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PSYCHOLOGY INTO THE 21sT CENTURY
Jay C. BRown
Texas Wesleyan University
s the old millennium closed, there was a shift from
A enor perspectives in psychology to cogni-
tive perspectives (Goodwin, 2004)—that is, a shift
from a strict reliance on empirical sources for knowledge to
an acceptance of rationality as a source for knowledge. In
the first decade of the new millennium, psychology is tak-
ing on another new look, or perhaps it is simply returning
to whence it came. Psychology, and in fact all of society,
is embracing spirituality, accepting faith as a once-again
legitimate source of knowledge. The media is awash with
words such as intuition and faith (Malcolm Gladwell’s
book Blink, a best seller, attests to the popularity of intui-
tive thinking), thus reminding us of this acceptance of non-
empirical sources of knowledge. Advances in information
technology, such as the Internet and the 24-hour news net-
works, have made psychology in all of its forms accessible
to everyone. This increased globalization of psychology is
mirrored in the most recent edition of the DSM (Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual), which now
mental health practitioners should be aware of cultural
issues when diagnosing and treating mental illness.
At the close of the previous chapter, Goodwin presented
a section titled “At the Close of the 20th Century” and
discussed four trends in psychology that have carried over
into the new century: neuroscience, evolution, computers,
and fragmentation. This chapter includes a discussion of
these four trends and concludes with a discussion of the
future of psychology by examining the applications of
psychology in the world today.
TRENDS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Neuroscience
The American Psychological Association (APA)
declared the 1990s the “Decade of the Brain.” An accel-
eration of neuroscience research marked the 1990s. For
example, researchers discovered that well over half of
the human genes are devoted to brain-related functions
and those genes can influence a range of behaviors. Brain
scans had long shown the structure of the brain. Crude
neuroscience techniques of the past (such as ablation) had
indicated which “areas” of the brain were responsible for
which behaviors. The major recent advance, however, is
the ability to scan the brain while the participant performs
complex tasks. This technique reveals much more pre-
cisely which areas control which behaviors. At the turn
of the century, a multidisciplinary initiative was formed
acknowledges that (including the APA) creating the “Decade of Behavior” to
bring social and behavioral science into the mainstream.
This initiative was founded under the assumption that
though an understanding of the brain is critical, it is ulti-
mately human behaviors that are at the root of all accom-
plishments, problems, and solutions.
In addition to the recognition in the academic sphere,
there has been an increased understanding of the impor-
tance of neuroscience research in the private sphere
as well Articles dealing with brain functioning appear
frequently both in magazines and the news; rarely does
21
22 « HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
a week goes by without some new neuroscience develop-
ment being reported by the cable news networks. Moreover,
the Allen Brain Atlas (2006), created to be freely available
to all, was funded totally with private donations by the phi-
lanthropist Paul Allen. This project was created because a
private citizen realized the necessity for a comprehensive
resource to which individual researchers could compare
genetic patterns.
In an almost Orwellian development, it appears that
MRI scans of the brain can predict at least some psycho-
logical characteristics. The brains of highly intelligent
children develop in a unique pattern. Though this pat-
tern is quite complex, the pattern for highly intelligent
children is definitely different from that for children
with average intelligence (Haier et al., 1995; Shaw et al.,
2006). Because of this different pattern, it should be (at
least theoretically) feasible to “predict” the intelligence
of an unborn child. Brain differences in personality,
temperament, abnormal behaviors, and other cognitive
functions have been reported for years, and more are
sure to be found shortly. Obviously, serious ethical dis-
cussions need to be made in this area, particularly in the
potential for prediction. If a person’s potential is known
beforehand, why waste precious resources on people who
cannot benefit from them? Similarly, if the potential for
violence in an individual can be assessed through brain
scanning, should society prevent such “potential” vio-
lence from occurring? Not surprisingly, such a scenario
was proposed in the recent hit movie Minority Report,
in which crimes could be predicted before they occurred
and the criminals were arrested for crimes they had not
yet committed. Neuroscience may be the route that will
allow psychology to finally fully advance beyond the
realm of social science, where predictions are probabi-
listic, and into the realm of the natural sciences, where
prediction is more of an absolute. Rather than merely
predicting the behavior of the “average” individual, neu-
roscience may someday allow us to predict the behavior
of a specific individual.
Evolution
Since its inception, the theory of evolution has been
woven into the history of psychology. The Structural
School of Psychology, which had asked about the “‘what,”
“why,” and “how” of mental life, was supplanted by the
Functionalists, who incorporated evolutionary thinking
to ask about the “what for” of mental life (Hergenhahn,
2005). In the 1960s, the field of psychobiology (currently
called evolutionary psychology), in an effort to explain
altruistic behavior, changed the basic driving force behind
evolutionary thinking from the concept of “survival of the
fittest” (implying that characteristics that allow an indi-
vidual to survive and reproduce would be passed on) and
replaced it with the propagation of an individual’s genetic
material (which could be enhanced by ensuring that ones
with similar genetics survive and reproduce).
A recent cover story in Time magazine asks, “What
makes us different?” and refers to those characteristics
that separate us from other animals, namely chimpanzees
(Lemonick & Dorfman, 2006). The human genome proj-
ect was launched in 1986, and a preliminary count reveals
only about 30,000 genes in the entire human genome. Of
these 30,000 genes, we appear to share about 99 percent
with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), our nearest ances-
tor. Similarly, as of this writing, work is in progress to
reveal the genome of Neanderthal man (Homo sapien
Neandertalis). It is expected that we will share even more
genes than we do with the chimpanzee. Full understanding
of the human genome should reveal important insights into
behavioral, mental, and physical illnesses. Early applica-
tions include the ability to screen for predispositions for
certain disorders, such as breast cancer. Such “predictions”
have opened other ethical debates that are being played out
in medicine today. For example, if a woman’s genetic test-
ing reveals a predisposition for breast cancer, should she
have a radical mastectomy just to be safe? Taken further,
if genetic testing reveals predispositions for any number of
illnesses (or cognitive impairments) in a fetus, should the
fetus be given a chance?
Computers
From the information-processing approach to memory
of the 1960s, to the connectionist models of language in
the 1980s, to the field of artificial intelligence and neural
networks today, computers have been influencing the
way we think about and study the mind and its processes.
However, there is a consensus among researchers that
current computer technology, which is very, very fast, is
limited in its ability to truly imitate a human brain due to
the current limit of serial processing. Until a true parallel
processing system can be devised, the field of artificial
intelligence will forever remain artificial. In the words of
Donald Hoffman (1998), “You can buy a chess machine
that beats a master but can’t yet buy a vision machine that
beats a toddler’s vision” (p. xiii).
Computers have also been shaping psychology via their
roles in research. For example, computerized presentation
of test items allows for far more standardization and bet-
ter control in research than was ever possible in the past.
Additionally, statistical software programs have allowed
researchers to pursue complex statistical relationships that
might otherwise be lost.
Fragmentation
Long gone are the days of the “gentleman scientist” of
the 19th century. The trend of the past century, in which
psychology has become more and more fragmented (spe-
cialized), looks only to continue into the future. The APA
currently has 54 divisions, with more inevitably to follow,
each specialized in its own small slice of psychology.
We find that researchers in one area of psychology might

belong to a very specific society such as the Society for
Research in Child Development (SRCD), which uses very
specialized terminology that is unrecognizable to someone
researching in a different area of psychology. Researchers
in one area can hardly keep up with advances in their
particular slice of the research world. Human beings are
incredibly complicated, and it feels hardly possible to
understand one area of psychology in isolation from any
of the others. However, evidence of an increased amount
of interdisciplinary cooperation (particularly between psy-
chology, biology, and computer science) is encouraging.
Academic psychologists are often no longer fully recog-
nizable as psychologists; the bookshelves of a psycholo-
gist might be filled with books written by anthropologists,
linguists, economists, paleontologists, and so forth. It has
been suggested that B. F. Skinner was perhaps the last
completely recognizable figure in the field of psychology.
The Future
Psychology, like all sciences, must ultimately produce
useful knowledge, knowledge that can benefit all of
society. Psychology’s usefulness and acceptance by the
general public has been rising. We have seen a trend of
an increasing merger of psychological research and ideas
into the mainstream of 21st-century life. Psychology
is being applied to almost all aspects of our daily lives
with little understanding by the general public that it
even is psychology. One particularly clever integration of
psychological research into the mainstream would have
made B. F. Skinner very proud—the Fisher-Price Throne
of Their Own, a toilet-training chair that uses music to
reinforce successful elimination. Similarly, Newsweek
recently published an article titled “How to Read a Face”
discussing an emerging new field called social neurosci-
ence (Underwood, 2006). Perhaps the most interesting
part of this article is that the word “psychology” is not
mentioned even once! Reminiscent of George Miller’s
impassioned plea in his APA presidential address that we
give psychology away, it seems that the very success of
psychology could lead to its demise as a separate disci-
pline and its fusion with mainstream thinking. In the fol-
lowing sections, we briefly highlight a few of those areas
in which psychology (and the research tools it has created)
has gained considerable influence.
PSYCHOLOGY AND OPINIONS
Consumer Behavior
The foremost name in the history of psychology related
to consumer behavior is John Watson (Goodwin, 2004).
Watson was credited with implementing classical condi-
tioning principles at the J. Walter Thompson Advertising
Agency that he originally developed with Rosalie Rayner
while studying Baby Albert. Today we are constantly bom-
Psychology Into the 21st Century + 23
barded with new products (CS) being paired with people
or places (US) that have positive feelings (UR) associated
with them. Through constant bombardment (acquisition),
the companies hope that the presence of the new product
(CS) will eventually come to elicit positive feelings (CR).
When it comes to the development of new products,
no successful company would even attempt to market a
new product without testing it. The research techniques
of polling and focus groups come directly out of psycho-
logical research. The availability of mass audiences via
the Internet and e-mail makes this type of work faster and
cheaper (though not necessarily better).
Politics
Political strategists have taken the psychological tools
of polling and focus groups and created a new art form.
Sometimes it appears as though the image created by a poli-
tician is more important than what is actually being said or
done (especially in the middle of hot political campaigns).
Everything a candidate plans is shown first to a focus group
to find how it would affect people’s opinion of the candidate.
Newer techniques involving micro-polling allow political
strategists to predict with much more precision which candi-
date each household is likely to vote for. This knowledge is
then used for concentrated “get out the vote” efforts.
PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM
The presence of psychological principles in legal areas
is hardly news. The insanity defense was one of the first
applied uses of psychological principles in any domain.
However, newer developments, such as the rash of
“recovered memory” trials in the 1990s, bring to light the
basic notion of the legal system—namely, that the words
that come out of a witness’s mouth (for either the defense
or the prosecution) are supposed to be a valid reflection
of reality.
In a strange twist highlighted by the recent movie
Runaway Jury, we are reminded that the truth of a situation
is of little importance when considering the outcome of a
trial. In the movie, psychologists were employed to ensure
that the jury members who were selected from the pool
of potential jurors were sympathetic to the prosecution or
defense, as the situation dictated. Situations such as these
remind us that as psychologists we must maintain high eth-
ical standards that go far beyond patient confidentiality.
PSYCHOLOGY FOR PREDICTION
AND ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION
AND INDUSTRY
Beginning with the first large-scale use of psychological
tests by Yerkes and his colleagues during World War I to
test draftees’ intellectual functioning (the modern ASVAB
24 « HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
[Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery] is a testa-
ment to the ongoing efforts in this vein), employers and
academic institutions have been employing psychological
tests at an ever greater pace. Despite protests concerning
the “fairness” of aptitude tests (such as the SAT, ACT, or
GRE in higher education), they continue to remain useful
and valid predictors of job and academic success. Other
predictive uses of psychological testing, including the
uses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), are
also plagued with questions of validity and fairness (as
well as proper administration). It is likely that psychologi-
cal tests will have their largest future impact in the area of
assessment. More and more, employers and educational
institutions want “proof” that both new and accepted
techniques are working. Proper implementation of the
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the largest change in
education in a generation, requires assessment techniques
in order to determine which schools reach their goals.
Such developments guarantee the future of psychological
assessment techniques.
THERAPY
In therapy, changes have been brewing for several gen-
erations. Traditional psychoanalytic therapists are now
a minority, their ranks being overshadowed by cognitive
therapists. The cognitive approach to therapy empowers
patients by putting them in charge of their own recovery,
though of course it can only be applied to a certain range
of disorders.
Similarly, there have been shifts in who provides
therapy. The cost of medicine has skyrocketed in recent
years, and the rise of health management organizations
(HMOs) brought with it a push for “cheaper” mental
health care. Therapy, once dominated by psychiatrists,
is now practiced by psychologists and therapists as well
as by physicians and members of the clergy. Also, a shift
from individual therapy to group therapy is evident. The
shift in mental health care to “cheaper” methods and
providers has allowed access to mental health care by a
larger portion of the population than had ever been pos-
sible in the past. Along with these shifts come further
questions of cost efficiency driven by the HMOs, namely
prescription privileges. Traditionally only psychiatrists
have been allowed to prescribe medications, but there is
now a shift toward allowing these privileges to be pro-
vided to licensed clinical psychologists as well (currently
Louisiana and New Mexico give clinical psychologists
prescription privileges, but several other states have laws
in the making).
SUMMARY
In the fast-paced world of the late 20th and early 21st
centuries, in which economic decisions are made based
on the “bottom line,’ it seems inevitable (i.e., the zeitgeist
is right) that Francis Bacon’s (1620/1994) notions at the
beginning of the scientific revolution should come full
circle. “Human knowledge and human power meet in one;
for where the cause is not known the effect cannot be pro-
duced” (p. 43). All fields of science, in order to continue
to exist, must provide useful information. As seen in the
mission statement of the APA (2006), “The objects of the
American Psychological Association shall be to advance
psychology as a science and profession and as a means of
promoting health, education, and human welfare.” Perhaps
psychology is finally starting to grow up enough to prove
its usefulness.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS
Allen Brain Atlas. (2006). Retrieved December 12, 2006, from
http://www. brainatlas.org/aba/
American Psychological Association. (2006). About APA. Retrieved
December 12, 2006, from http://www.apa.org/about/
Bacon, F. (1994). Novum organum (P. Urbach & J. Gibson, Eds.
& Trans.). La Salle, IL: Open Court. (Original work pub-
lished 1620)
Goodwin, C. J. (2004). A history of modern psychology. Hoboken,
NJ: Wiley.
Haier, R. J., Chueh, D., Touchette, P., Lott, I., Buchsbaum, M.,
Macmillan, D., et al. (1995). Brain size and cerebral glucose
metabolic rate in nonspecific mental retardation and Down
syndrome. Intelligence, 20, 191-210.
Hergenhahn, B. R. (2005). An introduction to the history of psy-
chology (Sth ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
Hoffman, D. D. (1998). Visual Intelligence. New York: W. W.
Norton.
Lemonick, M. D., & Dorfman, A. (2006, October 9). What makes
us different? Time, 168(15), 44-53.
Shaw, P., Greenstein, D., Lerch, J., Clasen, L., Lenroot, R.,
Gogtay, N., et al. (2006). Intellectual ability and cor-
tical development in children and adolescents. Nature,
440(7084), 676-679.
Underwood, A. (2006, October 23). How to read a face.
Newsweek, 148(17), 65.