Psychology cannot be reduced to research and academic knowledge. It is a source of expert knowledge and stable jobs. A university degree in psychology also provides a cultural capital for new graduates to increase their competence and performance in present or future jobs.
Psychology in Spain has emerged as a certified knowledge-based discipline, based upon conventional divisions or specialties, and as a labor market, incorporating differents types of practitioners and professional career paths (Prieto, 1992).
The occupational classification among psychologists seems to follow the following distribution (Diaz & Quintanilla, 1992): 38.5% are in Educational Psychology; 29,9% are in Clinical Psychology; 16,3 % are in Industrial and Organizational Psychology; 9.2% are in Community or Social Services Psychology; 6.3% consider themselves as researchers and, finally, 4.8% are devoted to traffic safety psychology issues. Regarding the conditions of employment, 37% might be considered free-lance or self-employed practitioners; 33% of Spanish Psychologists are civil servants or are employed in different agencies in the public sector. 21% are employed in private firms. 4% are scholars in State Universities and 0.5% are more or less permanent members of National or Local Governments or Parliaments.
The youthful nature of Spanish psychologists is seen in the fact that only one out of every five practitioners has more than ten years of professional experience. Women are over-represented: 65% are females. The exception is Work and Organizational Psychology where almost two out of three are male practitioners. The unemployment rate is below that of the general population and that of university graduates.
School Psychologists devote themselves to the following activities: Counselling parents and teachers, Diagnosis and treatment, Individualized attention to children, Report authoring.
Clinical Psychologists work with patients in public or private settings within the following theoretical and methodological orientation (Avila, 1989) : Behaviorism (48.8%), Psychoanalysis (37.6%), Humanistic Psychology (8.9%), Systemic approaches (3.5%), Eclecticism (9.2%).
Industrial and Organizational Psychologists are devoted mainly to personnel assessment, selection and training as well as job analysis and performance appraisal. This is the typical profile of Personnel Psychologists. Only a minority devote some time to organizational aspects, marketing and consumer behavior issues. Their average salary is the highest among Spanish practitioners.
Community or Social Services Psychologists work in interdisciplinary workgroups and spend their time interacting with other experts and professionals to deal with delicate cases among drug-addicts, the aged, delinquent children, rape counseling, housewife syndromes, and domestic aggression. There is also a minor group of forensic psychologists working in prisons or writing reports to court.
In applied settings psychological action is viewed as a behavioral technology. Practitioners are invited to change situation A into B, since B is more satisfactory for the client or for the citizens. Psychology is accepted insofar as it contributes to the improvement of the quality of life in Spanish Society through research and evaluation findings. Their significant findings remain confidential or available only to authorized persons. Psychological reports remain unpublished but are accessible by indirect ways: case study sessions, task forces, joint committees, informal meetings and talks. That is, oral transmission and informal networks.
JOSÉ RAMÓN CORREAS GONZALEZ
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LAST UPDATED Sunday 6 de August de 1995 - -