AN EMERGING SCIENTIST-PROFESSIONAL ROLE IN PSYCHOLOGY

PRESENTS A HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE ROLES PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE ASSUMED, OR HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED, AS A USEFUL PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH TO UNDERSTAND THE RESPONSE OF PSYCHOLOGISTS TO THE UNPRECEDENTED DEMANDS OF TODAY FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS. DETERMINANTS OF DISTINCTIVE ROLE STATUS ARE NOTED, E.G., CONCEPTUAL ORIENTATION, METHODOLOGY OR TECHNIQUE, PROBLEM AREA, OR EMBODIMENT OF A ROLE AS THE GOAL OF A TRAINING PROGRAM. PRESENT CHANGES IN GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMS FORESHADOW NEW ROLES FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS AS PROBLEM SOLVERS TRAINED TO CONCEPTUALIZE PROBLEMS AT LEVELS REACHING FROM THE INDIVIDUAL TO THAT OF SOCIETY, AND TO APPLY HIS CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES TO A VARIETY OF PROBLEMS.