by Alex and Gavin
Raymond Cattell is one of History of Psychology’s most influential contributors due to his work with personality and intelligence among other fields. Raised by Ernest Cattell and Mary Field in the midlands of England, he often spent his time exploring his Devonshire home and the surrounding land. Cattell was an extremely active child, but also spent a lot of his time invested in reading, which contributed to his early academic success. Among grammar school scholarships, Cattell first attended King’s College at the age of sixteen and graduated three years later with a degree in physics. Cattell soon left that field, however, when he was inspired by a lecture by Cyril Burt to help solve social issues. It was in 1929 that Cattell earned his PhD in psychology, and three years later a master’s in education from the University of London. The field of clinical psychology and particularly the role of the clinician, which he believed to be any field dealing with the issues of the human condition, fascinated Cattell. He found that there were not nearly enough designated tools that help in achieving the goals of clinical psychology, and set out to define problems, and possible future standards for the field of clinical psychology. The main problem Cattell found with the state of clinical psychology in his time was social need. There was an obvious need for clinical psychologists, but clinical psychologists also needed in-depth. According to Cattell, clinical psychologists should have an extensive educational background. During this time, medical doctors were deemed more appropriate conductors of mental testing than the psychologists who created them, which perplexed Cattell. In order to remedy this, Cattell believed that medical doctors should be forced to study psychology for a certain amount of time, and psychologists should receive some medical training, but only courses that were relevant to them. Without extensive training, different professions would be able to easily come along and take control of the field of Clinical psychology. He also believed that if the clinical psychologists were better trained, the public would be more trusting and would have less problems going to clinical psychologists instead of relying solely on medical doctors. Cattell also noted that one of the most important roles of the clinical psychologist was to keep current with research. By doing so, clinical psychologists will always know the most current and accurate findings and treatments, so they are better able to treat their patients. Cattell’s advocacy for clinical psychology standards has shaped the profession into what it is today.
1894: Cattell takes over control of the journal Science, revitalizing it and spreading the word about new fields in psychology.
Benjamin, L. T. (2014). A brief history of modern psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ:
Cattell, R. B. (1948). The meaning of clinical psychology. In L. A. Pennington, I. A. Berg, L. A. Pennington, I. A. Berg (Eds.) , An introduction to clinical psychology (pp. 3-16). Oxford, England; New York, N: Ronald Press. doi:10.1037/10577-023
Cattell, R. B. Raymond B. Cattell. (1974). In G. Lindzey, G. Lindzey (Eds.) , A history of psychology in autobiography, Vol VI (pp. 61-100). Englewood Cliffs, NJ,: Prentice-Hall, Inc., Print. doi:10.1037/11553-003
Horn, J. (2001). Raymond Bernard Cattell (1905-1998). American Psychologist, 56(1), 71-72. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.56.1.71
No comments:
Post a Comment