A clarion call or a swan song? Commentary: A crisis in comparative psychology: where have all the undergraduates gone?

Frontiers in Psychology

Craig F. Bielert¹ 

关键词: comparative psychology;    animal behavior;    comparative cognition;    evolutionary psychology;    ethology;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01867

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

In a recent opinion article, Abramson (2015) focused scrutiny upon the current status of comparative psychology. Once a thriving sub-discipline in psychology, Abramson describes what seems to be a field in peril and offers suggestions to enhance the presence of comparative psychology at the undergraduate level. He points out that currently only one textbook carries the title “Comparative Psychology,” which was last released in 2008. Perhaps even more telling of the current status of the field is that the vast majority of popular introductory psychology texts (~70%) fail in even mentioning this topic in their coverage. Abramson also emphasizes that the number of graduate programs specifically carrying the moniker of comparative psychology are two in number, which perhaps matches the need given the decreasing emphasis on this sub-discipline at the undergraduate level. While many of Abramson's individual observations could be taken as cautionary, when combined they appear as a death knell to the field.

【 授权许可】

CC BY