What is the status of theoretical psychology in Australia and New Zealand? An investigation of contemporary teaching and research issues

Abstract

Theoretical investigation has a contested focus on conceptual, philosophical and non-empirical issues in psychology that is rarely examined empirically. This paper explores the status of theoretical psychology as scholarly research and its location in the curricula of Australian and New Zealand psychology departments. Nine self-identified theoretical psychologists and 2 psychological society representatives were interviewed. Participant responses and an examination of department websites indicated that theoretical psychology and advanced theoretical units are offered mainly in third year and honours levels. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed contrasting views of theoretical psychology as a subdiscipline or distributed throughout the curriculum, challenges to theoretical psychology as teaching and research activities, and a need for debate about the place of theoretical teaching and research in the discipline. The study recommends further empirical investigations to evaluate the presumed utility of reflexive, critical and metatheoretical skills and to assess anecdotal reports of ''theory in decline''.

Moving beyond the enduring dominance of positivism in psychological research: Implications for psychology in Australia

“…The American Psychological Association has a Division called the Society for the History of Psychology, and the British Psychological Society has a History and Philosophy of Psychology Section. We echo Sullivan's (2008) proposal for the establishment of an interest group within the APS devoted to the history and philosophy of psychology. In this way the APS would have an instrumental role in providing space and voice to the discussion, debate, and dissemination of the philosophical and historical underpinnings of psychology, which in turn would likely facilitate the integration of methodological and epistemological pluralism into the psychology teaching and research practices within Australian universities.…”

“…The specific positions, methodologies, and analyses that students should be introduced to are not specified in the Accreditation Standards and, as Sullivan (2008) commented, ''it is possible that many Australian departments argue that the history and philosophy of psychology have been introduced and examined as part of each unit or that advanced theoretical electives address this requirement'' (p. 66, italics in original). His analysis, however, demonstrated that 11 out of 36 schools and departments of psychology in Australia have no units with substantial theoretical content and, when it does exist, it is usually limited and lacking depth, and therefore students are unable to identify the hidden assumptions that provide the foundation to their professional practice.…”

“…Within Australia and elsewhere, much of the attention to concerns such as epistemological dominance, the promotion of social justice, and challenging and changing the status quo, occurs under the umbrella of critical psychology (Austin & Prilleltensky, 2001;Riggs, 2004), yet these concerns remain marginalised within Australia (Sullivan, 2008). This is likely to be because Australian psychology and its various subdisciplines have largely taken their lead from influences elsewhere, particularly North America 8 (Cooke, 2000;Garton, 2006;O'Neil, 1987).…”