On Silverman and Saunders "Creating the mental illness culture."

Argues that Silverman and Saunders's (1980) conclusions regarding the creation of a mental illness culture are based on limited demographic information, consisting of admission rates to Ontario mental hospitals and some sociological and economic indices that are held to characterize the regions served by those hospitals. Emphasis is placed on Silverman and Saunders's conclusions that (a) there is confusion in the definition of mental illness, (b) there is legal impropriety in admitting and retaining many patients in mental hospitals, and (c) public funds would be better used in reducing the social and economic problems of mental patients, resulting in a decrease in the number of such patients. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of mental illness: A neglected problem in demonstrating the "mental illness culture."

Criticizes I. Silverman and D. Saunders's (1983; see also PA, Vol 67:1855) study of the relationship between physical proximity of psychiatric facilities and patient admission rates. It is suggested that Silverman and Saunders have not used reliably measured and reported behavioral correlates of mental illness; have incorrectly concluded that proximity of the facility creates, in the surrounding area, the perception of undesirable behavior as mental illness; and may simply have demonstrated that admissions tend to reflect logistical convenience of beds, regardless of the type of treatment facility. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A replication and extension of "Physical attractiveness and mental illness."

A. Farina et al (see record 1978-23202-001) investigated the relation between mental illness and physical attractiveness and found that female psychiatric inpatients were less attractive than normal controls. The current study extended this investigation in 2 ways. First, 28 psychiatric inpatients were compared to 3 separate control groups of 53 low, middle, and high socioeconomic status Ss. Mental patients were judged significantly less attractive than either middle- or high-income controls but were not significantly different from low-income controls. Second, to examine physical attractiveness prior to hospitalization, attractiveness ratings of the patients' high school yearbook pictures were compared with ratings of the adjacent same-sex photographs. Patients' photographs were judged significantly less attractive than their peers' even in high school. Findings suggest that being physically unattractive may predispose an individual to a number of negative social outcomes, one of which is mental illness. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"How mental systems believe": Reply.

Replies to L. L. Downing's (see record 1992-33857-001) comment on D. T. Gilbert's (see record 1991-17453-001) article on belief and comprehension. When a person accepts or believes a proposition, the person is prepared to behave as though it is true. Belief is the propensity to behave, not the tendency to swear up and down. Downing's notion that people can be prepared to act as if X were true prior to knowing what X stands for is a non sequitur. Downing fails to distinguish between statements of belief and beliefs proper. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"How mental systems believe": Comment.

Comments on D. T. Gilbert's (see record 1991-17453-001) assertion (in accordance with Spinoza) that comprehension and believing are inseparable, and that to comprehend is to believe. People's experiences of religious conversion, it is argued, often occur prior to the specific knowledge of the ideology to which conversion has occurred, and are social rather than cognitive phenomena. What is perceived to be real is a function of what is accepted as valid by individuals and groups with which the individual is closely connected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Embodied spatial transformations: "Body analogy" for the mental rotation of objects.

The cognitive advantage of imagined spatial transformations of the human body over that of more unfamiliar objects (e.g., Shepard-Metzler [S-M] cubes) is an issue for validating motor theories of visual perception. In 6 experiments, the authors show that providing S-M cubes with body characteristics (e.g., by adding a head to S-M cubes to evoke a posture) facilitates the mapping of the cognitive coordinate system of one's body onto the abstract shape. In turn, this spatial embodiment improves object shape matching. Thanks to the increased cohesiveness of human posture in people's body schema, imagined transformations of the body operate in a less piecemeal fashion as compared with objects (S-M cubes or swing-arm desk lamps) under a similar spatial configuration, provided that the pose can be embodied. If the pose cannot be emulated (covert imitation) by the sensorimotor system, the facilitation due to motoric embodiment will also be disrupted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reply to David R. Matteson's "Two transitions and two crises in youth."

Presents a reply to D. R. Matteson's (see record 1977-12487-001) critique of the author's explanation of transition and crisis in college youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond "competing," beyond "compatible." Commentary on J. Archer.

Comments on J. Archer's 1996 article in which he considers whether observed patterns of sex differences in human social behavior are best explained by social role theory or by the evolutionary principles of Darwinian theory. The author believes that Archer's conclusion that the 2 theories are actually compatible is important and is concerned that such a valuable conclusion may be lost to discussions over the rest of the article. The author argues several points made in the original article and then concludes that Darwinian and cultural perspectives on human sex differences are not opposing theories, nor are they merely compatible but instead are necessarily interdependent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Illusion" of mental health does not explain positive illusions.

Comments on the argument by J. Schedler et al (see record 1994-09623-001) that standard mental health scales appear unable to distinguish between genuine mental health and the illusion of mental health created by psychological defenses. It is asserted that Schedler et al go beyond appropriate empirical and conceptual boundaries by extending their analysis to the body of research known as "positive illusions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Ellis and McGuire: "Cost sharing and the demand for ambulatory mental health services".

Refutes R. P. Ellis and T. G. McGuire's (see record 1985-28860-001) argument that the results previously reported by the present authors (see record 1985-28870-001) support the proposition that mental health services exhibit greater response to insurance than do medical services from both logical and empirical perspectives. It is argued that Ellis and McGuire focused only on certain results when drawing their conclusions and that this deletion of facts presents a false picture of support for their argument. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Education and the "woman question."

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 39(1-2) of Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne (see record 2009-19704-001). The name of Kirstin Maxwell was inadvertently omitted from the list of students acknowledged at the end of die article. The corrected list is provided in the erratum.] Explores the "woman question," the 19th century debate about whether the rights and freedoms available to men should be extended to women, within the context of the post-secondary education system. Examples of the historical arguments in support of the exclusion of women are outlined followed by a more contemporary analysis of gender differences in graduate education with a particular focus on access, graduation rates and time to completion of graduate degrees. The "chilly climate" construct is presented as a possible explanation for the alleged gender differential on these latter 2 variables. According to this model, the structures and operation of academic institutions embody significant elements of systemic discrimination and micro-inequities which disadvantage women. A series of 6 studies are described by which various aspects of the chilly climate (i.e., mentoring and supervision, sexual harassment) are explored in terms of the effects on attrition and time to completion. Paradoxically, although the research reveals a failure of educational institutions to fully resolve the woman question, women continue to operate effectively under conditions of inequity. The paper concludes with speculations about the future constructions and deconstructions of this debate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making the case for a "practical psychoanalysis."

Reviews the book, Practical psychoanalysis for therapists and patients by Owen Renik (see record 2006-11156-000). This review of Owen Renik's Practical psychoanalysis for therapists and patients focuses on the author's invitation for contemporary clinicians to consider the role of therapeutic ambition, accountability and effective practice. The paper also explores the importance of learning through cases as foundational to the development of expertise and the capacity for innovation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Understanding the current facts and principles of mental health systems planning": Comment.

Comments on an article by W. A. Anthony et al (see record 1991-10848-001) describing planning principles for the development of future mental health systems. Contrary to the implication of Anthony et al, it is not certain whether a new technology will change for the better the way mental health services are delivered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the "public arena."

Suggests that the "sins" of psychology outlined by D. L. Bazelon (see record 1982-26538-001) could be attributed to almost any field that found its members thrust into the "public arena." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to "The empirical basis of ethnocultural and linguistic bias in mental health evaluations of Hispanics."

Replies to S. López (see record 1989-16799-001) on the present authors' (see record 1987-22971-001) article, and argues that both true and treated prevalence data are needed in studies on Hispanic mental health. Issues concerning test bias and language expression (i.e., Spanish or English) of mental health problems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivated closing of the mind: "Seizing" and "freezing."

A theoretical framework is outlined in which the key construct is the need for (nonspecific) cognitive closure. The need for closure is a desire for definite knowledge on some issue. It represents a dimension of stable individual differences as well as a situationally evocable state. The need for closure has widely ramifying consequences for social-cognitive phenomena at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and group levels of analysis. Those consequences derive from 2 general tendencies, those of urgency and permanence. The urgency tendency represents an individual's inclination to attain closure as soon as possible, and the permanence tendency represents an individual's inclination to maintain it for as long as possible. Empirical evidence for present theory attests to diverse need for closure effects on fundamental social psychological phenomena, including impression formation, stereotyping, attribution, persuasion, group decision making, and language use in intergroup contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "Right-wing authoritarianism."

Canadian scholarship has recently been honoured in that Bob Altemeyer's book, Enemies of Freedom: Understanding Right wing authoritarianism (see record 1988-98419-000) received the 1988 prize for behavioural science research, awarded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The book has also received a number of favourable reviews. Ray feels that some comments on the limitations of the book are needed to balance the account, and submits that, in fact, the book is a complete failure as far as achieving what it set out to achieve is concerned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "Articulation of values."

This article clarifies several research issues raised in a recent article by Krieshok, Arnold, Kuperman, and Schmitz concerned with repertory grid methodology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)