).…”

Section: Changing the Subjectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing the Subject: A Turn From Content Toward Values and Skills in Introductory Psychology

Nolan,

Cranney

2023

Self Cite

The author of the target article hypothesizes that introductory psychology textbook authors aim to “indoctrinate” students toward a more liberal political worldview. In our response, we offer a counterhypothesis that introductory psychology authors are more likely to be biased against updating older research in general, given the enormous amount of new research that must be incorporated, as opposed to specifically ignoring findings that fit with a conservative political worldview. We point to content that is generally overlooked that would fit with a liberal perspective, and we suggest an empirical investigation that the author could conduct to evaluate these competing hypotheses. Finally, we encourage a pivot in how we think about the introductory psychology course from an emphasis on content to an emphasis on skills and values, offering psychological literacy as a framework for the renewal of the introductory psychology curriculum.

“…Psychological literacy has also been conceptualised as a pedagogical philosophy (Cranney & Morris, 2021; Nolan & Cranney, 2023), particularly in the undergraduate domain. An undergraduate educator who takes this teaching approach: (a) considers that psychological literacy should be the primary outcome of undergraduate psychology education; (b) takes an evidence-based teaching approach; and (c) models psychological literacy in the classroom (Cranney et al, 2022b; Morris et al, 2021). The authors of the articles in this special issue clearly meet at least the first two criteria, and in some cases all three.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Readers of this special issue may be interested in Nolan and colleagues' (2024b) recent definition of psychological literacy as 'the intentional application of psychology knowledge, skills and values to achieve personal, work and community (local to global) goals; the integration and application of foundational psychology competences within an [undergraduate] program should lead to psychologically literate graduates ' (p. 19).Psychological literacy has also been conceptualised as a pedagogical philosophy (Cranney & Morris, 2021; Nolan & Cranney, 2023), particularly in the undergraduate domain. An undergraduate educator who takes this teaching approach: (a) considers that psychological literacy should be the primary outcome of undergraduate psychology education; (b) takes an evidence-based teaching approach; and (c) models psychological literacy in the classroom (Cranney et al, 2022b;Morris et al, 2021). The authors of the articles in this special issue clearly meet at least the first two criteria, and in some cases all three.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

PLAT 23(2) 2024: Centering Psychological Literacy in Undergraduate Psychology Education Internationally

Nolan,

Cranney,

de Souza

et al. 2024

Psychological literacy is increasingly a model for undergraduate psychology education. Cranney et al. (2022a, p. 3) define psychological literacy as the 'intentional values-driven application of psychology to achieve personal, professional, and community goals'. Psychology education, particularly with an emphasis on psychological literacy and the empowerment of students to collaboratively apply psychological science to solve societal issues, might be seen as the new 'liberal arts and sciences ' program (McGovern et al., 2010) that future-proofs not only psychology graduate jobs, but our local, national, and global societies. Indeed, the pandemic has highlighted both the importance of connectedness and the existence of social inequities.In 2016, a global collaboration resulted in the successful outcome of international consensus regarding graduate professional psychology competencies (International Project on Competence in Psychology, 2016). There is currently a similar process regarding foundational psychology competences at the undergraduate level, the International Collaboration on Undergraduate Psychology Outcomes (ICUPO), a project in which all of the guest editors are involved (see osf.io/6y38x; 2024a). Readers of this special issue may be interested in Nolan and colleagues' (2024b) recent definition of psychological literacy as 'the intentional application of psychology knowledge, skills and values to achieve personal, work and community (local to global) goals; the integration and application of foundational psychology competences within an [undergraduate] program should lead to psychologically literate graduates ' (p. 19).Psychological literacy has also been conceptualised as a pedagogical philosophy (Cranney & Morris, 2021; Nolan & Cranney, 2023), particularly in the undergraduate domain. An undergraduate educator who takes this teaching approach: (a) considers that psychological literacy should be the primary outcome of undergraduate psychology education; (b) takes an evidence-based teaching approach; and (c) models psychological literacy in the classroom (Cranney et al., 2022b;Morris et al., 2021). The authors of the articles in this special issue clearly meet at least the first two criteria, and in some cases all three. Hulme and Winstone (2017, p. 272) elaborate:"…we believe that a psychologically literate teacher is one who is well equipped to deliver innovative teaching that is creative and moves the discipline forwards, and can practice within the bounds of their competence within a given educational context. This may, of course, require professional development and scholarship on the part of the educator, to stretch the bounds of their competence, and this too, draws upon the psychological literacy skills of the teacher. Thus, psychological literacy might effectively act as a safety net to reassure the teacher during times of uncertainty … Perhaps the best strategy … to foster innovation, is to prioritize the development of psychological literacy and its delivery within our academic community".