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 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 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)     

Self-knowledge of an amnesic patient: Toward a neuropsychology of personality and social psychology.

Presents the case of W. J., an 18-yr old female who, as a result of a head injury, temporarily lost access to her episodic memory. W. J. was asked both during her amnesia and following its resolution to make trait judgments about herself. Because her responses when she could access episodic memories were consistent with her responses when she could not, the authors conclude that the loss of episodic memory did not greatly affect the availability of her trait self-knowledge. The authors discuss how neuropsychological evidence can contribute to theorizing about personality and social processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an experimental psychology of aging.

Advocates the development of an experimental psychology of aging for cultural, scientific, and practical purposes. The ethical, economical, and temporal problems involved in longitudinal studies are discussed. Data on the effect of age differences on intellectual functioning, RT, and perceptual ability are presented. Several tentative hypotheses are proposed to explain results not covered by the perceptual difficulty and cautiousness hypotheses. New research areas are pointed out. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a more inclusive integration of evolutionary biology and personality psychology.

Discusses D. M. Buss's (see record 1985-28068-001) failure to recognize the work of W. McDougall (1921) and his lack of consideration of the psychology of the self-concept in Buss's analysis of how contemporary work in sociobiology and behavior genetics might be useful in the effort to integrate the currently fragmented state of personality psychology. (12 ref) (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)     

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)     

Studying personality in the context of an advanced motivational psychology.

The theoretical advance in motivational psychology has exposed flaws in the conceptual foundation of classical test theory as applied in studying personality. Computer simulations of behavioral expression of individual differences in personality based on new motivational principles, the dynamics of action, have shown that the validity of thematic apperceptive measures of motives does not depend on reliability; and correlations among different behavioral expressions of the same trait are expected to be quite modest even prior to consideration of measurement error. These findings resolve 2 long-standing puzzles in the study of personality. The prospects of finally appraising the validity of factor analysis as a method of discovery, and of defining the appropriate relationship between basic theory about psychological processes and the theory of psychological measurement are discussed. (72 ref) (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)     

Evolutionary biology and personality psychology: Toward a conception of human nature and individual differences.

Identifies several key issues in personality psychology, focusing on the distinction between approaches emphasizing species-typical tendencies and those emphasizing systematic variation around those tendencies. Typological and population approaches in evolutionary biology are discussed, highlighting the alternative aims, assumptions, methods, and limitations of each. Genotypic universality, automaticity, and adaptation are examined as potential criteria for identifying important species-typical characteristics; and heritability, inclusive fitness, sexual selection, and assortative mating are evaluated as criteria for designating important individual differences. Suggestions are made for resolving some of the conceptual and operational difficulties entailed by implementing these criteria. It is argued that, although substantial problems remain, evolutionary biology can provide a means for identifying relations between individual differences and species-typical characteristics. (92 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)     

Toward earlier creativity in psychology.

For the doctorate in chemistry median ages of 28.0 (1909-1920) and 28.7 (1950-1954) are reported; for the doctorate in psychology median ages of 29.5 and 31.2 for comparable periods are reported. "As compared with chemists, psychologists thus tend to obtain the doctorate older—and increasingly so." The "present 31 is too old a median age for obtaining the doctorate in psychology… [an] earlier [age] would increase and perhaps improve professional productivity… . New programs for superior undergraduates involving first selection before entrance, throughout guidance and instruction by outstanding faculty members, skipping of repetitious freshman year work with admission even than to advanced courses, and research assistantships even in the second year give special promise of early finding and furthering creativity." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taking the high road: Toward an applied educational psychology.

Presents the author's perspective on the future of school psychology as an applied field of psychology. The author responds to J. I. Bardon's (see record 1983-24212-001) proposals with respect to the National Association of School Psychologists/American Psychological Association dilemma and discusses school psychology's current status and model of functioning within the schools. A new conceptualization of school psychology is offered that calls for a broader domain than the schools for the provision of psychological services as well as for a new orientation of the field. (54 ref) (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 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 one discipline of scientific psychology.

Discusses views on the possibility of joining correlational and experimental psychology. The works and opinions of L. J. Chronbach are cited in particular. Presents the idea of outlining a paradigm for research which combines the major concerns of both correlational psychologists and experimentalists, and which employs, as a modus operandi, the subgrouping of Ss on the basis of their patterns of prior experience. The feasibility of employing such a paradigm as an operational plan brings at least 2 major operational concerns into consideration: (1) the subgrouping of Ss must have some consistency across samples, and (2) the entire scheme of classifying Ss to subsets must have something approximating generalized validity. It is stressed that the interactive research suggested can be expanded to include many different areas in psychology and other disciplines. (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)