Reginald L. Jones (1931-2005).

Reginald Lanier Jones (1931-2005), known as "Reg" or "Reggie" to many, was a tireless worker for social justice and equity within psychology and education. His career focused on children with special needs, the gifted, and especially the psychological experiences of the African American community. Many generations of Black psychologists owe their career success to his unswerving dedication, his insights as an elder, his acumen as a publisher, and his genuineness as a mentor and friend. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Professor Bechtoldt's critique.

Presents a reply regarding Bechtoldt's critique (see record 1960-06754-001) of the article by Haggard et al. (see record 1960-00131-001). True, many of the comments in his section on "Factor Analytic Techniques" are interesting and informative--and generally corrective--but they are also essentially irrelevant to our paper and its purpose. There is clear difference of opinion as to whether, when, or what factor analytic techniques should be used in particular cases. Some of Bechtoldt's remarks in his sections entitled "Direct Correlation Methods'and "Concluding Remarks" call for more specific comment, primarily because I think he misses the point from time to time. Bechtoldt has us on the ropes when he cites the statement "with the procedures discussed thus far, it is not possible to form groups around such a priori profiles." We should have said "not practicable" (instead of using the too strong term "not possible") to indicate that, for the majority of research workers, these procedures are not possible from a practical point of view. In his concluding paragraph, he appears to chide us (following his phrase "other technically questionable discussions") for possibly suggesting "the testing of statistical hypotheses using sets of related observations." We took pains to observe that, although multivariate data can be analyzed properly only by the appropriate multivariate statistical techniques, approximate produres for pattern analytic studies are available which utilize most of the information in the data without violating certain important statistical assumptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Louis LaForce McQuitty (1910–1986).

Louis McQuitty was born in Curran, Illinois, on January 29, 1910. He died on October 8, 1986, in Florida. McQuitty earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Florida (Gainesville) and his master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Toronto, in 1933, 1934, and 1937, respectively. The title of his PhD dissertation, "An Approach to the Measurement of Individual Differences in Personality," forecast his creative exploration of quantitative methods during the remainder of his life. These explorations of innovative analytic methods are the subject of many articles and his posthumous book: Pattern-Analytic Clustering: Theory, Methods, Research, and Configural Findings, (1987). Added to his many other activities were roles in the American Psychological Association. He served on the Council of Representatives, 1960-1962; Board of Professional Affairs, 1960-1962; and Education and Training Board, 1965-1968. He also served as president of Division 5, 1964-1965. In 1960-1961, Lou was president of the Michigan Psychological Association. The innovative, challenging contributions that McQuitty made to the area of methodology remain to be assimilated and evaluated. He sought to produce quantitative methods to support a scientific rather than an intuitive approach to the study of personality. Whatever form the incorporation takes, he should receive credit for his pioneering contributions and for the perseverance he showed in his self-chosen assignment, to which he was so deeply committed. With Lou's death, psychology has lost a strong contributor and valued colleague. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Free will in absentia: Dennett on free will and determinism.

Mark Crooks (see record 2004-18788-002) has given a helpful discussion of Daniel Dennett's "philosophical abolition of mind," adding to the list of reasons why many philosophers jokingly say Dennett should have titled his 1991 book "Consciousness Explained Away". As Crooks argues, Dennett really is committed 'to our phenomenal experience, beliefs, desires, etc. as all being illusory in the strongest possible sense. Yet, when it comes to free will, Dennett fights hard to maintain that free will is something more than an illusion, that it is a capacity our neurophysiological machinery has. Dennett's new book-like his writings on mind and consciousness-is short on argument and long on rhetoric and cute stories. And herein lies Dennett's greatest strength, to seemingly make palatable ideas that many people think stand no chance. This, however, is also his greatest weakness in that ultimately the rhetoric fails to carry the day under closer scrutiny. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Common dances, uncommon therapies: Response to Ryder.

Comments on the article by Robert Ryder (see record 1989-01372-001). In an article titled "The Common Dance," Ryder offers two fundamental truths about the nature of all human relationships. He also provides an epistemological position that limits the validity (i.e., universality) of these claims. It is the intention of this response to comment both on the reality/truth (i.e., ontological) claims themselves and on the epistemological (i.e., limits of knowledge) framework in which they are propounded. Ryder evidently adopts the "antirealist" or "subjective" epistemology fashionable in many disciplines, including the family systems movement. Having adopted this epistemology, Ryder goes on to assert his two truths about human relationships-truths which, he cautiously argues, are to be taken only as relative to his stand, that is, relative to his definition of the term relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Fred McKinney (1908-1981).

Presents an obituary for Fred McKinney (1908-1981). McKinney was an outstanding psychologist--not because of published research, although he did that, not because of writing books, although he did that, too--but because of his passion for teaching psychology to anyone who would watch and listen, within or beyond the classroom. He was one of the dwindling number of true generalists, and the focus of his broad knowledge was the introductory course, which he taught throughout his 47-year career to an estimated 50,000 students. Not only was the course immensely successful in attracting students, but many of them kept in touch with "Prof. Fred" for decades after graduation. McKinney's life, achievements, and awards are discussed here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) numerical abilities: Addition and further experiments on a zero-like concept.

A Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), able to quantify 6 or fewer item sets (including heterogeneous subsets) by using English labels (I. M. Pepperberg, 1994), was tested on addition of quantities involving 0-6. He was, without explicit training, asked, "How many total X?" for 2 sequentially presented collections (e.g., of variously sized jelly beans or nuts) and required to answer with a vocal English number label. His accuracy suggested (a) that his addition abilities are comparable to those of nonhuman primates and young children, (b) some limits as to his correlation of "none" and the concept of zero, and (c) a possible counting-like strategy for the quantity 5. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of An object-relations theory of the personality.

Reviews the book, An object-relations theory of the personality by W. Ronald D. Fairbairn (see record 1955-00532-000). In a series of lectures delivered in the 1940's, the author developed what for him was a renovation of Freud's libido theory and Abraham's "developmental phase" theory. It is these lectures which appear in the first portion of this book; in succeeding sections there appear three case histories which are used to illustrate the author's resynthesis, and a group of miscellaneous papers. For many classical psychoanalysts, the author will probably represent a particularly repugnant type of heresy in his disavowal of "accepted" basic principles. To the neo-Freudian, his dynamics may appear too far removed from the social world to be considered practicable. Finally, for those who demand of a conceptualization that the referents be clear, and that labels and names not be treated as entities, there will be little incentive to read beyond the first chapter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Images in mind: The evolution of a theory.

Reviews the book, Images in mind: The evolution of a theory by A. Paivio (see record 1991-98882-000). In this review I hope to capture some of the flavour of Images in Mind, in which Allan Paivio traces some of the signal events in the evolution of dual coding theory. I encourage each reader of the review to become a reader of the book. The main reward is a glimpse of the workings of a great mind, but there are practical benefits as well. I am reminded of an interview with Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones. When asked how he came up with so many songs, he replied that he just played through his "Buddy Holly Song Book," and something always came up. Reading papers by Paivio has the same effect on me; I can't read his work without many experiments "coming up." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Psychologists and Phonies.

The current author states that he would like to dispute Henry David's conclusion that "the public showcase of professional psychology has become more respectable...the growing competition from APA members has made the market place of the Classified Telephone Directories less attractive for enterprising 'phonies'?" (Amer. Psychologist, 1954, 9, 240, see record 1955-01864-001). The author further adds that his own feeling is that the presence of so many APA psychologists in the classified section would have a "spread of effect" to others in the classified section and therefore might prove particularly attractive to the alleged phonies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Harold William Stevenson (1924-2005).

Presents an obituary for Harold William Stevenson (1924-2005). Early in his career, Harold helped launch the field of children's learning. Beyond researching the role of rewards in children's learning, he researched their learning of probabilities and of central versus incidental content, as well as their learning from filmed displays--all still fundamental research topics. Contemporary scholars know Harold best for his studies of educational achievement and learning in Japan, China, and the United States, summarized in his book The Learning Gap (1992). Scientifically comprehensive and clear, this research had a great impact on public debate about education both in the United States and abroad. Harold's work caused many Asian educators to reevaluate their own educational systems and to go beyond a concern with improving what was "wrong" to realizing what was "right" and what they could offer to education in the West. The work was featured in prominent media worldwide. Harold often commented that there were two keys to scientific productivity: hard work and building strong relationships in one's family. The fruits of Harold's hard work and strong relationships will flourish for years to come. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gudmundur Finnbogason, "Sympathetic understanding," and early Icelandic psychology.

Gudmundur Finnbogason (1873-1944) was a pioneer of Icelandic psychology. He was educated at the University of Copenhagen where he finished his M.A. in 1901 in philosophy, specializing in psychology. During the years 1901-1905, Finnbogason played a major role in establishing and shaping the future of primary education in Iceland. He defended his doctoral thesis on "sympathetic understanding" at the University of Copenhagen in 1911. This work deals with the psychology of imitation. In it Finnbogason defends the view that imitation is basically perception so that there is a direct link from perception to motor behavior. Through imitation people tend to assume the countenance and demeanor of other people, thus showing, in Finnbogason's terminology, "sympathetic understanding." Finnbogason's theory of imitation in many respects anticipates contemporary approaches to the psychology of imitation. In 1918 Finnbogason became professor of applied psychology at the recently founded University of Iceland. Here he attempted to establish psychology as an independent discipline. In this he was unsuccessful; his chair was abolished in 1924. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clarification on Psychological Treatments and Psychotherapy.

In this article, the author responds to a set of comments (see record 2005-11834-009; 2005-11834-010; 2005-11834-011) on his original article, "Psychological Treatments" (see record 2004-21168-001). The author responds to each comment. Hal Arkowitz (2005) misread the proposed distinction between "psychological treatments" and "psychotherapy" by presuming that the author was implying that the former is evidence based and the latter is not. Kwekkeboom et al. (2005), representing the nursing profession, noted quite correctly that nurses often deliver psychological treatments on the frontlines of primary care and are independently licensed to provide nursing services, including many approaches that could be categorized as "psychological." Ahmed and Boisvert (2005) agreed that psychological treatments are a core strength of psychology and also go on to provide additional interesting examples and to identify other areas of practice in which psychologists may be uniquely qualified. Overall, the author notes that only certain well-defined pathologies will be included in any health care system, and treatment for these conditions will increasingly need to be based on evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Project Mentality.

The author expresses his dissatisfaction with what might be termed the "project mentality" of many persons now doing and evaluating psychological research. This is especially evident in the APA journals and has led to the establishment of a "party line" that restricts the positions a writer can take and still get his papers published. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Thematic test analysis.

Reviews the book, Thematic test analysis edited by Edwin S. Shneidman (see record 1952-03422-000). Everyone does something different with the Thematic Apperception Test. In this book, interpretations of the same person's TAT and MAPS tests are gathered, under blind conditions, from fifteen psychologists or teams of psychologists. Many ways of using TAT material are exemplified: the editor distinguishes normative, intuitive, hero-oriented, interpersonal, and perceptual approaches. Both during his analysis of the data and in a supplementary chapter, each psychologist introspects about what he is doing, at times offering interesting vignettes of the "feel" of the process of clinical inference. This is especially valuable, since most major contributors to TAT methods are represented, though in one notable instance we do not hear from the master but only from his eminent pupils. Introduction and syntheses by the editor hold the book together, though so much discussion from so many views is, in its nature, disjunctive. The editorial conclusions offered are well taken, if understandably tactful. One can find no ground for criticizing an editor who began his book with such an interesting plan and carried out his plan with so much care for every detail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theodore Hertzl Blau (1928-2003).

Memorializes Theodore H. "Ted" Blau, one of America's foremost advocates for the clinical application of psychological knowledge. Although private practice remained his primary passion and work until his death, Ted served as consultant to various organizations, was a leading forensic psychologist, was an adjunct professor, and provided many years of service in the governance of the American Psychological Association (APA). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ledyard R Tucker (1910-2004).

Ledyard R Tucker, known as "Tuck" to generations of colleagues, students, and friends, died on August 16, 2004, at the age of 93 at his home in Savoy, Illinois. Tucker was one of the great pioneers in the history of psychometric methods. The impact of his extraordinary body of work remains evident in both applied and theoretical research today. This obituary discusses Tucker's life, his professional contributions, and his many achievements and awards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mowrer on "Sin".

Comments on the article "Sin, the lesser of two evils" by O.H. Mower (1960). In a recent issue of the American Psychologist, Hobart Mowrer (see record 1961-03555-001) argues that because "sin" is a stronger word than "wrongdoing" or "irresponsibility" it is better for the "neurotic" individual to admit his "sins" than accept his "wrongdoings." In upholding the concept of individual (if not original) "sin," Mowrer is contending that the "neurotic" individual must, if he is to get "well," accept the following syllogism: (a) sinning is unjustified; (b) I have sinned; (c) therefore, I must justify my existence by acknowledging my sins, changing my ways, and becoming a nonsinner. At first blush, this seems like a perfectly valid syllogism. But, as Mowrer himself suggests, it rarely works in practice. The author contends that with a more objective and realistic restatement of Mowrer's syllogism, the problem of the "neurotic" individual's changing his ineffective and self-defeating behavior is hardly automatically solved; but (by having the definitional concepts of deep worthlessness and severe ego "insult" removed from his philosophic premises) he becomes much more likely resolutely to tackle what Mowrer accurately describes as his moralpsychological difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Self and object in the postmodern world": Response to Gene Bocknek’s letter.

Responds to Gene Bocknek's comments (see record 2009-17405-001) on the author's original article "Self and object in the postmodern world" (see record 1997-04589-001). While acknowledging Bocknek's comments in regard to his original article, the author maintains the position that he cannot find any disagreement between their viewpoints on the features of ego and the self. However, he does acknowledge that there is real disagreement between them on the subject of the intrapsychic versus interpersonal school or the ongoing discussion as to whether psychotherapy concerns a one-person or a two-person psychology. After restating his position on this matter, the author concludes by extending his appreciation to Bocknek for his comments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bettelheim: A life and legacy: On succumbing to the temptations of "celebrity biography."

Reviews the book, Bettelheim: A life and legacy by Nina Sutton and translated by David Sharp (see record 1996-97846-000). Sutton's professional interest and work until now have been in the field of journalism rather than in the study of psychology or the history of psychoanalytic thinking. This primarily journalistic interest has resulted in a book that appears to be more a "celebrity biography," so typical for our present time of media mass consumption, than a rigorous study in psychobiography. Dr. Bruno Bettelheim was Director of the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School at the University of Chicago from 1944 until 1969. While Director of the Orthogenic School, Dr. Bettelheim refined the principles of group treatment of children, in efforts that were directly descendent from the works of August Aichhorn, Anna Freud, and others. In addition to his therapeutic work with children at the Orthogenic School and his many writings on both clinical work and social theory, Bettelheim played a pivotal role in the history of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, where many of his most important papers first appeared. Those publications included not only some of his earnest contributions to the field of milieu therapy, but also his symposium disputations on the nature of autism with Leo Kanner, Lauretta Bender, Margaret Mahler, and others. Bettelheim wais also one of the founders of the American Association of Children's Residential Centers, which for many of its early years met annually for lively, heated clinical presentations and debates on the campus of the University of Chicago. As a leader of that professional group, Bettelheim's ideas helped to inspire others involved in the residential care of children to create group living settings that were based upon more compassionate and informed views of the inner needs of youth, and to attempt to displace the more primitive methods of custodial and "correctional" management of society's marginalized and thrown-away children. Sutton gives us several versions of how she understands her intent in writing about the life of Bettelheim. She tells us that the more immediate precipitant for her writing was her own reactions to Bettelheim's act of suicide, as well as to the flurry of accusations that shattered his reputation during the six months that followed his death. From that inauspicious vantage point, her work was influenced by others' probing curiosities about whether her biography would lead to a conclusion about the accusations of cruelty and abuse, serve as a sanitized detective story--would it ultimately take a polarized stand either for or against Bettelheim? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)