British Psychological Society

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The British Psychological Society ( BPS ) is a registered charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 229642 or Scottish Registered Charity Number SC039452. The society forms the professional association of psychologists in Great Britain . With around 50,000 members, the BPS is the second largest psychological society in the world after the American Psychological Association . She is a member of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) and the European Federation of Psychological Associations (EFPA).

aims

The goals of the organization are:

  • to form a scientific society and professional body for psychology
  • To make psychology accessible to everyone
  • To promote and develop the discipline
  • to form the authoritative authority and public voice of psychology
  • To meet the highest demands and standards in everything that society undertakes.

These goals are compiled in a Royal Charter and are therefore subject to special supervisory rules and controls in Great Britain.

History of the company

From the foundation to 1930

On October 24, 1901, the British Psychological Society was founded at University College London . At a time when psychology was an established scientific discipline in Germany and the United States , it had a modest existence in Great Britain. Experimental research was carried out in London and Cambridge. A position in comparative psychology had been established at the University of Aberdeen . In Oxford was a reader station in Mental Philosophy with George Stout been occupied, whose textbook Manual of Psychology was for generations of students as a standard work. And at University College, an informal discussion group met up until the foundation.

Ten founders quickly agreed on some goals and minimum requirements for members of society who either had to teach psychology or at least had to have published articles on the topic that had been noticed. The founding process itself was nothing special. There had already been various attempts to operate the department more professionally. In 1875 Edward Cox tried to found the Psychological Society of Great Britain (PSGB). In 1877 it was up to James Ward to convince the Senate of the University of Cambridge to set up a psychological research laboratory. It was not until fourteen years later that he would receive modest funding. In 1879 the PSGB dissolved again.

The distinguishing feature of British psychology at the turn of the century was the development of experimental and quantitative methods. In 1904 Ward and William Halse Rivers Rivers founded the British Journal of Psychology . Society developed steadily until new ideas were developed with returning psychologists at the end of the First World War . Charles Myers had observed that there were competing efforts to organize. The opening up for members to interested circles that he proposed caused the number of members to swell from 100 to over 600 members by 1920.

Myers was elected President of the Society and headed it for many years. Its impact on British psychology in general and on society in the first half of the 20th century cannot be underestimated. In 1914 the company had taken over the British Journal of Psychology and Myers had become the sole editor-in-chief. He had established experimental psychology laboratories in Cambridge and London, had gone on an expedition to Torres Street with Rivers and William McDougall , and had advised the military on psychological matters.

Myer's reform of membership in the 1920s led to the development of sections, for example for medical, educational or industrial purposes. The tension between practical needs and scientific exclusivity has since driven the Society on.

1930 to 1950

The working basis for psychologists had changed fundamentally by the 1930s. Increasingly, people could imagine a livelihood based on psychology and they were urgently looking for a professional body. Another point was a register with the practitioners in order to enforce quality standards through exchanges, to organize training, etc.

In November 1936, the then President of the Society, the Scottish psychologist James Drever, came up with the idea of giving the Society a Charter of Incorporation . That would enable the Psychological Society to legalize membership. In addition, this would be a prerequisite for obtaining a Royal Charter . The application was accepted and from October 1, 1941, the BPS was a corporation.

Various committees were formed in the 1940s that focused on different subject areas. Among them was the Committee of Professional Psychologists (Mental Health) , originally focused on the mental health of children , which was gradually generalized. Another committee was interested in the psychology of learning and split into separate divisions in Scotland and England.

In 1948 the fragmentation of psychology in Britain became more and more apparent. Different branches had developed and diverged so far in the course of their research that one hardly understood each other and little knowledge was available about the processes in the neighboring disciplines. From 1949 onwards, the Quarterly Bulletin of the British Psychological Society was published , which has continued into modern times under the title The Psychologist .

1950 to 2000

While membership of the BPS was still 1897 in 1950, it rose to 2655 by 1960. In 1982 this number had increased to over 10,000 members. Many committees had been set up and undoubtedly had a significant influence on the British public. Countless opinions and contributions were reflected in the 1958 Mental Deficiency Act . In 1959, the BPS spoke out in favor of the repeal of the laws regarding homosexuality, since homosexuality was detectable in most mammals and was thus regarded as a natural development of humans. In this as in other areas, the BPS thus exerted influence on legislators and legislation.

In 1965 the BPS was finally granted the Royal Charter that had been working towards for so long. The international position of the BPS became apparent through the organization of the 19th International Congress of Psychology in 1969. In the 1970s, the BPS became involved in criticizing animal experiments and other controversial issues.

On December 18, 1987, changes to the charter were approved by the Queen. The most important innovation was the register of Chartered Psychologists. But the rest of the organization also had to be adjusted and the BPS relocated its offices back to London, the city where it was founded.

Modern

In the 21st century, psychologists work in almost every facility in modern life, in hospitals, schools and prisons, from the armed forces to government agencies, advertising agencies, the media and multinationals. Psychologists advise politicians and lawyers. New areas of psychological research are opened up, environmental psychology, social or traffic psychology are just a few examples.

The company is divided into seven regional branches, 14 special interest sections and nine professional divisions. The BPS regularly publishes eleven psychological journals, books and other materials. It has become, as society's first historian, Leslie Hearnshaw , once said, has become the public eye. Their work is discussed in the press, in parliament and the public. They are no longer uncommon in the 21st century.

Publications

Trade journals

The BPS publishes eleven journals in collaboration with Wiley-Blackwell :

Structures

Members

The BPS is organized in a complex structure according to:

  • Branches
    • East Midlands Branch
    • East of England Branch
    • London and Home Counties Branch
    • North East of England Branch
    • North West of England Branch
    • Northern Ireland Branch
    • Scottish Branch
    • South West of England Branch
    • Welsh Branch
    • Wessex Branch
    • West Midlands Branch
  • Divisions (departments)
    • The Division of Academics, Researchers and Teachers in Psychology
    • The Division of Clinical Psychology
      • further subdivided into faculties
    • The Division of Counseling Psychology
    • The Division of Educational and Child Psychology
    • The Division of Forensic Psychology
    • The Division of Health Psychology
    • The Division of Neuropsychology
      • further subdivided into faculties
    • The Division of Occupational Psychology
    • The Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology
    • The Scottish Division of Educational Psychology
  • Section (areas)
    • Cognitive Psychology Section
    • Community Psychology Section
    • Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section
    • Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology Section
    • Cyberpsychology Section
    • Defense and Security Psychology Section
    • Developmental Psychology Section
    • History and Philosophy of Psychology Section
    • Male Psychology Section
    • Mathematical, Statistical and Computing Psychology Section
    • Political Psychology Section
    • Psychobiology Section
    • Psychology of Education Section
    • Psychology of Sexualities Section
    • Psychology of Women and Equalities Section
    • Psychotherapy Section
    • Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section
    • Social Psychology Section
    • Transpersonal Psychology Section
  • Special Activity Groups (changing)
    • the Special Group in Coaching Psychology
    • the Special Group for Independent Practitioners
    • the Special Group for Psychology and Social Care

organization

A supervisory body ( trustees ) are responsible for the governance of the company. The day management is led by a full-time Chief Executive Manager and a team of full-time specialist managers:

  • Chief Executive
  • Director of Qualifications and Standards
  • Director of Finance
  • Director of Corporate Services
  • Director of Policy and Communications
  • Director of Member Services

The annual financial statements are prepared by the Board of Trustees in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (UK) (UK-GAAP) .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Financial Statements for the Year ended 31 December 2017. (PDF) In: Annual accounts published on the BPS website. British Psy, accessed November 9, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Dennis Relojo-Howell: 10 Largest Psychological Associations in the World. April 20, 2017, accessed November 9, 2019 .
  3. ^ British Psychological Society: About Us. In: BPS website. BPS, accessed on November 9, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay Geoff Bunn: A Short History of The British Psychological Society. (PDF) In: BPS website. BPS, accessed on November 9, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Member Networks. The society comprises a number of Member Networks which exist to help our members further their professional and scientific interests. In: BPS website. BS, accessed November 9, 2019 .