Jewish quotas in clinical psychology?: The Journal of Clinical Psychology and the scandal of 1945.

In 1945 Frederick Thorne, editor of the Journal of Clinical Psychology, proposed to limit the acceptance of Jewish applicants to clinical psychology graduate schools. A public scandal erupted over this proposed limit, which was modeled on Jewish quotas in medical education. Criticized by the mass media and most psychologists, Thorne’s proposal was repudiated by the Eastern Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Using private correspondence, oral histories, and published articles, this mostly forgotten episode in the history of clinical psychology is recreated. It is argued that the 1945 campaign against Jewish quotas prepared activists for the 1950s campaign against racial segregation and the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case. Because the participants in 1945 came from all specialties in psychology, it is suggested that this story is of significance to the field as a whole, rather than just to historians of social issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What ought psychology to do?

The Reverend Jesse Jackson addressed the American Psychological Association on August 20, 1999, in Boston, Massachusetts. His speech concerned social justice and psychology. This article presents the text of an abridged version of his remarks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retracing the footsteps of Wilhelm Wundt: Explorations in the disciplinary frontiers of psychology and in V?lkerpsychologie.

In 1927, Wilhelm Wundt’s daughter, Eleonore Wundt, compiled and published a comprehensive catalogue of her father’s works and works in translation. We use this catalogue as a starting point for an examination of the breadth of Wundt’s contributions, the reaction to his works from the international psychological community, and the overall trajectory of his academic career. Two areas of particular interest are Wundt’s view on the nature of psychology and its relationship to other disciplines, and his discussion of the nature of V?lkerpsychologie and its role in psychology. A close examination of original sources reveals that Wundt anchored psychology in the realm of mental sciences. He regarded “psychology [to be] in relation to natural sciences the supplementary, in relation to the mental sciences the fundamental, and in relation to philosophy the propaedeutic empirical science.” The accomplishments and limitations of Wundtian V?lkerpsychologie are viewed stereoscopically through the lenses of its explicated conceptions, goals, and methods, on one hand, and of the contemporary advancements in psychology, on the other. Current implications of Wundt’s works and further developments of his ideas are related to Davidson’s theory of epistemology and to present-day deliberations on the biocultural coconstruction of human development. We conclude by considering the continuing relevance of Wundt’s intellectual legacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What's social about social psychology? Where's the person in personality research?

Content analyses of research published in the 1982 volumes of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology indicate that social psychologists have largely failed to study subjects drawn from meaningfully defined social groups, to consider social structural variables, to study genuine social interaction, to observe social influences on psychological functioning, or to ask Ss about social issues. It is maintained that with few exceptions, personality researchers have failed to study groups other than college students, to use biographical materials or personal documents, to devise appropriate experimental treatments, to study persons over time, or even to retain the individual as a unit of analysis. Currently, the 2 fields of social and personality psychological research appear to be linked mainly by their deficiencies and appear to have little content worth sharing. Reexamination of each field's traditions and priorities is urgently needed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Between psychology and pedagogy: “Moral orthopedics” and case studies of children in fin-de-siècle French medicine.

In the latter decades of the 19th century, European physicians debated a controversial practice that mixed placebos with suggestion therapy to treat children diagnosed with neurotic disorders and behavioral problems. Designed to optimize suggestibility in juvenile patients, this “moral orthopedics” offered parents and therapists the message that children could be saved from becoming victims of their own personalities, of familial neuroses, or even of public health problems. Case studies, published in medical journals and books, circulated accounts of innovative strategies to treat childhood hysteria and to change habits that were considered destructive. Moral orthopedics actualized the insight that suggestibility could be therapeutically productive for juvenile subjects. However, because its adherents sought to manipulate patients' behavior and health by influencing unconscious thought, moral orthopedics provoked questions of expertise and disciplinary propriety among domains of medicine, law, and philosophy. This article reconstructs the controversy surrounding moral orthopedics by examining case studies. I argue that adherents of moral orthopedics did overcome philosophical objections raised against the method, and that they did so through what physician Edgar Bérillon referred to as “education of the will.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The triumph of the segregationists? A historiographical inquiry into psychology and the Brown litigation.

Psychologists testified at the trials of Brown v. Board of Education and helped write briefs that were submitted to the Supreme Court on appeal. Psychologists were once proud of what they did in Brown but are now seen as liberal reformers who masked their political wishes in the guise of social science. The argument that psychologists involved with Brown were social reformers rather than objective scientists dates to the segregationist critique of Brown. The author traces the history of the critique of the Brown psychologists from its segregationist origins to its acceptance by mainstream social scientific and historical scholars. The author concludes that the critique is based on a misreading of what the Brown psychologists did during the litigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Who talks? The social psychology of illness support groups.

More Americans try to change their health behaviors through self-help than through all other forms of professionally designed programs. Mutual support groups, involving little or no cost to participants, have a powerful effect on mental and physical health, yet little is known about patterns of support-group participation in health care. Why do groups form? Do people seek support at comparable levels across illness categories? Are patterns of support seeking similar for real-world support groups and computer-based virtual support groups? In an effort to observe social comparison processes with real-world relevance, support-group participation was measured for 20 disease categories in 4 metropolitan areas (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas) and on nationwide on-line discussion groups. Support seeking was highest for diseases viewed as most stigmatizing (e.g., AIDS, alcoholism, breast and prostate cancer) and was lowest for less embarrassing but equally devastating disorders, such as heart disease. The authors discuss implications for social comparison theory and the use of Internet support groups for research and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are we there yet? Stasis and progress in forensic psychology.

Progress in forensic psychology has been rapid in some areas and nonexistent in others. By contrasting technological and conceptual scientific progress in three areas--the legal disposition of mentally ill offenders, risk appraisal, and theories of individual differences in antisocial behaviour--I attempt to identify some determinants of progress. Conceptual progress appears to depend even more heavily than technological progress on developments in the more advanced sciences, supporting the idea that consilience plays a vital heuristic role in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Person?×?Situation interactionism in self-encoding (Iam…when…): Implications for affect regulation and social information processing.

Although Person?×?Situation (P?×?S) interactionism is central in current social-cognitive conceptions of personality organization, its implications for the encoding of the self remain unexplored. Two studies examined the causal role of P?×?S interactionism in self-encoding on affect regulation and discriminative social perception. Following failure (Studies 1 and 2) and success (Study 2) ideation, participants were prompted to encode the self either in P?×?S interactionist terms (I am…when…) or in traitlike unconditional terms (I am…). Interactionist (compared with unconditional) self-encoding led to less affective extremity, suggesting that such encoding may prevent individuals from generalizing specific success and failure experiences to the self as a whole. Study 2 also found that interactionist self-encoding attenuated the endorsement of global stereotypes, suggesting that such encoding may enhance fine-grained social perception as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social science evidence in the courtroom: Daubert and beyond?

Recent Supreme Court decisions suggest that judges should conduct a gatekeeping inquiry before admitting testimony that is based on psychology or other social sciences. Perspectives from other areas of applied social research may be of use to psychologists and others as they consider these decisions by the Court. A view of research as "assisted sensemaking" highlights (a) the importance of better understanding the capacities and limits of the natural sensemaking of jurors, (b) reasons why the gatekeeping function is appropriate, and (c) possible ways in which researchers can better serve the courts as they deal with the implications of gatekeeping. The possible impact of different types of expert testimony and the potential development of nonadversarial support mechanisms are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Contextualism in psychological research?: A critical review.

Reviews the book, Contextualism in psychological research?: A critical review by E. J. Capaldi and Robert W. Proctor (see record 1999-04104-000). In this book, these authors seek to expose what they perceive to be the fatal epistemological and conceptual flaws of the contextualist position (which they broadly and somewhat sloppily define as any approach in psychology that is more or less anti-mechanistic in its inclinations). It is a useful, clearly written, and provocative response to much recent contextualist thinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How strong is the case against contemporary social and personality psychology? A response to Carlson.

Discusses a content analysis of the research published in the 1982 volumes of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, in which R. Carlson (see record 1985-11991-001) found that Carlson is incorrect in (a) an overly restrictive definition of what constitutes valid social and personality psychology, (b) her negative evaluations of the worth of the current approaches, and (c) an unjustified set of methodological prejudices. (58 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Who attains social status? Effects of personality and physical attractiveness in social groups.

One of the most important goals and outcomes of social life is to attain status in the groups to which we belong. Such face-to-face status is defined by the amount of respect, influence, and prominence each member enjoys in the eyes of the others. Three studies investigated personological determinants of status in social groups (fraternity, sorority, and dormitory), relating the Big Five personality traits and physical attractiveness to peer ratings of status. High Extraversion substantially predicted elevated status for both sexes. High Neuroticism, incompatible with male gender norms, predicted lower status in men. None of the other Big Five traits predicted status. These effects were independent of attractiveness, which predicted higher status only in men. Contrary to previous claims, women's status ordering was just as stable as men's but emerged later. Discussion focuses on personological pathways to attaining status and on potential mediators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit prejudice and stereotyping: How automatic are they? Introduction to the special section.

This special issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition addresses issues of the measurement and the malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes. The findings raise fundamental questions about the assumptions underlying the assessment of implicit prejudice, particularly with regard to the widely used Implicit Association Test (A. Greenwald, D. McGhee, & J. Schwartz, 1998) and the assumption of extant models of prejudice and stereotyping that implicit biases are automatically and invariantly activated when perceivers come in contact with members of stigmatized groups. Several of the articles show that contextual manipulations produce reductions in implicit manifestations of prejudice and stereotyping. The articles in this issue, in challenging conventional wisdom, are thought provoking and should be generative in the field's ongoing efforts to understand the role of implicit (and explicit) processes involved in prejudice and stereotyping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Mystery of mysteries: Is evolution a social construction?

Reviews the book, Mystery of mysteries: Is evolution a social construction? by Michael Ruse (1999). Beginning with such seminal figures as Erasmus and Charles Darwin and Julian Huxley, and considering closely such contemporary thinkers as Richard Dawkins, E. O. Wilson, Stephen J. Gould, and Richard Lewontin, Ruse sets out to explore the roles that metaphor and social context have played in the development of evolutionary theory from the 18th century to the present day. Framed within the context of the antithetical visions of Popperian and Kuhnian philosophies of science, and the “science wars” that their thinking has induced, Ruse contemplates the delicate interplay of cultural values and the intellectual machinery of scientific inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life reflection: A social–cognitive analysis of life review.

Life review and reminiscence are 2 concepts used to describe the phenomenon of people reflecting on their lives. Rather than used synonymously, these 2 concepts need to be distinguished on the basis of a social–cognitive process analysis. For that purpose, life reflection is introduced as a new term. Evidence shows that life reflection is a social–cognitive process that begins in adolescence and continues across the life span. It serves different functions across the life span, but at all ages it contributes to self-insight and a self-critical perspective. Striving for new insights about oneself and about life in general is challenging and taxing. Reflecting together with a trusted person, thus, may facilitate the process. A study testing and supporting some of these propositions is reported. Results are discussed in the context of lifespan theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond the birds and the bees and was it good for you?: Thirty years of research on sexual communication.

Sexual experience and expression is of fundamental importance to most people. However, most people do not communicate effectively about sexuality even when it is important to do so. For example, many parents see it as their responsibility to talk to their children about sexuality and yet do not engage in in-depth discussions with their children about sexual topics. Most romantic partners have difficulty telling each other what pleases and displeases them sexually. Many health care professionals do not meet their patients' needs for information about the sexual changes they experience as a result of their disease or treatment. Many psychologists also are not doing a good job of addressing sexuality in the classroom, in practicum and internship settings, and/or with clients. These instances of poor sexual communication are unfortunate as effective sexual communication can have a range of positive outcomes such as more satisfying relationships and positive sexual health and well-being over the life span. This paper reviews sexual communication in all of these contexts, focusing on findings from my program of research spanning more than 30 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing race and seeming racist? Evaluating strategic colorblindness in social interaction.

One strategy practiced by many Whites to regulate the appearance of prejudice during social interaction is to avoid talking about race, or even acknowledging racial difference. Four experiments involving a dyadic task investigated antecedents and consequences of this tendency. Observed colorblindness was strategic in nature: Whites' acknowledgment of race was highly susceptible to normative pressure and most evident among individuals concerned with self-presentational aspects of appearing biased (Study 1). However, this tendency was often counterproductive, as avoiding race during interracial interaction predicted negative nonverbal behavior (Study 1), a relationship mediated by decreased capacity to exert inhibitory control (Study 2). Two studies examining White and Black observers' impressions of colorblind behavior revealed divergent assessments of actors' prejudice in situations where race was clearly relevant (Study 3) but convergent assessments when race was less relevant (Study 4). Practical and theoretical implications for interracial interaction are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual kin recognition in nonhuman primates: (Pan troglodytes and Macaca mulatta): Inbreeding avoidance or male distinctiveness?

Faces provide important information about identity, age, and even kinship. A previous study in chimpanzees reported greater similarity between the faces of mothers and sons compared with mothers and daughters, or unrelated individuals. This was interpreted as an inbreeding avoidance mechanism where females, the dispersing gender, should avoid mating with any male that resembles their mother. Alternatively, male faces may be more distinctive than female faces, biasing attention toward males. To test these hypotheses, chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys matched conspecifics' faces of unfamiliar mothers and fathers with their sons and daughters. Results showed no evidence of male distinctiveness, rather a cross-gender effect was found: chimpanzees were better matching moms with sons and fathers with daughters. Rhesus monkeys, however, showed an overwhelming bias toward male-distinctiveness. They were faster to learn male faces, performed better on father–offspring and parent–son trials, and were best matching fathers with sons. This suggests that for the rhesus monkey, inbreeding avoidance involves something other than facial phenotypic matching but that among chimpanzees, the visual recognition of facial similarities may play an important role. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)