Descriptive psychology is primarily a conceptual framework for the science of
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
. Created in its original form by
Peter G. Ossorio at the
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...
in the mid-1960s,
[Ossorio, P.G. (1995). ''Persons''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Descriptive Psychology Press. (Originally published in 1966).][Ossorio, P. G. (2006). ''The Behavior of Persons''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Descriptive Psychology Press.] it has subsequently been applied to domains such as
psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
,
[Bergner R (2007). ''Status Dynamics: Creating New Paths to Therapeutic Change''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Burns Park Publishers.] artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
, organizational communities,
spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
,
research methodology
In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
, and
theory
A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
creation.
The nature of descriptive psychology
The original impulse for the creation of DP was dissatisfaction with mainstream approaches to the science of psychology,
thinking that psychology had paid insufficient attention to the creation of a foundational
conceptual framework
A conceptual framework is an analytical tool with several variations and contexts. It can be applied in different categories of work where an overall picture is needed. It is used to make conceptual distinctions and organize ideas. Strong concept ...
such as other sciences possessed. Later authors noted that this lack of a conceptual scaffolding was responsible for the fragmentation of psychology; i.e. for its lack of any unifying, broadly accepted "standard model."
[Bergner R (2006). An open letter from Isaac Newton to the field of psychology. In K. Davis & R. Bergner (Eds.), ''Advances in Descriptive Psychology'' (Vol. 8, pp. 69-80). Ann Arbor, Michigan: Descriptive Psychology Press.]
References
External links
Society for Descriptive PsychologyDictionary of Psychology (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Descriptive Psychology