Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Psychology 279
ties of a discipline which is still very new. But what is most interesting in the
present situation is, hstly, that industrialists, tradespeople and the army, who
are not generally given to nafve idealism, continually demand and encourage
such services; and, secondly, that material and financial assistance is constantly
being granted in order to further research in these fields. The calls for research
are all the more remarkable in that they are very often inspired by considera-
tions similar to those mentioned at the beginning of this present section; that
is to say, requests for research in applied psychology for industry, the army,
etc., are at times left to the initiative of theoretically-minded research workers
without any thought as to its immediate utility on the part of the people who
provide the funds, and as if they understood better than others that any general
progress in psychology may lead to unexpected applications. Thus, many studies
on the theories of information or communication, on the mathematical struc-
ture and conditions of balance of regulating processes, etc., have been conducted
in these circumstances.
It is readily understandable that vocational guidance meets real needs, both
from the point of view of young people who are looking for a job without prop-
erly knowing either their own capacities or those that are required for this or
that profession, and from that of employers who prefer directed choice to mere
empiricism. It is even more surprising and instructive to see how many services
psychology can render to industry or in human relations, where simple common
sense seems at first sight capable of solving all problems. A few concrete exam-
ples may be given, such as those of a printing press and a chocolate factory in
Switzerland which improved their output considerably simply by organizing
the work, even down to the movements to be made by employees in the course
of their daily labours; where an experienced professional had not recognized
possible simplifications and co-ordinations, an objective study of individual
and inter-individual behaviour made it possible to propose the most elementary
modifications, which shows that acquired group habits may depend so much on
their past history that they fail to make the readjustments and adaptations most
obviously needed today.
v. In short, there are at present countless applications of psychology, and
while some of these concern certain social activities of general and fundamental
importance for the future of the nations as well as for their present development
- such as education or the study of mental diseases, for instance - others arise
constantly, often in the most unexpected way. Now, since applied psychology
is all the sounder if based upon more firmly established theoretical and experi-
mental psychology, the problems involved in the training of psychologists and
in:the legal protection of the status of certified psychologist arise in many coun-
tries; they are still difficult to solve, however, owing both to university traditions
and to government apathy26 and, in some cases also to fears of competition on
the part of the medical profession. The ties that often exist betweenprofessor-
ships or institutes of psychology and the department of philosophy in arts
faculties have usually had a retarding effect, and the most favourable situation
for psychology may be sought in science or social science faculties (although