On interpreting photographs, faces, and the past.

Concurs with R. E. Fancher (see record 1987-31600-001) that the badly retouched photographs in H. H. Goddard's (1912) study of heredity in the Kallikak family were not a fraudulent attempt to make the mentally retarded Ss look sinister or diabolical. The need to interpret historical documents in their multidimensional sociological context is noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fancher on Gould, Goddard, and historical interpretation: A reply.

Contends that R. E. Fancher's (see record 1988-31600-001) evidence concerning intentions behind retouching of photographs of the Kallikaks in H. H. Goddard's (1912) study of mental retardation and heredity fall far short of challenging S. J. Gould's (1981) findings on the same topic. Further, Fancher's citation may misrepresent J. D. Smith's (1985) work on Goddard. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Henry Goddard and The Kallikak Family photographs: "Conscious skulduggery" or "Whig history"?

The retouching of several photographs in Goddard's The Kallikak Family has recently been noted, and interpreted as evidence of his fraudulent attempt to exaggerate the menacing and undesirable qualities of retarded people. This article describes a similarly retouched photograph from another, more recent book, in which the retouching was done simply to accentuate facial features that did not reproduce clearly. A similar innocent purpose may have motivated Goddard or the Kallikak publishers, and the accusation of fraud may represent one more example of the selective interpretation of data in the IQ controversy. Some of the difficulties in writing accurate and fair history are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do the Kallikaks look "menacing" or "retarded?"

To extend R. E. Fancher's (see record 1987-31600-001) review of claims that photographs of the Kallikak family in H. H. Goddard's (1912) study had been retouched to make them look more menacing and retarded, 29 Ss (aged 18–69 yrs) were surveyed for their impressions of the photographs. Overall, Ss were strongly inclined to view the photographed individuals as "kind" and "very bright." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender schema theory and self-schema theory compared: A comment on Markus, Crane, Bernstein, and Siladi's 'Self-schemas and gender."

Notes that the present author's (see record 1982-23588-001) gender schema theory proposes that sex-typed individuals are schematic with respect to gender (masculinity and femininity), while the self-schema theory of H. Markus et al (see record 1981-25685-001) proposes that sex-typed individuals are schematic with respect to either masculinity or femininity, but not both. It is maintained, however, that the 2 theories do not share a common conceptual definition of what it means to be schematic and, therefore, are not in direct opposition. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rigor, but not rigor mortis, in depression research.

With reference to the depression research methods review of H. Tennen, J. A. Hall, and G. Affleck (see record 1995-31710-001) and the earlier recommendations of P. C. Kendall, S. D. Hollon, A. T. Beck, C. L. Hammen, and R. E. Ingram (see record 1987-30135-001), the present discussion considers and then reaffirms selected methods. Discussion includes issues such as the use of analogue vs. clinical samples, single vs. multiple assessments, self-report vs. structured diagnostic interviews, and the use of multiple gaiting and analyses of symptom clusters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The tripartite model and the Consumer Reports study.

This article relates the Consumer Reports (1995) study to the framework of the tripartite model of mental health and therapeutic outcomes (H. H. Strupp and S. W. Hadley, 1977) and calls attention to major unsolved problems in the assessment of therapeutic change. The model envisions three perspectives for evaluating outcomes: adaptive behavior (society), sense of well-being, and personality structure. The self-report perspective is viewed as having its own validity; however, it needs to be complemented by the other two perspectives of the model. Integration of the three perspectives has remained a somewhat elusive goal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ominous problem.

Discusses a problem in the educational system in terms of W. R. Looft's (see record 1972-02727-001) concept of the "psychology of more." "More" has been accepted as the criterion of quality in education (i.e., more students and more information). It has been forgotten that information without understanding is as useless as analysis and evaluation without information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Yesterday and tomorrow: Development of early understanding of the terms.

Data from 90 2-, 3-, and 4-yr-old children indicate that there is a differential pattern of comprehension of the terms "yesterday" and "tomorrow" among the 3 age groups. Findings also suggest that the Ss learned the terms in an asymmetrical manner, with "yesterday" being understood as having 2 referential aspects (i.e., a time other than this day and past time) and "tomorrow" being understood only in terms of future reference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the empirical validity of the "Take-the-best" heuristic as a model of human probabilistic inference.

The boundedly rational "Take-The-Best" heuristic (TTB) was proposed by G. Gigerenzer, U. Hoffrage, and H. Kleinb?lting (1991) as a model of fast and frugal probabilistic inferences. Although the simple lexicographic rule proved to be successful in computer simulations, direct empirical demonstrations of its adequacy as a psychological model are lacking because of several methodical problems. In 4 experiments with a total of 210 participants, this question was addressed. Whereas Experiment I showed that TTB is not valid as a universal hypothesis about probabilistic inferences, up to 28% of participants in Experiment 2 and 53% of participants in Experiment 3 were classified as TTB users. Experiment 4 revealed that investment costs for information seem to be a relevant factor leading participants to switch to a noncompensatory TTB strategy. The observed individual differences in strategy use imply the recommendation of an idiographic approach to decision-making research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Consumer Reports mental health survey.

Provides an overview of the 1995 Consumer Reports survey of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Specific issues addressed include the study's goals; the findings for mental health professionals, family doctors, and self-help groups; and methodological strengths and weaknesses related to external validity, sampling, controls, self-reports, and time frame. The data show that, free of the artificial constraints of controlled studies in the real world, a population of consumers can often benefit from psychological intervention services. Real relief can be found at the hands of professional mental health providers. M. Kotkin et al reaffirm their independence from M. E. P. Seligman (see record 1996-13324-001) regarding the interpretation of the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further comment on the risky shift.

In commenting on D. Cartwright's (see record 1973-31210-001) article on "risky shift" research, the author suggests that the term "risky shift" is somewhat misleading and proposes the alternative "shift to increased risk" to reflect that it is the abstract process of reaching group consensus, which is not conceived in terms of risk or caution, that is most interesting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rigor, rigor mortis, and conspiratorial views of depression research.

The authors reassert the need for methodological changes in depression research appearing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and other personality and social psychology journals. In this rejoinder the authors update their earlier literature review (H. Tennen, J. Hall, & G. Affleck; see record 1995-31710-001) and respond to the commentaries by P C. Kendall and E. C. Flannery-Schroeder (see record 1995-31700-001) and G. Weary, J. A. Edwards, and J. A. Jacobson (see record 1995-31713-001). The authors notice that G. Weary et al.'s own findings demonstrate the need to change how depression is measured and participants are assigned to experimental groups. The authors also challenge G. Weary et al.'s contention that structured interviews are limited because they require interviewer judgments, and they urge personality and social psychologists to learn more about these interviews. Finally, G. Weary et al.'s suspicion that depression research guidelines reflect professional parochialism is disputed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

… and physiological psychology.

Comments on the importance of studying many species in physiological psychology (PHP), if it is to be devoted to an understanding of how behavior is related to biological structures and processes in all organisms, in response to G. Gottlieb's (see record 1976-21254-001) claim that a one-species (PHP) is adequate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Institutional sources of articles in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1962-1973.

Surveys and tabulates institutional affiliations of authors of articles published in Vol 9-20 of the Journal of Counseling Psychology. Trends are reported within this 12-yr period, and comparisons are made with earlier surveys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studying the effectiveness of psychotherapy: How well can clinical trials do the job?

Although there has been much discussion of the recent Consumer Reports (CR) study (1995) on the effectiveness of psychotherapy, there is little new information reported either in the CR article or in M. E. P. Seligman's (1995) discussion of the findings. The findings that are new are hard to interpret because of serious methodological problems. In fact, the CR study is similar in many ways to H. J. Eysenck's (1952) controversial report on the effectiveness of psychotherapy, a study that has been rejected by the field despite the fact that it avoided some of the methodological shortcomings of the CR study. It would be a mistake to put forth a design rejected in the 1950s as an exemplar of good effectiveness research, especially when better alternatives exist. Clinical trials, despite many limitations, can answer all of the questions posed by M. E. P. Seligman, without the interpretive ambiguities and other methodological problems inherent in surveys such as the one published in CR . (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Back into silk purses.

Agrees with some of the points about replacing intelligence testing with "psychosituational assessments" made by D. Bersoff (see record 1974-10145-001) in the article on psychological testing, but deplores the tone and overall conclusions concerning psychoanalytic theory and the need to scrap projective techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Origin and evolution of the term "psychology."

Presents a historical review of the term "psychology." It is noted that while the word contains Greek elements, it does not have origins in Greek antiquity. This study suggests that the word originated in the 16th century "to refer to 1 aspect of spiritual being" and was 1st used as a title of academic lectures by Philipp Melanchton (1497-1560). Further development of the term through the mid-19th century is presented, including a table providing a chronology from Melanchton through Herbert Spencer's "Principles of Psychology" (1855). (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New evidence of flaws in the Consumer Reports study of psychotherapy.

Comments on M. E. P. Seligman's article (see record 1997-04811-001) and comment (see record 1997-04812-001) concerning the Consumer Reports study of psychotherapy. It is argued that the new information from the comment only confirms previously cited flaws. It is believed that while seeking evidence about the effectiveness of psychotherapy, M. E. P. Seligman simultaneously assumed its effectiveness. Methodological flaws of the kind that invalidated the Consumer Reports reanalysis can be corrected in subsequent studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

If you are gender schematic, all members of the opposite sex look alike.

96 male and 96 female undergraduates classified on the basis of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were asked to recall "who said what" after listening to a taped conversation either among 3 men and 3 women (the gender study) or among 3 Blacks and 3 Whites (the race study). Analysis of Ss' errors revealed that both sex-typed and cross-sex-typed Ss confused the members of the opposite sex with one another significantly more than androgynous or undifferentiated Ss did. In contrast, no individual differences related to sex typing emerged in the race study, which suggests that the greater gender schematicity of sex-typed individuals is specific to gender, as S. L. Bem's (see record 1981-25685-001) gender schema theory implies. The finding that cross-sex-typed Ss were significantly more gender schematic than anyone else and the apparent inconsistency of the data with the self-schema theory of H. Markus et al (see record 1982-23588-001) are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)