"A bit more light on Ferenczi and Freud": Response to Tabin.

Comments on the response by J. K. Tabin (see record 1995-43797-001) to the critique by L. Aron and J. B. Frankel (see record 1994-41100-001) of her article on Freud's motivation for rethinking his seduction theory (see record 1994-05584-001). Freud's priority in citing the relationship between splitting of the ego and childhood sexual trauma and his treatment of Ferenczi are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Holt .45 misfires: Yet another round of lament and ridicule aimed at psychoanalytic theorizing.

Comments on R. R. Holt's (see record 1992-27289-001) criticism of S. Reisner's (see record 1992-16438-001) interpretation of an object-relational thread running through Freud's writings. According to Holt, such rereadings of Freud are a waste of time; the real problem to which analytic scholars need to address themselves is the sorry epistemic state of psychoanalytic theory. This commentary counterargues that Holt is simply one of a small, but highly visible, group of lamenters for the alleged terminal epistemic illness of psychoanalysis, a group whose modus operandi has been to ridicule anyone who sees in the traditional forms of psychoanalytic theorizing the potential to say anything useful about human psychology. Reisner has, in fact, made an interesting, exciting, and useful contribution to psychoanalytic thinking and to the wider effort of human beings to capture and accurately represent their unconscious processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Women's role in psychotherapy": Reply to Solomon, Penzer, and Barber.

Suggests that I. Solomon et al (see record 1984-29323-001) were unaware, in their comment on the work of R. T. Hare-Mustin (see record 1984-07313-001), that others also consider Freud's treatment of Dora as lacking in trust and respect. It is suggested that Hare-Mustin was not confusing family treatment with psychoanalysis but was pointing out Freud's bias in the case. It is concluded that if Solomon and colleagues felt that they had to defend Freud against all criticism, they undervalued Freud's genius. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud and sociobiology.

Discusses comments made by M. Eber (see record 1984-00023-001) and E. I. Pollak (see record 1984-00042-001) on a synthesis of Freudian psychoanalysis and sociobiology by the present authors (Leak and Christopher; see record 1982-29262-001). Eber writes from the psychoanalytic perspective and criticizes the stress on the biological/scientific aspect of Freud's work. Pollak takes a more sociobiological approach and criticizes the present authors' article for stressing those aspects of sociobiological theory that place greater emphasis on biological determinism as opposed to behavioral plasticity. The present authors reply that (1) the original Freudian conception of psychoanalysis is the version that offers valuable insights for mainstream scientific psychology, and (2) many of Freud's notions are quite similar to contemporary sociobiological concepts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Another reply to Wessler's critique of rational-emotive therapy.

Comments on R. Wessler's (see record 1994-18429-001) reply to a critique of A. Ellis's (see record 1994-18385-001) critique of rational emotive therapy's views on constructivism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some problems created by Freud's inconsistency: A commentary on Reisner's article.

Many of the problems of S. Reisner's (see record 1992-16438-001) article are caused by his adopting an idiosyncratic definition of metapsychology, as Freud's theory of motivation. He is correct that Freud was (occasionally) aware of the interpersonal aspects of motives, but this useful insight is flawed by his tendentious misreadings in an attempt to document an extreme position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Riposte to Spezzano.

Replies to C. J. Spezzano's (see record 1993-33442-001) defense of S. Reisner's (see record 1992-16438-001) article against R. R. Holt's (see record 1992-27289-001) earlier criticisms. Holt admits that the tone of his criticisms may have been harsh, but he reasserts that there is a need for concern regarding objective intellectual standards of scholarly work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further comments on feature integration: A reply to Briand and Klein.

K. A. Briand and R. M. Klein's (see record 1989-31779-001) reply to my critique (see record 1989-31807-001) of the feature integration theory (FIT) argues that my criticism is not sufficiently substantiated to question any aspect of FIT. In the present reply I contend that no argument presented by Briand and Klein is justified, and thus, my criticism of both theoretical and empirical aspects of FIT remains, at least for the time being, valid. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"How much can we boost IQ and scholastic achievement": Addendum.

Responds to the critique by the Council for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (see record 1990-56779-001) of A. R. Jensen's article (see record 1969-09740-001) concerning the influence of heredity vs environment on IQ and scholastic achievement and suggests that the critique draws attention to Jensen's use of a social definition of race for the population tested for IQ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The need for scientist-practitioner employment settings.

Comments on C. D. Belar and N. W. Perry's (see record 1992-21285-001), L. T. Hoshmand and D. E. Polkinghorne's (see record 1992-21300-001), and J. J. Sullivan and R. P. Quevillon's (see record 1992-21308-001) articles affirming a commitment to the scientist-practitioner model for training practicing psychologists. An important limitation, it is noted, is the lack of postgraduate employment that supports the internalization of the scientist-practitioner role. Organizational models are needed to compliment interdisciplinary work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A bit more light on Ferenczi and Freud.

Further explores issues stressed by L. Aron and J. Frankel (see record 1994-41100-001) in commenting on J. K. Tabin's (see record 1994-05584-001) article on Freud's motivation for rethinking his seduction theory. The author presents material that confirms Freud's priority in citing the relationship between splitting of the ego and childhood sexual trauma; that describes signs of Ferenczi's considerable emotional difficulty during the last period of his life; and that shows that Freud's referring to Ferenczi as paranoid was a reaction to Ferenczi's hostility to him, significantly predating their public theoretical differences. An important aspect of the last matter is Ferenczi's explanation of his hostility: Freud never helped him with the negative transference that underlay his idealization of Freud. Freud defended himself by saying that negative transference was not understood when he treated Ferenczi. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health promotion and coronary heart disease: A comment on consensus.

Responds a 2nd time (for the 1st response, see record 1986-20182-001) to R. C. Lefebvre's (see record 1986-20193-001) critique of the present author's (see record 1985-21441-001) article on health promotion and coronary heart disease by contending that contrary to Lefebvre's view, there is not a clear consensus among epidemiologists about the value of lowering blood cholesterol to prevent coronary heart disease. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Let's find basic behavioral systems first.

Highlights an issue covered by D. M. Buss et al (see record 1998-01669-001) on evolutionary thinking and its application to psychology, and their critique of S. J. Gould's views (see record 1992-11754-001) concerning exaptations and spandrels. The present author suggests a different direction that can be taken that may demonstrate that Gould's conception of the importance of spandrels and exaptations as "a mountain to the adaptive molehill" is "entirely backward". (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Comments on three recent subliminal psychodynamic activation investigations": Rejoinder to Oliver and Burkham and to Porterfield.

Considers the replies of A. L. Porterfield (see record 1986-11991-001) and J. M. Oliver and R. Burkham (see record 1986-11985-001) to the critique of the present author (see record 1986-12007-001). The original criticisms are seen as valid. A critical deficiency in the design of Porterfield and S. L. Golding's (see record 1986-11992-001) study is viewed as disqualifying it as a fair attempt at replication. It is suggested that although Oliver and Burkham's (see record 1983-01571-001) study was well-designed, statements made in their write-up are unwarranted. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud's stance, and mine.

Responds to M. O. Slavin and D. Kriegman's (see record 1989-00599-001) and D. M. Snyder's (see record 1989-00600-001) comments on the present author's (see record 1987-21061-001) discussion of Freud's work in the context of neurophysiology and sociobiology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical data say it all.

Comments that after considering the responses of R. E. Boyatzis (see record 1994-27864-001) and D. C. McClelland (see record 1994-27871-001) and reviewing additional reports by these authors, the conclusions drawn by G. V. Barrett and R. L. Depinet's (see record 1992-03797-001) article on competence testing are reinforced. If McClelland's concept of competencies is to make a contribution to psychology, he must present empirical data to support his contention. Three sets of data are presented to illustrate this point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Peterson and Berenbaum.

Discusses the issues raised by R. A. Peterson and S. A. Berenbaun (see record 1982-26998-001) in their critique of the present author's (see record 1981-24709-001) paper on coping strategies in psychiatric research. The focus is on identifying concurrence where possible and clarifying issues underlying disagreements. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revealed, concealed, congealed, curdled: A reply to Pomichalek, Lamb, and Denner.

Replies to M. Pomichalek's (see record 1992-19269-001), S. Lamb's (see record 1992-19263-001), and B. Denner's (see record 1992-19257-001) remarks on P. Cushman's comments (see record 1991-17982-001) on D. Stern's (1985) study. Cushman defends constructionist research by maintaining that it can acknowledge and interpret ideology and thereby the moral framework in which the study is embedded. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive resource theory: Issues for specifying a test of the theory.

F. E. Fiedler et al (see record 1992-34884-001) raise a variety of objections to a study by R. P. Vecchio (see record 1990-17057-001), which addressed the 7 propositions of cognitive resource theory. Their objections, which are essentially based on reservations offered in the article itself, reflect overstatement and are largely unfounded. This article examines each of their objections and reiterates areas that deserve further refinement. Future research related to cognitive resource theory will benefit from a consideration of the original points raised in the author's earlier article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)