Salvaging the self in a world without soul: William James's The Principles of Psychology.

This article explores William James's transformation of the religious soul into the secular self in The Principles of Psychology. Although James's views on the self are familiar to many historians of psychology, the article places his treatment of the self within the broader social and cultural context of a secularizing, industrializing society. There were palpable tensions and anxieties that accompanied the cultural shift, and these are particularly transparent in James's Principles. James attempted the project of secularizing the soul in order to promote a natural science of the mind but with marked ambivalence for the project, because it left out some of the moral and metaphysical questions of great interest to him. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished scientific awards for an early career contribution to psychology: William G. Iacono.

Presents the citation, biography, and selected bibliography for William G. Iacono, one of the 1987 recipients of the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology (in the area of psychopathology). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical psychology as a subdiscipline: The conversation continues.

Replies to the commentaries of N. Abi-Hashem, M. O. Meux, E. E. Grant, J. L. Brand, R. C. Grace and I. G. Farreras, C. F. Weems, R. W. Howard, H. J. Stam, and M. H. Quinn (all 1998) concerning B. D. Slife and R. N. Williams' article (see record 84-17550) on theoretical psychology as a new subdiscipline of psychology, with the focus being on the more critical commentaries. It is agreed that every psychologist should be a theorist; however, not every psychologist has the same interest or inclination toward theory. The notion of theoretical psychology requires an integral relation with psychology. A legitimization of this subdiscipline could legitimize rather than facilitate fragmentation. One of the roles of theoretical psychology would be to facilitate the voices of all factions of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unification as a goal for psychology.

Comments on an article by A. W. Staats (see record 1992-03794-001) recommending a unified positivism to save psychology's threatened scientific status. However, while a unified psychology might be desirable, the disparate bodies of empirical data may not lend themselves to a unified positivism that assumes underlying principles connecting all the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The APA Ethical Principles as a foundational competency: Application to rehabilitation psychology.

Overview: Competence is a core component of ethical conduct as reflected in its addition as an ethical standard in the 2002 APA Ethics Code. Successfully operationalizing and assessing competence provides psychologists a means to improve education and training, advance the field of practice, and create a framework for accountability to the public. Much of the recent competency discussion has been in response to a proposed Cube Model, with its three axes being foundational competencies (practice building blocks, such as scientific knowledge, ethical standards), functional competencies (attributes of providing services, such as assessment, intervention), and developmental progression (acquiring increasing competence over the course of one's education and career). Ethics is included on the foundational competency axis and has been operationalized to the extent that subcomponents and benchmarks have been promulgated. The competency model as proposed faces multiple challenges, including gaining consensus regarding its components, addressing reliable and valid assessment over time, and creating a culture of acceptance. We propose the Ethical Principles as an alternative framework for conceptualizing ethics as a foundational competency given the Ethics Code is already time tested and includes a serial review process for broad discipline input and adaptability. We apply the Ethical Principles as foundational components to rehabilitation psychology training at internship, postdoctoral, and specialty levels to illustrate the model. Conclusion: Rehabilitation psychology should engage in the competency movement at the predoctoral and postdoctoral level. The application of the Ethical Principles as a foundational competency to rehabilitation psychology represents a first step in this dialog. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The metamorphosis of clinical psychology: Toward a new charter as human services psychology.

Contends that the traditional conceptions of clinical psychology (CP) as centering around the treatment of individuals suffering from mental health problems are no longer adequate. The concept of human services psychology, defined as a sector of professional psychology concerned with the promotion of human well-being through the acquisition and application of psychological knowledge about the treatment and prevention of psychological and physical disorders is proposed as an alternative capable of representing both training and practice in contemporary CP and related professional specialities. A biopsychosocial model of human behavior would be the basis for a generic professional program that would be functionally rather than categorically based at the doctoral level. Such a program, based on a systems orientation, has been established at the author's university. It is suggested that human services psychology graduates will be able to confront racism, sexism, delinquency, the effects of poverty, and other social ills in an effective and cost-efficient way. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The cyclops and the twelve-eyed toad: William James and the unity-disunity problem in psychology.

One of the dominating features of the psychology and philosophy of William James is a deep concern with the monism–pluralism issue. Because of James's fascination with monistic and pluralistic perspectives and the related problem of unity and disunity, he would have been keenly interested in current concerns about the diversity of psychology. His advice regarding diversity might be especially informative because it would be based on a lifetime of thought devoted to the theoretical and practical problems attending monistic and pluralistic orientations. This article briefly examines James's pluralistic vision of the world especially as expressed in his mature philosophical treatises. Attention is then directed to the advice James might have offered to those who seek disciplinary unity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

1986 CPA award for distinguished contributions to psychology as a science.

The 1986 recipient of the Canadian Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science is Dr. Ronald Melzack, Professor of Psychology at McGill University. Throughout his distinguished and prolific research career, Dr. Melzack has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of pain. Through careful experiment and innovative theory he has shown that the phenomenon of pain can be understood only in terms of the interaction between physiological processes, mental states, and social beliefs. He is perhaps best known for his "gate control" theory of pain, formulated in conjunction with Patrick Wall in 1965, which provides a theoretical basis for this interaction and which has exerted an immense influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

1985 CPA award for distinguished contributions to psychology as a science.

Presents the citation regarding the announcement that the 1985 recipient of the Canadian Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science is Dr. Doreen Kimura, professor of psychology at the University of Western Ontario. Throughout her distinguished research career, Dr. Kimura has made fundamental contributions to the neuropsychology of language, perception, and motor function. In addition to her research into basic brain-behaviour mechanisms, Dr. Kimura has played a major role in creating assessment procedures for neurological patients. Indeed, many of the techniques that she developed for her research are now being used routinely in a number of clinical neuropsychological settings in this country and abroad. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

1984 CPA Award for Distinguished contributions to psychology as a science.

Presents a citation for Wallace Lambert, the 1984 recipient of the Canadian Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science. Wallace Lambert, a professor of psychology at McGill University, has served as the Canadian Psychological Association as president in 1970 and again as honorary president in 1982/83. He was awarded a Queen's Jubilee Medal in 1977, and has been elected to the National Academy of Education of the United States and the Royal Society of Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

William R. Safarjan: Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology as a Professional Practice.

Announces William R. Safarjan as the recipient of the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology as a Professional Practice for 2002. A biographical statement is included, along with major works and contributions for the field. Safarjan received this award for his dedication and strong commitment to advancing psychology as a vehicle for improving the quality of life. Through his legislative advocacy, he helped transform the practice of psychology in California by enabling psychologists in public service to join medical staffs and become principal providers of care. He also spearheaded legislation that stopped the proliferation of regionally unaccredited schools of psychology, thereby bringing California in line with model standards. He serves nationally as an expert witness in practice litigation and has advanced litigation against the egregious practices of managed care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pain as a puzzle for psychology and physiology.

Discusses questions concerning (1) pain as a sensory modality, (2) physiological indicators of pain, (3) where pain is felt, and (4) individual differences in pain. Cold pressor response and ischemic pain in the normal waking state was investigated. 3 base-line conditions in the cold pressor response were found: a vigilance condition, relaxation, and the immersion period condition. Blood pressure was found to be an accurate physiological indicator of both kinds of pain. Studies of pain reduction under hypnosis in regard to cold pressor response and ischemic pain revealed that (1) hypnotic susceptibility scales are helpful in determining whether a patient can profit from the use of hypnosis in pain reduction, and (2) further study of the physiological consequences of pain and their alteration by hypnotic analgesia are necessary. (41 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative psychology as a search for invariant rules.

Considered from an ethological viewpoint, which now tends to stress the uniqueness of each animal taxon, or even of each individual in a population, comparative psychology appears as a naive, highly criticizable, approach. Actually this approach seems, however, fully justified, as far as it reveals some general processes common to most animal groups, whatever their level of structural and physiological complexity may be. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

AIDS: The challenge to psychology.

Psychologists are in a strategic position to be of assistance in responding to the AIDS crisis. Preventing the spread of the AIDS virus is a major public health goal; psychologists as specialists in behavior change have played a major role in planning successful prevention campaigns. Psychologists as health care providers have given needed emphasis to psychosocial issues in designing and implementing appropriate models of AIDS patient care. The greatest challenge to psychology, however, will come in attempting to alleviate the social, cultural, economic, and political reactions that will follow in wake of the growing number of AIDS cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The prototype as a construct in abnormal psychology: I. A method for deriving prototypes.

Interviewed 10 supervisors of a program for disturbed children 7–17 yrs of age and 45 college students who served as staff members for this summer program. Prototypes were derived and reported that correspond to 3 types of problem children: aggressive-impulsive, depressed-withdrawn, and disorganized-borderline. It is hypothesized that the meaning of a concept changes in a regular way as the user gains clinical experience. Data are presented to illustrate changes of this kind for each type of child. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of From soul to mind: The emergence of psychology, from Erasmus Darwin to William James.

Reviews the book, From soul to mind: The emergence of psychology, from Erasmus Darwin to William James by Edward S. Reed (see record 1997-08483-000). Seeking to tell "a new story about the development of psychology," this lively and well-written history of psychology begins with the "realization that we do not actually know what constituted psychology in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries" (p. x). Reed argues that because most historians of psychology devote the bulk of their attention to the work of theorists rather than experimentalists, seldom examined the history and origins of ideas concerning what should and should not be counted as psychology, and pretty much refused to discuss ideas that were later proven to be mistaken, they have produced an overly narrow and fable-like picture of the early history of the discipline. In an attempt to remedy this on-going error in the historiography of psychology, Dr. Reed urges us to examine the historical, literary, and cultural context of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that gave birth to the development of the career of "being a psychologist." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

William Q. Hua: APA/APAGS award for distinguished graduate student in professional psychology.

The American Psychological Association 2010 APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology was awarded to William Q. Hua, for his outstanding work to reduce stigma and improve wellness in marginalized communities living with HIV/ AIDS. As a concerned mental health care provider, he has modeled the commitment necessary to bring about change in health disparities experienced by minority populations and communities of color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The quality assurance process as a management method for psychology training programs.

Describes a psychology training program in a community-based psychological service center managed by a system of quality assurance. Professional psychology doctoral candidates practice in the center and participate in the quality assurance management process as part of their training. Trainees participate in the practice and serve on peer review panels. It is concluded that the peer review system appears well received, functional, useful, and worth continuing. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and achievement in psychology: The harmonic mean as a model.

The age at which a psychologist publishes his one most significant work may be modeled by the harmonic mean. The harmonic mean of a psychologist's age at the first and the last publication predicts that age very well. The 2 figures correlated .52 for a sample of 213 eminent contributors from psychology's history. The harmonic mean is not related to degree of eminence, however. Neither is it a function of sex, nationality, variations in normal life span, or the historic period of the individual's activity. Certain deviations from "normalcy" in an academic or research career make it inherently impossible to use the harmonic mean as a predictor. When these deviations are discounted, the harmonic mean accounts for almost 75% of the variance in the actual age of peak achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)