Psychologists as legislators: Results of the 2006 elections.

Psychologists elected to legislative office have tended to specialize in health care issues, bringing the profession's unique perspective to better inform debates. Following the 2006 elections, their numbers will fall to 3 in Congress and 14 in state legislatures. This loss, however, is overshadowed by the election of psychologist Ted Strickland as governor of Ohio. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists as Legislators: Results of the 2004 Elections.

The election results of 2004 were favorable for psychologist legislators. All of the incumbent psychologist members of Congress and state legislatures who were running for office won reelection. The retirement of 2 veteran state legislators was offset by 2 newly elected psychologists. As a group, these legislators continue to sponsor bills and pass laws that have a strong focus on mental health and human services. This reflects well the contributions that a background in psychology can offer to the formation of enlightened public policy. While this career path is not one that most psychologists will pursue, there are other avenues for participation in the political process that are readily available, including membership in the Association for the Advancement of Psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists as legislators: Results of the 2000 elections.

The elections of November 2000 saw the reelection of 2 psychologists to Congress, boding well for their continuing positive influence on national mental health and health policy. A recent example of this positive influence includes successful legislation creating mental health courts as a humane alternative to the criminalization of mental illness. In addition, 8 psychologist legislators were reelected to state legislatures, and 2 psychologists were newly elected to state legislatures, ensuring similar championing of mental health priorities in many Statehouses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Raymond G. Hunt (1928-2006).

Presents an obituary for Raymond G. Hunt. An applied psychologist, Hunt conducted extensive studies that included nurses and patients, police chiefs, and NASA administrative procedures. He consulted for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and various federal agencies and promoted binational education and commerce in China and Hungary. A fellow of APA and other professional associations, Hunt was elected to the honor societies Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Beta Gamma Sigma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Explorations in Ecological Psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Roger G. Barker (American Psychologist, 1965, 20, 1-14). The captions for Figures 1 and 2 on pages 2 and 3, respectively, are correct and follow text, but the figures have been interchanged. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1965-08912-001.) The "great diversity of coupling between psychologists and psychological phenomena can be divided into 2 types which produce data of crucially different significance for the science of psychology." (1) Psychologists as Transducers--T Data: The psychologist transforms data and in effect is a translating machine. (2) Psychologists as Operators--O Data: The psychologist "achieves control which allows him to focus upon segments and processes of particular concern to him, via data that refer to events which he, in part, contrives." Psychologists "as operators and as transducers are not analogous, and . . . the data they produce have fundamentally different uses within science. A central problem of our science is the relation between ecological events (the distal stimuli) at the origin of E-O-E [environment-organism-environment] arcs and the succeeding events along these arcs." There "are a number of reasons for avoiding the role of transducer in psychological research . . . . The skills and personality attributes required of a successful transducer are different from those of a successful operator . . . . The techniques of the transducer are in many respects more difficult than those of the operator." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The 105th Congress: A time for renewed enthusiasm.

States that the November, 1996, elections were gratifying for psychology in political terms. In state races across the country, psychologists won, including legislators who have participated in the American Psychological Association (APA) Practice Directorate State Leadership Conferences. Pennsylvania elected 2 psychologists; it is the only state with a psychologist in each chamber. Most significant were the unprecedented campaigns of 2 psychologists for Congress. Nonelective retirement for Presidential nominees and future legislative initiatives in health security are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On "Salvation and its vicissitudes."

Comments on an article on clinical psychology and political values in which B. Beit-Hallahmi (see record 1974-25754-001) challenges the assumptions of clinical psychology. Kahoe questions how the definition of the psychologist would be changed by a shift in focus to social systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Silverman's "expert witness."

Refers to H. Silverman's (see record 1969-08897-001) discussion of the role of the psychologist as expert witness and suggests that psychological experts have a role in the court's decision making following conviction. Similar to the process in the juvenile justice system, behavioral experts could provide a predictive assessment of the response of the accused to a range of rehabilitative options. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Understanding depression: Feminist social constructionist approaches.

Reviews the book, Understanding depression: Feminist social constructionist approaches by Janet M. Stoppard (see record 1999-04422-000). Dr. Stoppard has written an excellent overview that brings together mainstream psychological and feminist research and writing about women and depression. The author, a feminist psychologist, brings a balanced view to this area, which has typically seen feminists and mainstream psychologists either avoiding or dismissing each other's work. Thus this book presents a unique and important integration that both feminists and psychologists should find useful. This is an excellent book that will be of interest to a wide range of readers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lucky dogs.

Psychologists possess unique qualifications to serve as elected public officials. However, psychologists often are unprepared or unable to provide a thoughtful, honest, public statement of their individual core values, what implications these values have for their practice and polities, and why they believe they are representative of, and sensitive to, their respective constituencies. Integrating one's personal experiences, professional training, and commitment to societal change and progress is illustrated with the author's personal development into his positions as both a clinical psychologist and a state legislator. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

My racial identity development and supervision: A self-reflection.

Using the People of Color Racial Identity model (Helms & Cook, 1999) as a framework, the author reflects on her supervisory experience and professional development as an Asian immigrant psychologist. Through the author’s self-reflection, this article also illustrates how one’s racial identity development and professional experience mutually shape each other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New Members and Associates of the American Psychological Association: Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article (American Psychologist, 1964, 19[1], 46-53). On page 46, the last two lines are incorrect. The correct version is printed here. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1964-06954-001.) 1543 persons were elected to membership in APA as of January 1, 1964; 703 were elected Members and 840 were elected Associates. 210 Associate members were transferred to Member status. The persons involved are listed by name. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lloyd Girton Humphreys (1913-2003).

Obituary for psychologist educator Lloyd Girton Humphreys (1913-2003). Among other things, the obituary reports that Lloyd helped to form the organizing committee that established the Psychonomic Society in 1959. Lloyd was also involved in several efforts toward the enhancement of graduate education in psychology. In 1964, he chaired a meeting of the Council of Chairmen of Graduate Departments of Psychology, and he was elected the first chairman of the resulting organization--which later became the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology. Also, Lloyd was actively involved in advocating for the designation of the doctor of psychology (PsyD) degree, against rather considerable opposition from some other members of the academic community. He was a member of the 1963 American Psychological Association Committee on the Scientific and Professional Aims of Psychology that ultimately proposed the initiation of the PsyD in 1967, and as department head, Lloyd was instrumental in helping D. R. Peterson start the first PsyD program at the University of Illinois in 1968. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction among school psychologists: A meta-analysis.

Meta-analytic techniques were used to analyze data from a collection of school psychologist job satisfaction studies that were conducted between 1982 and 1999. Eight studies, all of which used the Modified Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (m-MSQ) to measure job satisfaction among school psychologists, were included in the analysis. Two national studies and six state studies totaling 2,116 participants were analyzed. Results indicated that nearly 85% of school psychologists were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. School psychologists were most satisfied with their relationships with coworkers, the opportunity to stay busy on the job, the opportunity to work independently, and the opportunity to be of service to others. School psychologists were least satisfied with compensation, school policies and practices, and advancement. Findings were generally consistent between state and national studies, and between 1980s and 1990s studies. Results offered some evidence that overall job satisfaction may be related to state school psychology organization membership and to the opportunity to expand and influence the role of the school psychologist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Advancing mental health in political places.

The author describes his career as a psychologist serving in elected office. He found that by his attending to individual concerns, supporting community consensus on key issues, playing the outsider role, leading an issue individually, and calling media attention to a problem, city hall could be moved to action. In the state legislature, the author serves in the minority but has made an impact by amending legislation, sponsoring less controversial bills, or generating enough public support for a bill that the majority advances its own similar bill. He identified the following mental health needs in Ohio: better understanding by legislators of the nature and impact of mental illness, adequate funding, mental health parity legislation, and more effective advocacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Dean A. Worcester (1889-1982).

Obituary [Dean A. Webster; 1889-1982]. A highly active and productive educational psychologist and rugged Vermonter, Dean A. Worcester died at age 93 on April 12, 1982. He was the kind of psychologist who managed to excel as both practitioner and a contributor to psychological research and thought, despite an employment schedule that provided little time for the latter. This obituary highlights Dr. Webster's academic and career achievements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Psychological services provided within Veterans Administration nursing homes": Correction to Kupke.

Reports an error in "Psychological services provided within Veterans Administration nursing homes" by Thomas Kupke (Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1986[Jun], Vol 17[3], 185-190). In this article, the copyright information was incorrect. The correct copyright information is included in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1986-28163-001.) Surveyed the nature and scope of psychological services provided within 67 Veterans Administration nursing facilities to examine the emerging professional domain of the nursing home psychologist. Data regarding service delivery models, use of time, assessment and treatment services, multidisciplinary team activities, staff and student training, and research are provided. The profile of the ideal nursing-home psychologist that emerges from this survey is that of a well-rounded psychologist capable of rendering a full range of assessment, treatment, and consultative services while also functioning as a treatment team member, a teacher, a program developer, and a researcher. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accepting forensic case referrals: Ethical and professional considerations.

As psychologists serve the legal system with increasing frequency, it is important to consider a number of critical issues at a case's inception, including the following: Who calls the psychologist? Who is the referral source? Who is the attorney? Who are the various parties involved in the case? What are the facts of the case? Does the psychologist have the expertise to clarify and develop technical issues of the case? Will the psychologist be expected to play an expert role or a consultant role? Who pays the psychologist? How are fees determined? What records should be kept? Answering these questions will help the psychologist avoid ethical, legal, and professional dilemmas and will allow the psychologist to perform an important service in helping the court to understand technical issues in reaching just decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)