Disciplinarity and methodology in intersectionality theory and research.

Comments on the original article, "Intersectionality and research in psychology," by E. R. Cole (see record 2009-04471-001). Cole’s article, says the current author, makes a welcome and valuable contribution to the field of psychology. Particularly useful are the three questions that she posed, highlighting how these questions are relevant and pressing for all researchers, not just those focused on work with subordinated groups. However, there are two additional points that the current author believes need to be addressed as intersectionality moves from the margins of psychology to the mainstream. First, although Cole (2009) nicely traced the history of intersectionality, from feminists of color and critical race theorists to psychology, what the current author found lacking was a discussion about the implications of translating the theory across disciplines. The current author's second point is a methodological one and is related to the disciplinary origins of intersectionality. The current author was surprised to see Cole (2009) discuss at length the role of statistical interactions in intersectionality research. While the current author fully appreciates that Cole may have been attempting to “speak the language” of the vast majority of psychologists, a crucial point about intersectionality research was lost: that qualitative research is central to this approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Shaping the future of feminist psychology: Education, research, and practice.

Reviews the book, Shaping the future of feminist psychology: Education, research, and practice by Judith Worell and Norine G. Johnson (see record 1997-36316-000). This book is distinct in that it is neither a psychoanalytic nor psychoanalytically informed reader. The book is the collective outcome of the first National Conference on Education and Training in Feminist Practice, a working conference that convened in 1993, in Boston, and was attended by some of the nation's preeminent feminist psychologists. The 4 day conference was organized for purposes of developing a solid training and educational plan for prospective feminist practice. The focus was on the re-creation of a psychology that would be consistent with feminist principles and practices. The book evokes a sense of how exciting the conference must have been. It focuses on nine topics: theory, assessment, therapy, research, curriculum development, teaching, supervision, diversity, and postdoctoral training. In general, each chapter provides a summary review of the status of the topic, describes the process and content of the work group meetings, considers some models, and identifies future directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology and evolutionary psychology: Toward a dialogue.

The growth of evolutionary psychology as a theoretical framework for the study of human behavior has been spectacular. However, evolutionary psychology has been largely ignored by clinical psychology. This article is an attempt to encourage greater dialogue between the two. First, some of the major principles of evolutionary psychology are outlined, followed by consideration of some of the criticisms that have been made of this approach. Second, an attempt is made to trace the influence of evolutionary theory on the history and development of clinical psychology. Third, the authors describe how an evolutionary perspective has enhanced the understanding and study of autism and depression. Finally, some implications of an evolutionary perspective for etiological theory, assessment, treatment, and ethics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feminist psychology in Canada: Early days.

Several of the events that marked the origins of feminist psychology in Canada are discussed in this paper beginning with an account of the "Underground Symposium" which took place in Montreal in 1972. Four other influential events from the early days are described--the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Task Force on the Status of Women in Canadian Psychology, the founding of the CPA Interest Group on Women and Psychology in 1976, the implementation of an Institute on Women and Psychology in 1978, and the establishment of the CPA Status of Women Committee. Parallels with comparable events in the American Psychological Association are identified. The paper concludes with a forecast of the future of the psychology of women as a specialization within the discipline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locational feminisms and feminist social identity analysis.

Locational feminisms encompass the many manifestations that feminisms assume as they emerge, travel, and are transplanted in a wide range of temporal, spatial, and cultural settings. Locational feminisms explore the interlocking oppressions and privileges associated with multidimensional and complex social identities associated with race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, culture, disability, and other social statuses. They also critique feminisms based on generalizations about middle class women's lives, and move the experiences and perspectives of diverse groups of individuals from the margin to the center of exploration. The locational feminisms addressed in this article include postmodern feminism, women of color feminisms, lesbian feminisms and queer theory, transnational and postcolonial feminisms, and third wave feminisms. Social identity analysis refers to the assessment of the social categories a person occupies and how these memberships are relevant to personal identity; perceived sources of strength and challenge; and experiences of empowerment, privilege, and discrimination. The locational feminisms hold substantial potential for informing social identity analysis, which supports comprehensive assessment relevant to social justice approaches. The article begins with a summary of the theoretical literature that informs locational feminisms, and is followed by a discussion of implications and applications relevant to feminist and other social justice practices in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological climate changes for women in academic psychology: Forecasts, sources, and implications.

Reflecting on the past, and observing the present, what kinds of psychological changes might be in the forecast for women in psychology, for women affected by our discipline, and for the discipline itself? Using metaphors borrowed from meteorology and climatology, a psychological almanac is constructed for feminist psychology in Canada, warming trends are examined on both the academic and applied fronts, and weather advisories are issued. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Darwin on race, gender, and culture.

Darwin's theories of natural selection and sexual selection are significant scientific achievements, although his understanding of race and gender was defined and limited by his own life circumstances and the sociohistorical context within which he worked. This article considers the ways in which race, gender, and culture were represented and explained by Darwin and the ways in which his observations and opinions on gender and race were taken up by others and, more often than not, misapplied. Whereas the challenge of race (for Darwin) was to demonstrate the fundamental similarity and, hence, the common origin, of human races, the challenge of gender (for Darwin) was to identify a mechanism that could account for differences between women and men that, to him, were obvious, fundamental, and significant. The article concludes by considering the implications of Darwin's views for contemporary scientific psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rhetoric of psychological research and the problem of unification in psychology.

There has been in the field of psychology a long and well-documented discontent with an apparent disorganization in its literature, most often interpreted as reflecting the absence of a unifying theory. This article examines some alternative ways in which some of the disorganization is being actively created by forms of argumentation used in reporting and discussing psychological research. One institutionalized form of argumentation used in reporting data actually generates the proliferation of theoretical terms in the literature. A second form of argumentation reifies theories into social groups, incorporating values that discourage theoretical integration. Some of the discontent arises from the incompatibility between the values latent in such social organizations and the values that motivate scientific inquiry at a personal level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social psychology and desegregation research.

"The role of social science, particularly sociology and psychology, in the desegregation process has been much publicized and criticized by southern segregationists." Reasons are considered for the failure of foundations to support desegregation research. The concept of latent liberal is introduced. The "definitive inter-disciplinary case study of desegregation has yet to be started. Properly buttressed by the necessary foundation aid, such a study should involve comparisons before, during, and after desegregation of a wide variety of communities." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2GA05P. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evolutionary psychology and intelligence research.

This article seeks to unify two subfields of psychology that have hitherto stood separately: evolutionary psychology and intelligence research/differential psychology. I suggest that general intelligence may simultaneously be an evolved adaptation and an individual-difference variable. Tooby and Cosmides's (1990a) notion of random quantitative variation on a monomorphic design allows us to incorporate heritable individual differences in evolved adaptations. The Savanna–IQ Interaction Hypothesis, which is one consequence of the integration of evolutionary psychology and intelligence research, can potentially explain why less intelligent individuals enjoy TV more, why liberals are more intelligent than conservatives, and why night owls are more intelligent than morning larks, among many other findings. The general approach proposed here will allow us to integrate evolutionary psychology with any other aspect of differential psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tension and opportunity in post-World War II American psychology.

The rapid growth of post-World War II psychology in the United States led to intradisciplinary tensions and opportunities. In this article, I examine these tensions and opportunities in the context of social change from the 1950s through the present, attending specifically to the broad impact of federal funding on psychology. I argue that as psychology became a resource-rich field, it was forced to move from a narrow, parochial stance to a position as a national-level professional player that had to deal with the challenges of mixing science and practice, as well as meeting the demands of non-White psychologists at the national level. The impetus to create a more inclusive psychology has grown in the last three decades of the 20th century and has helped create possibilities for greater richness in American psychology and movement toward a truly international role vis-à-vis emergent psychologies around the world (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing a feminist psychology of women: Past and future accomplishments.

Afeminist approach to the psychology of women is defined. In terms of this definition four areas central to the psychology of women are examined. These areas are theory building, sex differences research, research describing women's lives, and feminist therapy. For each area past accomplishments are outlined and future directions are suggested. In conclusion, two important methodological paradoxes are presented, and their relevance to a developing feminist psychology of women is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theory and philosophy in social psychology.

Social psychologists are generally very empirical, and their research is usually theoretically oriented. However, what passes for theory is often no more than a couple of vague statements. Nevertheless, coming from the tradition of Kurt Lewin, we tend to reject papers that do not test a "theory". On the other hand, we pay no attention to theories lacking experimental support. Clinical observations are not enough. There is very little concern with philosophical issues. Ken Gergen of Swarthmore College is a notable exception and is often on convention programs. His comments about "historicism" in social psychology have caused some published rebuttals, but our members are largely not very concerned with this or with Gergen's more recent forays in "social re-constructionism". (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Industrial-organizational psychology research in the Canadian Forces.

Introduces this special issue of the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, which focuses on industrial-organizational psychology research in the Canadian Forces (CF). The empirical papers included in the Special Issue represent a limited cross-section of Industrial-Organizational research from the Canadian Forces Human Resources and Evaluation Branch, and include collaborations with various academicians across the country. These studies do not begin to capture the vast array of issues/topics routinely under empirical investigation by the CF. Nonetheless, collectively they provide a sample of some of the diverse areas of research inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Education for research in psychology.

A report of a seminar held at Estes Park, Colorado, July 28-August 22, 1958, sponsored by the Education and Training Board of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of the seminar was "to provide information which would aid institutions giving graduate degrees in psychology in examining and improving their programs for training research men." Major sections are: (a) How Research Gets Done; (b) Formal Aspects of Graduate Training (Statistics, Other Tool Subjects, Breadth of Scholarship, Role of Theory in Research, Standardization), (c) Development of the Individual (Selection, Motivation, Apprenticeship); (d) Summing Up. Research is "learned by doing and taught mainly by contagion. Research must first be going on if there is to be research training… . Apprenticeship is, we believe, the most important part of education for research in psychology; the professor who hires a graduate student as a research assistant takes on the primary teaching responsibility for that student, a responsibility which both he and his department must recognize." Opposition is expressed to standardizing training programs for research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining race and culture in psychology journals: The case of forensic psychology.

Scholars have argued that racial-cultural issues should be given more attention in psychological research. The American Psychological Association (APA) has instituted guidelines and policies about how to include race and culture in research, theory, and practice. Members of racial minority groups are overrepresented in populations served by forensic psychologists. This article reviews content analyses of racial-cultural issues in psychology and presents a content analysis of the treatment of race and culture in 7 forensic psychology journals between 1998 and 2003. Results indicate that less than 10% of the empirical articles addressed issues of race or culture with any depth and that the majority of the articles used a cultural deprivation paradigm. Results and recommendations for practice and future study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rise of qualitative research in psychology.

A study is presented on the rise of qualitative research in psychology over the 20th century. The incidence of qualitative research as indicated by several search terms (i.e., "qualitative research," "grounded theory," "discourse analy*," "empirical phenomenological," and "phenomenological psychology") was traced through the PsycINFO and Dissertation Abstracts International databases. It was found that, with the exception of the search terms having to do with phenomenology, records containing these search terms were basically non-existent until the 1980s, when there was a sharp rise that intensified in the 1990s. The PsycINFO records were sorted according to (1) whether they came from psychology or other social and health science disciplines; (2) region of origin; (3) the types of document to which they referred; and (4) whether they focused on the methodology or the application of qualitative research. A number of interesting differences emerged from this comparative analysis. Implications of the findings for the supposition that a paradigm shift may be underway are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between psychometric and experimental research in psychology.

A discussion of the distinction between experimental research (variables determined by experimental operations) and psychometric research (variables determined by psychometric operations). Indications of how these two traditionally distinct methods may be combined and the resultant advantages obtained are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The handbook of humanistic psychology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice.

Reviews the book, The handbook of humanistic psychology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice by Kirk J. Schneider, James F. T. Bugental, and J. Fraser Pierson (see record 2001-01409-000). Over 30 years ago Abraham Maslow (1971) envisioned a 3rd force psychology that would bring about “a change of basic thinking along the total front of man’s endeavors, a potential change in every social institution, in every one of the ‘fields’ of intellectual endeavor, and in every one of the professions.” Schneider, Bugental, and Pierson must have been guided by a similar vision as they edited the Handbook of humanistic psychology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice. The breadth of the handbook is impressive with chapters addressing everything from psychotherapy, pedagogy, medicine, and spirituality to ecology, literature, social action and the workplace. The editors have successfully recruited authors from a variety of disciplines—including psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, education, and politics—who are well respected both inside and outside humanistic circles and who are exceptionally qualified to address their topics. Fortunately, despite this far-reaching breadth, the editors have not spread the handbook too thin. In fact, in areas where it seems especially needed (e.g., methodology) there is a much welcome depth and detail that is far from typical of other handbooks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)