Comments on three recent subliminal psychodynamic activation investigations.

Contends that unwarranted statements about subliminal psychodynamic activation research by the present author (1976, 1983, 1984) were made in the work of J. M. Oliver and R. Burkham (see record 1983-01571-001); K. C. Haspel and R. S. Harris (see record 1983-04952-001); and A. L. Porterfield and S. L. Golding (see record 1986-11992-001). Issues considered include the choice of subliminal stimuli, the present author's statistical analyses, and the necessity of a nonverbal measure of psychopathology in this research. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implications for psychology: Reply to comments.

Replies to the comments of D. E. Leary (see record 1986-07955-001), S. A. Mulaik (see record 1986-07961-001), D. N. Robinson (see record 1986-07966-001), and W. L. Stroud (see record 1986-07976-001) on the earlier presentation of the present authors (see record 1984-00037-001) about the new philosophy of science. The present authors are pleased with what they have been able to communicate and discuss what they feel has been misunderstood. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Deutsch and Green.

Replies to the comments of F. Deutsch (see record 1986-26175-001) and B. L. Green (see record 1986-26216-001) on the present authors' (see record 1986-10770-001) aggressive interchange with B. P. Dohrenwend and P. E. Shrout (see record 1986-10765-001) about confounding problems in studies on stress. It is suggested that Deutsch has joined in the fray and that Green has raised an interesting issue (i.e., the relative predictive power of objective and subjective measures of stressful events). (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Spitzer's "Politics–science dichotomy syndrome."

Comments that R. L. Spitzer's (see record 1986-11896-001) reply to the present author's (see record 1986-11891-001) presentation on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) and the politics of truth was like looking into a fractured mirror. The present author contends that Spitzer's objections to the definition of politics, his characterization of what was not included as "overlooked," and his insistence that a politics–science dichotomy has been presented are mistaken. It is suggested that Spitzer's treatment of the present author's efforts to elucidate the situation may illustrate difficulties akin to those addressed with regard to the DSM-III. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examples, blueprints, and theories in the ecological study of memory: Reply to Hirst and Levine and to Neisser.

Responds to W. Hirst and E. Levine's (see record 1986-08241-001) argument that the present author (see record 1986-03043-001) was not sufficiently directive in his ecological study of memory by providing another illustration of ecological memory research. In considering the nature of future ecological theories of memory as proposed by U. Neisser (see record 1986-08246-001), the present author suggests that specifying relations between mechanisms and functions of memory is generic to all such theories. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response expectancy and phobic anxiety: A reply to Wilkins and Bandura.

Responds to W. Wilkins's (see record 1987-09397-001) and A. Bandura's (see record 1987-09389-001) comments on the present author's (see record 1986-13702-001) study of expectancy modification, suggesting that (1) the procedures used as expectancy controls by Wilkins render implausible his hypothesis that expectancy changes are epiphenomena caused by Ss' observation of their improvement and (2) Bandura has misrepresented the present author's position and then argued against it. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Do not mislabel counseling": Response.

Responds to L. O. Bascue's (see record 1986-20566-001) comments on the present authors' (see record 1985-18426-001) work regarding the problems encountered in describing the practice of specialty areas within professional psychology. Issues on defining the population for role delineation studies and describing distinguishing features of specialty practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reply to two critics.

Responds to comments by J. A. Mu?oz (see record 1986-12848-001) and M. B. Smith (see record 1986-12870-001) on the present author's (see record 1985-12952-001) contention that the American Psychological Association should not be involved in social advocacy. The present author questions how social responsibilities are to be recognized and whether it is appropriate to give ethics a corporate voice. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"In the beginning was the 'name' ": Reply to Bernstein and Kent.

Replies to the comments by E. Bernstein (see record 1987-21438-001) and T. C. Kent (see record 1987-21468-001) concerning the present author's (see record 1986-11457-001) ideas about the development of naming behavior in children and apes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The alcoholism controversy revisited.

Responds to G. A. Marlatt's (see record 1986-02189-001) reply to the present author's (see record 1986-02199-001) criticism of Marlatt's (see record 1984-13214-001) earlier article regarding the effectiveness of controlled drinking treatment for alcoholics by refuting Marlatt's defense of the methodology used in M. B. Sobell and L. C. Sobell's (see record 1973-23611-001) research on controlled drinking for hospitalized patients; it is suggested that arguments over the outcome for the Sobell and Sobell experiment are moot since the treatment procedures employed did not result in either sustained controlled drinking or stable abstinence in the abstinence-trained Ss. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the confounding of "hassles" stress and outcome.

Comments on the argument between R. S. Lazarus et al (see record 1986-10770-001) and B. P. Dohrenwend and P. E. Shrout (see record 1986-10765-001) about confounding problems in studies examining the relationship between stress and psychopathology/symptomatology. It is suggested that neither addressed the major problem: the ability to separate statistically and conceptually the relative contributions of objective events and subjective appraisal of those events. Findings of the present author and colleagues (1981; also see record 1986-04136-001) are discussed to illustrate the point. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Cognitive-behavioral therapy in geriatric depression": Reply to Riskind, Beck, and Steer.

Responds to the challenge by J. H. Riskind et al (see record 1986-12531-001) to the interpretation by J. L. Steuer et al (see record 1984-21146-001) that changes observed on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in depressed geriatric patients treated with cognitive-behavioral (CB) group psychotherapy did not demonstrate superiority for CB therapy over a psychodynamic approach. Riskind et al proposed that somatic items on the other rating instruments used might not be valid in geriatric patients and thus might render those scales less sensitive. Reanalyses of the psychotherapy data and data from a placebo-controlled study of tricyclic antidepressants by the present 3rd author et al (see record 1983-21474-001) did not support this assertion. Somatic items proved to be sensitive to change in both studies. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On mood variation and memory: Reply to Isen (1985), Ellis (1985), and Mayer and Bower (1985).

Responds to comments by A. M. Isen (see record 1986-13663-001); H. C. Ellis (see record 1986-13654-001); and J. D. Mayer and G. M. Bower (see record 1986-13675-001) on the present authors' (see record 1986-03061-001) findings that (a) depressed college students showed no overall deficit in recall performance and (b) depressed students failed to show selective recall for mood-congruent (negative) events in a story. Issues considered included performance deficits in depression, selectivity effects in memory, the possibility that affective traits rather than mood states were assessed, and potential reactions to the mood questionnaires. Evidence is presented that the Beck Depression Inventory is not a mild mood-induction procedure. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On worthwhile icons: Reply to Di Lollo and Haber.

Responds to R. N. Haber's (see record 1986-11000-001) and V. Di Lollo's (see record 1986-10993-001) comments on the study of a procedure to estimate the worth of an icon conducted by the present author et al (see record 1986-00309-001). In response to Haber, the author maintains that icons can be spatiotopic as well as retinotopic, knowledge of icons is necessary for designing video-display systems, and ecological validity should not be a criterion for the scientific investigation of some topics. Responding to Di Lollo, the author argues that this general model does not account for several salient aspects of data by the present author et al. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the pitfalls of "Ptolemaic" psychology: A reply to Sawusch and Mullennix.

In their reply to the present authors (see record 1986-05428-001), J. R. Sawusch and J. W. Mullennix (see record 1986-05440-001) proposed a counterinterpretation of the authors' results regarding conceptualizations of selective adaptation with speech and described some previously unpublished data that they took to be inconsistent with the present authors' unified adaptation-level account of selective adaptation and contrast effects. It is argued that this counterinterpretation requires a series of purely ad hoc assumptions that render the 2-stage theory of Sawusch and P. Jusczyk (see record 1982-00351-001) almost completely vacuous. It is also shown that the new data of Sawusch and Mullennix are definitely not incompatible with an adaptation-level account. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When selective adaptation and contrast effects are distinct: A reply to Diehl, Kluender, and Parker.

Two alternative conceptualizations of selective adaptation with speech have recently received attention: the adaptation level theory (AL) outlined by R. L. Diehl (see record 1981-05067-001) and a 2-stage model outlined by the 1st author and P. Jusczyk (see record 1982-00351-001). Diehl et al (see record 1986-05428-001) reported evidence of streaming in selective adaptation and claimed that their results provide a counterdemonstration to recent studies that have argued against the AL approach. It is shown how the Diehl et al results can be accounted for by both the 2-stage model and AL theory. Results are presented from a study with 74 undergraduates that compared adaptation and paired-comparison procedures. These results are precisely as predicted by the 2-stage model, but they cannot be accounted for by AL theory. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the distinction between science and valuation in the mental health field.

Responds to R. L. Woolfolk's (see record 1986-09359-001) and T. A. Widiger and T. J. Trull's (see record 1986-09355-001) comments regarding the present author's (see record 1984-26018-001) analysis of controversy over mental illness labels by stating that the arguments posed by Woolfolk and by Widiger and Trull epitomize 2 different approaches to the confusion between science and valuation in mental illness. It is suggested that fallacies of these authors' arguments could be avoided by making the necessary distinction between the lawful properties of mental functioning and valuational opinions of these properties. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The importance of Popper's theories to psychology.

In a comment on G. A. Kimble's (see record 1986-07921-001) and L. Krasner and A. C. Houts's (see record 1986-10225-001) articles on the place of values in psychological research, the present author argues that the theory of induction and the entire program of the Vienna Circle of logical positivists were destroyed by the theory of objective knowledge of K. R. Popper (published between 1934 and 1982). It is suggested that when Popper's ideas are understood, there can be an epistemic armistice between the scientific and humanistic cultures, although both sides will need to modify some assumptions that they currently share. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Contributing to a field of investigation": A response to Pasley.

Responds to K. Pasley's (see record 1989-15304-001) comments on the study of parent–child relationships in stepfamilies reported by L. E. Sauer and the present author (see record 1989-15310-001). The deficit-comparison design is discussed, and methodological limitations are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)