Psychological Literacy

Until 2010, the phrase “psychological literacy” (PL) was used sparsely and in a variety of ways, including to refer to (a) a student’s grasp of the major concepts of the different topic areas of psychology, (b) a call to action for psychologists to contribute to increased psychological knowledge and skills in the population, or (c) a nation’s general capacity to apply psychological principles in everyday life. In 2010, PL was defined in terms of the intended outcome of undergraduate (UG) psychology education, delineating nine capabilities, broadly categorized as discipline knowledge and its application, critical thinking and research skills, and the valuing of ethical behavior and of diversity. A call to action to educate “psychologically literate citizens” was also made. Several studies have evaluated the impact of educational interventions in relation to those capabilities. A more recent and general conceptualization of PL appears to revert to some of the earlier understandings, being defined as the capacity to use psychology to achieve personal, professional, and societal goals. The broad aim of this bibliography is to identify existing and topical themes from the literature on PL. A significant proportion of the literature has a focus on psychology education. Nevertheless, there is some diversity in the themes identified. Note that there are many papers that make mention “in passing” of the modern conceptualization of PL. Although these are indicative of the general acceptance of the concept, these were deemed to be less central to the reader’s understanding of this topic. How were the themes identified? A literature search was conducted with standard databases, then additional literature was independently identified (e.g., through the examination of reference listings). In terms of what was selected for consideration, specific criteria were applied (e.g., English language only, no conference abstracts). During this process, themes emerged, and a coauthor consensus was iteratively reached regarding (a) the major existing and topical themes and their relevance, and (b) exemplars for each. Each of the sections covers one of the themes identified, except where sections are organized by subthemes.