Some psychological studies of grammar.

Language is "an extremely complicated human skill." What it consists of and how it functions requires detailed examination. Some satisfactory way of dealing with grammar and its combinatorial processes is required to describe language as a skill. Concepts of modern linguistics are used. Psychological aspects of syntactic structure are considered and specified as important variables to explore. Linguistic theory and empirical studies are cited. "I believe that one of the best ways to study a human mind is by studying the verbal systems that it uses." Such a program is not only important, but immediately possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some notes on the production of psychiatric and psychological knowledge.

The polemic about the relative competencies of psychiatrists and psychologists has, by and large, concerned their clinical roles. Members of these 2 professions differ in types of knowledge they produce in their research roles for application in clinical situations. A list of 1226 concepts was selected from the literature reporting studies of behavior under stress. An analysis of these research concepts shows that psychiatrists use concepts of personality almost exclusively when studying stressful situations, whereas psychologists are more flexible in combining concepts of personality with those of society and culture. Differences among members of these professions in modes of research conceptualization and in problem selection tend to be more closely related to such factors as the institutional setting in which they work, their religious affiliation, and their self-perception as "tender" or "tough" minded than they are to differences in professional training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The story of hardiness: Twenty years of theorizing, research, and practice.

Since 1979, the development of the hardiness approach to enhancing performance and health has been facilitated by continual cross-fertilization between theorizing, research, and practice. At first, hardiness emerged from individual differences research on stress reactions as the attitudes of commitment, control, and challenge. Since then, extensive theorizing and practice, combined with considerable additional research, has led to the supplementation of hardy attitudes with hardy skills concerning coping, social interaction, and self-care. Also, the mechanisms whereby hardy attitudes and skills enhance performance and health are better understood. The hardiness approach has also expanded from the individual to the organizational level. All these developments form an example of the value of combining theorizing, research, and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of combining psychological tests on clinical inferences.

The study was designed to determine whether the reliability and validity of interpretations based on 3 frequently used psychological tests—Rorschach, TAT, MMPI—increased as a function of number of tests employed. 30 clinical psychologists completed personality questionnaires describing 5 Ss on the basis of identifying data alone, each test individually, pairs of tests, and all 3 combined. Reliability and validity did not increase as a function of number of tests, nor were there any differences between tests or pairs of tests. The validity scores for test data ranged from 66% to 73%, with a Mean of 68%. The reliability scores ranged from 56% to 72%, with a Mean of 64%. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taking the theorizing in personality theories seriously: Comment.

Comments on "A tale of two visions: Can a new view of personality help integrate psychology?" by J. D. Mayer (see record 2005-05480-001). Mayer's attempt to find ways to use personality emphases as integrative tendencies in psychology is welcome. Certainly, it would help if the research and practice efforts of psychologists were coordinated more clearly than they are now. The comment author finds Mayer's rather ambiguous and scattered suggestions to be disconcerting. The comment author proposes alternatives he hopes will further Mayer's goals. He believes that emphasizing core, developmental, and peripheral statements is important in envisioning the personality system. The comment author does not agree with Mayer's (2005) assertion that emphasizing existing personality theories is necessarily damaging because of their specific content disagreements. There are, of course, many personality theories, but their diversity can be reduced to a more manageable level by inducing from them the basic models of personality theorizing. When the comment author engages in this process, what emerges is the conflict, fulfillment, and consistency models, each with two subtypes. Psychologists need to collaborate with each other in formulating comparative analytic research that can resolve the fundamental issues arising from the differences between these three models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some methodological pitfalls in attributional research.

Points out a number of methodological errors in attributional research. They include failure of the causal manipulation, insufficient sampling of causal alternatives, inaccurate classification of causes on various dimensions, prediction of expectancy of success rather than expectancy change, use of preference as an indicator of affect, insufficient representation of affects, and the use of dependent variables, such as exam performance, that provide inappropriate testing grounds for attribution theory. Some of these errors are documented with simple demonstration experiments. In addition, methodological suggestions are offered. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental psychopathology in psychological science.

Although the enterprise of experimental psychopathology has been around for quite some time, the integrative role that it plays in psychological science has not received explicit attention. This issue sits on the backdrop of theoretical and empirical evidence that, as an enterprise, experimental psychopathology has the potential to tie together psychological processes studied both in basic and applied domains. In this article, the authors discuss the nature of experimental psychopathology, focusing on its research agenda, historical perspective, and why and how it can be improved to have more of a direct impact in the study of psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity: A Critique.

"The renaming of the process of building a theory of behavior by the new term 'construct validity' contributes nothing to the understanding of the process nor to the usefulness of the concepts. The introduction into discussion of psychological theorizing of the aspects of construct validity discussed… creates, at best, unnecessary confusion and at worst, a nonempirical, nonscientific approach to the study of behavior." Terminology of logical behaviorism and techniques of an "operational methodology" are preferred. "It is… recommended that the formulation of construct validity, as presented in the several papers noted in this critique, be eliminated from further consideration as a way of speaking about psychological concepts, laws, and theories." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some.

Contrasted statements in which some and some-not quantified the relation between 2 named sets of definite size, with intersections of definite size. Among 20 undergraduates, preferences among the statements were assessed in terms of (1) grades assigned to them, (2) which predicate Ss supplied to complete each frame, and (3) forced choices between pairs of statements. The preferred statements were the ones in which the subset denoted by the statement comprised fewer than half of the members of the set named by the subject of the statement. It is concluded that some and some-not are complementary ways of achieving the pragmatic goal of restricting attention to less than half of the set under consideration. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of medical and psychological tests.

Comments on the G. J. Meyer et al (see record 2001-00159-003) summary of evidence and issues associated with psychological assessment. H. N. Garb et al conclude that Meyer et al did not establish that psychological test validity is comparable to medical test validity. By focusing on meta-analyses, they ignored results for most medical tests and psychological test scores. Furthermore, although it may appear that they routinely summarized results from meta-analyses, in some cases they actually calculated their own effect sizes. For at least some studies, their effect sizes appear to be misleading, making their review of the literature difficult to interpret. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychological marketplace.

At a meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association "there were 206 applicants for 125 academic positions, 157 applicants for 467 clinical and counseling positions, and 163 applicants for 198 industrial and research positions." There are "more jobs available than there are psychologists to fill them in the total employment picture." While "the degree requirements are the lowest for the Industrial and Research area, the median starting salary is the highest. The converse is true for the academic positions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of motivation in psychological stress.

"This paper reports an experiment designed to investigate motivational characteristics of individuals in response to stressor conditions… . Findings… highlight the methodological difficulties… and indicate the importance of investigating… variables in stress experimentation." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Book reviewing in American psychological journals.

Data are presented on the reviews of books published in 1950 and the book reviews published in 1953 regardless of the year in which the books themselves were published. Implications are drawn from these data regarding the advisability of establishing a book review journal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity in psychological tests.

"Construct validation was introduced in order to specify types of research required in developing tests for which the conventional views on validation are inappropriate. Personality tests, and some tests of ability, are interpreted in terms of attributes for which there is no adequate criterion. This paper indicates what sorts of evidence can substantiate such an interpretation, and how such evidence is to be interpreted." 60 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple comparison in psychological research.

In testing the significance of differences involving more than 2 groups, the F-test permits statements concerning the overall null hypothesis but does not provide a technique for comparing specific means. This paper discusses the logic and basic assumptions underlying several techniques for making multiple comparisons. Tukey's method for multiple comparisons is briefly outlined. 23 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychological organizations of Canada.

Canadian psychologists have formed no less than eighteen national or provincial organizations. This paper provides a brief historical sketch of these organizations and indicates their present status and functions. The first organizations sought to advance psychology as both a science and a profession, but most of the later-established ones developed directly or indirectly out of efforts to institute statutory control of the profession of psychology. In an addendum, an appeal is made for source material on the provincial organizations for deposit in the CPA archives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Amplifying issues related to psychological testing and assessment.

Responds to comments by D. A. Smith (see record 2002-10716-011), H. N. Garb et al (see record 2002-10716-012), R. Fernández-Ballesteros (see record 2002-10716-013), J. Hunsley (see record 2002-10716-014) regarding the G. J. Meyer et al (see record 2001-00159-003) summary of evidence and issues associated with psychological assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey of important psychological books.

80 of 100 psychologists who possessed PhDs and were staff members of colleges or universities were randomly selected from the "American Psychological Association 1958 Directory." In order, the highest rated authors were: Freud, James, Hull, Pavlov, Watson, Boring, Skinner, Thorndike, Woodworth, Tolman, Kohler, Lewin, Darwin, Ebbinghaus, Koffka, and Wundt. Books rated with the largest number of points include: James' "Principles of Psychology"; Hull, "Principles of Behavior"; Pavlov, "Conditioned Reflexes"; Freud, "Interpretation of Dreams"; Boring, "History of Experimental Psychology"; and Watson, "Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AI92W. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)