1st Edition

From Scientific Psychology to the Study of Persons A Psychologist’s Memoir

By Jack Martin Copyright 2021
    120 Pages
    by Routledge

    120 Pages
    by Routledge

    This is a critical, personalized approach to reframing the discipline of psychology through a singular narrative in the form of a memoir written by a successful research psychologist.

    In this book we follow Martin’s unique career, which has allowed him to understand and adopt different perspectives and ways of approaching psychology, from working in applied areas like educational and counseling psychology to more specialized areas like theory and history of psychology. His journey through and within the field describes his movement away from scientifically based psychology, which views teachings and interventions to be primarily underwritten by hard scientific evidence. Martin exposes the flaws in this approach and highlights the importance of focusing on the study of persons in their life contexts over the use of aggregated group results to ensure that the discipline survives and flourishes.

    This is an impactful and universally applicable book with valuable insights for students and scholars of psychology today, particularly those studying history of psychology, theoretical psychology, and philosophical psychology.

    Series Foreword

    Acknowledgements

    1. My Life in Psychology: An Introduction

    2. Early Life and Education: Questions and Ambivalences

    3. My First Academic Appointment: Survival and Credibility

    4. Academic Success and Personal Dissonance: My Theoretical Turn

    5. Finding a Home: In Full Pursuit of Persons

    6. Retrospective: Reaching for a Psychology of Persons

    Index

    Biography

    Jack Martin is a Fellow of the Canadian and American Psychological Associations, former President of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (STPP), and recipient of the STPP’s Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology.