ERIC Number: EJ848898
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 10
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0003-066X
EISSN: N/A
How Technology Changes Everything (and Nothing) in Psychology: 2008 Annual Report of the APA Policy and Planning Board
American Psychologist, v64 n5 p454-463 2009
It seems that every day, in some conversation or another, the talk turns to technology. It can be about the delight taken in a well-designed website or the ease of accessing data when one needs it; it can be a 50-something-year-old complaining that the BlackBerry needs to be redesigned for newly arthritic baby boomer fingers; it may be a parent boasting about a young child's mastery of electronic equipment or complaining about a teenager's obsession with instant messaging, text messaging, or Facebook. The conversation might also involve a psychologist voicing concerns about the lack of confidentiality of electronic health records or complaining about being inundated with e-mails from colleagues, patients, and listservs. Although the pleasures and frustrations of technology are now widely recognized in personal life, in the classroom, and in the boardroom, technology's impact on social and organizational life is often not fully appreciated. Putnam (2000), in his book "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community," however, has alerted people to the significant ways in which technology is shaping social life. This article takes a more focused view by exploring the fundamental implications--positive and negative, immediate and long term--that technology has for the science and practice of psychology and, more directly, for the American Psychological Association (APA).
Descriptors: Psychology, Annual Reports, Influence of Technology, Professional Associations, Performance Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Psychological Services, Knowledge Management, Technology Integration, Psychologists
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A