Former Georgetown professor speaks on true psychology

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Former Georgetown professor speaks on true psychology
Psychologist James T. Lamiell gives insight into psychology
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Psychologist James T. Lamiell criticized his colleagues for their departure from true psychological methods in his speech on Nov. 1. 

Lamiell is the professor emeritus of psychology at Georgetown University. 

Lamiell chaired the department of psychology at Georgetown University from 2009 to 2015. He is a three-time Fulbright Senior Scholar, a U.S. State Department sponsored-program for academics to travel abroad. He has published seven books, more than 40 peer review papers, and almost 30 book chapters.

He discussed how psychologists have shifted from compiling data on individuals to focusing on groups. This leads to general applications being forced on individual cases, Lamiell said. 

“Over the years, I think psychology made itself into a species of demography,” Lamiell said, referring to the study of statistics. “It studies these variables in populations and the statistical levels it produces is population level knowledge and that’s what makes it demography.” 

Lamiel presented data tables showing the average correlation across several students’ performances on a test to their performance on the next test. However, the average correlation did not match an individual’s score. Lamiell’s point was that aggregate data collected for a group, while helpful, does not imply individual conclusions. 

“Claims to probabilistic knowledge are logically bound to the consideration of a series of events, not individual cases,” Lamiell said. 

Lamiell explained the foundations of psychology.

 “From its inception, the theoretical objective in psychological science has been to advance our understanding of the psychological doings- sensations, perceptions, judgements, emotions, cognitions, behaviors, of individuals,” he said. 

Lamiell traced the shift in psychology from a focus on individual cases to a focus on group studies. In his conclusion, he advocated for a return to statistical studies of individuals. 

“We must abandon the long dominant aggregate statistical methods of investigation and embrace in their place investigative methods be they quantitative or qualitative that are logically suited to the discipline’s original theoretical objectives,” he said. 

Freshman Camille Floyd said she enjoyed the lecture. 

“I especially appreciated how he ended the lecture with a summary of everything he mentioned and the key points or conclusions he drew,” she said. “I have been to other visiting lectures and felt like the speakers’ endings were abrupt and inconclusive. I was particularly interested in this topic, as an economics minor, and I agreed with his criticisms of the prevailing statistical approach to psychology.” 

“It was really interesting to hear someone speak on errors and inconsistencies in his own field and address how to fix them,” sophomore Emma Burbach said. 

Lamiell thanked Collin Barnes, associate professor of psychology at Hillsdale, for inviting him to speak. He commented on the uniqueness and beauty of Hillsdale. 

“It’s my first ever visit to Hillsdale,” he said. “Somehow I can sense the fact that this place is a small liberal arts college very much oriented towards the students.”