Flesch counts of eight current texts for introductory psychology.

100-word samples were taken from ten pages randomly selected from eight introductory psychology texts. These samples were analyzed for objective reading ease and human interest according to the techniques discussed by Flesch. It was concluded that by "Flesch's standards, none of the eight books could be classified as Easy or Interesting to read." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Flesch readability formula applied to television programs.

A Flesch readability analysis was made of eight daytime adult interest programs and twenty-five evening once-a-week network TV programs. Both types of program used audible vocabularies that were relatively simple and contained relatively large amounts of human interest. Although the Reading Ease and Human Interest scores were significantly correlated, neither was correlated significantly with Telepulse ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of Flesch readability scores with a test of reading comprehension.

101 high school seniors, who had taken the Diagnostic Reading Test, read ten 100-word passages judged to be of equal interest but varied systematically in Reading Ease score from 5 to 95 at 10-point intervals and took brief objective-type Comprehension Tests on them. "In general, differences between mean comprehension scores for adjacent RE levels were significant at the 5% level. From these findings it is inferred the Flesch RE scores do adequately estimate the comparative difficulty in comprehension of 'popular' reading material for a 17- to 18-year-old group." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The strange case of Dr. Jensen and Mr. Hyde?

Responds to G. Dworkin's (1974) article that compared the views of "Professor Hyde" (actually, A. Jensen, the author of the present comment) on the nature of intelligence as presented in a little-known 1967 article (see record 1968-08786-001) in Educational Research with those presented in the author's well-known Harvard Educational Review article in 1969. Differences in the articles are attributed to further refinements of the author's views on genetics and the publication of additional data in the interval between the 2 publications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Picasso's Guernica: The genesis of a painting.

Reviews the book, Picasso's Guernica: The genesis of a painting by Rudolf Arnheim (2006). Guernica, one of the most famous and reproduced paintings of the 20th century, was Pablo Picasso's answer to a commission for the 1937 Paris World's Fair, by the Spanish government in exile. In this book, Rudolf Arnheim, distinguished art historian and Gestalt psychologist, examines the artist's preliminary studies and states of the mural in progress. Picasso numbered and dated his studies, representing "the first time in recorded history an artist has created and carefully catalogued and preserved such extensive series of preparations" (p. 14). From those data Arnheim chronicles the progression of Picasso's "visual thinking"--his stops and starts; reversals and refinements; his attention now to detail, now to the gestalt--as he moved toward the final realization of his assignment to commemorate '...the drama of his fatherland ravished by the fascists" (p. 18). This book is packed with rich insights on art in the context of world events, on the meaning of abstraction in painting, on the artist's oeuvre, and on Picasso the man. Significantly, for the psychology of the creative process, Arnheim advances the notion of artistic creativity as fundamentally a process of problem solving, with Picasso's Guernica as a striking case study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An invitation to visual thinking.

Presents commentary by Lauren S. Seifert, President of Division 10, regarding Rudolf Arnheim's contributions. The work of Gestalt psychologists, Arnheim's included, so permeates post-millennial thinking about visual abstraction that we, ironically, scarcely recognize their contributions, as such. Some contemporary psychologists might be under the impression that Gestalt psychology had a brief and limited effect on the field, which has now abated. Psychology in the 21st century might even suffer from source amnesia regarding key aspects of our thinking about: (1) how sensation becomes abstracted into perceptual categories, and (2) how perceptual categories or worked and reworked into representational concepts. Psychologists who study artists and their work understand how remarkable it is to observe evidence of this lurching forward from sensation, to perceptual abstractions (and their interplay with other abstractions), and then, onto beautiful representations. This issue of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts embodies an expressive representation of Arnheim's contributions, which began long ago in Arnheim's own writings, moved forward as communications in aesthetics (by many scholars and including the symposium to honor him at the APA), and advanced to a truly beautiful, expressive representation of genuinely splendid ideas (e.g., in this issue). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue.

Rudolf Arnheim was born July 15, 1904, and he has maintained contact with colleagues past his centenary year. A symposium, "Honoring Rudolf Arnheim at 100: Creating Psychology and the Arts," was held at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Washington, DC, on August 20, 2005, and he sent along a welcoming note (see Figure 1). Presenters included Claire Golomb, John Kennedy, Ellen Winner, and myself, with our current Division 10 president, Lauren Seifert, serving as moderator and discussant. At the end of the session, Michael Wertheimer offered reminiscences about his relations with Rudolf Arnheim, and his written reflections appear as the first contribution in this issue of the journal (Wertheimer, 2007). Ian Verstegen (2007) has also contributed an article based on his book Arnheim, Gestalt and Art: A Psychological Theory (Verstegen, 2005). A collection of these articles are presented in this issue of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genocide in Bosnia: the case of Dr. Radovan Karadzic

In viral encephalitis and retinal necrosis, different herpes simplex virus (HSV) strains spread between neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) by distinctly different routes. The steps of viral infection and spread in a single neuron type and nearby glial cells in vivo have been determined for three different strains of HSV (F, H129, and McIntyre-B). The corneas of mice were inoculated with equivalent titers of the strains. Two to 5 days later, the animals were killed. The spread of viral proteins within trigeminal cells was examined using immuno- and electron microscopy and Western blots with anti-HSV polyclonal antiserum. McIntyre-B virus infection resulted in fewer labeled ganglion cells, possibly as a result of reduced viral production in the corneal epithelium or trigeminal ganglion cells. Although the McIntyre-B strain was at least as, if not more efficient, at retrograde transport than the other strains, the amount of McIntyre-B virus that was transported in the trigeminal roots in an anterograde direction was significantly less than the other strains. Uptake by ganglionic satellite cells was qualitatively similar for the three strains, but maturation and release of virus from satellite cells to other neurons were reduced in the McIntyre-B strain. These characteristics may account for the preferential retrograde transneuronal spread of McIntyre-B strain.     

Rudolf Arnheim: An elegant artistic Gestalt.

Rudolf Arnheim created an influential new psychology of art by applying the Gestalt principles of perceptual organization to generate deeper understanding of great artistic works. He wrote widely used books on the psychology of art and taught for many years at major institutions of higher learning, and could be considered the founder of the discipline to which this journal is devoted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mulholland Dr.

This article provides an interpretation of David Lynch's (2001) film Mulholland Dr. as the dreamscape of Diane Selwyn, played by Naomi Watts. Viewers are caught in a story of murder, mystery, and lesbian love, only to realize that what they have witnessed is merely a dream. As Diane wakes up, memory flashbacks and hallucinations unveil the real events leading to the dream. The viewers are able to trace back the elements of the dream to their real-life sources and decipher the dream's secret agenda. Diane's dream is understood as an attempt to fulfill her deepest wishes and to alleviate her guilt for arranging the murder of her ex-lover. The dream is a failed attempt to escape reality, as well as a preparation for death. Whether or not one views Mulholland Dr. as inspired by psychoanalysis, Lynch's film is a masterful exploration of the unconscious workings of the human mind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paging Dr. Froid: Teaching Psychoanalytic Theory to Undergraduates.

Teaching psychoanalytic theory to undergraduates is hampered by many contemporary biases, including the reputation of Freud as a remote and disapproving patriarch. One way to undo this corrosive image when teaching undergraduates is not to deemphasize Freud but to embrace the parts of Freud's work that are revolutionary, creative, witty, and entertaining. Historical context can help students identify with the young, iconoclastic Freud and therefore increase their openness to Freudian ideas. Examples of teaching practices and students' responses are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Akedah, Oedipus, and Dr. Frankl.

Responds to criticism that V. E. Frankl's (1975) Logotherapy is a faith rather than a scientific therapeutic school. Recent work in the history of science suggests that such a distinction, strictly speaking, is unjustified, since modern science involves the Judaeo-Christian assumption of human autonomy as "knower" in the face of nature. It is the authority of this implicit presupposition that is evoked in Frankl's technique of Paradoxical Intention, already prefigured in the Hebrew Akedah, whose standpoint contrasts with that of the ethical naturalism that the figure of Oedipus represents. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Dr. Spitz.

Spitz (see 30: 5830) is commended for providing clinical hunches and hypotheses, including his use of statistical materials, but it is claimed nevertheless that Spitz's conclusions are not warranted by the data reported. Perhaps the uncritical acceptance of Spitz's research is the fault of those who have acclaimed his work, rather than that of Spitz himself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual thinking in arts education: Homage to Rudolf Arnheim.

The influence of Arnheim's work on the author's research began with an experiment on the perception of visual balance. Two later research projects emerged from the profound influence of Arnheim's stance toward creation in the visual arts as a serious, cognitive endeavor. A series of meta-analyses were first conducted to test the claim that learning in the arts transfers to nonarts cognitive domains, but little evidence was found. Past research on the transfer hypothesis was found to be lacking because of its failure to assess learning in the parent domain. Therefore, a new research project was carried out to identify kinds of learning in the parent domain of visual arts. We identified eight thinking dispositions developed in serious visual arts classes, setting the stage for more plausible transfer studies. This study demonstrates that the visual arts inculcate basic skills in perception and cognition that exist both in the arts and sciences. All of the skills the authors describe can, with some modification, be transferred to the science laboratory. As Rudolf Arnheim has taught us, visual thinking is everywhere. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The remains of Dr. Carl Austin Weiss: anthropological analysis

Anthropological analysis of the remains of Dr. Carl Austin Weiss revealed biological information consistent with his known characteristics. Postmortem changes included decomposition of amalgam dental restorations, likely releasing mercury that stained the anterior dentition, deposition of sulphur compounds on much of the skeleton, and the formation of numerous small bone fractures. Analysis revealed extensive perimortem trauma, indicating multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body. Trajectory analysis of the bony trauma suggested that at least 20 projectiles penetrated Dr. Weiss's body. They originated from many different directions, but mostly from the posterior. No bony changes associated with perimortem trauma of the hands were noted.     

Reply to Dr. Rotgers' Letter.

Replies to the letter by Rotgers (see record 2005-09346-005) on the current author's original article (see record 1981-11085-001). Dr. Rotgers' letter is valuable, since it provides an excellent example of the fact that practice does not always conform to the "black letter" of the law. The current author is pleased to learn that New Jersey legislated their custom, for to rely on custom alone for the recognition of professional psychology is dangerous indeed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Dr. Hall's letter.

A reply by Arlene Carsten regarding the letter by Judy Hall on the Professional Examination Service exam. The points Dr. Hall raises only serve to reaffirm the points made in my Forum article, namely, (a) the need for an objective mastery score and (b) the desirability of uniform licensing procedures in the various states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bravo, Dr. Brothers!

In this article the author comments on Dr. Joyce Brothers' appearances on CBS television's "The $64,000 Question", which represented a potent opportunity for upgrading public relations. The author notes that Dr. Brothers must have contributed much toward creating a heightened public regard for psychology as a profession and for psychologists as persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)