CONTENT OF UNDERGRADUATE TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSES

CONTENT OF UNDERGRADUATE

TRANSPERSONAL

PSYCHOLOGY

COURSES

John Davis Denver, Colorado Charles Wright Denver, Colorado

The purpose of the present research was to survey the content of undergraduate transpersonal psychology courses and iden-tify the common themes. This survey seeks to extend work of the various trans personal theorists, particularly Boucouvalas (1980), by providing a view of the content areas which are most widely used.It also seeks to extend Boucouvalas's outline by providing a ranking, rather than listing, of various topics. As Sutich (1969), Boucouvalas (1980), Vich (1983), and others have suggested in writing about definitions of transpersonal psychology, we recognize the evolutionary nature of such a task. Our hope is to provide a view of current activity in the field which can support further clarification and evolution of transpersonal psychology.

METHOD

The Winter 1986 issue of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology (A TP) Newsletter provided theListing of Schools

and Programs, a listing of colleges and other institutions offering courses or programs in transpersonal psychology. Notices of this voluntary listing are mailed to all members of the Association and to institutions listed in previous years. The current survey was limited to those courses taught in accredited

Copyright @ 1987 Transpersonal Institute

Paper read at the lSth Annual Conference of the Association for Trans-personal Psychology, August 9, 1987,

a view of

current

activity in the field

identified and surveyed courses

colleges and universities. The rationale of this restriction was two-fold. First, we were most interested in how transpersonal psychology is perceived (and taught) within the mainstream of American psychology. Thus, we attempted to examine only "mainstream" (i.e., traditional accredited, generally state-sup-ported) academic institutions. The second reason is more practical: most "alternative" and! or independent graduate schools have entire programs, rather than one or two courses devoted to trans personal psychology, thus making it difficult to focus on the specific topic of the most central themes in transpersonal psychology courses.

Out of the 94 entries in the Listing, twenty-nine such courses were identified. The survey asked respondents for information on other courses not listed in the A TP Newsletter, and one other course was identified providing a total pool of 30courses. Questionnaires were mailed to the instructors of these courses and 21 of the 30 were returned for a response rate ono percent. The survey instrument mainly requested two kinds of informa-tion: techniques used in the course and content of the course. Information on textbooks, the degree of departmental support for the course, and the main thrust of the course was also requested. Potential topics related to transpersonal psychology were compiled and respondents were asked to check whether each topic was presented "A great deal," "Somewhat," or"Not at all" in the course. This list was constructed by referring to the outline provided by Boucouvalas (1980), contents of the

Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, and several widely-read

books in the field. The final list included 432 items. This list was intended to be as comprehensive as possible and, thus, there is some overlap among content areas.

RESULTS

There is a substantial range of course titles. Nine of the 21 courses have the term "transpersonal psychology" in the title. Other names for courses which instructors identified as having "substantial transpersonal content" included Psychology of Consciousness, Parapsychology, Humanistic Psychology and Seminar in Myths and Dreams. Several instructors also men-tioned other more traditional courses such as Personality and Adjustment, and Educational Psychology which include trans-personal psychology as a topic. All but two courses are taught at the upper-division and/ or graduate level and 15are taught in psychology departments (others being education, educational psychology, and social welfare).

Our primary interest was in the topics covered in these courses. Course topics were analyzed separately for all courses (N=21) and for those courses specifically titled "Transpersonal Psy-chology" or "Humanistic and Transpersonal PsyPsy-chology" (N

=

9). This smaller sample, being more focused, may provide a more precise picture of transpersonal psychology, per se. Table I shows which topics are dealt with "a great deal" (i.e., more than one class period devoted to the topic) by at least one third of all courses and in courses with "transpersonal psychology" in the title.

TABLE I

MOST FREQUENT TOI'ICS DEALT WITH "A GREAT DEAL"

RANK TOPIC PERCENT OF CLASSES

ALL CLASSES(N=21)

1. Consciousness, Altered States of Consciousness 81

2. Meditation Techniques 57

Relationship of Religion and Transpersonal Psychology

3. Philosophical Foundations ofTranspersonal Psychology 52

4. Spectrum Model 48

S. Buddhism and Buddhist Psychology 38

Cognitive Psychology • Imagery and Visualization Physics, "New Physics"

6. Dreams 33

Psychodynamic Psychology

CLASSESLABELED "TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY" (N =9)

I. Consciousness Altered State of Consciousness 77 Meditation Techniques

2. Cognitive Psychology 56

Philosophical Foundations of Transpersonal Psychology

3. Meditation Research 44

Relationship of Religion and Transpcrsonal Psychology Transpersonal Psychotherapy

4. Buddhism and Buddhist Psychology 33

Psychodynamic Psychology Spectrum Model

Transpersonal Psychology: Definitions Trans perso nal Psychology: History

Teachings of other specific approaches Or traditions

For the total sample "consciousness and altered states of consciousness" was the most common topic with 81% of the courses devoting more than one class period to it and all courses at least touching on it. "Meditation techniques," "the relationship of religion and transpersonal psychology," and "the philosophical foundations of transpersonal psychology" also ranked high with over 50% of the courses teaching them a great deal and over 90% teaching them at least somewhat. The Spectrum Model developed by Wilber (1977) and others is frequently taught (a great deal by 48% and at least somewhat by 81%). Christian Mysticism, Buddhism and Buddhist Psychol-ogy, and Hinduism and Yoga Psychology are dealt with fairly

teaching techniques

frequently (by 80% to 90% of the courses at least somewhat) as are the relationships between transperscnal psychology and physics, cognitive psychology, and psychodynamic psychol-ogy. Other popular topics include imagery and visualization, dreams, meditation research, and transpersonal psychother-apy. Not surprisingly, Maslow and Jungare frequently con-sidered as well.

The small sample of courses with the term "transpersonal psychology" in their title provide similar data. Again, con-sciousness and altered states of concon-sciousness is the most frequent topic:

77%

devote more

than a

class period to it and all deal with it. Meditation techniques are also given more than one class period by

77%

of the classes. Other topics frequently taught are: philosophical foundations of transpersonal psy-chology, definitions and history of transpersonal psypsy-chology, transpersonal psychotherapy, relationship of transpersonal to religion, physics, cognitive psychology, psychodynamic psy-chology, the Spectrum Model, and Buddhist Psychology. The most visible differences between the smaller and larger samples of classes are a greater emphasis

on

meditation techniques, cognitive psychology, and transpersonal psycho-therapy in the smaller sample. The relationship of

transperson-alpsychology to religion and physics are emphasized less in the small sample. This pattern seems consistent withthe greater specificity of these courses on issues that are directly psycho-logical,

Twelve specific teaching techniques were listed and respon-dents indicated the extent to which each technique was used. There were no significant differences between the entire sample and the smaller sample. Ninety-five percent of the instructors assign term papers, the most frequently used technique. Medi-tation is the second most frequently used with

86%

of the sample using it. A personal journal is required or assigned at the students' options by 76% of the instructors. Forty-three percent use off-campus retreats or labs as part of the class. While we have no baseline data, transpersonal psychology. classes apparently use more experiential exercises than other college classes.

We

were curious about the extent

of

instructors' personal orientations toward the practice of transpersonal psychology. Fifteen instructors reported regularly engaging in a transper-sonal practice

for

themselves, five irregularly or infrequently, and one not at all. Ten reported bringing these practices into their teaching a great deal and 10 reported bringing them in a little.

We also asked about the degree of support these classes receive from the instructors' colleagues and departments, using a 7-point scale from "Support; [this class] is seen as a worthwhile contribution to the department's curriculum and actively supported" (1)to "Resistance; it is actively resisted by at least some members of my department" (7). For the entire sample (N

=21), the mean was 4.11,just to the "resistance" side of the mid-point, and the ratings covered the full range from I to 7. For the smaller sample (N =9), the picture is slightly (although not significantly) more supportive with a mean of 3.5, again with a full range from I to 7.

In regard to texts used, 18 courses listed at least one required textbook (the others use students' choices from a list of approved books). Walsh and Vaughan'S Beyond Ego (1980) is used in seven (33%) of the courses and at least one of Wilber's books is used in seven of the courses. Five of the courses using

Beyond Egoare in the sample of 9 courses with "transpersonal psychology" in the title.

DISCUSSION

These data provide a clear picture of undergraduate course-work in transpersonal psychology. Course content is focused on transpersonal states of consciousness, and transpersonal psychology tends to be seen as an interface between religion and psychology, explicitly examining their relationship. It also focuses on models and methods derived from Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism as they interact with models from cognitive psychology, psychodynamic psychology, and "new physics." This is especially evident in the widespread emphasis on the Spectrum Model, an integration of these and other models. It appears the Spectrum Model is emerging as a widely used theory in transpersonal psychology, at least as it is taught in the traditional academic settings. The emphasis on medita-tion as a central transpersonal technique is very strong. The authors agree with those who have likened the key role of meditation in transpersonal psychology to the role of free association and dream interpretation in psychoanalysis or the role of classical and operant conditioning in behaviorism. Topics that our data show are not dealt with in these classes include near-death experiences, reincarnation, parapsychol-ogy, and other topics outside the mainstream of psychological research. These data support a distinction made by Green and Green (1971) between "transpersonal" and "extrapersonal" experiences, the latter including various psychic (but not necessarily transpersonal) experiences. Our sense is that

trans-focus of course content

distinguishing unique contributions

personal psychology is often associated with such topics by those who are not familiar with the field. The data suggest that these associations are distorted when they exclude other topics more commonly dealt with in transpersonal psychology classes. In our view, while paranormal and psychic phenomena are relevant to transpersonal psychology, they are not necessarily or exclusively transpersonal in nature, nor are they central to transpersonal psychology. Furthermore, it may be that the association of transpersonal psychology with, say, reincarna-tion and parapsychology, rather than the more accepted areas of the psychology of consciousness and meditation, has inhib-ited its acceptance by many non-rranspersonal psychologists. At the same time, topics that do not necessarily include transpersonal content, such as imagery, visualization, and dreams, are covered frequently in these courses. It seems appropriate in this case to encourage instructors to clearly distinguish the ways in which such topics are transpersonal, Failure to make this distinction raises the risk of blurring or losing the unique contributions of a transpersonal perspective. While transpersonal psychology may be criticized for "going too far" or being too different from the mainstream of psy-chology, we feel there is also a risk in not seeingtranspersonal psychology as different enough (i.e., unique) from other psy-chological approaches.

Genuine differences in psychological metatheories probably will not be resolved anytime soon, if at all. Nevertheless, the usefulness and the legitimacy of transpersonal psychology can be promoted through education which (I) supports the use of psychological concepts and methods to study meditative ex-periences, mystical exex-periences, and other transpersonal phe-nomena, and (2) continues to integrate transpersonal concepts and methods with non-transpersonal frameworks. The latter approach is typified in the ways the Spectrum Model extends psychodynamic psychology into a transpersonal context and the ways the psychology of consciousness bridges cognitive psychology and transpersonal psychology. One other point not drawn out clearly in the data concerns the concept of transcen-dence, a psychological reality not based on identification with an individual personality. Perhaps because of its ubiquity, it

was not made explicit in the list of topics in our survey. Its importance as a central concept in trans personal psychology may be obvious, but we feel its relevance in teaching and coursework can be usefully reaffirmed here, as trans personal psychology becomes more visible and integrated with main-stream psychology.

REFERENCES

BOUCOUVALAS, M. (1980). Transpersonal psychology: A working outline of the field.Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 12 (I), 37-46.

GREEN, E. E. & GREEN, A. M. (1971). On the meaning of trans-personal: Some metaphysical perspectives. Journal of Transper-sonal Psychology, 3(I), 27-46.

SUTleR, A. J. (1969). Some considerations regarding trans personal psychology. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, J(I), II-20. VICIl, M. (1983). Editor's note.Journal of Transpersonal Psychology,

15 (2), iv,

WALSH, R. & VAUGHAN, F. (1980). Beyond ego. Los Angeles, J. P. Tareher.

WILnER, K. (1977). The spectrum of consciousness. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House.

Requests for reprints to: John Davis, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology, Campus Box 54, Metropolitan State College, Denver, CO 80204.