Reply to comments on the child-care debate.

Responds to comments by W. B. Johnson and D. Hayes (see record 1993-41125-001), J. E. Maddux (see record 1993-41129-001), K. McCarthey et al (see record 1993-41130-001), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Network (see record 1993-41132-001), and N. Shpancer (see record 1993-41138-001) on L. B. Silverstein's (see record 1992-05293-001) original article on child care and maternal employment, noting that the comments go a long way toward expanding the child-care debate, if not transforming it. Silverstein focuses on the role of psychology in policymaking and the responsibility of government in the lives of individuals. (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)     

Existentialism and development.

Responds to comments made by G. Kose (see record 1993-25090-001), K. Sun (see record 1993-25097-001), and R. K. Meister (see record 1993-25094-001) on B. Vandenberg's (see record 1992-12211-001) article on epistemology and an existentialist consideration of development. Taking exception with Kose's definition of existentialism and Key's remarks on morality and cognitive developments, Vandenberg voices his agreement with Meister on having a developmental perspective on the concept of death. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalized social phobia versus avoidant personality disorder: A commentary on three studies.

The findings of J. D. Herbert et al (see record 1992-27377-001), C. S. Holt et al (see record 1992-27380-001), and S. M. Turner et al (see record 1992-27401-001) are largely consistent. Avoidant personality disorder and generalized social phobia appear to be overlapping constructs that have only minor differences with respect to severity of dysfunction. This commentary addresses the implications of the findings with respect to the validity of the categorical distinction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised (DSM-III—R) between avoidant personality and generalized social phobia, revisions of their respective diagnostic criteria, and their reclassification as either an anxiety or a personality disorder. Methodological and substantive suggestions for future research are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Data models, practical realities, and conceptual maps in clinical database design.

Comments on M. H. Burge's (see record 1993-03165-001) alternate model in response to the article by D. M. Todd et al (see record 1992-25001-001) on database management in clinical practice. Todd welcomes this suggestion and discusses reasons why a naturalistic clinical database cannot always satisfy the requirements of elegant data models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Were children randomly assigned in the Perry Preschool Project"? Reply.

Replies to comments by H. H. Spitz (see record 1994-03935-001), noting that the High/Scope Perry Preschool study (E. Zigler; see record 1992-45307-001) did use randomizing techniques at several steps in the assignment of study participants to groups. The pairs of Ss were randomly assigned to 2 groups, matched on SES and sex ratio, and assigned to preschool and no-preschool conditions. (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)     

"Effective dissemination of energy-related information: Applying social psychology and evaluation research": Rejoinder.

Responds to comments by E. S. Geller (see record 1992-37385-001) and P. B. Crabb (see record 1992-37381-001) on the M. L. Dennis et al (see record 1991-08669-001) review of social and behavioral science literature related to energy conservation (EC). The Dennis et al article was not an attempt to recommend a comprehensive EC policy but rather intended to show how prior research and experience could be used to make information more effective in producing changes in public behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

It's not how you frame the question, it's how you interpret the results.

L. K. Michaelsen et al (see record 1992-19773-001) were not convinced by the present authors' computer simulations and replication study that the original study of Michaelsen et al (see record 1990-04483-001) did not provide evidence of an assembly bonus effect. Therefore, the authors logically reiterate the position that, at the very least, demonstrating an assembly bonus effect requires evidence that interacting groups would have outperformed noninteracting or nominal groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Basic emotions: Can conflicting criteria converge?

Discusses some of the key points raised by P. Ekman (see record 1992-41830-001), C. E. Izard (see record 1992-41836-001), and J. Panksepp (see record 1992-41839-001) in their critiques of A. Ortony and T. J. Turner's (see record 1990-27526-001) suggestion that there are and probably can be no objective and generally acceptable criteria for what is to count as a basic emotion. A number of studies are discussed that are relevant to the authors' contention that a more promising approach to understanding the huge diversity among emotions is to think in terms of emotions being assemblages of basic components rather than combinations of other basic emotions. The authors stress that their position does not deny that emotions are based on "hardwired" biological systems. On the other hand, the existence of such systems does not mean that some emotions (such as those that appear on lists of basic emotions) have a special status. Finally, the authors note that Ekman, Izard, and Panksepp, in adopting different starting points for their research, arrive at rather different conclusions as to what basic emotions are and which emotions are basic. It is concluded that converging resolutions of these questions are improbable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preferences and anticipations of career counseling: Comment on Galassi, Crace, Martin, James, and Wallace (1992).

The study on client anticipations and preferences regarding career counseling by J. P. Galassi et al (see record 1992-17938-001) is criticized with respect to theoretical grounding, assessment format, data analysis, and interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The units of unification: Theories or propositions?

Comments on the article by A. W. Staats (see record 1992-03794-001) on the unification of psychology through unified positivism, as well as on B. Weiner's (see record 1992-05401-001) article on the metaphors used in theories of motivation and attribution. The author favors using empirically based propositions over theories in the different branches for unifying psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pigeons' inferences are transitive and the outcome of elementary conditioning principles: A response.

Contrary to H. Markovits and C. Dumas (see record 1992-37986-001), this article maintains that, although semantically questionable, the transitive-inference performance in pigeons demonstrated by L. von Fersen et al (see record 1991-29523-001) was impeccably transitive. Von Fersen et al proposed a local rule to account for performance. P. A. Couvillon and M. E. Bitterman (see record 1992-37970-001) provided a rationale for such a rule by pointing out that the equally reinforced central stimuli, B, C, and D, are unequally unreinforced. This article shows that many models that recognize an effect of nonreinforcement on stimulus value give similar results. Therefore, Couvillon and Bitterman's argument that nothing beyond conventional conditioning principles is necessary to account for the transitive-inference effect in pigeons is supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fewer doubts concerning rats' serial position performance: Reply to Gaffan and Gaffan (1992) and Rawlins, Deacon, Chih-Ta, and Aggleton (1992).

It has been suggested by E. A. Gaffan and D. Gaffan (see record 1992-37974-001) that the data on nonspatial memory in rats reported by P. Reed et al (see record 1991-11847-001) displayed less than expected variability. Reanalysis revealed a greater degree of variance than that highlighted by Gaffan and Gaffan. Variance was, however, low at the central positions of the list, and 2 explanations for this effect are considered. The J. N. Rawlins et al (see record 1992-37990-001) explanation, experiment expectation, is rejected. Instead, poor memorial cues for items in the center of the list may have produced a reversion to a win-shift/lose-stay strategy that would account for the low variance. Although it would be prudent to suspend conclusions until adequate replications have been conducted, the present reanalysis of the data shows that the arguments made by Gaffan and Gaffan and Rawlins et al are far from definitive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some problems created by Holt's consistency: A rejoinder.

Replies to R. R. Holt's (see record 1992-27289-001) critique of S. Reisner's (see record 1992-16438-001) article on metapsychology and suggests that the critique is based on fundamental differences in approaches to Freud's studies and their relevance to contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice. It is argued that Holt underemphasizes the relational, hermeneutic, and epistemological components of Freud's theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Primate research, family politics, and social policy: Transforming 'cads' into 'dads' ": Reply.

Responds to the comments of S. Sperling (see record 1994-17265-001), J. Belsky (see record 1994-17245-001), V. Phares (see record 1994-17261-001), and M. E. Lamb (see record 1994-17257-001) on the work of L. B. Silverstein (see record 1994-17264-001) on evolutionary biology and human paternal behavior, father involvement, father absence, and biological determinism. Silverstein asserts that her overriding goal was to dramatize how extrascientific factors (e.g., political ideology) shape the construction of scientific knowledge. It is argued that the experience of nurturing and caring for young children has the power to change the cultural construction of masculinity into something less coercive and oppressive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reply to Block and Buirski and to DeFrancesco.

Responds to comments by P. Block and P. Buirski (see record 1993-07301-001) and J. J. DeFrancesco (see record 1993-07303-001) regarding the authors' (see record 1992-06970-001) idea for a network of centers of excellence to provide postdoctoral training. The authors address services to the underserved, prolonged professional training, and a changing marketplace. (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)     

Some facets of consistency: Replies to Epstein, Funder, and Bem.

Identifies convergences and substantive differences in the comments made by S. Epstein (see record 1983-23443-001), D. C. Funder (see record 1983-30290-001), and D. J. Bem (see record 1984-04001-001) regarding the present authors' (see record 1983-05642-001) reanalysis of some issues and proposals in the search for cross-situational consistency in social behavior. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)