The Role of Values in Psychology and Human Development Hardcover - 1992 - 1st Edition

From the rear cover

The past several decades have seen what can only be described as a crisis of faith within science. The once unassailable concept of the cold, unbiased eye of scientific reason has fallen under the most severe critical scrutiny, and the historical debate over whether values should play a role in science has been replaced by the question of how values influence scientific practice. As a consequence, in the behavioral and social sciences, the question of the role of values has come to occupy a prominent position in the debate over the foundations of scientific validity. This groundbreaking book is devoted to the contemporary discourse on the role of values and the shared assumptions governing research and applications in psychology bringing together contributions from some of the leading lights in the field, it explores the role of values in the interpretation of data, the choice and construction of theoretical models, and the design of the tools of research. It probes to the very core of the psychological view of personality and human development and asks sometimes disturbing questions about the implications of values especially as regards developmental theory and research. The Role of Values in Psychology and Human Development is divided into three sections. The first part provides a detailed overview and introduction to central issues from an historical perspective. In the second part readers are given a broad perspective of the implications of metatheoretical issues for developmental theory and research. The third section focuses on the ways in which values directly and indirectly impact upon theory and research, with specific examples from cognitive, social, moral, and personalitytheory and development. The first comprehensive survey of contemporary research into the role of values in social and developmental psychology, this book is an important addition to the libraries of practicing psychologists and researchers in the behavioral sciences. It is also an excellent text for upper level students in those fields.