What Is Humaneering and Should This Be the Aim of Psychology - Term Paper Example

The value of learning more about ourselves and human nature is obvious. Our social, political, and economic theories rest ultimately upon our understanding of human nature. Upon sound knowledge of human nature depends the possibility of directing social changes, so as to make social institutions and practices better suited to human needs. As citizens , then, we need to make our beliefs about human nature as sound and rational as possible. The nineteenth century was marked by great achievements in engineering. Advances in psychology, sociology, and pshysiology should lead to as striking advances in “humaneerings” during the twentieth century. ( Tiffin,J., Knight,F.B., & Josey,C.C. (1940). The Psychology of Normal People. Humaneering is the application of scientific principles for the economical and efficient design, development, and operation of human and organizational contrivances such as work, enterprise, and other human systems. Humaneering technology would unify the biological and social sciences for application as an integrated technology, with the objective of optimizing the effectiveness, productivity and sustainability of human systems (e.g., work, organizations). http://www.pepitone.com/ Firsthand knowledge of “humaneering technology” and the concept of “humaneered work-systems” is generally limited to those people who have been directly involved with this new thinking.. The vision for a humaneering technology was first conceived in 1940 by industrial psychologist and Purdue University professor, Joseph Tiffin. In his words... “The value of learning more about ourselves and human nature is obvious. Our social, political and economic theories rest ultimately upon our understanding of human nature. Upon sound knowledge of human nature depends the possibility of directing social changes, so as to make social institutions and practices better suited to human needs. As citizens, then, we need to make our beliefs about human nature as sound and rational as possible. The nineteenth century was marked by great achievements in engineering. Advances in psychology, sociology, and physiology should lead to as striking advances in “humaneering” during the twentieth century.” (The Psychology of Normal People (1940) p.24. ) Today, humaneering is managerial technology that integrates human- science-based knowledge concerning work into a new applied science. It is defined as “the application of biological, psychological and social science principles to the design, development, and operation of economical and efficient organizations, processes, and human work systems.” In comparison, engineering differs by its application of physical science principles to structures, equipment and machine-like processes.(www.pepitone.com/content/know-technology.asp )- Should “humaneering “ be the aim of psychology? Critical social psychologists would agree that social psychologists have a duty to ‘change the world’. However, they are often highly critical of institutionalized social psychology. Many of them go further, by using their study of the discipline as a form of political activism to challenge oppression. Social psychology should be about changes in the real world. It should also, though, be concerned with how people can collectively change the order of things for themselves. Unfortunately, social psychology as an academic institution is structured in such a way as to blot out that which is most interesting about social interaction (language, power and history) and to divert attention from efforts to de-construct its oppressive functions in a practical way. (Parker 1989) You will generally find that the topics studied by critical social psychologists are ones concerned in some way with the abuse of power. Sometimes they specifically address issues of domination, exploitation and abuse. Examples include Wetherell and Potter’s (1992) study of racism, and Kitzinger and Frith’s (1999) study of how men exploit women’s difficulties in rejecting unwanted sexual advances. In others the topics may appear less overtly ‘political’ (an example here is Stenner’s 1993 study of jealousy). However, the analysis applied always has a ‘political’ undercurrent. A term introduced by Michel Foucault – the micropolitics of power – is useful here. It neatly describes the main aim of much critical research: to tease out how the micropolitics of power are being exercised and resisted in people’s relations with one another, whether as individuals or as groups. There is general agreement that social psychology should seek to ‘make the world a better place’. However, there are significant differences in how this should be pursued, and what should be the targets for change. (mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/chapters/0335211267.pdf ) Social psychology itself, of which the literature of prejudice forms so central a part, is, despite appearances, not merely a neutral scientific endeavour. It has a political mission, a hidden agenda. Committed to liberal humanism, it has a profoundly value-laden, ideological orientation towards do-gooding. Its aim is humaneering: a pursuit of human betterment, to make social institutions and practices better suited to human needs (Stainton Rogers, Stenner, Gleeson. & Stainton Rogers, 1995). ( (www.psych.ucalgary.ca/thpsyc/VOLUMES.SI/1993/3.4 Foster.html )- 84k - Cached According to psychologist Gordon Allport, social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods "to understand and explain how the thought, feeling and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings" (1985). Social psychology looks at a wide range of social topics, including group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression, and prejudice. It is important to note that social psychology is not just about looking at social influences. Social perception and social interaction are also vital to understanding social behavior. While Plato referred to the idea of the "crowd mind" and concepts such as social loafing and social facilitation were introduced in the late-1800s, it wasnt until after World War II that research on social psychology would begin in earnest. The U.S. government also became interested in applying social psychological concepts to influencing citizens. Social psychology has continued to grow throughout the twentieth century, inspiring research that has contributed to our understanding of social experience and behavior. It is important to understand how social psychology differs from other disciplines. Social psychology is often confused with folk wisdom, personality psychology, and sociology. What makes social psychology different? Unlike folk wisdom, which relies on anecdotal observations and subjective interpretation, social psychology employs scientific methods and empirical study of social phenomena. While personality psychology focuses on individual traits, characteristics, and thoughts, social psychology is focused on situations. Social psychologists are interested in the impact that social environment and interaction has on attitudes and behaviors. Psychologists instead focus on situational variables that affect social behavior. While psychology and sociology both study similar topics, they are looking at these topics from different perspectives. Allport, G. W. (1985). The historical background of social psychology. In G. Lindzey, and E. Aronson, (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology, 1, (3), 1-46. A classic definition used to be Psychology is concerned with understanding, predicting, and controlling human behaviour. That holds true today, but different fields have differing emphases on (and definitions for) understanding, predicting, and controlling, as well as differing in what theyre prepared to include in their understanding of behaviour. While there are differences between various theoretical approaches and paradigms in psychology, the Art embraces them all, even the most diametrically opposed. The study of human nature may be thought of as an art with many tools at its disposal, an art closely related to all the other arts, and relevant to them all. In literature and poetry, particularly, this is especially significant. Its primary aim must be to broaden our knowledge of human beings, that is to say, it must enable us all to become better, fuller, and finer people. (Alfred Adler, Understanding Human Nature,) Since ‘humaneering” is defined as “the application of biological, psychological and social science principles to the design, development, and operation of economical and efficient organizations, processes, and human work systems, ” it is closely related to psychology because psychology also deals with the study of human nature. Times are changing. What used to be is no longer what it is. Yet, the truth remains that in psychology, you still study about man’s behavior. However, psychology is continuously branching. It has now many fields in the study of human behavior. Closely related to humaneering is “social psychology”. Social psychology employs scientific methods and empirical study of social phenomena. Social psychology has continued to grow throughout the twentieth century, inspiring research that has contributed to our understanding of social experience and behavior. Humaneering technology would unify the biological and social sciences for application as an integrated technology, with the objective of optimizing the effectiveness, productivity and sustainability of human systems. According to Stanton, social psychology itself is not merely a neutral scientific endeavour. Committed to liberal humanism, it has a profoundly value-laden, ideological orientation. Its aim is humaneering: a pursuit of human betterment, to make social institutions and practices better suited to human needs. If we have sound knowledge of human nature , the possibility of directing social changes to make social institutions and practices better suited to the needs of humanity become possible. If psychology seeks to ‘make the world a better place’, through significant differences in how this should be pursued, and what should be the targets for change, this is possible through “humaneering”. The world is not as simple as it used to be. Modern technology has made the world a virtual world. It is a world where everyone is interconnected – and knowing how optimize the effectiveness, productivity and sustainability of human systems is a challenge that “humaneering “ faces. References: ( Tiffin,J., Knight,F.B., & Josey,C.C. (1940). The Psychology of Normal People. http://www.pepitone.com/ (www.pepitone.com/content/know-technology.asp )- Allport, G. W. (1985). The historical background of social psychology. In G. Lindzey, and E. Aronson, (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology, 1, (3), 1-46. (Alfred Adler, Understanding Human Nature,) Read More