Rehabilitation psychology: Realizing the true potential.

As the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology (Division 22) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, this article reflects on the current status and important trends in health care and technology that are likely to have the largest impact on the science and practice of rehabilitation psychologists in the next decade. These trends include the prevalence of chronic conditions, health disparities, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom injuries, and caregiver burden. The implications of these trends are also discussed in the context of rehabilitation psychologists' involvement in public policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The value of training in psychology.

Comments on D. R. Peterson's (see record 1996-15595-001) article on training for practice in psychology, arguing that Peterson's statements about the value of training are at times incomplete; at times one-sided; and, with regard to personality assessment, at times inaccurate. Garb states that although many studies do not support the value of training in psychology, it is important to realize that some do. In addition, positive results have been reported for the relation between training and psychotherapy and the relation between training and personality assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The value context of psychology.

The author examines the psychologist's position in psychotherapy as related to other professions working in this area. He raises questions on intrinsic professional development and developments in the "institutional complex within which psychology is defining its place." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of value in the world of psychology.

The mechanistic view of Newtonian science was interpreted by German holism to consist of barren facts and purposeless theories. The assumption that the whole determines the operation of its parts enables holism to provide moral value and existential meaning to human existence. Whereas a positivist view of science assumes that facts cannot logically yield moral values that are right for humankind, holism contends that human values can be revealed in a scientific manner. The same epistemological process that allows holism and humanistic psychology to generate a psychologically demanded morality has also justified Nazi and Communist ideology. The logic of the fact/value dichotomy and the inevitable ascendancy of moral pluralism prevent scientific psychology from serving a democratic society as a pipeline to moral truth or to a positive conception of mental health. Psychological research can estimate the consequences of competing social policies and thus assist a democracy in making informed choices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

E. L. Thorndike and the origins of animal psychology: On the nature of the animal in psychology.

E. L. Thorndike's deliberate use of the experimental method and rejection of anthropomorphism and anecdotalism place him squarely at the beginning of a century of animal research in psychology. The authors examine Thorndike's critique of the extant research of his day and the development of his methods, including the important way in which animals and children were often taken as interchangeable sources of data for the new functional psychology. Thorndike's research clearly altered the relationship between psychologist and animal, as is demonstrated by his own studies and those that were published in the decade that followed. The authors review this body of work in the early 20th century for (a) the manner in which it exchanges anthropomorphism for mechanicotheriomorphism and (b) its constitution of the animal as a conflation between organism and technology. The authors conclude by noting the importance of debates concerning anthropomorphism in psychology for the century-long question of consciousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A value agenda for theoretical psychology.

Comments on the article by B. D. Slife and R. N. Williams (see record 84-17550) concerning theoretical psychology as a new subdiscipline of psychology. An axiological approach is presented to address the problem of which direction should psychology take. Five elements in this approach are outlined. They are (1) problem reconceptualization, (2) proposing values, (3) analyzing proposed values, (4) evaluating proposed or analyzed values, and (5) revising-improving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology and counseling psychology: On similarities and differences revisited.

As psychology specialties, clinical and counseling psychology appear similar in many respects. Although each specialty is considered to possess its own distinctive features, some researchers have recently examined clinical-counseling convergences, which suggests that the two specialties may now be nearer to an integration than in previous times. In an effort to further consider and examine possible convergences between clinical and counseling psychology, we replicated the comparative study of Osipow, Cohen, Jenkins, and Dostal (1979). Osipow et al., drawing on data in the 1975 American Psychological Association (APA) directory, compared clinical and counseling psychologists in major fields, interest areas, and work settings. We drew on data from the 1985 APA directory to determine current clinical-counseling similarities and differences for the same three areas. Comparisons are made between the 1975 and 1985 data, and some of the data's implications about convergences and divergences between the clinical and counseling specialties are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the fall of comparative psychology.

R. B. Lockard's (see record 1971-24449-001) criticisms of comparative psychology (CP) are the latest in a series indicating that CP has no real basis in contemporary American psychology. CP's status is shown by its lack of professional organization or archival journal and by hiring attitudes that place CP secondary to other areas of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the psychology of eyewitness testimony.

Investigated various aspects of eyewitness testimony in a simulated courtroom setting. 80 undergraduates were shown a filmed murder and then testified about their observations in one of several experimental conditions. Testimony was rated for accuracy and quantity. Significant main effects were found for sex of witness, immediacy of testimony (immediately or after a 1-wk delay), testimony structure (unstructured free recall or response to questions), question type (open-ended, leading, and multiple choice), and question bias (positive, negative, and neutral). Results also support a predicted cognitive-set hypothesis, relating accuracy and quantity of testimony to the specificity of the questioning situation. The strong findings attest to the efficacy of empirically investigating aspects of courtroom procedures as a viable research paradigm. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the teaching of experimental psychology.

Criticisms point up the necessity of a new approach to experimental psychology. It is contended that "the primary functions of the laboratory should be (a) to stimulate and develop the creative talent of the student, (b) to give the student meaningful research experience, (c) to develop a general research orientation in the student… . The new content and goals of the experimental course require some changes in the teaching procedure, especially in the manner in which the laboratory is conducted… . The laboratory should… have a minimum of preplanned and formalized procedures." The laboratory should utilize the ideas and interests of students. The final part of the article describes a course based on the concepts indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the relevance of social psychology.

Proposes that "a relevant social psychology should be concerned with the study of social movements produced by social problems." It is suggested that the main problem is the definition of a social situation. Factors involved in a social situation are discussed. The need for establishing models based on fundamentals which are "relevant for all researchers in a problem area" is emphasized. The dynamics of group formation, intergroup relations, and communications and attitude change are examined to provide a basis for understanding social movements. Social movements are viewed as the best indicators of social problems and the direction of social change. The rise of a social movement is summarized as: (a) "a formative pattern of attempts toward change that develops in phases over time"; (b) "initiated through interaction . . . prompted by a motivational base . . . fed by persisting social problems"; (c) "carried out by those directly affected"; (d) a "declaration of gripes and the formulation and proclamation of platform or ideology"; (e) "bringing about evolutionary or revolutionary changes, or of suppressing changes"; and (f) effecting change by "appeals to the public, slogans, symbolisms, agitation, episodes of collective action, and encounters with the opposition." (36 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the demise of comparative psychology.

Argues that the entire area of comparative psychology has been questioned by R. B. Lockard (see record 1971-24449-001) following an earlier questioning by R. B. Lockard (see record 1969-06149-001) of the use of rats in psychology. The author protests handing this area of behavioral analysis over to biology, leaving the role of planning statistical manipulation to psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the status of cognitive psychology.

Discusses the status of cognitive psychology (CP) based on previous research by the present author (see PA, Vols 69:6694 and 71:14115), R. Lachman et al (1979), and E. Tulving (1979). The present author's research confirms Tulving's point that considerable terminological confusion over concepts exists in CP literature, suggesting that CP has some way to go before it assumes the mantle of normal science. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On grandiosity in personality psychology.

Responds to the comments by A. Wood and S. Joseph (see record 2006-23492-015); S. R. Maddi (see record 2006-23492-016); and S. Epstein (see record 2006-23492-017) on the current author's original article (see record 2006-03947-002) "A New Big Five: Fundamental Principles for an Integrative Science of Personality" (McAdams & Pals, April 2006). Here, McAdams responds to the objections raised in the three commentaries to his and Pals' characterization of the grand theories of personality provided by Freud, Jung, Rogers, and other luminaries from the first half of the 20th century. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the expansion of professional psychology.

"My aim has been to discuss some of the effects which present-day training in clinical psychology may have upon the role and identity of professional psychologists; how the consequences of professional expansion and the interaction with other groups affect training programs in psychology; and how in turn the circumstances of the latter, by determining the range and quality of experiences, may affect the intellectual and professional orientation of clinical psychologists." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adventures in tactile literacy.

"The human integument has been the object of precious little research effort on the part of psychologists. The reasons are not easy to ascertain… ." The integument is discussed as a receiving surface for several different forms of energy—mechanical, thermal, electrical, and chemical. The discriminative capacities of the skin are considered with regard to the transmission of messages cutaneously, particularly mechanically. 3 primary and independent dimensions of vibratory cutaneous stimulation are indicated: amplitude, duration, and locus. The value of a vibratory language is discussed. A summary of a film "Vibratory Communication Experiments, University of Virginia, 1956" is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On sustainable growth in the future of psychology.

Argues that W. Thorngate (see record 1991-03036-001), in an analysis of the overproduction of psychological literature, accepts the scientific dogma that rational science is the only road to human progress. Rather, the scientific approach must be placed in the broader perspective of other modes of knowledge (e.g., philosophical argument, artistic expression, ordinary experience). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the diversification of graduate study in psychology.

The author's attempt to categorize the listings in the 1974–1975 edition of Graduate Study in Psychology by degree area cited by each school was futile, leading to the conclusions that this overspecialization of psychology will have negative impact on the ability to teach more than one course in the discipline and psychologists in professional areas will be able to carry out only one function. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the full actualization of psychology in business.

The demands of work in this current atmosphere of globality, complexity, fierce competition, information technology, and employees' varied responses to it all constitute an unprecedented opportunity for psychologists consulting to business. Ten trends are presented to illustrate the distinctive impact psychology could have in the workplace. Absent reinvention within psychology, the author questions the likelihood of psychology actualizing its full potential in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the social psychology of hearsay evidence.

The issue of using hearsay evidence in cases involving children's testimony is a difficult one for both the legal scholar and psychological researcher. At best, the psychological research done so far can be considered only a 1st step along a long path of future efforts. The author suggests a framework for future work on hearsay and highlights 2 issues: the fidelity issue, which centers on whether hearsay witnesses provide better or worse accounts of events than do child witnesses; and the calibration issue, which refers to whether jurors give appropriate weight to factors that indicate accuracy or error on the part of the hearsay witness. For each, the author describes specific issues that social and cognitive psychological research indicates are central or problematic ones. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)