Clinical psychology and evolutionary psychology: Toward a dialogue.

The growth of evolutionary psychology as a theoretical framework for the study of human behavior has been spectacular. However, evolutionary psychology has been largely ignored by clinical psychology. This article is an attempt to encourage greater dialogue between the two. First, some of the major principles of evolutionary psychology are outlined, followed by consideration of some of the criticisms that have been made of this approach. Second, an attempt is made to trace the influence of evolutionary theory on the history and development of clinical psychology. Third, the authors describe how an evolutionary perspective has enhanced the understanding and study of autism and depression. Finally, some implications of an evolutionary perspective for etiological theory, assessment, treatment, and ethics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a psychology of science.

Proposes that philosophy of science and psychology can interact to produce a fruitful new discipline, the psychology of science. The ability of psychology to analyze science as both a task and a unique form of cognition is discussed. Recent theories on the interaction between psychology, science, and philosophy of science are presented, and K. Popper's analysis of induction and its minor role in scientific thought processes is criticized. (38 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The metamorphosis of clinical psychology: Toward a new charter as human services psychology.

Contends that the traditional conceptions of clinical psychology (CP) as centering around the treatment of individuals suffering from mental health problems are no longer adequate. The concept of human services psychology, defined as a sector of professional psychology concerned with the promotion of human well-being through the acquisition and application of psychological knowledge about the treatment and prevention of psychological and physical disorders is proposed as an alternative capable of representing both training and practice in contemporary CP and related professional specialities. A biopsychosocial model of human behavior would be the basis for a generic professional program that would be functionally rather than categorically based at the doctoral level. Such a program, based on a systems orientation, has been established at the author's university. It is suggested that human services psychology graduates will be able to confront racism, sexism, delinquency, the effects of poverty, and other social ills in an effective and cost-efficient way. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a comparative psychology of learning.

"About 90% of our work on animal learning has been done with the rat." Exploratory work with new animals, especially phylogenetically lower animals, is desirable. The mammalian phenomena which confound contemporary SR theory "are less likely to appear in more primitive species… . Broadening the phylogenetic base of our work will facilitate the broadening of our outlook, and perhaps one day we shall be able to approach even the higher forms in the same spirit of discovery." 5 figures are presented, including apparatus diagrams for studying learning in the crab, the fly, and the earthworm. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2EH04B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a social psychology of solidarity.

Comments that D. R. Fox (see record 1985-30567-001) connected the problems of global ecology and of individual needs and values and asserted that most of the solutions offered for the tragedy of the commons have been centrist in nature. Empirical questions (e.g., defense, intergroup coordination, humans as social animals, the social psychology of solidarity) are discussed. It is suggested that experiments in building solidarity will be difficult (especially in the large and complex groups, riddled with divisions, that Fox wishes to form into a decentralized society) but worth trying. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social psychology and personality: Toward a convergence.

Argues that social and personality psychology are becoming increasingly characterized by greater receptiveness to the other's theoretical assumptions, concern with similar problems and the development of similar solutions to those problems, and the tendency of members of one specialty to adopt the methodologies typically identified with the other. Three recent developments are reviewed to substantiate this claim. Several cases are presented that demonstrate the increasing willingness of social psychologists to treat situational and personality perspectives as equally valid approaches to understanding social behavior. Several social-psychological constructs are described, each of which had been first operationalized via experimental manipulations and then later reconceptualized as an individual-difference variable. Interactionism is seen as a logical bridge between the differing orientations of personality and social psychology, and the current enthusiasm over this approach is one that is shared by many in both disciplines. A 3rd area of convergence becomes evident from an examination of the close parallels in the recent histories of attitudes and traits—dispositional concepts that play a central role in social and personality psychology, respectively. Especially notable is the fact that some of the recent strategies for improving trait–behavior consistencies are techniques that have been shown to strengthen attitude–behavior links as well. (4 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a workable psychology of individuality.

A workable psychology of individuality is "one that would generate good research ideas, which, in turn, would lead to steady increases in dependable knowledge." Individual uniqueness "is described primarily in terms of choice and organization, and I consider it the task of psychologists to make those concepts workable—to bring them into the general stream of thinking in research, assessment, and practical activities." Tyler stresses "the significance of concepts of choice and organization in an inclusive psychology of the development of the human individual… . At each stage of our lives, we impose limits on the next stage, by the choices we make and the ways in which we organize what we have experienced." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a psychology of harm reduction.

This article discusses 3 different strategies for dealing with the harmful consequences of drug use and other risky behaviors: We can discourage people from engaging in the behavior (prevalence reduction), we can encourage people to reduce the frequency or extent of the behavior (quantity reduction), or we can try to reduce the harmful consequences of the behavior when it occurs (harm reduction). These strategies are not mutually exclusive; this article offers a framework for integrating them. The framework is useful for examining frequent claims that harm reduction "sends the wrong message." Opposition to harm reduction is based in part on a recognition of potential trade-offs among the strategies, but it is also fueled by several more symbolic psychological factors. Strategies for successfully integrating prevalence reduction, quantity reduction, and harm reduction are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a national social psychology: A review of Social psychology: The Canadian context.

Reviews the book, Social Psychology: The Canadian Context edited by J. W. Berry and G. J. S. Wilde (1972). In Social Psychology: The Canadian Context, Berry and Wilde tie their selections from journals and books to the themes of Canadian identity, dualism, and pluralism. National social psychology could turn out to be the most effective way yet conceived for individual scholars to have their pure-science cake and apply it too. Its emergence depends, in part, on continuance of the nationalism, which is sweeping Canada at present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a focus on positive psychology in school psychology.

Introduces this special issue of School Psychology Quarterly and summarizes the articles contained in this issue. The major purposes of this special issue are twofold. One purpose is to illustrate that some of the various threads of positive psychology research related to children and youth, particularly focusing on the area of positive subjective experience (or subjective well-being: SWB). The second purpose is to underscore the importance of understanding the interrelationships of SWB of children and youth, and their various environmental contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a truly international psychology: Beyond English only.

It is contended that the development of a truly international psychology is obstructed at this point by the massive disregard of contributions that are published in languages other than English. The role of English as a mutually agreed-on principal medium of international communication in psychology is endorsed. At the same time, 11 suggestions are presented to overcome the linguistic isolation from the communities of psychologists in which languages other than English are used to disseminate findings and conceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Ziggy theorem: Toward an outcomes-focused health psychology.

The purpose of health care is twofold: to make people live longer and to enhance quality of life in the years before death. These goals are consistent with a Ziggy cartoon that emphasized that the meaning of life was "doin' stuff." "Doin' stuff" requires being alive (survival) and having the capability to perform activities. These objectives are quantifiable and can be represented in indices that combine life expectancy with health-related quality of life. This article emphasizes patient-oriented outcomes as a focal point for health care. This outcomes orientation is referred to as the Ziggy theorem. Examples demonstrate that emphasis on patient-oriented outcomes may redirect conceptualizations of public health indicators and may change the way medical subspecialists make clinical decisions. Furthermore, the Ziggy Theorem may suggest new approaches to the allocation of public health resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a psychology of positive youth development.

This article analyzes the development of initiative as an exemplar of one of many learning experiences that should be studied as part of positive youth development. The capacity for initiative is essential for adults in our society and will become more important in the 21st century, yet adolescents have few opportunities to learn it. Their typical experiences during schoolwork and unstructured leisure do not reflect conditions for learning initiative. The context best suited to the development of initiative appears to be that of structured voluntary activities, such as sports, arts, and participation in organizations, in which youths experience the rare combination of intrinsic motivation in combination with deep attention. An incomplete body of outcome research suggests that such activities are associated with positive development, but the developmental processes involved are only beginning to be understood. One promising approach has recorded language use and has found that adolescents participating in effective organizations acquire a new operating language that appears to correspond to the development of initiative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a reorganization of the psychology curriculum.

Describes the undergraduate psychology program at the University of Dallas with reference to the questions that R. B. MacLeod (see record 1971-31625-001) asked teachers of psychology, i.e., what is your purpose, what kind of psychology are you teaching, to whom are you teaching, and how are you preparing yourselves? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a psychology of change and innovation.

As psychological theorists move in the direction of stating comprehensive formulations about the determinants of human behavior, they will become increasingly concerned with the nature of social organizations, the ways in which they change, and the consequences of these changes. Work in a Yale clinical training program has highlighted the importance of the culture of the school and its relation to the processes of change and implementation. In another program, the behavior of advice seekers, like that of the advice givers in the Yale program, reflected the importance of man–system relationships and highlighted their complexity. A focus on how systems change over time, particularly in relation to innovation, illuminates both features of the system and how the understanding of individual behavior demands a conceptualization of man–system relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an organizational psychology for organizational psychology.

Pursuit of the goal for organizational psychology postulated by M. D. Dunnette (1976) is viewed as being analogous to the task accomplishments by formal organizations. This perspective suggests that organizational psychologists might improve their collective effectiveness by applying the substance of organizational psychology to themselves. Six elements are considered: (a) domain and task requirements, (b) required diversity, (c) stimulus variability and search processes, (d) problem definition, (e) resource allocation, and (f) requirements for a self-designing system. Analysis of these dimensions suggests that many aspects of the structure of contemporary organizational psychology are in conflict with the achievement of Dunnette's goals. It is concluded that the way many current processes (e.g., searching for solutions and processes and defining problems) are managed by organizational psychologists stimulates closed-systems approaches for tasks that require creative, open-systems approaches. Potential benefits of an organizational psychology of organizational psychology are suggested. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an emancipatory psychology.

Responds to comments by W. Mieder (see record 1991-03996-001), K. L. Dion (see record 1991-03991-001), and K. J. Gergen (see record 1991-03993-001) on T. B. Rogers's (see record 1991-03999-001) examination of the role of proverbs in psychology. It is argued that theory is important for the critical social functions it serves, rather than just for the quest for truth. Also, consideration of an emancipatory psychology is recommended, in which psychology is viewed as a socially embedded discipline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward professional clinical psychology.

"The immediate task confronting clinical psychology is to obtain recognition for its competence. The important thing for clinical psychologists to keep in mind is that we must determine now whether we shall serve a prime or an ancillary role… . If we vigorously and realistically pursue recognition for our competence, our role will be a prime one. Competence, therefore, is our concern, and it is associated with professional status. Many tests of professionalism confront us. The past 2 decades have produced a fantastic increase in the numbers of clinical psychologists who provide psychotherapy and psychodiagnosis in both institutional and private settings." Postdoctoral training institutes, preventive procedures, and brief treatment techniques are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a synergism of developmental and community psychology.

Suggests that the emphasis on competence and competence enhancement in real-life settings both in applied developmental and in community psychology provides the basis for an interdependence between these 2 subdisciplines. Applied developmental psychology and an ecology of human development can provide a knowledge base for the advocacy of "developmental rights" in community settings. Conversely, through dialog with community psychologists, developmentalists can be made aware of the kinds of ecologically relevant hypotheses that need to be posed and can be sensitized to the complexities of the interplay between natural settings and the developing individual. It is suggested that an ecology of human development and a community psychology could cross-fertilize to form a corpus of knowledge and action designed to create developmentally responsive environments. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond Aristotle and Galileo: Toward a contextualized psychology of persons.

Psychologists of my generation will recognize the implicit reference in my title immediately: to Kurt Lewin's (1931) classic paper that introduced most of us to the excitement of his ideas when we read it as the initial chapter of A Dynamic Theory of Personality (Lewin, 1935). When Lewin wrote about "The Conflict Between Aristotelian and Galilean Modes of Thought in Contemporary Psychology" over a half a century ago, it was indeed a breath of fresh air. Along with a very few other books and papers, it stands out saliently in my memory as having had a large part in forming my enduring perspective in psychology. It surely played a similar role for many others, by no means just Lewinians. We cannot readily recall its content since we've absorbed it, and built it into the fabric of our thought. I turn back to Lewin's essay because it represents the psysicalist tradition in psychological theory at its best, free of many faults that tainted the behavioristic expressions of positivism. All the same, the hermeneutic and contextualist critique of positivism should leave us dissatisfied with Lewin's version of a Galilean strategy for psychology. In one respect, thus, I am using this occasion for my own "me-too" endorsement of post-positivist theorizing. My second concern here is to focus attention on the need for a culturally and historically contextualized approach in personality theory. Finally, this occasion lets me talk some sense about post-positivist perspectives in psychology. As usual, the conceptual innovators have not been very reasonable. If a contextualized psychology of persons is to be advanced, we need a more plausible version of contextualism than is being argued by the leading polemicists. This is also an effort, therefore, to domesticate a contextualized approach, to accommodate it to its prospective role of defining a new mainstream of theorizing at the softer, more human end of the psychological spectrum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)