Further comments on psychology and nursing.

In commenting on the discussion by P. H. DeLeon et al (see record 1986-15482-001) on the importance of collaboration between psychology and nursing in matters of public policy, the present authors note that there also exist common research interests and complementary strengths between the 2 fields. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on psychology and psychophysics.

Historically the development of psychophysical procedures was instrumental in fostering the growth of psychology and its emergence as a discipline separate from philosophy. At the present time, while psychophysical studies are still performed extensively, there has been a diminution of interest in them among psychologists and a misunderstanding of them among some other disciplines. The article discusses some of the problems faced by the psychologist engaged in psychophysical research. It is argued that there are two major areas of difficulty that are apparent. The first is the trend away from a psychological framework for psychophysics and the second is ignorance about sensory psychology and the methods it uses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on empirically supported treatments.

A number of developments have occurred in the field of psychotherapy in recent years. One pertains to the emphasis on empirically supported or validated therapies for specific psychiatric disorders. Although this emphasis on empirical support is a positive one, the creation of numerous forms of therapy for specific psychiatric categories, and the possible implication that training in such therapies becomes the basis for accreditation of university programs, is viewed critically. A focus on forms of psychotherapy also tends to diminish the importance of patient and therapist characteristics in producing positive outcomes. Future research needs to ascertain the variables that actually produce positive patient change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some irreverent comments.

Contends, in this response to E.S. Epstein and V. E. Loos (see record 1989-40685-001), that it is morally correct to operate from an amoral position as a family therapist because (1) families give (some) permission to tinker with their way of doing things by the act of seeking treatment and (2) therapists have limited power to impose anything on families that does not work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further comments on the internship application process.

There has been much talk and writing about the Association of Psychology Internship Centers (APIC) policy. This article provides further information on the internship application process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to comments on the child-care debate.

Responds to comments by W. B. Johnson and D. Hayes (see record 1993-41125-001), J. E. Maddux (see record 1993-41129-001), K. McCarthey et al (see record 1993-41130-001), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Network (see record 1993-41132-001), and N. Shpancer (see record 1993-41138-001) on L. B. Silverstein's (see record 1992-05293-001) original article on child care and maternal employment, noting that the comments go a long way toward expanding the child-care debate, if not transforming it. Silverstein focuses on the role of psychology in policymaking and the responsibility of government in the lives of individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A few not-so-final comments.

Responds to comments and criticisms of the present author's (see record 1985-10567-001) account of the history and current status of clinical psychology in Canada. The need for the clinical psychology community to tolerate a variety of perspectives on such issues as accreditation, the scientist–professional model, and the validity of various training models is emphasized. (1 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Akiyama's comments.

Addresses M. M. Akiyama's (see record 1986-24110-001) comments concerning the present author's (see record 1985-25108-001) cross-linguistic comparison of the sentence verification process, focusing on the objectives of and the analysis of data from the author's experiments. It is asserted that, contrary to Akiyama's argument, the data obtained would not directly challenge the cognitive primacy hypothesis in any serious manner. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on the use of untrained therapists.

A study by Poser, where chronic schizophrenics received group psychotherapy from both untrained and trained therapists, is discussed. The experimental design of the study is questioned: the time factor, male patients treated by female untrained therapists, dropouts, and selection of untrained therapists. The term "group psychotherapy" is poorly defined in this study, since the term covers a variety of therapeutic goals and orientations. The question of criteria becomes obscured. There is no clarification of the motives that bring psychotherapists to work with patients. The lack of clarity confuses workers in the field of psychotherapy since "help" is an ambiguous term which represents everything from compassion to personality change. Motivations and value systems of both patients and therapists must be considered in the type of study Poser has conducted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on a Viennese school of psychiatry.

The author comments on a school of psychotherapy called Logotherapy or Existential Analysis, which was originated by Victor E. Frankl of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna. This school of analysis reflects the culture of the Hitler era and post-war Europe. Frankl states that neurosis is caused by repression of the patient's sense of responsibility and the function of psychotherapy is to bring this sense of responsibility back to the patient's awareness. Happiness, he postulates, is a byproduct of the realization of other values. Fear of death, aging, and discomfort are the principal causes of anxiety. The author feels that this school of psychotherapy, which has arisen from an experiential background so different from ours is worthy of careful study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on the EPPS Ego Disjunction Score.

Trehub (see 34: 1064) had derived an Ego Disjunction Score (EDS) from the Edwards PPS, and had found EDS to be linearly related to degree of psychopathology. Koponen (1957) had demonstrated the effect of demographic variables (age, sex, education) upon EPPS scores. A reanalysis of Koponen's data indicated that these same variables affected EDS scores. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HF58G. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on the use of magnitude-of-effect estimates.

In a recent article Murray and Dosser (1987) discussed the interpretation and potential misuse of magnitude-of-effect (ME) estimates. In this article I expand on two issues discussed by Murray and Dosser. First, it is demonstrated that ME estimates vary in their susceptibility to sample-size bias depending on whether they are directional or nondirectional estimates. Second, it is demonstrated that study characteristics that influence the size of ME estimates can be explicitly taken into account when comparing studies. Both issues underscore the need to consider very carefully the many study features that can distort ME estimates and make study comparison hazardous. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of teacher comments.

An analysis of the effects of 3 kinds of teacher comment (social-comparison, subject-matter, and intraindividually oriented) accompanying grades in mathematics is presented. 385 6–10th graders were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups, each receiving 1 of the 3 types of comment, or to a control group. During the 1st half of the school year, teachers wrote comments concerning students" performance on mathematics examinations; during the 2nd half, comments were not made so as to test the duration of effects resulting from the earlier comments. Students were observed at the beginning of the experiment, at the end of the treatment period, after the no-comment phase, and every time they received a grade in mathematics. Dependent variables (besides later performance in mathematics) were cognitive-motivational variables and some school-related personality characteristics, which were selected with reference to a differentiated expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. In analyses of variance, an interaction between type of comment and the student"s prior performance level was revealed for almost all dependent variables. Effects of comments persisted after the experimental period for school-related personality variables only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reply to Emery's comments.

In response to E. J. Emery's (see record 1987-26891-001) comments on the present author's (see record 1986-10712-001) comparison of H. Kohut and C. Rogers, the present author argues that he did not blur distinctions between Kohut and Rogers, did not risk metamorphosizing Kohut into a Rogerian, did not inappropriately align Kohut with M. Mahler, or return to Freudian terminology with the use of the term vectors of psychological energy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reply to Levitt's comments.

Levitt's critique (see 37: 8096) indicates that he missed the main point of the paradigm, and that he misinterpreted a variety of other matters. An effort is made to clarify the issues involved by citing sections of the original article and by further discussion when necessary. Particular emphasis is placed upon the paradigm as a method for testing theories of psychopathology which assume genotypic-phenotypic relationships. The need for proper control groups is reiterated, and the paradigm is viewed as an attempt to bring the data of clinical and experimentat methods closer into congruence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Section editor’s comments.

Introduces this issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. This special edition of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology comprises a number of articles that were originally presented at the International Congress on Occupational Health (ICOH) in Stockholm, in September 1996. Of the many hundreds of papers, symposia, posters, panels, and discussion papers presented at this congress, a significant proportion dealt with psychosocial risk factors. The articles contained herein are a slight sampling of those from a variety of different countries and on a variety of topics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some further comments on evaluation of outcome in psychotherapy.

Replies briefly to comments by R. M. Leve (see PA, Vol 52:Issue 4) on a previous article concerning the evaluation of outcome in psychotherapy. While acknowledging that the matter of agreement and disagreement among Os is of some significance, the importance of using a variety of different criteria in assessing outcome in psychotherapy is particularly emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further comments on the internal structure of the MMPI.

The Shure and Rogers findings are examined in relation to other studies in which the factor structure of the MMPI basic scales obtained with actual data is compared to the structure based merely on item overlap among the scales. There is no direct experimental evidence that spurious correlations yield a "built-in" factor structure that is the direct cause of the structure obtained with experimental Ss in the 10 MMPI basic clinical scales. A more concervative interpretation of the Shure and Rogers findings is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)