Joseph F. Rychlak

Joseph Frank Rychlak (born December 17, 1928, surname pronEng|ˈrɪʃlɒk) is a psychologist especially well known for his work with theoretical and philosophical psychology. He developed a theoretical stance known as "Rigorous Humanism." This term refers to Rychlak's blending of agentic or volitional psychological theories with rigorous empirical methods and tests traditionally used in the natural sciences. Rychlak is the Maude C. Clark Professor in Humanistic Psychology at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois.

Rychlak received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Ohio State University, the latter in 1957. Once a student of George Kelly at OSU, Rychlak continued in the personal construct tradition through his neo-Kantian analysis of causality. Rychlak's work can be roughly divided into two main areas: theoretical and empirical. The theoretical area of his work is centered on exploring and understanding the theoretical and philosophical foundations of psychology. The empirical area of his work, on the other hand, focuses on scientific experiments designed to empirically test his logical learning theory (LLT).

Family

Joseph Rychlak is married to Lenora Rychlak. They have two children and eight grandchildren.

Notable works

*"Introduction to Personality and Psychotherapy: A Theory Construction Approach". Rychlak outlines the history of theory and philosophy in psychology, distinguishing all theories into either Lockean, Kantian, or mixed-model approaches.
* "A Philosophy of Science for Personality Theory". This text has been a foundational work for a subfield of psychology, "theoretical psychology."
*"The Psychology of Rigorous Humanism". Rychlak conducts a thorough review of psychology and its efficient/material causal bent. He then proposes a more formal/final causal (telic) perspective that culminates in his Logical Learning Theory for psychology.

References

*"Contemporary Authors Online", s.v. "Joseph F(rank) Rychlak" (accessed March 24, 2008).