John M. Whiteley

Professor of Social Ecology
B.A. Stanford University
Ed.M., Ed.D. Harvard University
(949) 824-6281
whiteley@uci.edu
266 Social Ecology I

Specializations:
Moral development from late adolescence to early adult development, social ecology of peace, citizen advocacy for environment, health and safety which conflicts with national security, history of counseling psychology

Educational Background:
Stanford University    B.A.    Political Science    1961
Harvard University     Ed.M.  Guidance               1962
Harvard University     Ed.D.  Counseling Psychology-Midyear 1963-64

Harvard University Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology 1963-64
Harvard University Post Doctoral Fellow in Psychology
Harvard University Student Health Services 1964-65

Academic Responsibilities, Research Focus, Educational and Sustainability Initiatives:
Professor of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine: 1978 – Continuing (Associate Professor 1973 – 1978). Research interests are focused in five areas:

Clash between citizen expressions of concern with sharp conflict with the national security imperatives of the U.S. Government
The first research area is the clash between citizen expressions of concern by an empowered civil society over environment, health and safety which come into sharp conflict with the national security imperatives of the U.S. government. Civil society efforts at asserting control and influence over a dangerous nuclear weapons production facility, Rocky Flats, encountered a curtain of national security secrecy shrouding government action. A closely related line of inquiry is to understand the wellsprings of disastrous government decision-making when unsolved challenges of weaponizing the atom foreclosed possible solutions in succeeding years that led to the first FBI raid on a facility of the U.S. government over the commission of environmental crime, followed by a clash within and between the “separate but equal” branches of the U.S. government in addition to clashes between citizens and the government. Throughout the long history of Rocky Flats it has been the Judicial Branch of government which has been most responsive to civil society, and which has often made decisive determinations about both the past and the unfolding future. Working Title: The Saga of Rocky Flats: Strivings for National Security, Evolving Regimes of Law and Governance, Environmental Crime, U.S. Constitutional Government, and the Quest for Environmental Justice.
Character and Community in the College Years
Character and Community Development in the Transition from Late Adolescence to Early Adulthood. This is a continuing study of moral development and the impact on it of a first-year of college intervention and change over the first year and over four years of collegiate study. Increased years of formal education are associated with higher levels of more principled thinking in decision-making on moral challenges. There is a growing body of evidence that college students will be more effective in utilizing what they learn in college if they have developed psychological and personal skills in addition to those provided by traditional academic disciplines.The “Sierra Project” at UC Irvine is named after the residential hall where a year long course of inquiry is taught for first year students. This initiative represents an opportunity to influence the structure of thinking of the next generation of citizens–those persons who will lead and serve our institutions of society and, who as parents, shape the nature of future generations. There are value statements embedded in this line of inquiry about the role of the university in society. An experience in higher education for students should provide an opportunity to reflect on the purposes of learning, on the uses to which acquired knowledge is put, and on the ethical dilemmas which confront citizens individually and as member of society collectively.Experienced during the college years provide many opportunities for impacting moral reasoning. Research such as that conducted by the Sierra Project has revealed that educational experiences can raise the level of moral reasoning. Society benefits from citizens whose lives are characterized by principled thinking and moral maturity.
Quest for Peace and Security in the 21st Century
The Quest for Peace and Security in the 21st Century: An Inquiry This initiative is a videotaped series of interviews with distinctive thinkers on peace and security. Selections from the 200 interviews have been broadcast on 400 cable/PBS stations in 47 states. The series is available since 2007 in a presentation by the UCI Libraries. The series is now being converted to YouTube.
History of the Profession of Counseling Psychology
This historical focus began with serving from 1968 through 1984 as the founding Editor and Publisher of The Counseling Psychologist and the Editor or Co-Editor of the ten volume Book Series in Counseling Psychology. Subsequently as a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (1979), served as a Member of the Planning Committee for the 50th Anniversary Celebration by the Society of Counseling Psychology of the founding of The Counseling Psychologist.
Creation and Development of a Sustainability Program.
–Toward a Sustainable 21^st Century (2005-continuing), Empowering Sustainability (2011-continuing), California’s Coastal Resilience (2012-continuing) Closing the Gaps: Toward Gender Equality (2017-continuing), and Empowering the Sustainability of Fragile States (2017-continuing) with the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow State University), and Sustainability Challenges Lecture Series (2010-continuing).
–Empowering Sustainability connects emerging sustainability leaders from thirty-seven countries across generations and disciplines through the exchange of ideas and experiences, and through fostering engagement and research on the ground through the collaboration among fellows and like-minded organizations worldwide. Toward a Sustainable 21^st Century is an initiative of a foundation of global reach and UC Irvine as a research university to do together more than they can do separately on unsolved problems of global society in the areas of marine resources, conservation, and threats to ecosystem and environmental health caused by toxic chemicals and the absence of effective governance structures which promote sustainability. California’s Coastal Resilience provides a forum for dialogue between state of California policymakers, representatives of an empowered civil society, and the university research community to visualize together successful solutions to preserving and enhancing California’s precious coastline in the face of sea level rise and stronger storms. Closing the Gaps: Toward Gender Equality is a community/campus initiative to address local and global challenges impeding progress toward gender equality. Empowering the Sustainability of Fragile States has an initial focus on the Middle East. The Sustainability Challenges Lecture Series captures distinctive presentations on significant topics featuring global and local campus visitors. These initiatives are funded by grants with Professor Whiteley designated as Principal Investigator by the sponsoring foundation and with Norma Yokota of Social Ecology designated as Program Manager.

Selected Publications:

Whiteley, J. M., & Associates. Character development in college students, Volume I. The freshman year. Schenectady, NY: Character Research Press, 1982. Translated into Chinese by Zhang Yao Can of Hua Zhong Normal University and published by Chendu Electronic Technology University Publishing House of Wuhan, the People’s Republic of China in 1993.

Loxley, J. C., & Whiteley, J. M. (Ed.). Character development in college students, Volume II: The curriculum. Schenectady, NY: Character Research Press, 1986. Both Volume I and Volume II translated into Chinese by Shenchao Zhu of Zhejiang University and published by Zhejiang University Press of Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China in 1993.

Whiteley, J. M., Port, T. A., and McCarthy, S. (Eds.). Quest for peace: Study guide for the introductory series. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 1986.

Whiteley, J. M. (Ed.). Quest for peace: An introduction. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 1986.

Whiteley, J. and Associates. Moral action in young adulthood. University of South Carolina Center for the Study of the Freshman Year Experience, Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 1999.

Dalton, R., Garb, P., Loverich, N., Pierce, J., and Whiteley, J. Critical masses: Citizens, nuclear weapons production, and environmental destruction in the United States and Russia. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1999.

Whiteley, J.M., Ingram, H., and Perry, R. (Eds.) Water, Place, and Equity. MIT Press, 2009.

Whiteley, J.M. The Saga of Rocky Flats: Strivings for National Security, Evolving Regimes of Law and Governance, Environmental Crime, U.S. Constitutional Government and the Quest for Environmental Justice. Irvine, CA: Safer Nuclear World Initiative, 2018.

Founding Visions Social Ecology Paradigm (1970 -1975)

Publications (PDF):

Character in the Community in the College Years

Moral Action In Young Adulthood
Ralph L. Mosher, David Connor, Katherine M Kalliel, James M. Day, Norma Yokota, Mark R. Porter, John M. Whiteley

Character Development in College Students Volume 1
John M. Whiteley and Associates Foreword by Nevitt Sanford

Character Development in College Students Volume 2
Janet C. Loxley and John M Whiteley Foreword by Ralph L Moosher

Character in the Community in the College Years: The Rationale
John M. Whiteley and Norma Yokota

Historical Roots of Counseling Psychology

Research in Counseling: Evaluation and Refocus
edited by John M. Whiteley reports the findings from the three-day Bromwoods Invitational Conference on Research Problems in Counseling. It was published in 1967.

The Central Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory and Washington University were hosts for the invitational conference held at Bromwoods, the Washington University Conference Center, on January 10, 11 and 12, 1967. The conference was attended by forty-five national and regional leaders in counseling psychology, and in counseling research.

The immediate conceptual predecessor in the development of the profession of counseling psychology was the Greyston Conference of 1964 where Dr. Arthur Brayfield delivered a paper on January 23, 1964 entitled “Counseling Psychology.” He concluded that there was “little that was impressive” in counseling research.

The efforts of the Bromwoods Conference were directed to three substantive areas of research which were in 1967 crucial to the advancement of the profession:

Research on counselor effectiveness and characteristics of the counselor (major papers by C. H. Paterson, University of Illinois; Ralph Mosher, Harvard University),
Characteristics of the client: implications for selection and method of treatment (major papers by Donald Blocher, University of Minnesota; Norman Sprinthall, Harvard University, and
Assessment of outcomes: evaluation of the interaction of client and counselor (major papers by Frank Wellman, University of Missouri; John Krumboltz, Stanford University).

The conference was in session for three days, with one working day being devoted to each of the three main topics. Two major papers were prepared on each topic by national leaders in research on their chosen area. The purpose of the major papers was to provide a provocative and searching structure for the topics in counseling research under consideration. They were intended to suggest new frames of reference for research, and to raise special issues and problems in methodology.

Immediately following each of the major papers were critiques by two distinguished discussants. The purpose of the discussants was to provide systematic, scholarly analysis of the major papers. The discussants could also choose, as part of their critique, to extend further certain new avenues for research as suggested in the major papers.

Following the papers and discussants, the conference participants formed into six task groups to make specific recommendations for future research. Their charge was to identify:

the salient issues raised by the two speakers and the four discussants on a topic;
the major points, if any, which the task group members believe were not raised.

The final and most important charge of each task group was to provide specific recommendations for both types of research and concrete research projects which should be conducted as a result of the reevaluation and refocus provided by the major papers, discussions, and preliminary task group work.

At the conclusion of the conference, one member from each task group was requested to draft a comprehensive task group report. Each report was requested to include: (1) the aspects of the papers and discussions deemed most salient and important, (2) an enumeration of areas not covered by the papers and discussions which your task group believes are critical to the topic, and (3) a list of specific research projects which should be undertaken to translate the reevaluation and refocus of the literature into empirical terms.

Relevance of the Format of the Bromwoods Invitational Conference of 1967 to the Conceptual Structure of The Counseling Psychologist Proposed in 1968

Following the progress which the profession of organized counseling psychology made based on the Northwestern Conference of 1951, and the Greyston Conference of 1964, the values of sustained engagement and multiple perspectives of the Bromwoods Invitational Conference of 1967 were informative to the August 1968 proposal to the APA Division 17 Executive Committee and President John McGowan to found The Counseling Psychologist.
Research in Counseling: Evaluation and Refocus (Pages 1-148)(pdf)
Research in Counseling : Evaluation and Refocus (Pages 149-297) (pdf)

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Perspectives on Vocational Development
is edited by John M. Whiteley and Arthur Resnikoff and was published in 1972. They are quite original contributions by Donald E. Super, John L. Holland, Anne Roe, and David V. Tiedeman. Donald E. Super projected into the future asking how vocational development theory will come about in 20 years. John L. Holland explored the same territory when analyzing practical implications.

In 1972 new topics were just emerging such as computer-based educational and career exploration systems, what a machine can contribute to self-realization in career development, and the even more fundamental questions of “Can a machine counsel?”
Perspectives on Vocational Development (pdf)

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Career Counseling
edited by John M. Whiteley and Arthur Resnikoff was published in 1978.

The purpose of the book is to present the fundamental disagreements circa 1978 about which of the established methodologies, instruments and counseling practices are most effective with career counseling clients. In an overview, Whiteley (1978, pp. 1-2) indicated that the volume contains alternative answers to (at least) the following twenty-three questions:

*Is one approach to career counseling applicable to different client populations in diverse situations?

*Is it possible to create a system of career counseling that will reflect the uniqueness of both counselor and client?

*Will it be possible to meet society’s needs for career-counseling services within the framework of the approaches that exist today?

*Is differential treatment of clients based on a diagnosis of their needs a viable approach?

*Do the tools exist for counselors to use in creating efficient systems for serving client needs?

*Is one-to-one career counseling an anachronism?

*How pervasive is gender bias in career counseling, and how influential to the outcome of career counseling is the sex of the counselor?

*Are there such things as a good vocational choice, and a preferred way to make a vocational choice?

*Why do people make the original career decisions they do, change those decisions throughout their life span, and express different interests at different stages of life?

*How are career-related preferences acquired, and how are career decisions made?

*How do genetic factors, environmental conditions, learning experiences, cognitive and emotional responses, and skills interact in the progress of a person’s career?

*Does the social-learning approach lack the career (vocational) content and organizational structure (as a delivery system) necessary for practical career-counseling applications?

*Are career-counseling theories necessarily more useful for either classification of known data or understanding of future client change and development?

*Should career counseling be viewed as the approach of last resort?

*Do most people’s careers basically remain within related occupational groups?

*What are the characteristics of persons who remain undecided about career choices?

*Why do people change jobs, and what factors affect their search for a new job?

*Can a typological model such as John Holland’s give adequate consideration to career decisions and problems from a developmental perspective?

*Are developmental theories adequate to deal with how people interact with environments, predict achievement and satisfaction, and organize work histories?

*Is John Holland’s person/ environment typology equally relevant from adolescence through retirement?

*Is the proper role of the counselor in career counseling that of the “engineer,” helping clients “engineer” their decisions?

*What research approach will be the most productive for generating increased knowledge about career counseling?

*Do the original applications to career counseling of behavioral self- control and cognitive-developmental theory presented in this book hold promise for generating useful career-related research and practical applications?

Career Counseling (pdf)

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Counseling Women
contains issues of The Counseling Psychologist which appeared originally in 1973 (Lenore Harmon and Laurine Fitzgerald) and 1976 (Janice M. Birk and Mary Faith Tanney) plus two additions. It was published in 1978. Helen S. Farmer added material to her article on “What Inhibits Achievement and Career Motivation in Women?” Beverly A. Belson completely redid the bibliography that first appeared in 1973.

The enduring value of Counseling Women is captured by the following excerpt from the Preface written by Lenore W. Harmon:

This book contains the major portion of two issues of The Counseling Psychologist. The two issues are “Counseling Women,” published in 1973, and “Counseling Women II,” published in mid-1976. As editors of the first issue, Laurine E. Fitzgerald and I felt a keen responsibility to set a tone that would help our readers appreciate the need for a new approach to counseling women-an approach unbiased by preconceived notions of what women are or should be. The contributing authors were no less committed. They shared the attitude that “whatever will help the readers see the problem most clearly is what we should do” and granted us unheard-of liberties with their manuscripts so that we might achieve that goal.

We were also very aware that, in order to gain a maximum audience, we had to strike the right balance between innovation and tradition. It seemed prudent at that time to lean slightly toward the traditional end of the spectrum, for we knew that we were attempting to help create massive social changes. The Epilogue to “Counseling Women” said “This single issue of The Counseling Psychologist is but one step on the long trek…[toward] the sensitization of men and women counseling psychologists to the changing needs of girls and women. Now is the time-who and where are the next step’s initiators?”

That step was taken three years later, when the editorial board of The Counseling Psychologist commissioned the issue “Counseling Women II.” I was convinced that the time was right for a much harder-hitting approach to the problems of counseling women than we had taken in the first issue. I was therefore delighted when Janice M. Birk and Mary Faith Tanney accepted the invitation to develop “Counseling Women II,” with the understanding that they would “go further.”

This commitment was carried out in several ways. One was the inclusion of a “reaction section.” In the first issue we had been unwilling to invite reactions-something that is usually done in topical issues of The Counseling Psychologist. Being quite unsure of the kind of reaction that would greet our issue, we did not want to provide a forum for arguments against a new approach to counseling women. The excellent reaction articles that conclude “Counseling Women II” show beyond any doubt that the counseling of women is indeed a topic of scholarly as well as practical concern.

The first issue of “Counseling Women”-which represents Section I of this book-was designed to highlight the deficiencies in our counseling theories and practices as applied to women. The second issue dared to “go further” in another sense by talking about counseling women with very specific problems in their lives-the single-again woman, the rape victim, the mastectomy patient, and the “perfect mother,” just to cite a few. Discussions of these and other crisis situations, together with articles dealing with other dimensions and aspects of counseling interventions for women, make up Section 2 of the book and provide an especially useful tool for members of the counseling profession. The book is intended for them and for graduate students. It will also be useful for some undergraduates.
Counseling Women (pdf)

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The History of Counseling Psychology: Founding Source Documents of the Profession
(1947-1978) edited by John M. Whiteley was published in 1980. It contains key historical documents, inaugural definitions of the profession, recommended initial standards for training, differing views of the status (1954-1962), and highlights of the Greyston Conference of 1964 on the professional preparation of counseling psychologists. This conference updated the Northwestern Conference of 1951 which occurred when only a third of the profession had earned doctorates.

The concluding section represents important inclusions written by Joseph Samler, and John G. Darley from The Professional Preparation of Counseling Psychologists: Report of the 1964 Greyston Conference edited by Albert S. Thompson and Donald E. Super. The volume concludes with definitions of a Counseling Psychologist from 1968 and 1976.
The History of Counseling Psychology (Source Documents) (pdf)

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The Present and Future of Counseling Psychology
is edited by John M. Whiteley and Bruce R. Fretz. It was published in 1980. There are four distinct sections. The first three sections provide three different perspectives on the professional identify of counseling psychology in 1978:

The view from within
As others see us, and
Responses from the profession’s leadership

The fourth section provided an opportunity for seventeen authors from across the then generations of counseling psychologists to think about and forecast counseling psychology two decades into the future.
The Present and Future of Counseling Psychology (pdf)

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The Coming Decade in Counseling Psychology
was edited by John M. Whiteley, Norman Kagan, Lenore W. Harmon, Bruce R. Fretz, and Mary Faith Tanney, and published in 1984. This volume summarized ideas from the historical period inclusively from 1980 through 1983. The distinctive purpose of the book is to inform about major problems and challenges which will confront graduate students of counseling psychology in the beginning phases of their training, and engage practicing professionals who want to:

rethink their professional roles and responsibilities,
learn from the insights provided by our common historical legacy, and
consider alternatives for the future.

Some of the material appeared originally in The Counseling Psychologist, 1982, entitled “Counseling Psychology: The Next Decade.” This extensive expansion of the content of Vol. 10, No. 2 into 29 chapters and 359 pages is divided into five major sections:

Practice in the 1980s: Resource Papers
Counseling Psychology and Science in the 1980s: Source Papers
Institutions Which Are Influencing Counseling Psychology in the 1980s: Source Papers
The Perspective from Three Decades of Counseling Psychology, and
Commentary on the Coming Decade.

The Coming Decade in Counseling Psychology (pdf)

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Counseling Psychology: A Historical Perspective
is a solely authored book by John M. Whiteley published in 1984. The series Forward by John M. Whiteley and Arthur Resnikoff make two points which are very relevant to understanding the content of this book:

The book reflects significant developments that have occurred in the counseling psychology field over the past decades. No longer is it possible for a single author to cover the complexity and scope of counseling psychology as it is practiced today. The approach has been to incorporate within the book viewpoints of different authors having quite diverse training and perspectives.
The intent is to stimulate the reader’s thinking about the field of Counseling Psychology, about the assumptions made regarding the basic nature of people, about the normal course of human development and the progressive growth tasks that everyone faces, about how behavior is acquired, and about what different approaches to counseling psychology postulate concerning how human beings can help one another.

In the Appreciations section, Professor Whiteley expressed deep appreciation to cherished professional colleagues who read portions of this history of counseling psychology, for the helpfulness of their suggestions on how to improve it, and in many cases, their willingness to provide background materials which were previously either unknown to me or had been otherwise unattainable. In alphabetical order, these cherished professional colleagues are: Irwin A. Berg, Carole B. Bernard, Janice M. Birk, Edward S. Bordin, Steven D. Brown, Helen V. Collier, William C. Cottle, Bruce R. Fretz, Raymond Hummel, Norman Kagan, Gloria J. Lewis, Harold B. Pepinsky, C. Winfield Scott, Donald E. Super, Albert S. Thompson, David V. Tiedeman, Leona E. Tyler, Scott Whiteley, and C. Gilbert Wrenn. The preparation of the manuscript which covered a historical period of over 80 years with numerous references would not have been possible without the dedicated and resourceful assistance of a number of immediate colleagues: Helene Hollingsworth, who has been in charge of all phases of manuscript preparation and production; Lori Sypherd, who has mastered the intricacies of the word processor on which drafts were revised and final copy prepared; Norma Yokota, who found references I inadvertently lost and references I had been unable to find as part of supervising the preparation of the bibliography; Jane DuKet and Claudia Holt, who typed portions of the manuscript and tables and assisted with proofreading; Connie Cannon, a technical editor, who served as a thoughtful critic of the writing style in earlier versions of the manuscript; and Helen C. Cernik and Herman Williams of Character Research Press, who were responsible for typesetting and printing.

The book is organized into seven historical periods as follows:

Formative Influences in the First Half of the 20th Century: The First Historical Period
Inaugural Definitions of the Profession: The Second Historical Period (1951-1956)
Emerging Differences on Status and Focus: The Third Historical Period (1954-1962)
Positive Initiatives by Counseling Psychology: The Fourth Historical Period (1963-1967)
Alternative Directions for the Profession: The Fifth Historical Period (1968-1976)
Rethinking Professional Identity and the Role of the Specialty: The Sixth Historical Period (1977-1983)
Challenge and Opportunity In Building on the Historical Legacy: The Seventh Historical Period (1984- )

Counseling Psychology A Historical Perspective (pdf)