The implicit assumptions of modern psychology.

Presents the Presidential Address to the Division of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (Division 24) of the American Psychological Association, delivered August 25. 1985. The author discusses the key philosophical and theoretical issues facing modern psychology as well as the "perennially problematic" intellectual foundations of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critique and metacritique in psychology: Whence and Whither.

Do mainstream psychologists think critically? And are the many critiques of the mainstream made by its (theoretical and philosophical psychology) critics “on target”? Answering both questions (critical and metacritical, respectively) requires consensus about what critical thinking consists in, and there seems to be little consensus in sight. I begin by accepting Slife, Yanchar, and Reber's (2005) claim that “rigorous thinking” itself is insufficient for critical thinking in and about psychology, and I then consider various suggestions made by critics of the mainstream about thematic assumptions (or content categories) that should be included in critical thinking about the mainstream. After identifying three areas of mainstream research in which some of these assumptions seem to have been challenged from within the mainstream, I conclude by considering how both critique and metacritique may be combined, repositioned, and/or recontextualized, to advance the important cause of (meta) critical thinking in and about psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Industrial/organizational psychology as applied to human resources management.

Argues that the issue of increasing productivity in the use of human resources while providing equality of opportunity to minorities and women will be a major concern of industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists in the 1980's. A primary short-term goal of I/O psychology must be to change The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, which are inconsistent with current research knowledge and professional practice. I/O psychology will increase its use of cognitive ability tests and job simulations for selection and promotion. However, this renewed interest in cognitive ability tests may also force the use of quotas or different cutoffs until the differences between groups on cognitive ability tests decline or disappear. It is hoped that organizations will make long-range personnel decisions that will have a significant impact on I/O psychology in performance appraisal and career management areas. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clarification and elaboration on evidence-based practice in psychology.

Responds to comments by D. C. Wendt and B. D. Slife (see record 2007-13085-019), P. H. Hunsberger (see record 2007-13085-020), and R. B. Stuart and S. O. Lilienfeld (see record 2007-13085-021) regarding the report by the APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice (see record 2006-05893-001) entitled Evidence-based practice in psychology. The goal of the task force was to create a scheme that would suggest how evidence should be used to design and offer services that will benefit patients and to assure the public and the health care system that psychologists are providing evidence-based services. There were and will continue to be many scientific and philosophical issues inherent in any such enterprise, and agreement by all psychologists with every aspect of EBPP may not be possible. Nevertheless, the APA's EBPP policy and the report that accompanied it are remarkably inclusive of various perspectives while remaining unambiguous about the need to use evidence in a way that leads to effective services. What is needed at this point are clinically relevant evidence and investigations of how such evidence can be used to best benefit those served by psychological interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The handbook of neuropsychological assessment.

Reviews the book, The handbook of neuropsychological assessment by A. Gilandas, S. Touyz, P. J. Beumont, and H. P. Greenberg (1984). This book was written as a clinical/actuarial guide for developing a neuropsychological examination that assesses a broad band of abilities yet is efficient and effective. According to the authors, this 10-chapter handbook was designed for practitioners and students of clinical neuropsychology and is applicable to fields such as school psychology, rehabilitation, psychiatry, and neurology. The authors consider issues central to the practice of clinical neuropsychology, including an overview of theoretical implications, client populations, and issues in neuropsychological assessment. The authors cite delirium, dementia, epilepsy, and organic delusion as some of the major manifestations of brain damage. This volume appropriately details the symptoms, etiology, duration, and treatment of these disorders. It is obvious that school psychologists beginning study in neuropsychology will find a great deal of this volume worthwhile. Of particular interest to school psychologists is the section concerning theoretical implications, which stresses the impact that clinical neuropsychology could have on other applied psychological specialties. Although the majority of the book deals with adults, it seems time to broaden school psychology to such a lifelong focus. So too, after considering the fact that almost 10% of the positions in applied psychology call for neuropsychology-related skills, it appears that such a neuropsychology text could be seen as a necessity when training applied psychologists. Indeed, this book may be an appropriate addition to advanced school psychology assessment courses. Perhaps most impressive are the strategies for revising established neuropsychological test batteries to become comprehensive yet effective tools for understanding brain-behavior relations. However, only time and data will indicate if the revised instruments will prove successful in diagnosing and intervening with cerebrally impaired patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement and assessment issues in performance appraisal.

Performance appraisal is a topic that is of both theoretical interest and practical importance. As such, it is one of the most researched topics in industrial and organisational psychology. Several measurement issues are central to performance appraisal including: (a) how performance has been measured, (b) how to improve performance appraisal ratings, (c) what is meant by performance, and (d) how the quality of ratings has been defined. Each of these are discussed along with the shortcomings of the extant literature in helping to come to grips with these important issues. Next, some of the new challenges facing performance appraisal, given its historical focus on single individuals being evaluated, are highlighted. In particular, the appraisal problems inherent in the assessment of team performance and the complexities inherent in multisource feedback systems are covered. We conclude with a short discussion of the litigious issues that can arise as a result of poor performance management practises. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educational problems in theoretical and philosophical psychology: Some proposed courses of action.

Perhaps there are some more practical courses of action which, while retaining our traditional emphasis on the nature and resolution of problems in theoretical and philosophical psychology, show some promise of increasing our educational impact on other psychologists. Our purpose here is to suggest several such courses of action which might be undertaken by interested members of our division. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

To Division 24 from the current president of Division 2.

The president of APA's Division Two suggests that those who teach psychology can make contributions to psychologist-scholars in theoretical and philosophical psychology. She indicates that members of Division Two could use some help in learning to think differently about the psychology they teach and specifically about the ways in which they try to teach theoretical and philosophical issues in psychology. For Division Two's part, she believes that their members could reciprocate with additional insights that might help Division 24's students learn. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Up close and personal: An inside look at university training programs in school psychology.

I am pleased to have the opportunity as Guest Associate Editor to build on the outstanding special feature of Professional School Psychology, "Up Close and Personal: An Inside Look at University Training Programs in School Psychology" initiated by Richard A. Weinberg (1986). By adding the school psychology program of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to the list of exemplary university training programs previously featured in the journal, we hope to maintain the established goal "to take a focused look at various programs through the eyes of the educators who have guided their direction" (Weinberg, 1986, p. 61). The feature's focus on American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited school psychology programs in a historical context provides a fascinating perspective on the intellectual history of programs and individual efforts to shape their academic and professional standards. Perhaps as we continue to feature school psychology programs, the focus on the future directions of each program will reveal the innovative changes emerging from the crucial scientific and practical issues in which professional psychology is currently engulfed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct your reality and show us its benefits: Comment on Richardson (1993).

M. S. Richardson (see record 1994-07341-001) has argued that counseling psychologists are resistant to new ideas, resulting in the field's premature rigidity in career development theory, orientation toward White middle-class individuals, and delay in the incorporation of advances in developmental psychology into its theory and research. It is argued that career psychologists suffer less from an adherence to established theories than from the lack of systematic, theory-based research programs. The most effective way to improve theory and research in vocational psychology is to identify new theoretical insights that merit attention and to teach scholars new methods of investigation. Also, people focus on that which they find interesting, and vocational psychology will make significant progress in issues that are relevant to minorities and working-class individuals when people who have intrinsic interests in issues facing these populations have been educated as psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Master's programs in industrial/organizational psychology: Current status and a call for action.

Reviews published and unpublished sources to describe characteristics of terminal master's programs in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology and argues that systematic attention should be paid to issues of education, employment, and professional identity for these master's graduates. The 55 or more programs represent a 3-fold increase in listings in less than a decade. In psycholoy departments, programs enrolled 59% of new I/O graduate students and awarded 67% of terminal graduate degrees during a 1-yr period. Important characteristics include length (about 2.5 yrs), many part-time and employed students, applied focus, emphasis on both industrial and organizational topics, but emphasis on either "psychology core" or technical I/O training. Most graduates find private sector employment, apparently moving away from organized I/O psychology. Implications for the profession are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association report: Division 24's 1986 convention program.

Presents the 1986 Convention Program of the American Psychological Association's Division of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. The quality of the submissions was high and the process of choosing which to include was difficult. The program allotment was expanded by two hours and thereby included almost sixty people on the program. Their papers address the spectrum of topics within philosophical and theoretical psychology. Several programs specifically address the issue of theoretical foundations of applied psychology, a special theme of this year's program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Political goals versus scientific truths: A response to Jackson (2003).

Three fundamental issues separate Jackson's (2003) methodological views from mine. One, whereas he believes an absolute moral view can prevail in a democracy, I assume moral pluralism is an inevitable byproduct of an open society. Two, Jackson feels that psychology can identify a correct moral position, whereas I postulate natural science psychology is only capable of revealing the empirical consequences of competing social policies and their moral implications. Three, Jackson espouses a politically active psychology that from my perspective is antithetical to a democratic and scientific ethic. In sum, Jackson's coupling of science with political advocacy will lead to a mistrust of psychology that will deny a democracy the opportunity to base its social policies on reliable psychological information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are theoretical consultants needed?

Comments on the article by B. D. Slife and R. N. Williams (see record 84-17550) concerning theoretical psychology as a subdiscipline of psychology. The authors agree that important philosophical and metatheoretical issues confront psychology and that greater training in these areas is needed at the doctoral level; however, they do not agree with the negative assessment of positivism nor with the recommendation that specially trained theoreticians should serve as consultants in psychology departments. It is believed that the content of the proposal was vague and the use of the term theory is confusing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Tests and assessment.

Reviews the book Tests and Assessment (1985) by Jacqueline Schakel. From its broad title, this book might be classified as a general textbook on assessment for anyone who is learning about testing procedures. Indeed, in the preface, the authors present their book as a text for undergraduate courses on testing in general psychology, and for graduate courses in counseling, vocational, educational, and industrial psychology as well as for "students in counselor education, guidance and counseling, educational administration and other disciplines." Although the book does have some useful general sections on tests and assessment, it is clear that the real audience for this book is less extensive than the authors state. The examples used, tests reviewed, and issues discussed are chiefly for students in personnel and guidance or vocational psychology. If you are such a student or teach assessment courses to students in these programs, read on. Parts of this book may interest you. If you are a school psychologist or teacher of school psychology, you will find this text limited. The overall organization of the book could have been improved by reviewing the theories of person-environment interaction (upon which the authors claim to base their treatment of assessment) before their discussion of specific assessment tools and integrating a discussion of this theoretical basis throughout the book. In summary, this book does not offer the broad treatment of assessment issues and the focus on the kinds of assessment required in schools which are necessary to school psychologists. It provides some useful reviews of tests for guidance and vocational decision making, some concise explanations of assessment concepts, and a well-written section on some specific testing controversies that may be useful to students in the counseling field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contemporary issues in counseling psychology: A selected review.

As a psychology specialty, counseling psychology has confronted and dealt with many issues since its inception. Currently, a number of highly challenging issues continue to confront counseling psychology. In this article I provide a selected review of contemporary issues affecting counseling psychology. In my review I supplement previous issue publications by drawing on recent developments emerging in counseling psychology over the past several years. The three areas reviewed are (a) changing work settings and work roles, (b) identity issues, and (c) educational and training issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Families of handicapped persons: Research, programs, and policy issues.

Reviews the book, Families of handicapped persons: Research, programs, and policy issues by James J. Gallagher and Peter M. Vietze (1986). This edited volume consists of a collection of papers presented at the Conference on Families with Mentally Retarded Children sponsored by the Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The purpose of the conference was to stimulate leaders in the field to both review current trends and project future research directions regarding issues relevant to families having members with mental retardation. The main text of the book is composed of sixteen chapters covering a variety of topics, such as the development of typologies for classifying families, adaptation to stress, the impact of the family life cycle on family adaptation, the role of the father in the family, sibling relationships, mentally retarded parents, behavioral parent training, and social policy issues. A major strength of the book is that a number of the authors advocated four perspectives that reflect a positive shift in philosophical approaches to the study of families having a child with mental retardation. The present reviewer found Wickler's chapter applying Hill's ABCX Stress Model to the study of family adaptation to be the most useful presentation among those advocating a systems/transactional approach to research on families having a disabled member. Unlike Wickler, other chapters focusing on family systems/stress issues tended to present vague connections between popular theoretical approaches (e.g., family systems theories, stress theories, Samaroff s transactional model) and the needs of families having a member with mental retardation (although Farren, Metzger, & Sparling is an exception here). In summary, this book presents some interesting ideas regarding areas that should be investigated by further research. Selected chapters within the book are very well conceptualized and clearly written. Although the remaining chapters present interesting ideas, they tend to be repetitive and somewhat vague with respect to specific research suggestions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frank Landy (1942–2010).

Frank Landy died peacefully with his family by his side on January 12, 2010. His legacy to the education, research, and practice of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology will live on in his students, his books and articles, and his ability to define and shape science and practice. Landy believed that good practice followed from good science and spent his career applying what he learned from his own research and the work of others to diverse problems related to selecting employees, managing performance, creating successful human–machine interfaces, and ensuring fair employment practices through his litigation-related work. He was the definition of a scientist–practitioner. Landy was born in Philadelphia on December 30, 1942. He began his study of psychology at Villanova University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1964. He earned a master’s degree (1966) and his doctorate (1969) from Bowling Green State University. Landy joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University, and during his 26 years there he helped to build one of the most successful I/O psychology programs in the country. He was a member of many professional organizations and won many awards for his outstanding contributions to the field. He began his consulting career in 1965 and helped hundreds of organizations by applying psychological research to the solution of practical problems in human resource management, employee relations, and work motivation. Landy was an avid runner, completing more than 60 marathons, and he often participated in runs at the SIOP conferences. He played and collected guitars and was a great lover of music, often playing and singing publicly. He is survived by his wife Kylie Harper, his two daughters Erin and Elizabeth, his son-in-law George, and his four grandchildren. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)