Wendt, G. R. (1950). Legislation for the general practice of psychology versus legislation for specialties within psychology. American Psychologist, 5(4), 107-108.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0056808
The advantages and disadvantages of legislation for psychology in general versus legislation for specialties within the field are discussed. Legislation for specialties is favored by the author since (1) the type of experience—e.g. clinical psychology—is important, (2) only in the clinical field do we know what we want, (3) it is feared that academicians will become psychotherapists. Among the drawbacks for licensing clinical psychologists alone are (1) difficulties in law enforcement, (2) deleterious effect on education, (3) undue emphasis on service instead of research, (4) creating dichotomies within psychology, (5) need to protect the public in areas such as business and industry. Two other types of legislation are mentioned. The author points to other means than legislation to achieve the desired goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)