A Report from the APA Honolulu Convention: A Potential Growth Area for Psychology & Division 51 

Teaching the Psychology of Men: A Potential Growth Area for Psychology and Division 51
A Report from the APA Honolulu Convention

     O’Neil, J.M., Addis, M., Kilmartin, C., Mahalik, J. (2004). Teaching the Psychology of Men: A potential growth area for psychology and Division 51: A report from the APA Honolulu convention. SPSMM Bulletin, 10, 36-47.

At the 2003 APA convention in Toronto, we had some provocative discussions about the status of the teaching of the psychology of men. We agreed that the teaching the psychology of men was a critical but underdeveloped area for SPSMM. We also recognized that the teaching of the psychology of men had no official status in psychology. Moreover, we felt that developing pedagogy about men could advance the psychology of men as a discipline. We reasoned that by formalizing the teaching of the psychology of men that knowledge about men could develop more rapidly, become more coherent, and influential. We also concluded that promoting the teaching of the psychology of men could increase membership in Division 51 and promote more relevant research on boys and men. For these reasons, we decided to do something about this neglected area and increase its visibility in the profession of psychology.

Our first step was to submit a 4 hour, APA Continuing Education Program proposal on "Teaching the Psychology of Men" for the 2004 APA convention in Hawaii. Over a two month period, we created the proposal and it was accepted in December, 2004. The next critical issue was how to generate an enrollment for the workshop. When the enrollment was not materializing, we personally solicited individuals in SPSMM to register for the workshop and had John Robertson, president of SPSMM, invite members through the list serve. Furthermore, we submitted information about the workshop to APA newsletters in four divisions (17, 35, 43, and 51) to publicize the workshop. We obtained the necessary enrollment and the workshop was presented to 20 participants in Honolulu. We also requested that a Committee on the Teaching of the Psychology of Men be established in Division 51. During the Hawaii Convention, the Executive Board of Division 51, voted to establish a permanent committee to promote the development of the Teaching of the Psychology of Men. We are the current members of this committee in addition to Fred Rabinowitz who will join us in future workshops.

In this special focus section of the SPSMM Bulletin, we summarize what was presented in the teaching the psychology of men workshop in Honolulu. We want those of you who could not attend the workshop to be aware of this emerging area in our discipline. In this paper, we describe the overall rationale for teaching the psychology of men and the workshop goals. The overall description of the workshop content and process are also described in detail. Additionally, an initial framework for teaching of the psychology of men is also described. This framework describes the major pedagogical issues in preparing and teaching psychology of men courses. We also describe our experience of doing the workshop together and our views of what happened during the workshop. In subsequent sections of this issue, each of us describe the specific course that we discussed in the workshop and that we currently teach. The four courses described are: 1) Psychology 347: Psychology of Men, Chris Kilmartin, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA, 2) Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) 259:Men and Masculinity: Social Psychological Perspectives, Jim O'Neil, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT., 3) Psychology 265: The Psychology of Men, Michael Addis, Clark University, Worcester MA., 4) Psychology 441: Issues in Counseling Men, Jim Mahalik, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. The syllabi to each of these courses are linked to each article so you can review the details of each syllabus.

Need and Rationale for Teaching the Psychology of Men

The psychology of men and masculinity is increasingly identified as important area in psychology. Psychology of men and masculinity includes male development across the life- span, issues related to multiculturalism and sexual orientation, and many important topics including men's violence, fathering, and men's emotional and physical health. Thus, the teaching of the psychology of men is central to psychology, yet one of the least developed areas in our discipline (O'Neil, 2001). A need for formal instruction on how to teach the psychology of men has been expressed by numerous divisions of APA including Division 51, 35, 17, & 43. To our knowledge, no direct instruction has ever been offered by APA related to teaching the psychology of men. Furthermore, the teaching of the psychology of men relates to some critical social issues of grave concern to men, women, and families. Additionally, we believe that the teaching the psychology of men will be a growth area over the next decade; just like the teaching of the psychology of women was in the 1980's and 1990's. There is evidence that psychology of men is an emerging growth area (Addis & Mahalik, 2003; Smiler, 2004). For example, Smiler (2004) found that from 1985-1989, only one publication using the term "masculinities" was found in PsychInfo, but from the period of 1995-1999, over 70 publications were found using this term. There will be a continuing need to educate psychologists about the psychology of men as they teach both undergraduate and graduate students.

Overall Description of the Workshop Content and Process

The purpose of the workshop was to assist psychologists in developing course work on the psychology of men using the theoretical and empirical literature on men and masculinity. The workshop provided basic knowledge on how to create a psychology of men course or how to infuse this content into existing courses on gender or the psychology of women (O'Neil, 1995; Russo, 1996). There has been very little information on how to teach the psychology of men. Therefore, the workshop provided a rationale for the teaching the psychology of men, using the emerging scholarship in this area (Addis & Mahalik, 2003; Blazina, 2003; Brooks & Good, 2001; Cochran & Rabinowitz, 2002; Cohen, 2001; Horne & Kiselica, 1999; Kilmartin, 2000, 2001; Levant & Pollack, 1995; Pleck, 1981, 1995; Pollack, 1998). Participants were provided with a rationale for teaching the psychology of men that explained this discipline as an expanding field, that intersects with the psychology of women and Women Studies, and that relates to critical social issues such as societal and family violence, effective fathering, homophobia, and men's and physical and emotional health.

Each presenter discussed how to develop and implement courses in the psychology of men. We shared our syllabi, reading materials, evaluation processes, and other resources. Handouts of syllabi, class manuals, and teaching resources were disseminated in a 100 page workshop booklet. The workshop presented information on pedagogical approaches such as traditional lecturing, psychoeducational techniques, group discussion techniques, and the infusion of diversity and multiculturalism as critical content areas (Landrine, 1995; Madden & Hyde, 1998). Important process issues in teaching the psychology of men were delineated (Kilmartin, 2000; O'Neil, 2001; Urschel, 1999). These processes included norm setting, expectancy setting, conflict management, data gathering, self-assessments, group work, "journaling", stereotyping, and working with resistance and defensiveness as part of the learning process. Brief examples of video media and self-assessment exercises were shared with the participants. Another major area that was addressed was how to manage the problems/dilemmas that occur when teaching the psychology of men. Some of the problems addressed were: 1) how to enroll men, 2) sexism and heterosexism in the classroom, 3) "male bashing" and women's anger at men, 4) the merits and problems with professor self-disclosure, 5) integrating research into courses. The instructors personally shared their struggles and successes when teaching the psychology of men and encouraged participants to share their own experiences and insights through an interactive dialogue.

Workshop Goals and Schedule

There were four overall workshop goals. The workshop was designed to help psychologists:

1) Design a psychology of men course or incorporate the psychology of men into existing courses,

2) Locate syllabi, core concepts, readings, media, self assessments, and other resources to teach the psychology of men,

3) Utilize multiple teaching methods when teaching the psychology of men including psychoeducational and multicultural approaches,

4) Enumerate the critical problems/dilemmas and solutions when teaching the psychology of men.

The workshop schedule included the following time period and activities:

Times Activities

8:00- 8:05 Workshop Worksheet

8:05 - 9:00 Introductions of presenters and participants; workshop goals and processes, icebreaker activity, rationale for teaching the psychology of men, and an initial framework to teach the psychology of men.

9:00 - 9:30 Presentation of Psychology of Men Course 1 (Kilmartin)

9:30 - 9:45 Interaction - Questions, Answers, comments

9:45 - 10:00 Bathroom Break

10:00 - 10:30 Presentation of Psychology of Men Course 2 (O'Neil)

10:30 - 10: 45 Interaction - Questions, Answers, comments

10:45 - 11:15 Presentation of Psychology of Men Course 3 (Addis)

11:15 - 11:30 Interaction - Questions, Answers, comments

11:30 - 1200 Wrap-Up, Comments, & Evaluation

Initial Framework to Teach the Psychology of Men

There is very little information in the literature on how to teach the psychology of men. Therefore, numerous issues need to be discussed if the discipline is to develop and have impact in psychology and the greater society. Given this lack of conceptualization, an initial framework was created that captured the ideas from each of us about the critical issues in teaching the psychology of men. The initial framework included the following pedagogical areas: 1) teaching goals, objectives, and professor's roles, 2) course content from psychology, 3) course content from outside psychology, 4) process issues including psychoeducation, writing assignments, journaling, interviews, and incorporating empirical research into courses, 5) infusing the course with multiculturalism and diversity, 6) use of media, psychological biographies, and self assessment exercises, 6) Dilemmas, problems, resistance, conflict, and defensiveness in the classroom, 7) classroom solutions to problems, 8) unanswered questions. These eight areas were presented as an initial way to conceptualize teaching the psychology of men. We emphasized many of these areas as we described our courses' content and processes.

Participants

Twenty-one participants attended the workshop. Twenty-five percent of the participants were women and 66% had never taught a course on men or gender. The majority of participants attending were licensed psychologists but also there was a graduate student, three undergraduate students, a health educator, a professor from South Korea, and a navy psychologist in the workshop. At the beginning of the workshop, participants were asked to fill out a Pre-workshop Worksheet. One question asked participants about their expectancies for the workshop and what they wanted to get out of the program. Overall, the participants reported that they wanted teaching methods,"how to" approaches, practical examples, reading lists, new approaches, syllabi, and activities to used in class. Some participants wanted to know about the differences between graduate and undergraduate psychology of men classes, the politics of developing a course on men, and how to teach this content in high schools.

Workshop Evaluations

Overall, the feedback on the workshop was very positive. Participants gave numerical and written feedback. Here are their verbatim comments: "Outstanding opportunity; Interesting, relevant, and dynamic, great seminar; Incredible workshop that greatly exceeded my expectation; Consider extending the length of the workshop; Excellent, make it a full day so process and content can be played out in the workshop; Well prepared, entertaining teachers who sparked my enthusiasm; Awesome workshop, highlight of the conference for me; I really appreciated all that you shared; Creative assignments; I am really impressed by the gender role journey videos; A superb well organized workshop; Excellent, please do again; Great idea and great energy; Very helpful, appreciated efforts and enthusiasm of instructors; Very well done; great information, energy, inspiring".

How We Felt About Doing the Workshop

We had a post workshop debriefing and lunch as we gazed out at the Pacific Ocean. We scanned the workshop feedback and were very pleased with the positive response to the workshop. According to the feedback, there was clearly excitement and engagement in the room during those four hours. This unique energy was not just coming from us, but from the participants' reactions and comments. As Jim Mahalik mentioned before the workshop, there is something very special, energizing, and enjoyable when you teach the psychology of men. The group was clearly up for this kind of learning experience and many individuals shared their own experiences and ideas. This sharing added depth to the workshop and produced a real interactive exchange. A primary goal of any strategic teaching is to activate the learner to share their knowledge and insights. This happened as we engaged some of the talent in the room. It was comforting to have some prominent SPSMM members attend the workshop including Mark Kiselica, Mark Stevens, John Robertson, Aaron Rochlen, Vic Frazao, Fred Rabinowitz, and Denise Twohey. We appreciated these colleagues' presence, affirmation and response to what we taught as well as the other participants who enrolled.

Another aspect of this workshop was how the four of us worked together over the entire year. Jim O'Neil indicated that he initially felt somewhat intimidated by the prospects of developing a teaching workshop "from scratch", obtaining endorsement by APA, activating an enrollment, and then actually implementing the workshop. Many of his concerns were lessened by working with the Michael, Chris, and Jim. There was a communal interest in developing something new, a shared mutual support, and a collegial respect for each other. We all admitted feeling isolated in our teaching the psychology of men over the years. Preparing the workshop together broke down that isolation and opened up some possibilities for mutual sharing, critical thinking about our teaching, and disclosure about our teaching processes. We were able to learn from each other as we worked out the content and process of the workshop. Doing the workshop together was a positive collegial experience that focused on a noble cause and that challenged the patriarchal and competitive structures that continue to separate and isolate us all. We hope that you will consider joining us next year for the Teaching of Psychology of Men Workshop in Washington D.C. We need your ideas, talent, support, and wisdom as we build this vital area for the psychology of men.

Reference and Reading List

Addis, M. E. & Mahalik, J.R. (2003). Men, masculinity, and the context of help seeking. American Psychologist, 58, 5-14.

Blazina, C (2003). The cultural myth of masculinity. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Brooks, G.R. & Good, G.E. (Eds., 2001) The new handbook of psychotherapy and counseling with men: A comprehensive guide to settings, problems, and treatment approaches. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.

Cochran, S.V. & Rabinowitz, F.E. (2000) Men and Depression: Clinical and empirical perspectives. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Cohen, T.F. (2001). Men and masculinity: A text reader. Belmont, CA.: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning. FL: Learning Publications.

Gilmore, D.D. (1990). Manhood in the making: Cultural concepts of masculinity. New Haven, CT: Yale Horne, A.M. & Kiselica, M.S. (1999). Handbook of counseling boys and adolescent males: A practitioners guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kilmartin, C. T. (2000). The masculine self. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Kilmartin, C.T. (2001). Sexual assault in context: Teaching college men about gender. Holmes Beach, Kimmel, M.S. & Messner, M.A. (Eds., 1998), Men's Lives. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Landrine, H. (Ed., 1995) Bridging cultural diversity to feminist psychology: Theory, research, and practice. Washington, D. C.: APA Books. Levant, R.F (1992). The Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity. The Journal of Men's Studies. 1, 75-76.

Levant, R.F. & Pollack, W.S. (Eds., 1995). A new psychology of men. New York: Basic Books.

Lips, H. (2001). Sex and gender: An introduction (4th ed.) Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

Madden, M.E. & Hyde, J.H. (Eds. 1998). Integrating gender and ethnicity into psychology courses. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 1-130.

O'Neil, J.M. (1995) The gender role journey workshop: Exploring sexism and gender role conflict in a coeducational setting. In M. Addronico (Ed.) Men in groups: Insights, interventions, and psychoeducational work (pp.193-213). Washington, D.C.: APA Books.

O'Neil, J.M. (2001). Promoting men's growth and development: teaching the new psychology of men using psychoeducational philosophy and interventions. In G.R. Brooks, G.E. & Good, (Eds., 2001) The new handbook of psychotherapy and counseling with men: A comprehensive guide to settings, problems, and treatment approaches. ( 639-663) San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.

Pleck, J.H. (1981) The myth of masculinity. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.

Pleck, J.H. (1995).The gender role strain paradigm: An update. In R.F. Levant & W.S. Pollack (Eds.) The new psychology of men. (pp 11-32) New York: Basic Books.

Pollack, W., (1999). Real boys: Rescuing our sons from the myth of boyhood. New York: Henry Holt & Company.

Rabinowitz, F.E. & Cochran, S.V. (2002). Deepening psychotherapy with men. Washington, D.C.: Russo, N.F. (1996). Masculinity, male roles, and the future of Feminist psychology. Psychology of of Women Quarterly, 20, 1-2.

Smiler, A.P. (2004) Thirty years after the discovery of gender: Psychological concepts and measures of masculinity. Sex Roles, 50, 15-26.

Urschel, J.K. (1999). Pedagogical issues and approaches encountered in a psychology of men course. Journal of Men Studies, 8, 1-10.