Handbook on the State of the Art in Applied Psychology

CHAPTER 13Psychological Literacy in Undergraduate Psychology Education and Beyond

Jacquelyn Cranney and Sue Morris

School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

Higher education does not necessarily “translate” to economic and social prosperity, and recently, the value of undergraduate (UG) psychology education has been questioned. Psychology as a discipline and profession has much to offer for the public good, and there is great need, as most societal problems relate to human behavior. Why not start where we can, with our students? We need to rethink UG psychology education, and we argue here that psychological literacy needs to be at the heart of the underlying pedagogical philosophy, both in terms of us as educators being psychologically literate in using evidence‐based strategies to support student learning and in terms of supporting the acquisition of a moderate level of psychological literacy by our students—including their awareness of this. Psychological literacy is the capacity to intentionally use psychology to meet personal, professional, and societal needs. In the 10 years since its remaking, the greatest uptake of psychological literacy has been within UG psychology education in the UK, Australia, and North America. There is a need for further conceptual development, which can then lead to (a) more valid measurement, and (b) more rigorous evaluation of the impact of educational “interventions.” The primary opportunity in meeting ...