Quo ibimus?

This letter complains about sites for the American Psychological Association (APA) convention, which the author considers grossly inadequate. He protests that those in psychology who select convention sites and make arrangements refuse to recognize that APA members are a large group and that most cities are simply too inadequate to handle a meeting of 6,000 some odd people. He suggests limiting convention sites to those cities that are really geared to handle conventions this size, such as New York City, Chicago, and Miami Beach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

International Humanitarian Award: Michael G. Wessells.

Michael G. Wessells, recipient of the International Humanitarian Award, is cited for his pioneering and sustained contributions to the protection of children affected by armed conflict and to the development of international guidelines for the provision of community-based, culturally responsive psychosocial support in emergencies. Wessells has served as an eminent professor, researcher, and author, developing and promoting the most advanced strategies for providing psychological support for children and families. He has contributed extensively to peace and reconciliation efforts and has provided direct humanitarian services in conflict areas in Asia, Africa, Central America, Europe, and South America, where his efforts on behalf of children often placed him in personal jeopardy. In addition to the citation, a biography and selected bibliography of Wessells' works are provided. Also included is Wessells' paper, entitled "Do no harm: Toward contextually appropriate psychosocial support in international emergencies," a version of which was presented at the American Psychological Association's annual convention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Bryden's "The changing face of the CPA annual meeting" (Vol. 23, no. 4, October 1982).

Comments on an article by Bryden about the changing face of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) annual meeting (see record 1983-28843-001). The current author feels that Bryden's computer analysis of CPA convention programmes raises a number of questions. The current author shares his opinions about such topics as changes in number and types of papers presented, communication among professions (especially considering French-language contributions), participation, and attendance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consulting in the midst of differences and similarities: Related tensions and complexities.

As a context for exploring the evolution of his work in the diversity arena, the author briefly describes community and academic milieus that have shaped his personal development and also his professional approach to diversity. He also shares some of the challenges he has encountered going about his consulting endeavors and managing client-consultant relationships. The author reviews what his responses to these challenges have been, and how the milieus that influenced his development have informed his strategies for managing client-consultant interactions. He concludes by recommending that consultants view relationship challenges with their clients as diversity issues and advocates that consultants practice "what they preach" about diversity to address these challenges--that is, that they should apply their diversity models to these difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immunocytology of chiasmata and chromosomal disjunction at mouse meiosis

The presented paper is focused on substantial features of neuropsychological examinations. The author emphasizes the application of different tests focused on the relationship between the brain and behaviour, but in particular the neuropsychological battery. He describes the Halstead--Reitan battery and possibilities of its application in children. He emphasizes the importance of neuropsychological rehabilitation and differentiates it from mere recording of the process of spontaneous recovery. He characterizes the main neuropsychological factors which affect recovery after traumatic brain damage. He mentions some of his own examples where he used these factors in clinical practice. The author describes also his own experience with computer rehabilitation using the SERMION--Train the Brain programme.     

Obituaries: Gregory A. Kimble (1917-2006).

Presents an obituary for Gregory A. Kimble, a general psychologist who passed away on January 15, 2006. Dr. Kimble had a lifelong allegiance to a particular approach to psychological science, and he was a superb organizer, synthesizer, and explicator of psychological fact and theory. He had a lifelong commitment to APA's Division of General Psychology, and from that division, he received the Hilgard Award for Lifelong Contributions to General Psychology and, in appreciation for his years of service to the division, its C. Alan Boneau Award for Distinguished Service. Dr. Kimble also played significant roles outside of APA. He was a member of several other psychological societies, including the exclusive Society of Experimental Psychologists. He will be missed by his family, his legion of friends and associates, and by the APA convention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice: Jeffrey E. Barnett.

Jeffrey E. Barnett, recipient of the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice, is cited for outstanding, distinguished, and meritorious service in several areas of professional practice, especially professional ethics and psychotherapy treatment. Barnett has produced hundreds of high-quality publications, workshops, and symposia that have had widespread impact. He is well-known for his quality mentoring of students, early career professionals, and members of diverse groups. Along with the citation, a biography and selected bibliography of Barnett's works are provided. Also included is his paper, entitled "The complete practitioner: Still a work in progress," a version of which was presented at the American Psychological Association's annual convention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Betrayed as boys: Psychodynamic treatment of sexually abused men.

Reviews the book, Betrayed as boys: Psychodynamic treatment of sexually abused men by Richard B. Gartner (see record 1999-02461-000). Dr. Gartner effectively helps the reader understand the impact of sexual activity with trusted adults (usually male, but sometimes female) upon the course of life development for some boys. He does not deal with perpetrators. He has judiciously thought through the difficult issues and presented his knowledge and clinical experience as a psychotherapist clearly. Even though I do not share his interpersonal psychoanalytic approach to treatment, I could easily recognize my patients in his cases, and I could learn much from seeing the way he handled their situations. For someone less knowledgeable in this area, the book provides a wonderful and accessible opportunity to learn about sexual abuse and betrayal of males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Jean Piaget (1896-1980).

Obituary for Jean Piaget (1896-1980). The current author recalls some of his experiences in working with Piaget, who was both a colleague and a mentor. He states that Piaget was truly a man of heroic, even epic, proportions. And yet, as the author suggests in this article, Piaget was warmly human too. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished Contribution for Applications in Psychology Award for 1978: Alphonse Chapanis.

Alphonse Chapanis was presented the Distinguished Contribution for Applications in Psychology Award for his contribution as a founder of the field of engineering psychology and for his pioneering research and leadership in the field over a 35-year period. He was the senior author (with Wendell Garner and Clifford Morgan) of the first systematic book to cover the field of engineering psychology, and he wrote the first important methodology text in the field. The enormous range of his contributions includes his early studies on basic visual mechanisms, his research on workstation design and man-machine systems relations, and his more recent studies on information processing and telecommunications. He has provided numerous insights on ways to apply sound psychological research to societal problems in a technological age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing in State Hospitals: Reply.

Replies to a comment made by James E. Woods (see record 2005-11050-002) regarding an original comment made by the author on the issue of testing in state hospitals. The author states that he agrees with Woods on many of the issues he presented in his comment and feels that he did not make his position clear or that Woods failed to detect his views. In summary, Hauck believes the evidence against the use of tests is not so convincing that testing should be foregone; and, until something better comes along, it is foolish to discard it, imperfections and all. He realizes his survey took for granted that such evidence does not exist and because tests remain there must be a firmer policy regarding their assumptions and how these assumptions are handled administratively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

John Peter Zubek.

One of Canada's most distinguished psychologists, Dr. John P. Zubek, died at Winnipeg on August 24, 1974. He was the recognized authority in his own field of research, sensory deprivation, and was admired and respected by his students and by his colleagues everywhere. He was author or editor of six books and he published over a hundred papers. He was an important influence in the development of psychology in Canada as an experimental science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dale B. Harris (1914-2007).

During his long career, Dale B. Harris was at various times a teacher, author, editor, researcher, high school principal, organizational leader, department administrator, and government advisor. He is probably best known for his research on children's drawings, specifically, his extension of the work by Florence Goodenough that resulted in the Goodenough-Harris Draw-A-Person Test. Harris was a participant in the famed Thayer Conference (1954) on school psychology. He was a delegate to the White House Conferences on Children and Youth in 1950 and 1960 and was active in several professional organizations, including the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). He served as president of Division 7 (Developmental Psychology) of the American Psychological Association in 1956. He was also active in community organizations, both in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Isidor Chein (1912-1981).

Presents an obituary for Isidor Chein. During his distinguished career Isidor Chein made significant contributions in many areas of psychology. He devoted himself especially to the study of four topics: attitude change in the context of intergroup relations, group identification among members of minority groups, the psychology of opiate addiction, and a philosophy of science for psychology. Following his death on April 18, 1981, a memorial symposium was held at the 1981 APA convention. In his comments, a colleague and close friend pointed to the quality that most of his friends and associates would agree best describes the essence of Chein's work. "If there is a single Word that I can use to characterize so complex an enterprise as Isidor Chein's psychological outlook," he said, "that word is humanism." Chein's legacy to psychology was indeed enriched by the centrality of this quality in his own life and career. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Awards for distinguished scientific contributions: 1985.

The Awards for Distinguished Scientific Contributions are presented by the Association at the annual convention. The awardees for 1985, along with those for the preceding years since the establishment of the custom, are listed here. The recipients for 1985 were Clyde H. Coombs, Mortimer Mishkin, and Allen Newell. Coombs, Mishkin, and Newell were each presented with a check for $2,000 and an engrossed citation of his contribution to the development of scientific psychology. In accordance with established custom, the award winners have agreed to present addresses on some phase of their scientific work at the 1986 convention. The presentation of awards was made by Mark Rosenzweig, chair of the Committee on Scientific Awards. Other members of the committee were Marshall Haith, Margaret Intons-Peterson, John Kihlstrom, Lyman Porter, and Mark Zanna. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished scientific award for the applications of psychology: 1985.

The Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology is presented to a person who, in the opinion of the Committee on Scientific Awards, has made distinguished theoretical or empirical advances leading to the understanding or amelioration of important practical problems. In accordance with established custom, the award winner will present an address on some phase of his or her scientific work at the 1986 convention. This year's winner, John Money, was presented with a check for $2,000 and an engrossed citation of his contribution. The award was presented by Mark Rosenzweig, chair of the Committee on Scientific Awards. Other members of the committee were Marshall Haith, Margaret Intons-Peterson, John Kihlstrom, Lyman Porter, and Mark Zanna. The winners since the establishment of the award are also listed here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent Pregnancy.

In her comment on adolescent pregnancy, Baumrind (see record 1982-01029-001) gave careful attention to the actuarial dimensions of this problem. The current author comments on her closing remark that "the public health problems presented by teenage abortion and birthrate mandate a return to a less permissive type of sex education in our schools and an increase in social sanctions for irresponsible parenthood" (p. 529). He states that the remark was out and out dangerous and provides his views. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Awards for distinguished scientific contributions: 1988.

The Awards for Distinguished Scientific Contributions are presented by the American Psychological Association at the annual convention. The awardees for 1988, along with those for the preceding years since the establishment of the custom, are listed here. The recipients for 1988 were Irving T. Diamond, Frederic M. Lord, Eleanor E. Maccoby, William J. McGuire, Julian B. Rotter, and George Sperling. Diamond, Lord, Maccoby, McGuire, Rotter, and Sperling were each presented with a check for $2,000 and an engrossed citation of his or her contribution to the development of psychology. In accordance with established custom, the award winners have agreed to present addresses on some phase of their scientific work at the 1989 convention. The presentation of awards was made by Brenda Milner, chair of the Committee on Scientific Awards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Conducting child custody evaluations: A comprehensive guide.

Reviews the book, Conducting child custody evaluations: A comprehensive guide by Philip Michael Stahl (see record 1994-98484-000). In this book, the author details how the courts benefit from custody evaluations, how the family benefits, when evaluations could actually be harmful, and offers some particularly unique and useful suggestions on evaluator biases. He brings up the interesting issue of who is the real client/consumer. He understands that the client really cannot be the child independent of his/her family, even though we all mourn the cliche, "best interests of the child," as if this phrase were some operationally clear "guideline." A main author bias is "the best parenting is achieved with two parents" (p. 25). There is at least some research evidence (and clinical experience) that would dispute this in more cases than the author might care to acknowledge. A second bias is that children must perceive that their parents can develop a post-divorce relationship free of hostility in which each parent is a champion for the other. Stahl displays a keen understanding of the dynamics of the post-divorce world. In his heart, he seems more a therapist than an "objective evaluator" and harbors a strong bias to help people move productively through the crises that are everywhere in evidence in post-divorce situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical properties of the retinal receptor and response of retinal receptors.

The author reviews studies of the waveguide characteristics of retinal receptors. These properties are present in human photoreceptors. Some of the possible roles played by these physical properties are discussed, with emphasis placed upon color-vision mechanisms at the receptor level. The author also considers approaches toward the determination of the role(s) played by the waveguide properties, by the photosensitive pigments, and by "other" mechanisms in the coding of the signal at the detector level. He describes his initial experiments directed toward the development of an indicator of response (or marker) in single mammalian retinal receptors. (629 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)