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The Challenge of Temporal Validity in Psychology

One of the go-to evaluation terms students like to address when evaluating a theory or study is its temporal validity. 

Is the research up-to-date, or does it reflect behavior, thought, and emotion from a time that no longer represents the way people live today?I've often found this a bit contradictory, as psychology as a subject often seems entrenched in the past.

Revisiting the Classics: Is It Time for a Change?

In my 18 years of teaching experience, I've taught studies by greats such as Freud, Milgram, Asch, and Piaget more times than I can remember. 

Come to think of it, these were the same studies I learned as a high school student.

While I respect honouring the work of psychology's founding fathers, having a syllabus so heavily focused on the past just doesn’t seem right to me. 

Not only does a historically-based curriculum fail to explain how people think, feel, and behave in today’s society—a society with very different norms, values, and possibilities—but it also fails to recognise the work of psychologists who don't fit the demographics of those in the traditional canon. The underrepresentation of women and people of color is striking.

Embracing Contemporary Research

So, what’s the answer? 

As IB Psychology teachers, we are in the advantageous position of not being constrained by prescribed studies. 

We have the freedom to move away from the established work of the past and explore contemporary, diverse researchers who are conducting and publishing fantastic work now.

We no longer need to rely on textbooks written years ago. 

The internet allows us to access research completed only last year. 

Online journal libraries, such as APA PsycNet, are great places to browse abstracts. 

Once you find a suitable study, you can search for the full report.

Sometimes my searches have been fruitless, and it seems the only way to access the full report is to pay for it. 

I usually find a way around this by reaching out to the IB Psychology teacher community on Facebook and LinkedIn or by emailing the researchers directly.

They are often eager to help and sometimes provide additional information that students love to hear.

The Future of IB Psychology

The new IB Psychology syllabus promises to bring the subject into the 21st century, with summaries of suggested studies conducted by researchers from diverse cultural backgrounds who are actively working now. 

This change allows us to move away from the arguably tired and predictable canon of work that has been taught for decades.

It will take time to shift towards this new, innovative world of psychological discovery, but by collaborating and sharing ideas within the IB Psychology teachers’ community, we can make it a relatively easy endeavor. 

Our students deserve to be excited by their studies. 

By adopting this fresh and contemporary approach, we can deliver that excitement not only to them but also to ourselves as continuous learners and lovers of psychology.

Future articles in this series:

• The importance of cultural relativism.
• Recapping Year 1.
• Successfully teaching the IA.