Introduction: Lightner Witmer's Legacy to American psychology.

Presents an overview of the legacy and contribution of Lightner Witmer (1867–1956) to the field of applied psychology. Many psychologists, beyond isolated fact, know little about Witmer or his work as a psychologist. Witmer, who began the world's first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896, is credited for the radical contribution to the course of psychology's development, especially in the fields of clinical and educational psychology. Some contemporary historians have minimized Witmer's role in the history of psychology arguing that his version of clinical psychology failed to anticipate fully psychological practice independent of medicine. Witmer's legacy was to define and enact a social role for psychology and his prescient contributions established him as a signficant pioneer in the history of American psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Jack Block (1924 –2010).

Born Jacob Block in Brooklyn, New York, on April 28, 1924, Jack received his bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College. Block is one of the most influential personality and developmental psychologists of his generation and of the 20th century; at the same time, he established himself as a pioneer and authority on applications of multivariate statistics to psychological data. Block became involved with an existing longitudinal research project at Berkeley, found insightful ways to bring order out of previously unused anecdotal and informal data, and used it to publish the influential Lives through time (1971, Bancroft). Equally important were Block’s contributions to statistical methodology and personality assessment. The challenge of response sets (1965, Appleton-Century-Crofts) nearly single-handedly restored confidence in substantive interpretations of self-report measures of personality; and his demonstrations of the utility of observer evaluations and elaboration of the Q-sort method (The Q-sort method in personality assessment and psychiatric research, 1961, Thomas) helped establish the knowledgeable observer as a valuable source of psychological information. Block was ahead of his time on two other major analytic issues: latent variable modeling and empirical sampling distributions for statistical inference. Block also became well-known for his energetic participation in research controversies. As a key participant in the “person–situation debate,” he argued for the lifelong coherence of personality. After decades of health challenges, he insisted on being taken home, where he could be surrounded by his music, his art, and his family and where he died on January 13, 2010. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished Contribution for Applications in Psychology Award for 1978: Alphonse Chapanis.

Alphonse Chapanis was presented the Distinguished Contribution for Applications in Psychology Award for his contribution as a founder of the field of engineering psychology and for his pioneering research and leadership in the field over a 35-year period. He was the senior author (with Wendell Garner and Clifford Morgan) of the first systematic book to cover the field of engineering psychology, and he wrote the first important methodology text in the field. The enormous range of his contributions includes his early studies on basic visual mechanisms, his research on workstation design and man-machine systems relations, and his more recent studies on information processing and telecommunications. He has provided numerous insights on ways to apply sound psychological research to societal problems in a technological age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On social psychology and policy analysis.

Responds to criticisms by H. H. Kendler (see record 1984-12071-001), I. J. Mansdorf (see record 1984-12073-001), D. A. Resnick (see record 1984-12082-001), and G. Caplan (see record 1984-12061-001) of the present author's (see record 1983-32571-001) social-psychological assessment of the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, based on an analysis of Yasser Arafat's cognitive style. The author upholds the validity of his use of psychological principles in policy analysis, responds to specific criticisms related to cultural and political realities in the Middle East, and argues that recent political events support his conclusions concerning the readiness of Palestinians to seek peace. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for adolescent problem drinking: Validation of a multidimensional instrument for case identification.

This research tested the thesis that adolescent problem drinking may be manifest in any of four independent domains (measured by the 24-item screening instrument, the Adolescent Drinking Inventory: Drinking and You): drinking-related loss of control, social indicators, psychological indicators, and physical indicators. Clinical assessments of 264 adolescents referred for screening revealed that more than half of the variation in clinical assessment of problem drinking severity was captured by these four domains and that two of the four domains (loss of control and psychological indicators) made an independent contribution to clinical assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Valid inferences from invalid tests?

Comments on an article by R. J. Silver (American Psychologist, 2001, Vol 56, 1008-1014) which delineated Silver's approach to the practice of professional psychology, a perspective that combined an appreciation for actuarial prediction and empirical data with a sensitivity to the many instances when a practitioner must act without the benefit of empirical support. While commending Silver for his integration of science and practice, the present author takes issue with an apparent contradiction in Silver's article. While Silver emphasizes the importance of accurate diagnosis and the use of empirically validated psychological tests, he continues by saying that he uses psychological tests whose validity is in question, such as the Draw-A-Person Test. Silver says that he makes specific predictions for this test, and otherwise would not use the test because of the weak support for his validity. The present author questions Silver's rationale for making specific predictions for an invalid test, and gives an example to demonstrate how this approach does not help lead to a more accurate diagnostic assessment than simply using an invalid test alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paul E. Meehl's Contributions to Personality Assessment.

Many of Meehl's interests converged in his work on personality assessment. In empirical research, development of the K scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and various scales of other tests are noteworthy, but his most profound contributions were conceptual and philosophical. Essays on the role of base rates in clinical decision and on construct validity in psychological tests provided vital insights on core issues in assessment. The concept of nomological nets allowed systematic investigation of unobservable theoretical entities, with liberating effects on all natural sciences. An active clinician, Meehl understood deeply the complexities of professional service, but his insistence on empirical validation as the ultimate arbiter of the value of any procedure required all attainable rigor in the scientific foundations of clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological processes and mental states.

Comments on D. Kipnis's (see record 199707781-001) article that argues against the use of psychological processes as a basis for the explanation of social behavior. The present author concerns himself with Kipnis's use of "psychological processes" and "mental states" as synonyms. He claims that Kipnis overstepped his argument by generalizing his conclusion from the term "mental states" to "psychological processes." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It's time to Rework the Blueprints: Building a Science for Clinical Psychology.

The aims in this article are to connect the conceptual structure of clinical psychological science to what the author believes to be the omnipresent principles of evolution, use the evolutionary model to create a deductively derived clinical theory and taxonomy, link the theory and taxonomy to comprehensive and integrated approaches to assessment, and outline a framework for an integrative synergistic model of psychotherapy. These foundations also provide a framework for a systematic approach to the subject realms of personology and psychopathology. Exploring nature's deep principles, the model revives the personologic concept christened by Henry Murray some 65 years ago; it also parallels the interface between human social functioning and evolutionary biology proposed by Edward Wilson in his concept of sociobiology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Editor’s note on the special series.

Introduces the special series on the use of computers in psychological assessment. The series was developed by James N. Butcher who selected the overall theme, invited and edited the papers, and contributed directly through his own work in the area. The result reflects a significant collection of articles that convey the latest advances in computerized assessment, topics for future research and clinical work, and emerging empirical as well as technological issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

David Shakow: Distinguished Professional Contribution Award.

Recognizes the receipt of the American Psychological Association's 1976 Distinguished Professional Contribution Award by David Shakow. The award citation reads: "In a career that spans almost five decades, his activities reflect his abiding concern with psychology's historical antecedents, his leadership in creating a training model for clinical psychology that would retain the unique quality that characterizes a psychologist, and his research contributions in the psychological study of schizophrenia. David Shakow by his imagination, by his influence on his many students--graduate and postdoctoral--as teacher and mentor, by his dedication to important scientific studies, by his advocacy of the coordinate role of researcher and practitioner for the clinical psychologist, and by his broad knowledge and commitment to humanistic values has indeed made a distinguished contribution to professional psychology." A biography and a listing of the recipient's scientific writings are also included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA and (AP)–2.

Psychology developed 100 yrs ago as a laboratory "science," and there was no real interest in application until World War I. After World War I, psychology became more applied, but after World War II it exploded as clinical psychology. Clinical psychologists sought a professional society in the state psychological associations and eventually gained the support of the American Psychological Association (APA). The author emphasizes that, although basic and applied training procedures parallel the medical model, clinical psychologists are not junior psychiatrists and that they make a unique contribution because of their training in research and statistics. The author further states that their contributions should be supported by all psychologists for the benefit of everyone, including academic psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nursing and Psychological Treatments.

Presents a comment on "Psychological Treatments" (see record 2004-21168-001) by D. H. Barlow. In his article, Barlow pointed to the need "to solidify the identification of psychology as a health care profession" by changing the terminology of practice in the health care context from psychotherapy to psychological treatments and suggested that the only persons qualified to carry out such interventions are doctoral-level psychologists. Unfortunately, there was no discussion of the health care professionals who already provide psychological treatments in health care settings and their contribution to the evidence base supporting such treatment. The authors find several aspects of the article to be problematic. Overall, the authors feel that suggesting that psychology should claim treatment of psychological disorders and psychological components of physical disorders in health care settings as exclusively its own domain ignores the research and clinical contributions of others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumer-focused psychological assessment.

To enhance the clinical utility of psychological assessments, the author recommends a consumer-focused approach to health care marketing--the "Four Rs": relevance, response, relationships, and results (J. English, 2000). Research suggests 5 responses psychologists can take to increase the relevance of psychological assessments: (a) eliminate jargon, (b) focus on referral questions, (c) individualize assessment reports, (d) emphasize client strengths, and (e) write concrete recommendations. To build relationships with consumers, psychologists should collaborate with them when formulating referral questions and providing feedback of assessment results. Finally, psychologists should use the results of consumer satisfaction studies to improve the clinical utility of psychological assessments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Watson's Behaviorism : A Comparison of the Two Editions (1925 and 1930).

J. B. Watson's Behaviorism, a complete presentation of the mature psychological points of view of its author, had 2 editions, in 1925 and 1930, which presented significant differences in their texts. Although Watson maximized such variations, to the point of considering the 2nd edition as nearly a brand-new book, both suppressions and additions reveal his feelings when presenting his ideas to a general audience. Such variations are here presented through an in-depth analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Central Data Storage.

The author comments upon how the idea that we need central storage of information for the behavioral and biological sciences (SIBBS) came to him after an attempt to use predisorder measures in a study of psychological deficit. The author proposes the systematic collection of behavioral and biological data from individuals involved in mass programs of selection, study, or assessment. The most obvious of these are military and educational programs, but many additional possibilities exist. He also proposes that the APA Board of Scientific Affairs study this matter in detail and make recommendations concerning the proper nature and functions of SIBBS, the best public or private agency to operate it, and the contribution that psychologists can make to its establishment, development, and use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

California state senator as manager: People, resources, and legislation.

The author describes his roles and duties as a California state senator. The rewards and frustrations of being a senator are discussed, as are the author's career decisions, motives, and aspirations that led him to the California Senate. The impact of the author's psychological training on the management aspects of his role is examined, and the potential for other psychologists in a political environment is explored. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)