Psychological versus sociological variables in studies of volunteer bias in surveys.

How does volunteering influence representativeness? Based on library research, the possibility for studying the implications of using volunteers in research was discussed. The great complexity of the issue was illustrated and documented by reference to 32 sources. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3AF80B. (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)     

Comment: Use of Electronic Computers in Psychological Research.

Comments that on the Leavitt, Stone, and Wrigley discussion (October, 1954 American Psychologist) of the possibilities of a Psychological Electronic Computer (Psycheac) which, would be useful to APA members. The idea proposed by these authors is an excellent one, and efforts should be made to carry out some of their suggestions to "reduce routine computational drudgery." He presents an analysis in an effort to provide one example of the value and efficiency of an electronic computer in analyses of psychological data. An article by Meer, Stein, and Geertsma (January 1955, American Psychologist) is concerned with an analysis of the interrelationships among the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) and Wechsler-Bellevue (W-B) subtests. Their data is used in example. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and analysis of a "cumshaw tolerance" scale.

A9-item scale to measure employee attitudes toward "cumshaw" (misuse of company time or materials) was developed through the Guttman scaling process. Scores on the experimental version of the cumshaw tolerance scale were then correlated with selected psychological and social-group variables. Differences in cumshaw tolerance were found to be associated with the group variables of age and educational level but occupational groups did not differ significantly in relative cumshaw tolerance. Individual differences in selected psychological variables could not account for individual differences in cumshaw tolerance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On State Psychological Associations.

Discusses the purpose and useful functions of state psychological associations. The author suggests other ways a psychologist can enhance his or her knowledge in their field aside from state psychological associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological Ecology or Psychonomics.

Comments made by the present author have to do with problems of prediction of job success, appropriate vocational placement, selection for particular tasks, and the like which have been viewed in an increasingly sophisticated fashion. The author states that formerly psychologists tended to oversimplify prediction problems by trying to predict one criterion with one predictor test, the current trend is to a recognition that the "criterion" is actually made up of a large number of variables, each of which may be related in a complicated fashion to a large number of predictor variables. He feels that rather than asserting that intelligence predicts school success, we now speak of tests of verbal and numerical skills predicting performance on abstract intellectual tasks. The author mentions George Gaylord Simpsons' The Meaning of Evolution, where this author paints a picture of the physical, geographic world of the earth that provides a wide range of living conditions, and of the biological world of living organisms that differentially adapt themselves to these varied conditions. The present author is getting at the study of ecology or bionomics, which he defines as the study of relationships and interactions between organisms and their environment and other organisms. Subsequently, he proposes the terms psychological ecology or psychonomics, which can be defined as the study of the manner in which multiple characteristics of the individual interact with the multiple characteristics of the environment to promote or hinder the survival and optimal performance of the individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "The Use of Human Subjects in Psychological Research".

While Irwin Berg's report on "The Use of Human Subjects in Psychological Research" (Amer. Psychologist, 1954, 9, pp. 108-111) places a salutary emphasis upon the precautions experimental psychologists should take both to protect the subjects' welfare and to prevent the public's wrath, other precautions need to be borne in mind lest a fear of being classed with the Nazi "doctors of infamy" causes an unhealthy swing to the other extreme of inactivity in particular areas of research. In many areas where research is desperately needed, few fruitful investigations could be conducted if the subjects were to have the advance knowledge the Nuremberg principles seem to demand. These medically oriented principles in general require considerable revision before they can be applied directly to the realm of psychology. Another factor that must be recognized is that an experiment conducted solely with voluntary subjects may suffer thereby a delimitation often disregarded. A sample of voluntary subjects may not be truly representative of the universe under scrutiny. Volunteers may differ from nonvolunteers in ways germane to experimental assumptions, hypotheses, and conclusions. From these considerations three suggestions are provided. 1. The Nuremberg principles should be translated into psychological terms through an accumulation of illustrative incidents and a resultant formulation of additional principles to be included under Section 4.3 of Ethical Standards of Psychologists. 2. Remove possible harmful side effects of ethical research. And, 3. Experimenters who rely on the use of volunteers should consider the possible influence upon their findings of the voluntary nature of the subjects and, where necessary, should qualify their conclusions accordingly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Uniformity of Style in Professional Writing During the First Century.

Discusses some similarities between considerations of the style of professional writing in the first century and the twentieth century. Also calls for a uniform style for professional writing as expressed in the APA's Publication Manual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Couples' Support-Related Communication, Psychological Distress, and Relationship Satisfaction Among Women With Early Stage Breast Cancer.

This study examined associations between couple communication about cancer and psychological distress and relationship satisfaction of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. One hundred forty-eight couples completed a videotaped discussion of a cancer-related issue and a general issue. Patients completed measures of psychological distress and relationship satisfaction. Videotapes were coded with the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (R. E. Heyman & D. Vivian, 1997). Analyses focused on partner responses to patient self-disclosures. During cancer-issue discussions, patients reported less distress when partners responded to disclosures with reciprocal self-disclosure and humor and when partners were less likely to propose solutions. Fewer links between partner responses to patient self-disclosures and distress were found in general-issue discussions. Results suggest partner responses play a role in women's adaptation to breast cancer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol Use Disorders and Psychological Distress: A Prospective State-Trait Analysis.

The present study examined the association between alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and psychological distress over an 11-year period using a sample of 378 young adults (46% men, 54% women: baseline age = 18.5; 51% with paternal history of alcoholism). The authors examined this relation using a state-trait model, which decomposes variance in a given construct into a general traitlike factor that spans measurement occasion and more situational, occasion-specific variability. Trait AUD and trait distress were correlated (r = .43), suggesting that the tendency to meet criteria for an AUD is associated with the tendency to experience psychological distress. Much of this association was due to 3rd variables (primarily neuroticism but also childhood stressors and behavioral undercontrol), supporting a common 3rd-variable influence model of comorbidity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological defenses and "ego strength" in the recall of completed and incompleted tasks.

"The results of this study indicate: (a) ego strength is directly related to the tendency to recall relatively more incompleted than completed tasks when the situation is not objectively self-esteem threatening, and inversely related to this tendency when the situation does objectively threaten self-esteem." Scores on the hysteria and psychasthenia scales of the MMPI are discussed in relation to the recall of completed and incompleted tasks and the self-esteem threatening or non-threatening character of the situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal Pathways to Psychological Adjustment Among Black Youth Living in Single-Parent Households.

A 5-wave model linking family and maternal functioning to youth psychological adjustment was tested with 139 single-mother-headed African American families with young adolescents (mean age = 11 years at recruitment) living in the rural South. Structural equation modeling indicated that an accumulation of family risk factors at Wave 1 was linked with maternal psychological functioning at Wave 2, which forecast competence-promoting parenting practices at Wave 3. These parenting practices indirectly forecast youth externalizing and internalizing behaviors 2 years later at Wave 5, through youth self-regulation at Wave 4. The hypothesized model was retested, controlling for Wave 1 youth externalizing and internalizing behaviors. All paths remained significant, indicating that the model accounted for change in youth psychological adjustment across 4 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of APA dictionary of psychology.

Reviews the book, APA dictionary of psychology by Gary R. VandenBos (see record 2006-11044-000). This book is an impressive comprehensive reference book that includes germane entries of overlapping and interrelated disciplines. This dictionary is a useful resource not only for professionals who work in the field of psychology, but also for the professionals who work in related and/or overlapping disciplines (e.g., social workers, psychiatrists, practitioners, lawyers). The long list of editors and contributors shows that the making of this book was a major joint effort. The hard-covered book has 1,023 pages and more than 25,000 entries that are accompanied by thousands of cross-references. The dictionary provides a brief history of the book's development and a brief guide to its layout and format. The book has high-quality paper, a double-column layout, large boldface headwords, and small boldface subentries, all of which make it easy to read. In addition, each entry is generously indented under the headword making the pages appear less crowded when compared to other dictionaries. The size of the book is very reasonable, which will be appealing to the reader. Overall, this high-quality dictionary is a very useful resource for professionals and students in the field of psychology, as well as for professionals in related disciplines. Regardless of whether the reader is a professional or novice, he or she will no doubt appreciate this comprehensive "user friendly" dictionary. The wait for a psychology reference book was worth it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of La psychologie de A à Z: 500 mots pour comprendre.

Reviews the book, La psychologie de A à Z: 500 mots pour comprendre by Camilo Charron, Nathalie Dumet, Nicolas Guéguen, Alain Lieury, and Stéphane Rusinek (2007). Summarizing a discipline as broad as psychology in 500 words, that is the challenge that the five authors of Psychology from A to Z took up. In itself, establishing a list of the 500 most important concepts or words in psychology is likely to give rise to vigorous debate. Moreover, there is also the constraint to describe each concept in a few lines only. To further increase the challenge, the book presents itself as a dictionary whose reading will not be linear: each definition must therefore be independent while avoiding the repetition from one entry to another. Read more about this book review in the full text pdf. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Roles of Instruments in Psychological Research.

What roles have instruments played in psychology and related disciplines? How have instruments affected the dynamics of psychological research, with what possibilities and limits? What is a psychological instrument? This article provides a conceptual foundation for specific case studies concerning such questions. The discussion begins by challenging widely accepted assumptions about the subject and analyzing the general relations between scientific experimentation and the uses of instruments in psychology. Building on this analysis, a deliberately inclusive definition of what constitutes a psychological instrument is proposed. The discussion then takes up the relation between instrumentation and theories and differentiates in greater detail the roles instruments have had over the course of psychology's history. Finally, the authors offer an approach to evaluating the possibilities and limitations of instruments in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Naming the mind: How psychology found its language.

Reviews the book, Naming the mind: How psychology found its language by Kurt Danziger (see record 1997-97355-000). The language of our scientific beliefs and practices is like the air we breathe. We need to be reminded that it is there, doing things for us and to us. It constitutes what, we purport to study and thus ought to be as much the object of our investigations as the phenomena it describes. Yet like the air we breathe, our language is taken so for granted as to be all but invisible. It often takes a stroke of genius to make us conscious of it. There have been many books recently on psychological discourse, but none, in my view, as revealing as Naming the Mind. It should be required reading for all who wish to call themselves psychologists. We owe it to ourselves and to those we study to be fully aware of the social-historical relativity of our basic categories. This book offers an effective contribution toward this essential form of self-reflectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The Problem of Validity in Field Studies of Psychological Disorder": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Bruce P. Dohrenwend and Barbara Snell Dohrenwend (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1965, 70[1], 52-69). The footnote identification in Table 6 (page 62) in the original article is incorrec. The correct version is given here. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1965-08281-001.) Results of over 25 attempts to count untreated cases of psychological disorder in community populations are reviewed, and the problem of validity in the measures of disorder is analyzed. Evidence of validity is found to be scant. The position is taken that, with no generally accepted criteria available, and no universe of content agreed upon, construct validity takes on added importance. A lead to 1 possible nomological net for the construct of psychological disorder is the consistent finding that the lowest socioeconomic stratum has the highest rate of symptomatology. This lead is developed with reference to the transcience of symptomatology found in extreme situations, in contrast to the persistence of symptomatology observed in patients and in studies of experimental neurosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychoneuroimmunology: Psychological influences on immune function and health.

This review focuses on human psychoneuroimmunology studies published in the past decade. Issues discussed include the routes through which psychological factors influence immune function, how a stressor's duration may influence the changes observed, individual difference variables, the ability of interventions to modulate immune function, and the health consequences of psychosocially mediated immune dysregulation. The importance of negative affect and supportive personal relationships are highlighted. Recent data suggest that immune dysregulation may be one core mechanism for a spectrum of conditions associated with aging, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and frailty and functional decline; production of proinflammatory cytokines that influence these and other conditions can be stimulated directly by negative emotions and indirectly by prolonged infection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological prognosis of outcome in the mental disorders.

"A review of the literature on the use of psychological tests for prognosis revealed an extreme amount of variation and contradiction in the indices considered prognostic. In an attempt to partially explain these contradictions, the factor of chronicity was investigated in psychotics." The criteria for a good prognostic study are set forth. 85-item bibliography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)