“Psychology Can Explain The Adolescent Revolt”

Press, Volume C, Issue 29469, 22 March 1961, Page 14

“Psychology Can Explain The Adolescent Revolt”

Modern advances in psychology could help to explain the nature of the “adolescent revolt” going on in many countries today, said the Rev. Professor E. F. O’Doherty, professor of logic and psychology at University College, Dublin, in an address to the Catholic Men’s Luncheon Club in Christchurch yesterday. New knowledge in the penetration of the human personality could lead to an understanding of how and why such a “revolt” could occur, he said, and help restore young people in such stages of evil to their religion. Professor O’Doherty was introduced by the club president, Mr D. K. Walker, and a welcome extended to him

by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (the Most Rev. E. M. Joyce). Modern psychology showed there was still the need for religion "for the interest of the human soul,” said Professor O’Doherty. Modern psychology also helped with the problem of guilt. The difference between neurotic guilt and theological guilt was now better known. Neurotic guilt was a symptom of an illness, while theological guilt was the guilt of sin. A person suffering from the latter was not going to be relieved by a psychiatrist, he said. It was here that the priest and the Church had their part to play. But religion was not the panacea for all mental ills, said Professor O’Doherty. It used to be said: “Pull yourself together, say your prayers, and you’ll be all right.” Without deprecating prayer, it was not the function of religion to cope with all mental ills. Rather it was the function of the Church to co-operate with psychiatrists and others working in the field of mental health. On many mental health committees throughout the world today, one found not just psychiatrists, but all allied specialists, and both the priest and the minister, all working in harmony with one another. There were still many areas where modern psychology could be more active, and where more research on “new frontiers” was necessary. These included human relationships in industry human work itself (the n3t “ re an d imparting of skills), and social psychology. This latter was particularly interesting to the Church which was itself a society of men.

People all too easily held mental “stereotypes” of other religions and other rations. They held “stereotypes” of the typical Frenchman, the typical Irishman, the typical American, and the typical Catholic. This coloured and affected perSO P?! judgment and attitude. ‘The insights of social psychology can help enormously in correcting this,” said Professor O’Doherty.