Professional Regulation: An Introduction to the Issue

This issue of Law and Human Behavior examines the impact of regulatory mechanisms on the behavior of the professions and the impact of the professions on regulatory mechanisms. While much of the work in this area has been done by economists and sociologists, there is an important place for psychologists. The role of testing and educational requirements in licensing laws and the broad issue of what factors are essential for competent practice provide two clear examples. Unfortunately, psychologists have given short shrift to these matters, perhaps because negative findings might seriously challenge some of the ground on which psychologists stand. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)