"She," "He," Coexistence, and Bastardy.

Before proposing a solution for the sex bias problems inherent in the generic use of the pronoun he, Spencer (see record 1990-58427-001) reviews some efforts to solve the problem. The attempted solutions are evaluated as "not an improvement ... awkward... jarring ... disturbing" (p. 782), In one case, Spencer notes that coauthors of a book "slip up" twice. To avoid the difficulties and the accompanying unpleasant experiences, Spencer suggests the use of co: "The form is derived from an old Indo-European common form for both male and female English pronouns" (p. 783). While arguing for the "goodness of fit" (p. 783) of co. Spencer acknowledges that "there is currently one exception in our language to this meaning of co-coed, in which the form has been bastardized and debased from its source" (p. 783). A clinical psychologist is assuredly not an expert in psycholinguistics, but one could reasonably argue the following: The concept of bastardy with all of its connotative meaning, including debased, derives from patriarchal, patrilineal, male primary societies and history. In short, it is a sexist concept. Ours is a difficult language to use and avoid the expression of bias. Perhaps we ought to be gentler with those who are trying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Addendum to "Consciousness."

The author extends his previous discussion (see record 1979-22877-001) to encompass the role of a concept of awareness in each of 7 ordinary concepts of consciousness: joint or mutual knowledge, internal knowledge or conviction, awareness, direct awareness, personal unity, normal waking state, and double consciousness. In each case, the crucial involvement of a certain concept of awareness is brought out and references are included of authors who have used similar scientific concepts that implicate the same concept of awareness. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Know thyself."

Explores the understanding of selfhood as a central concern of psychology, the science of human experience. The conscious self defines human beings, fosters socialization, and, to a great extent, determines behavior. The achievement of a mature self-concept is viewed as a developmental process reflecting social experience as well as personal integration. Some implications of the self-concept are considered in relation to the family system, parenting, psychopathology, psychotherapy, and "the promotion of the public welfare." (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defining "addiction."

For centuries, the word "addiction" meant being "given over" or devoted to something. However, the 19th century temperance and anti-opium movements used it in a more restrictive way, linking "addiction" to drugs, to illness or vice, and to withdrawal symptoms and tolerance. Both the traditional and restrictive meanings survived into the present. In the ensuing uncertainty about its meaning, some authorities now wish to replace "addiction" with substitute terms like "drug dependence", "substance abuse", etc. We hope to show that the term "addiction" is too valuable to discard. Its traditional sense designates the profoundly important, albeit sometimes harmful, capacity of people to become "given over." On the other hand, the restrictive meaning refers only to a special case, which is defined arbitrarily and inconsistently. It is outmoded because of these problems. The traditional meaning remains useful, but can be improved by clarifying the distinction between "positive" and "negative" addictions originally proposed by Glasser (1976). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defining "impaired psychologist."

Contends that D. Laliotis and J. Grayson (see record 1985-31888-001) have failed to provide a definition of the term impaired that would translate into rational policies that serve the best interests of the public and the psychological community. It is suggested that impairment and incompetence must be differentiated to distinguish between psychologists who have provided inadequate professional service and those who are at risk for doing so. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Management "Style."

Some search committees ask applicants to send along with application, resume, references, and so forth a brief statement, not over a few paragraphs, on one's "management style." When I first heard that, I wished desperately to know what some other, any other, psychologist had done. In that spirit, I offer some notes. I do not think it will help in getting appointments. I do not think any responses to such questions do. Perhaps, though, with a little correspondence, psychologists could work out a standard little statement that everyone could copy and send as representing his or her views. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A "humanistic alternative" to "Political ethics."

Challenges E. Gologor's (1978) contention that research concerning positive characteristics of people might be disruptive, as it could be discovered that people possess considerable potential for evil. A paradigm is presented that allows an objective evaluation of the effects of deception-disclosure on a given psychological phenomenon or procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Psychotherapy" Versus "Treatment".

Presents a comment on "Psychological treatments" (see record 2004-21168-001) by D. H. Barlow. Barlow proposed that we distinguish between the terms "treatment" and "psychotherapy." The author believes that not only is the distinction unnecessary, but that its implications could have negative consequences for the field of clinical psychology. It is the proposed distinguishing feature that treatments are "specifically tailored to the pathological process that is causing the impairment and distress" that is most problematic. Clinical psychology does not need a distinction that further exacerbates the split between researchers and practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Locke's "Revision" of "Job satisfaction reconsidered."

Responds to comments by E. A. Locke (1978) on W. R. Nord's (see record 1978-30586-001) discussion of assumptions underlying job satisfaction research. Locke's comments are said to be a distortion of the original article; however, issues raised by Locke's comments are discussed, including the attention given to the extrinsic reward of pay. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivated closing of the mind: "Seizing" and "freezing."

A theoretical framework is outlined in which the key construct is the need for (nonspecific) cognitive closure. The need for closure is a desire for definite knowledge on some issue. It represents a dimension of stable individual differences as well as a situationally evocable state. The need for closure has widely ramifying consequences for social-cognitive phenomena at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and group levels of analysis. Those consequences derive from 2 general tendencies, those of urgency and permanence. The urgency tendency represents an individual's inclination to attain closure as soon as possible, and the permanence tendency represents an individual's inclination to maintain it for as long as possible. Empirical evidence for present theory attests to diverse need for closure effects on fundamental social psychological phenomena, including impression formation, stereotyping, attribution, persuasion, group decision making, and language use in intergroup contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The "I," the "we," and the "when": A meta-analysis of motivational primacy in self-definition.

What is the primary motivational basis of self-definition? The authors meta-analytically assessed 3 hypotheses: (a) The individual self is motivationally primary, (b) the collective self is motivationally primary, and (c) neither self is inherently primary; instead, motivational primacy depends on which self becomes accessible through contextual features. Results identified the individual self as the primary motivational basis of self definition. People react more strongly to threat and enhancement of the individual than the collective self. Additionally, people more readily deny threatening information and more readily accept enhancing information when it pertains to the individual rather than the collective self, regardless of contextual influences. The individual self is the psychological home base, a stable system that can react flexibly to contextual influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concerning "residual subjectivity."

Further considers residual subjectivity in response to a critique by T. C. Hein (1979) of an earlier analysis of consciousness (T. Natsoulas, see record 1979-22877-001). The author proposed that it is possible to know by objective means all there is to be known about an experience. Such knowledge, however, is anchored by a residual subjectivity that stems from one's first-hand contact with and knowledge of that experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Learned helplessness" or "learned incompetence"?

Most experiments on learned helplessness (LH) have not dissociated contingency from success, a procedure that has led to the belief that uncontrollability (noncontingency) is the determining feature of LH. Actually, it is not clear whether uncontrollability or failure is responsible for the LH effect, nor is it clear which of these 2 factors would be sufficient to induce the deficits found. This confusion was examined in the present 2 experiments with 80 undergraduates, who completed Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, a pretreatment task (a concept formation task in Exp I and a task based on the Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board Test in Exp II), and an aftereffect task (Stroop Color–Word Test). Results suggest that uncontrollability is not a necessary or sufficient condition for producing LH. Both contingent and noncontingent Ss who experienced failure in a pretreatment task subsequently displayed deficits on tasks that did not require a problem-solving strategy. Noncontingent Ss who experienced success did not show performance decrement. It is proposed that "learned incompetence" may better account for what is experienced in this type of experiment. (French summary) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Are all psychotherapies equivalent?"

Contends that despite clear demonstrations by process researchers of systematic differences in therapists' techniques, most reviews of psychotherapy outcome research show little or no differential effectiveness of different psychotherapies. This contradiction presents a dilemma to researchers and practitioners. Some resolutions of the paradox have challenged the apparent equivalence of outcome, arguing that differential results could be revealed by more sensitive reviewing procedures or by more differentiated outcome measures. Others have challenged the seeming differences among treatments, arguing that, despite superficial technical diversity, all or most therapies share a common core of therapeutic processes. Still others suggest that the question of equivalence is unanswerable as it is usually posed but that differential effectiveness of specific techniques might be found at the level of brief events within therapy sessions. In spite of their diversity, many of the proposed solutions converge in calling for greater precision and specificity of theory and method in psychotherapy research. It is suggested that broader conceptualizations are needed but are more likely to succeed if they begin with smaller, better specified units of analysis. (4 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonverbal behaviors of "good" and "poor" counselors.

Determined whether skills involved in decoding of nonverbal behaviors are related to the clinical skills of the beginning counselor. Two groups of master's level counselor-trainees (N?=?24) served as Ss. One group was judged by the practicum supervisor as "good" (top 20%) and the other was judged as "poor" (bottom 20%) in interviewing skills. Each counselor conducted a 21-min videotaped interview with a client. The counselor's nonverbal behaviors were rated by the client (using the Behavior Rating Form) and were analyzed by 2 training judges on 4 dimensions of nonverbal behaviors. Decoding skills, as measured by a film test (the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity), were compared between good and poor groups. Also, client- and judge-rated counselor nonverbal behaviors were compared with decoding skills. Results show no significant difference between good and poor counselors in nonverbal decoding abilities. Counselor nonverbal behaviors, as rated by judges, showed no significant correlations with decoding skills; however, client ratings were inversely related to nonverbal decoding skills. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "Right-wing authoritarianism."

Canadian scholarship has recently been honoured in that Bob Altemeyer's book, Enemies of Freedom: Understanding Right wing authoritarianism (see record 1988-98419-000) received the 1988 prize for behavioural science research, awarded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The book has also received a number of favourable reviews. Ray feels that some comments on the limitations of the book are needed to balance the account, and submits that, in fact, the book is a complete failure as far as achieving what it set out to achieve is concerned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Ardila's "International psychology."

Argues that although R. Ardila (see record 1982-29234-001) provides some relevant information and intended to set out an international perspective for psychology, he inadvertently confirmed the provincialism that characterizes much of the North American enterprise by emphasizing the number of its practitioners, its linguistic predominance, and its general pervasiveness. It is argued that Ardila missed significant developments in German-language psychology, and that a one-language psychology may have more disadvantages than advantages for an international psychology. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schools of "thought."

Challenges J. Wolpe's (see record 1979-12261-001) assertion that cognitive (COG) formulations add little to an adequate understanding and treatment of psychological disorders. Conceptual and empirical issues are addressed. Although COG therapies may not be unequivocally superior to other methods, preliminary data suggest that COG approaches may contribute to the clinical effectiveness of psychological or behavioral treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond "competing," beyond "compatible." Commentary on J. Archer.

Comments on J. Archer's 1996 article in which he considers whether observed patterns of sex differences in human social behavior are best explained by social role theory or by the evolutionary principles of Darwinian theory. The author believes that Archer's conclusion that the 2 theories are actually compatible is important and is concerned that such a valuable conclusion may be lost to discussions over the rest of the article. The author argues several points made in the original article and then concludes that Darwinian and cultural perspectives on human sex differences are not opposing theories, nor are they merely compatible but instead are necessarily interdependent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)