Depression research methodologies in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: A review and critique.

Personality and social psychological studies of depression and depressive phenomena have become more methodologically sophisticated in recent years. In response to earlier problems in this literature, investigators have formulated sound suggestions for research designs. Studies of depression published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP) between 1988 and 1993 were reviewed to evaluate how well these recommendations have been followed. Forty-one articles were examined for adherence to 3 suggestions appearing consistently in the literature: (a) multiple assessment periods, (b) multiple assessment methods, and (c) appropriate comparison groups. The studies published in JPSP have not adhered well to these standards. The authors recommend resetting minimum methodological criteria for studies of depression published in the premier journal in personality and social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content analysis of acculturation research in counseling and counseling psychology: A 22-year review.

The authors conducted a 22-year (1988–2009) content analysis of quantitative empirical research that included acculturation and/or enculturation as a study variable(s). A total of 138 studies in 134 articles were systematically evaluated from 5 major American Psychological Association and American Counseling Association journals in counseling and counseling psychology, including Journal of Counseling Psychology, The Counseling Psychologist, Journal of Counseling and Development, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, and Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. To guide the analysis, the authors conceptualized acculturation/enculturation as a “bilinear” (i.e., developing cultural orientations to both majority and ethnic cultures) and “multidimensional” (i.e., across multiple areas such as behaviors, values, identity, and knowledge) cultural socialization process that occurs in interaction with “social contexts” (e.g., home, school, work, West Coast, Midwest). Findings include the patterns and trends of acculturation/enculturation research in (a) conceptualization and use of acculturation/enculturation variable(s), (b) research designs (e.g., sample characteristics, instruments, data collection, and analysis methods), (c) content areas, and (d) changes in total publications and trends over time. Additionally, meta-analyses were conducted on the relationship of acculturation/enculturation and a few key variables of mental health, adjustment, and well-being. Major findings and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review of counseling analogue research methods.

Reviews counseling analog research methods used in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, including audiovisual studies (with both client and counselor behavior as dependent variables), quasi-counseling interviews, and experimental tasks not directly resembling a counseling interview. Emerging analog research models are identified and related methodological issues and boundary condition characteristics are discussed. Analog methodological features in need of further consideration are noted. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social network analysis: A new methodology for counseling research.

Social network analysis (SNA) is a set of procedures that use indices of relatedness among individuals to produce representations of social structures and positions inherent in dyads or groups. This approach differs from traditional research strategies in that the focus is on developing an understanding of the ongoing transactions and the implications of transactional patterns between individuals, groups, or other social units. Although the primary emphasis in SNA is on the social context, network analysts also include traditional individual-differences variables as potential explanatory factors. SNA methods provide the means to derive a more complete view of a given social environment. A group-psychotherapy example is used to provide an overview of SNA, introducing the concepts, notation, and statistical methods used by the current generation of network researchers. Methodological issues are discussed, applications are reviewed, and resources are recommended for those wishing to learn more about SNA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A revolution in counseling research.

Asserts that published research in counseling has, on the whole, been of little value as a base or guide for professional practice. Tied to largely inappropriate models derived from the physical sciences, much of the research has been trivial, atomistic, and obsessed with statistics and technical matters of research design. Counseling researchers have often futilely pursued the goals of precision and control, despite the fact that the major objects of study--counselees and the counseling process--do not lend themselves to precise measurement, certainly not at this stage in the development of the behavioral sciences. Major changes in the methods and contents of research are needed. Promising trends in the design and conduct of studies include (a) macroscopic rather than microscopic levels of study, (b) field rather than laboratory studies, (c) focusing on the total individual as the unit of study, (d) developing a contractual relationship between researcher and S, (e) giving due attention to applied evaluation methods, (f) viewing the researcher as the basic research instrument, and (g) anticipating the use of the research findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power and satisfaction in marriage: A review and critique.

Examines empirical studies of the relation between husband–wife power interactions and marital satisfaction. Both self-report and observational measures of marital power interactions have tended, in general, to suffer from similar difficulties, including overly simplistic conceptualizations of power processes and limitations in the measurement of marital power and marital satisfaction. Despite these weaknesses, the present group of studies has been fairly consistent in indicating that marriages in which the wife appears to be dominant are the most likely to be unhappy, whereas highest levels of satisfaction are more often found among egalitarian couples. Another group of studies focusing on the bases of marital power suggests that coercive control techniques may be related to marital dissatisfaction. A discussion of the kind of expanded framework that studies will need in order to make additional theoretical and substantive contributions to the understanding of power and satisfaction in marriage is presented. (90 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of moral values: A review and critique.

A historical review of the literature on efforts to assess strength of moral values led to the conclusion that existing instruments have weaknesses which limit their utility for psychological research. The most important of these weaknesses are: (1) questionable assumptions about the relationship of moral values and moral behavior, (2) a focus on moral abstractions rather than moral behavior in realistic contexts, (3) reliance on subjective and inferential scoring procedures which stress "correct" moral values, and (4) inadequate standardization. It is concluded that moral values are best conceptualized as subjective and individual attitudes whose measurement is most meaningfully achieved independent of a concern with moral behavior and conventional standards of moral evaluation. (2 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-cultural counseling process research: A rejoinder.

Replies to the criticism of J. E. Helms (1986) of the present authors' (1986) study of the effects of Black students' racial identity on perceptions of White counselors. Helms's comments on the way racial identity is conceptualized, operationalized, and measured using a racial identity attitude scale are answered, and their implications for continued cross-cultural counseling process research are explored. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contemporary issues in counseling psychology: A selected review.

As a psychology specialty, counseling psychology has confronted and dealt with many issues since its inception. Currently, a number of highly challenging issues continue to confront counseling psychology. In this article I provide a selected review of contemporary issues affecting counseling psychology. In my review I supplement previous issue publications by drawing on recent developments emerging in counseling psychology over the past several years. The three areas reviewed are (a) changing work settings and work roles, (b) identity issues, and (c) educational and training issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trustworthiness and influence: A reexamination in an extended counseling analogue.

An extended counseling analog interview study was designed to evaluate the effects of counselor trustworthiness on counselor influence in an interview setting. 36 college males rated their achievement motivation (a) 1 wk before, (b) immediately following, and (c) 1 wk after the 2nd of 2 20-min individual interviews in which they explored their achievement motivation. Both interviews ended with an attempt by an interviewer to influence their achievement-motivation ratings. Four conditions were defined by (1) 2 male interviewers and (2) trustworthy and untrustworthy interviewer role performance. Results indicate that the role manipulation was successful. These role discriminations continued to persist, as measured by the 2nd role ratings taken 1 wk after the original ratings. Results indicate that interviewer trustworthiness had no immediate effect on interviewer influence but did exert a significant influence at the 1-wk follow-up testing. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The new history of psychology: A review and critique.

In the past 30 years, the "new history of psychology" and its adherents have advocated a critical approach to scholarship, increased use of primary sources, a focus on sociopolitical forces, and the active inclusion of psychologists from underrepresented groups. This article argues that many scholars exaggerate the differences between old and new history of psychology, and that where the differences are indeed large, those discrepancies reveal certain limitations unique to the new history approach. These limitations, presented in the form of 5 questions posed to new historians, lead to a discussion of professional issues in the history of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Basic models of parent counseling: A critical review.

Defines the structure of parent counseling procedures, which represent a new trend in therapeutic strategy for behavior problems in children. Research evidence on the effectiveness of 2 basic counseling models-the behavioral and the reflective-is evaluated. Included are analyses of design, methodology, and outcome derived from each method. Overall, both strategies have been reported as successful with a variety of problem behaviors and divergent populations. However, exploration of the relative effectiveness of these models through comparative cost efficiency studies with specific problems and specific types of children is needed to enhance optimal utilization of available mental health services. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social cognition and environmental structure: A critique of assimilation-side developmental psychology.

Summarizes 3 studies of social cognitive development to illustrate the role of the stimulus environment in shaping the developmental process. These studies build upon a conceptual framework and illustrate an investigative strategy intended to replace exclusively S centered, assimilation-side accounts with a more explicitly transactional model that focuses equal attention on the structural characteristics of both Ss and their social stimulus environments. These studies, which dealt with the experience of crowding (M. J. Chandler et al., 1977), the interpretation of psychological defense mechanisms (M. J. Chandler et al.; see record 1979-25577-001) and the process of moral deliberation (M. J. Chandler et al.; see record 1981-25546-001), followed a common format. The formal structure of children's cognitions and their relevant social environments were characterized, and then problem-solving competence was explored in relation to both of these structural dimensions. Results support the call for a more balanced consideration of the structural features of both subjects and their social environments. (French abstract) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological interventions and the immune system: A meta-analytic review and critique.

This article reviews evidence for the hypothesis that psychological interventions can modulate the inumme response in humans and presents a series of models depicting the psychobiological pathways through which this might occur. Although more than 85 trials have been conducted, meta-analyses reveal only in modest evidence that interventions can reliably alter immune parameters. The most consistent evidence emerges from hypnosis and conditioning trials. Disclosure and stress management show scattered evidence of success. Relaxation demonstrates little capacity to elicit immune change. Although these data provide only modest evidence of successful immune modulation, it would be premature to conclude that the immune system is unresponsive to psychological interventions. This literature has important conceptual and methodological issues that need to be resolved before any definitive conclusions can be reached. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Replication and extension of social influence processes in counseling: A field study.

Attempted to validate S. R. Strong's (1968) theory of counseling as a social influence process by using a correlational field study, replicating the 3-factor structure of clients' perceptions, and extending findings to the relationship between counselor attributes and the success of an intake interview. 250 college students seeking help from a university counseling center's walk-in service participated in the pre- and postintake interview design. Factor analysis of both preintake preferences for counselor attributes and postintake perceptions of actual counselors resulted in extraction of 3 factors corresponding to Expertness, Attractiveness, and Trustworthiness. Regression analysis accounted for 48% of the variance in Ss' ratings of satisfaction with the intake interview. Four variables contributed significantly to prediction. Regression analysis of Ss' return for a scheduled referral revealed no significant predictors. Replicated findings and divergent results are discussed in terms of the validity of Strong's model and the need for field validation. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Influence Model: A formal integration of research on majority and minority influence processes.

Presents a formal model of social influence that integrates majority and minority influence processes within a single theoretical framework and uses computer simulations to model the group influence process. The Social Influence Model (SIM) predicts that as a faction increases in size, its impact increases and vice versa. The performance of the SIM is assessed by comparison with empirical findings from a meta-analysis of research on conformity, minority influence, and deviate rejection. The results indicate that influence is predominantly a function of the number of targets and sources of influence, both of which are incorporated into a nonlinear growth function that accurately predicts the amount of influence obtained in social influence studies. The consistency of the influence source was also an important predictor of influence; task type, group type, and response mode affected influence to a lesser degree. (58 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intensive experimental research in counseling.

Considers that experimental research in counseling has been dominated by pretest-posttest designs. However, intensive designs that examine treatment processes and effects with individuals over time offer several advantages, such as immediate data on how treatment influences clients. K. R. Mitchell's (see record 1970-04151-001) article on using an intensive design is analyzed. Several design and analysis problems are discussed, such as inadequate experimental control and nonindependence of data. Alternative designs and analysis methods are presented. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spirituality and religion in group counseling: A literature review with practice guidelines.

There has been increased discussion of the need to attend to clients' spirituality and religion as a part of the counseling process, but much of the literature to date has focused on individual counseling. How do the research and resulting practice implications apply to group counseling? This article provides a rationale for attending to spirituality and religion in counseling, explores the opportunities and barriers in attending to spirituality and religion in group counseling, and reviews the literature on the growing number of group interventions with a spiritual or religious focus. The article ends with specific guidelines for when and how to incorporate spirituality and religion into group counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)