Newsweek: Psychologists Reject Science

Sharon Begley¹ at Newsweek wrote a fascinating article whose main point is - practicing psychologists reject science. Citing an upcoming analysis she writes:

In a two-years-in-the-making analysis to be published in November in Perspectives on Psychological Science, psychologists led by Timothy B. Baker of the University of Wisconsin charge that many clinicians fail to "use the interventions for which there is the strongest evidence of efficacy" and "give more weight to their personal experiences than to science." As a result, patients have no assurance that their "treatment will be informed by science." Walter Mischel of Columbia University, who wrote an accompanying editorial, is even more scathing. "The disconnect between what clinicians do and what science has discovered is an unconscionable embarrassment," he told me, and there is a "widening gulf between clinical practice and science."

She continues:

The problem [of doctors hating science] is even worse in psychology. For one thing, says Baker, clinical psychologists are "deeply ambivalent about the role of science" and "lack solid science training"—a result of science-lite curricula, especially in Psy.D. programs.

One of my main themes is science, specifically neuroscience, is a grounding force in the study of as resilience and well-being. This work is routinely ignored by the nurture arts² whose starting point can be some ‘theory of self,’ or even more vague ‘theory of the universe.’

So much wisdom comes from centuries of practice in the nurturing arts. Neuroscience identifies and enhances the truly valuable stories of wisdom, and directly challenges and diminishes the elements that are flighty.

UPDATE: a more detailed elaboration of the Newsweek article from Michael Anestis's fine blog. His money quote:

There are countless other reasons why this situation exists. Ultimately, however, I believe it is a battle of information. Until science makes its voice heard through the resources that people actually use and relate to, people will continue to listen to the voices of misinformation that populate television, radio, the internet, and sadly, many of our classrooms.

UPDATE 2: for the want of a markdown tag.

UPDATE 3: Science Daily on the source article for Newsweek.

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1. She wrote two well know books: Begley, S. (2009). The Plastic Mind: New science reveals our extraordinary potential to transform ourselves. Constable. Also, Begley, S. (2007). Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves. Ballantine Books. ↩

2. I use the term ‘nurturing’ arts to include the practice of psychology and the wisdom traditions from school of thought and spiritual practice such as philosophy, mythology, mysticism and so on. ↩