The Goals Of Psychology PDF

**The Goals of Psychology** No field is better equipped to meet the challenge of cultural diversity than psychology. And psychology has met this challenge through the emergence of a subfield known as cultural psychology. In order to get a better handle on what this field all about, it is important...

**The Goals of Psychology** No field is better equipped to meet the challenge of cultural diversity than psychology. And psychology has met this challenge through the emergence of a subfield known as cultural psychology. In order to get a better handle on what this field all about, it is important first to have a good grasp of the goals of psychology. Psychology essentially has two main goals. The first is to build a body of knowledge about people. Psychologists seek to understand behavior when it happens, explain why it happens, and even predict it before it happens. Psychologists achieve this by conducting research and creating theories of behavior. The second goal of psychology involves taking that body of knowledge and applying it to intervene in people's lives, to make those lives better. Psychologists achieve this in many ways: as therapists, counselors, trainers, and consultants. Psychologists work on the front lines, dealing directly with people to affect their lives in a positive fashion. The two goals of psychology---creating a body of knowledge and applying that knowledge---are closely related. Psychologists who are on the front lines take what psychology as a field has collectively learned about human behavior and use that knowledge as a basis for their applications and interventions. This learning initially comes in the form of academic training in universities. But it continues well after formal education has ended, through continuing education programs and individual scholarship---reviewing the literature, attending conferences, and joining and participating in professional organizations. Applied psychologists engage in a lifelong learning process that helps them intervene in people's lives more effectively. Likewise, researchers are cognizant of the practical and applied implications of their work, and many are well aware that the value of psychological theory and research is often judged by its practical usefulness in society (Gergen, Gulerce, Lock, & Misra, 1996). Theories are often tested for their validity not only in the halls of science but also on the streets, and they often have to be revised. **Ethics in Cultural Psychological Research** Research, whether indigenous or cross-cultural, must be conducted ethically. The American Psychological Association (APA) has created a set of common ethical principles and shared standards to guide the professional and scientific responsibilities of psychologists. A major goal of the principles and code of conduct is to educate professionals in psychology, students, colleagues, patients and members of the public about the ethical standards of the field. The ethical principles include: - **Beneficence and non-maleficence** The first principle of the APA ethics code states that psychologists should strive to protect the rights and welfare of those with whom they work professionally. This includes the clients they see in clinical practice, animals that are involved in research and [experiments](https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-conduct-a-psychology-experiment-2795792), and anyone else with whom they engage in professional interaction. This principle encourages psychologists to strive to eliminate [biases](https://www.verywellmind.com/cognitive-biases-distort-thinking-2794763), affiliations, and prejudices that might influence their work. This includes acting independently in research and not allowing affiliations or sponsorships to influence results. - **Fidelity & responsibility** The APA also suggests that psychologists have a moral responsibility to help ensure that others working in their profession also uphold high ethical standards. This principle suggests that psychologists should participate in activities that enhance the ethical compliance and conduct of their colleagues. Serving as a mentor, taking part in peer-review, and pointing out ethical concerns or misconduct are examples of how this principle might be put into action. - **Integrity** In research and practice, psychologists should never attempt to deceive or misrepresent. In research, deception can involve fabricating or manipulating results in some way to achieve desired outcomes. Psychologists should also strive for transparency and honesty in their practice. When deception is used in research (which may involve the use of confederates or not fully revealing the true nature of the research), psychologists must make efforts to mitigate the effects. This type of research deception must be justified and the possible gains must outweigh potential drawbacks. The use of deception should be minimal, not result in distress, and be disclosed at the earliest possible opportunity. - **Justice** In its broadest sense, justice relates to a responsibility to be fair and impartial. This principle states that people have a right to access and benefit from advances that have been made in the field of psychology. It is important for psychologists to treat people equally. Psychologists should also always practice within their area of expertise and also be aware of their level of competence and limitations. 1. - **Respect for people's People\'s Rights and Dignity** Psychologists should respect the right to dignity, privacy, and confidentiality of those they work with professionally. They should also strive to minimize their own biases as well as be aware of issues related to diversity and the concerns of particular populations. For example, people may have specific concerns related to their age, socioeconomic status, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or disability. **Principles protecting human subjects include:** **Informed consent** states that people should know when they are involved in research, and understand what will happen to them during the study (at least in general terms that do not give away the hypothesis). Researchers conducting cultural or cross-cultural research should consider the possibility that informed consent may not be a custom of the culture and the concept may not be understood by the participants. **Voluntary participation** is the choice to participate, along with the freedom to withdraw from the study at any time. **Privacy** encompasses two broad concepts, anonymity and confidentiality. Researchers also may not identify individual participants in their research reports. **Risks and Benefits** are key elements of ethics in research and people who agree to participate in psychological studies should be exposed to risk only if they fully understand the risks and only if the likely benefits clearly outweigh those risks. **Deception** refers to the need for some research to deceive participants (e.g., using a cover story) to prevent participants from modifying their behavior in unnatural ways, especially in laboratory or field experiments. In these instances, researchers may hide the true nature of the study. **Debriefing** is the process of informing research participants as soon as possible of the purpose of the study, revealing any deceptions, and correcting any misconceptions they might that might have occurred. For example, an experiment examining the effects of sad moods on charitable behavior might involve inducing a sad mood in participants by having them think sad thoughts, watch a sad video, or listen to sad music. Debriefing would therefore be the time to return participants' moods to normal by having them think happy thoughts, watch a happy video, or listen to happy music.