Some ethical issues in sensitivity training.

Presents sensitivity training and encounter as having evolved over the past two decades into popular psychoeducational experiences. Diverse group experiences are conducted by "trainers," "facilitators," or simply leaders, with gross differences in professional preparation. The "encounter group" appears to be purely therapeutic in intent. Early goals of training were democratic change and the study of facilitating or obstructing group processes. Many current practitioners either disavow or are ignorant of original purposes and emphasize emotional expressiveness. Hence, the original aim of training is subverted, and pressures are exerted upon participants for emotional expressivity regardless of psychological statuses. Inadequate preparation of many "trainers" to deal with personality problems, inadequate cognizance of group influences exerted as pressures upon participants, and a premium placed upon emotionality (a) undermine the socially useful values of learning and understanding of group and interactional processes, and (b) raise pressing ethical practice issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Some ethical issues in sensitivity training": Response.

M. Lakin's (see record 1970-08359-001) proposals, concerning the ethical issues involved in training group leaders in the human growth potential movement, fails to recognize the importance of human exploration and personal contact over professional credentials. To protect a vulnerable public from incompetence, information should be disseminated to permit individuals to make their own decisions about practitioner trustworthiness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paradoxical interventions, gender issues, and interactional sequences.

Comments on work by E. L. Holloway et al (see record 1990-29009-001) on the use of paradoxical interventions (PIs) with couples. An alternative PI is proposed in which the female client's negative role would have been transformed into a more constructive position. The need for follow-up to confirm changes in behavioral interactions is stressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shame and gender issues in pathological narcissism.

Discusses the importance of monitoring the emotion of shame, which is closely linked to identity, in psychoanalysis. Shame is distinguished from guilt, and its relationship to pathological narcissism is discussed. A typology of narcissistic pathology is also described, which is mediated by the extent to which grandiosity is consciously experienced by the patient. Specifically, where grandiosity is conscious and central, there is a distinct shame avoidance quality. Males tend to be overrepresented in this category. Where grandiosity is disavowed, although unconsciously present, there is a heightened sensitivity to shame. Women seem to cluster here. Case illustrations of each type are included, and theoretical approaches to treatment are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomy and gender: Some questions for therapists.

Discusses the nature of autonomy and explores how autonomy as a therapeutic goal relates to clinical practice and the conduct of psychotherapy. Autonomy has been defined as the power to determine one's own best interests, and it has been criticized for promoting selfishness and reflecting upper-class values and gender bias. It is suggested that issues of autonomy are involved in the process of psychotherapy as well as its aim. In therapy, there is a dynamic tension between the principle of autonomy, the right of clients to determine their own interests, and the principle of beneficence, the therapist's obligation to protect the client's welfare. Whether autonomy is an appropriate ideal in psychotherapy for women or for men is considered. Feminist theorists have criticized aspects of masculine autonomy, contrasting it with feminine relatedness; however, the idealization of relatedness is questioned. It is concluded that the present conceptualizations of autonomy do not fully encompass the complexity of human interaction. It is argued that (a) autonomy and relatedness are not essential aspects of male and female nature but depend on power and status and (b) without social change, autonomy may not be a realistic goal of therapy for women. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mathematics anxiety: Some basic issues.

Investigated 4 considerations about mathematics anxiety (MA): (a) the degree of MA experienced by men and women, (b) the internal consistency and test–retest reliabilities of 3 MA measures, (c) the relationship of MA instruments to each other, and (d) the relationship of MA to test anxiety and its worry and emotionality components. 769 college students' MA was measured by the Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS), the Anxiety Toward Mathematics Scale (ATMS), and the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS). Ss also completed the Test Anxiety Inventory. Results indicate nonequivalent internal consistency and test–retest reliability coefficients for the 3 MA measures, with the ATMS having the lowest coefficients. Small but significant gender differences were found on the MARS and MAS. The MA measures were moderately related to each other, and almost invariably, they were more closely related to each other than to test anxiety and its components. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race and gender as psychological variables: Social and ethical issues.

Argues that cowardice about minority and gender differences will lead investigators nowhere. The author maintains that by not asking direct questions about the nature and origins of racial and gender differences in behavior, researchers have failed to investigate the strengths of underrepresented groups and failed to assess their ways of functioning well. It is concluded that misguided protection of research Ss violates investigators' rights and prevents psychology from gathering data useful to disadvantaged groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reversal-shift behavior: Some basic issues.

Attempts to clarify 4 basic issues involved in discrimination-shift studies: (1) the reliability of developmental changes in the ability to execute a reversal shift in a 2-choice discrimination task, (2) the significance of dimensional preferences in the ability to reverse, (3) the meaning and significance of experimental controls in discrimination-shift studies, and (4) the role of a dimensional response in stimulus-response mediational theory. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educating about gender and sexuality issues in graduate training: Introduction.

The topic of gender issues and sexuality has been a concern in counseling and psychotherapy since the days of Freud. The purpose of the next four articles is to provide an overall understanding of issues related to sex roles and gender that need to be addressed in graduate education and to suggest the direction that this education might take. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of gender, construct type, occupational information, and career relevance on vocational differentiation.

A study was designed to replicate and extend previous research on 1 aspect of vocational structure, vocational differentiation (VOD). Results of a 2 (gender)?×?2 (occupational information)?×?2 (construct type)?×?3 (career relevance) between-Ss study revealed 2 sets of noteworthy findings. First, results replicated previous findings concerning the impact of each of these factors on levels of VOD. Higher levels of VOD were found in men than were found in women and were related to the use of personal constructs when Ss judged highly irrelevant career alternatives. Second, these effects were qualified by interaction between construct type (personal and provided) and career relevance (high, mixed, and low). Personally elicited constructs were used with greater differentiation than were standard provided ones only when participants evaluated highly relevant career alternatives. This effect challenges long-standing assumptions regarding differences between personal and provided vocational constructs, and the implications of this are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A burden of proof: Stereotype relevance and gender differences in math performance.

Three studies explored gender differences in mathematics performance by investigating the possibility that men and women have different concerns when they take standardized math tests, and that when these gender-specific performance concerns are made relevant, performance may suffer. Results of 3 studies supported these hypotheses. In Study 1, women who believed a math test would indicate whether they were especially weak in math performed worse on the test than did women who believed it would indicate whether they were exceptionally strong. Men, however, demonstrated the opposite pattern, performing worse on the ostensible test of exceptional abilities. Studies 2 and 3 further showed that if these gender-specific performance concerns are alleviated by an external handicap, performance increases. Traditional interpretations of male–female differences on standardized math tests are discussed in light of these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male gender role conflict: Psychometric issues and relations to psychological distress.

Two distinct deficits in research on male gender role conflict are addressed: (a) lack of psychometric information and (b) lack of research involving clinical samples. First, using 1,043 men across 3 samples, the psychometric properties of the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) were examined through confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency estimation, and construct validation. Next, using 130 male university counseling center clients across 2 samples, the relation between gender role conflict and psychological distress was examined. The GRCS demonstrated good internal consistency and was best modeled as 4 intercorrelated factors, as originally proposed by J. M. O'Neil, B. Helms, R. Gable, L. David, and L. Wrightsman (1986). Construct validity was supported through correlations with attitudes about masculinity, fear of intimacy, and social desirability in expected directions. However, reservations about the Conflicts Between Work and Family Relations subscale are noted. Male gender role conflict was significantly related to psychological distress, with the Restrictive Emotionality subscale being the best predictor of distress level. Implications for mental health practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapists in independent practice: Some findings and issues.

Notes that although professional psychologists' involvement in private sector health care delivery has grown at an unparalleled rate in the past decade, little is known about professional psychologists' composition, practices, or their views. This article describes the professional characteristics, clinical activities, theoretical perspectives, and training and career satisfaction of 210 doctoral-level psychotherapists (mean age 47.2 yrs) employed full-time in independent practice. More than 30 personal and professional variables were used to compare these private practitioners with 72 psychotherapists employed in the public sector. Results indicate that independent practitioners were significantly more likely to be older and more experienced, work fewer hours, do more marital therapy, and be more satisfied with psychotherapy as a career than their colleagues in institutional clinical settings. Contrary to expectations, there were no differences between the 2 groups in theoretical orientations or percentage of women. Several issues surrounding private practice are explored, and the sociopolitical and training implications of increasing numbers of psychotherapists entering independent practice are discussed. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biofeedback as therapy: Some theoretical and practical issues.

Gives examples of the use of biofeedback in individual therapy from basic research on self-regulation of blood pressure and heart rate and from clinical research on essential hypertension and Raynaud's disease. Patient motivation is a critical variable, since its absence may hamper long-term success in therapy, as indicated by case histories. The use of cognitive and somatic mediators as an aid to self-regulation, both with and without feedback, is illustrated. It is concluded that biofeedback, in conjunction with other medical and psychological techniques, may prove effective for a selected group of motivated patients having acute rather than chronic organ damage. A combined behavioral-biological model, emphasizing (a) the natural relations between responses; (b) the exact manner in which the feedback and reward is given; and (c) biological, cognitive, and environmental constraints, is offered as a potential means of predicting whether biofeedback training will be clinically significant for a given patient. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lesbians, gay men, and their families. Some therapeutic issues

Although a body of scientific data about working with parents and families of gays and lesbians has not yet developed, there is a growing body of literature of an anecdotal and personal nature that has been cited. These works provide therapists with background information and clients needing assistance with guided reading. Therapists working with families and friends of gay men can find the experience rewarding and the therapeutic interventions effective. Much of the work is common sense, listening with the "third" ear for those underlying issues separate from the son's gayness that may affect the person's attitudes, feelings, and responses. Maintaining a professional demeanor while conveying a sense of caring and concern for the individuals is a key issue. As gay people become more visible in society and as the number of individuals coming out increases, there will be a need for more therapists who can assist families with their own coming out process. This article provides some basic guidelines and, as individual therapists gain more experience in this area, it will be important that others report those experiences, sharing them with the rest of the therapist community.     

Professional ethics and national security: Some current issues.

For nearly a century, psychologists have increasingly contributed a variety of services to the public safety and national security of the U.S. government and its people. Recently, some have alleged that psychologists working in national security operations have engaged in unethical conduct by interrogating and otherwise using “torture” against persons who have been detained as a result of terroristic activities against American personnel and other targets. It is noted that the American Psychological Association (APA) ruled many years ago that torture was unethical. This article considers such allegations within the context of relevant principles and standards of the APA Ethics Code. Ethical conduct is ultimately the responsibility of the individual psychologist who must be flexibly guided by the aspirations and guidelines of the APA Ethics Code. Furthermore, current events require that APA consider the circumstances within which certain psychologists operate and accordingly revisit the existing ethical standards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking back and ahead in psychometrics.

Reviews developments in 5 areas of psychometrics (computers, testing, scaling, factor analysis, and mathematical learning theory) beginning with L. L. Thurstone's work in the 1930s through the present. Recommendations for further research in measurement in each area are presented, including improvements in (a) the criteria against which aptitude tests are evaluated (e.g., college grades and achievements after college); (b) factor analyses of areas in learning, memory, physiology, or political science; and (c) the relationship between aptitude tests and learning tasks. Characteristics of recently proposed learning models are discussed, and questions in need of experimental investigation are noted (e.g., the use of stochastic or finite step models with learning data, the development of meaningful learning parameters, parameter estimation for individual and group learning curves, and evidence on reliability by replication in learning studies). (2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lesbian families: Clinical issues and theoretical implications.

Examines the influence of lesbian family structure on parenting within the context of both psychodynamic and family systems theories by providing a review of the literature, as well as information based on the author's clinical work with lesbians and their families. The uniqueness of the lesbian family is considered, and the varieties of lesbian family structure are outlined (e.g., blended, single parent, couples having children together, donors, and noncustodial fathers). The impact of parenting is discussed in terms of common issues in lesbian distance and boundary regulation, power/equality, shared parenting, relationships with extended families, lesbian friendship networks, and issues unique to lesbian "divorce." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emotion of anger: Some conceptual and theoretical issues.

Asserts that A. Bandura's (1973) proposal that future empirical analyses on anger include, as an independent variable, Ss' beliefs regarding the consequences of anger expression suggested an important guideline that has subsequently been ignored. Bandura's conceptualization of anger is reviewed, and the relation among anger expression, helplessness, and illness are discussed to provide a framework for the interpretation of anger suppression studies. A paradigm for future anger expression studies is proposed that includes the variables to be explored, coping plans to be categorized, and questions to be addressed. The issue of free expression vs learning alternatives to anger is considered. (75 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)