Running Head: Literacy Practices on Psychology

The Effects of Literacy Practices on Psychology:

Revealing the Discipline’s Methodologies

Victoria Guituan

University of California, Santa Barbara

Author’s Note

This paper was prepared for Writing 2 ACE, taught by Professor Jennifer Johnson to

discuss the effects of literacy practices on a particular discipline.

 Literacy Practices on Psychology 1

Abstract

This paper researches different literacy practices used within the field of psychology that are

used to enhance and utilize studies within the discipline. Research obtained for this paper

includes: observations from a classroom setting, research articles written by psychologists, and

an interview from a student enrolled in the Introduction to Psychology course to accurately

explore the practices used within psychology and the usage and effectiveness of these practices.

These practices include gathering evidence from conducted research, collaborating with others,

and conceptualizing information and ideas in order to allow one to better understand the

conventions and topics in psychology.

Key Words: literacy practices, psychology, discipline

 Literacy Practices on Psychology 2

The Effects of Literacy Practices on Psychology:

Revealing the Discipline’s Methodologies

The study of psychology is an ever-changing discipline that focuses on the mental

phenomena and processes that are developed by the human mind and brain. Psychology is a vast

discipline and contains many different focuses of study. Unlike other disciplines within the social

sciences, psychology incorporates biological factors to explain certain concepts, making it a

much more substantiated field. Within psychology, there are numerous literacy practices used to

discuss the applications of the field and the science behind it all. After observing my psychology

class, interviewing a fellow student in the course, and analyzing multiple psychologists’ research

journals, it is evident that psychology relies on gathering evidence from conducting research,

openly collaborating with others to interpret ideas from alternative perspectives, and

conceptualizing information and ideas. These practices are used to build theories in order to

convey and utilize different methodologies that take place within the discipline.

Conducting Research and Gathering Evidence

Conducting research is an essential part of psychology which allows psychologists to

explain and discuss certain behaviors and mental processes and use their findings to support and

reject previous theories. By conducting primary research, psychologists are able to build and

improve theories leading to the advancement of scientific findings. When observing my

Introduction to Psychology class, commonly known as “Psych 1,” I analyzed my professor,

Tamsin German, and her teaching techniques. She highly emphasized the use of case studies

throughout her lectures and used them as examples of the lecture topics; German conducts her
 Literacy Practices on Psychology 3

own research and uses the results as examples during lecture. For instance, she posted a study for

the class to participate in regarding a video that displayed objects that would suddenly disappear

and later reappear again; this study was used to show how our attention can be easily misguided

and illustrated how people often tend to see things that never actually occurred. By using this

study, the class was able to see our faults, and the content in lecture seemed to be validated by

evidence. Without the study, it would be much more difficult for students to be able to confirm

this idea that attention can be misguided, since it is something that commonly happens

unconsciously. In “The Psychology of Religion in Brazil,” a journal article by Mary Rute Gomes

Esperandio and Luciana Fernandes Marques, the rise and fall of different religious groups in

Brazil are analyzed in order to determine the effects of religion on culture and behavior. In the

article they state, “The subject of mediumship has also been studied—mainly its relations with

psychopathology and mental health, and the difference between mediumship and dissociative

states. These investigations have contributed to the documentation and comprehension of

membership experiences, many of them considered fantasies caused by superstitious beliefs” (M.

Esperandio & L. Marques, 2015). By conducting primary research and utilizing the data they

gathered, Esperandio and Marques were able to analyze how religion has changed and how it

affects psychology today, therefore allowing them to elaborate and improve established research.

Gathering evidence from research has proven to enhance the discipline itself, in addition to

providing others with relevant and useful information.

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Collaboration and Discussion

Collaboration is an essential literacy practice used in psychology to interpret concepts

and make sense of things. In addition to lectures in Psych 1, discussion sections are held weekly

with a Teaching Assistant, and these often entail the Teaching Assistant going into depth on a

particular subject mentioned during lecture with Professor German. Sections are generally small

and are designed to encourage discussion among students, allowing students to reach new

understandings of concepts or see them through a different perspective. For example, my

Teaching Assistant, Margeaux Sleckman, encouraged the class to express their opinions on the

effectiveness of rituals. Many students had opposing opinions and the class seemed to be clearly

divided upon beliefs, but once those opinions were backed with reasoning, students slowly began

to reason with one another and the class became less divided upon opinions. Although many may

not see eye-to-eye on all aspects, it’s important for others to discuss topics in order to gain an

alternative perspective on things and stray away from biased opinions. Similarly, in

“Psychologists Collaborating With Clergy,” psychologists emphasize the frequency of

collaboration within psychology and elaborate on the practice of collaborating with members of

religious groups to enhance the care given to patients. Upon their findings the researchers state,

“As professional psychology becomes more sensitive to contextual and community variables in

mental health, it is important to collaborate with religious communities—reaching people in their

natural settings. In previous centuries, behavioral and social change has often occurred within a

religious context, and it is only in the past century that secular professions have emerged

explicitly for the ‘care of the soul (psyche)’” (McMinn, Chaddock, Edwards, Lim, & Campbell,

1998). Many people often refer to members of the clergy before seeing a psychologist or
 Literacy Practices on Psychology 5

psychiatrist in regards to personal issues, thus making it difficult for clergy members to give

advice that is beneficial, both mentally and spiritually. In addition, when consulting with

members of religious groups, psychologists find it easier to get through to a patient when

catering to familiar beliefs and practices that allow the patient to feel comfortable. By

collaborating with specialists of different backgrounds, the field of psychology is further

enhanced by making room for different perspectives and making information relevant and

up-to-date. By attaining a deeper understanding of the world outside of their discipline,

psychologists are able to better enhance theories and old teachings, therefore improving the

overall field.

Conceptualization

Psychology also coerces others to conceptualize topics, which helps simplify the logistics

of the subject. By using our knowledge of things that we are already familiar with and using

concepts of new topics, we are able to better understand the topics discussed within psychology.

I was fortunate enough to interview a fellow student, who is also enrolled in Psych 1. Becky Li is

a first year, undergraduate student here at UCSB, and plans to pursue her undergraduate degree

in Sociology, with a minor in Applied Psychology. When asked about her study habits

throughout the course, she stated, “I usually tackle new topics with ones that I’m already familiar

with. When I’m struggling with a new subject in the class, I like to try and use my personal

experiences to help me understand things better or to paint a clearer picture of things” (Li,

personal communication, 2019). By using automatic shortcuts that are implemented in our

thought processes, Li groups new topics and experiences with old ones to make better sense of

things. In addition, Professor German demonstrates how psychologists tend to use old knowledge
 Literacy Practices on Psychology 6

of existing information in order to comprehend new information and build theories based on this

information. For instance, German covered the fundamentals of learning processes and analyzed

psychologists who have adopted a certain learning style, then later developed a new style based

on the knowledge given from the original practice. This allowed for the development and

enhancement of new theories within the field. By conceptualizing personal experiences with new

concepts, understanding and using knowledge within the field in everyday practices becomes

much simpler.

Psychology is a vast subject and contains many counterparts, often times making it

difficult to understand. It uses literacy practices such as conducting research, collaborating, and

conceptualizing new topics with old ones in order to create a better understanding of the

discipline. Literacy practices generally differ within different disciplines, considering that each

discipline has its own set of goals. However, literacy practices serve as a bridge between our

understanding of different fields of study and the effectiveness of actions that are performed

throughout different disciplines that define the discipline for what it is.
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References

Esperandio, M. R., & Marques, L. F. (2015). The Psychology of Religion in Brazil.

The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 25​(4), 255-271.

German, T. (2019). Lecture 4: Attention and Consciousness, Lecture 5: Learning.

[Powerpoint Slides].

Mcminn, M. R., Chaddock, T. P., Edwards, L. C., Lim, B. R., & Campbell, C. D. (1998).

Psychologists collaborating with clergy. ​Professional Psychology:Research and Practice,

29​(6), 564-570.