2/26 post and review

First, I thought for those of you have not taken psychological disorders, it may be interesting to know what different IQ scores mean and how 'intelligent' the majority of individuals are relative to others. Although this gives a brief account of how the IQ test came to be, a better history is outlined at this cite, which is also useful if you are looking to improve your cognition with any of their fine products for sale at an internet near you! Besides buying into the amazing Audiblox, there are several links along the side of the page and if you click on "Intelligence and IQ", there are several articles on IQ and genetics, IQ and learning disabilities, and how IQ is interpreted.

Now lets talk about what we learned this last week in History and Systems of Psychology, shall we? To remind you, we talked about applied psychology vs. pure basic research. There are many jobs that fall under the applied umbrella including clinical, sports, forensic, industrial, marketing, and testing psychology. Lightner Witmer, founder of the first psychology clinic (and thus, clinical psychology), was a leading proponent of applied psychology whereas Edward Titchener, the founder of structuralism, believed in pure science without regard to utility.

Obviously, there are beneficial components to both applied psychology and pure research for if there were no research, we would not know what to apply, and if there were no application, there would be no point in doing research. I am personally much more interested in the research component of psychology, but I have intentions to use the findings in a way such that everyone can reap the benefits of my discovery.

Despite my love of “knowledge for knowledge’s sake”, I see the application of psychology all around me. Why, for instance, did I choose to buy this particular cell phone? Obviously, it probably works well, has neat technological features, but why must it be black, sleek, and shiny? A psychologist trained in marketing may tell you that it is because many people have black cell phones and I wish to conform, or that I derive a sense of sophistication and class from having a new phone. But did they just guess all this? No! Studies have been done that show how others respond to people differently based on their perceptions of a person’s status and class.

In short, I personally believe research and application go hand in hand regardless of how heavily our psychological predecessors debated such things. I think that one would be silly without the other, and I would like to believe that there is less of a divide today between those who practice and those who research. We are all striving for the same thing: to explain psychological forces in the world and determine how they can be altered for optimal gratification. Do you agree?