Thomas K. Srull.

Presents an overview of the career of Thomas K. Srull and his contributions to the field of psychology. For theoretical, empirical and methodological contribution to knowledge about the cognitive underpinnings of social behavior and personality; for major advances in our understanding of the mental representations of individuals and groups, the cognitive processes that underlie their construction, and the use of these representations in making judgments; for ground-breaking research on the role of concept accessibility in the interpretation of social information; and for contributing to the interfaces among cognitive, social and personality psychology. His research, has provided important insights into the dynamics of social memory and the relation between memory and judgment. His areas of influence range from basic cognitive and social psychology to applied research in consumer behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The practice of psychological science: Searching for Cronbach’s two streams in social–personality psychology.

The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and social psychology journals to examine the practice of psychological science in their field. Findings demonstrate that (a) although personality and social researchers tend to use many of the same approaches, methods, and procedures, they nonetheless show average differences in each of these domains, as well as in their overarching theoretical aims and perspectives; (b) these average differences largely conform to social and personality researchers’ stereotypes about each subgroup; (c) despite their methodological and philosophical differences, the 2 subgroups study many of the same research topics; and (d) the structure of social–personality research practices can be characterized as having 2 independent factors, which closely correspond to L. J. Cronbach’s (1957) correlational and experimental “streams of research.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue on the self and social identity.

This article describes the special issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP), which is the result of a joint undertaking by the three sections of JPSP. This makes it different from previous special sections or issues of the journal in that rather than relying on the generous services of a guest editor, the same editorial team that handles the regular journal issues has originated this special issue, as well, thus conveying a sense of "business as usual." Our major reason for the present initiative was to highlight the essential unity of personality and social psychology as a field of science. The topic choice for the present special issue was dictated by its relevance and interest to the field of personality and social psychology as a whole, across its various partitions and subdivisions. The articles in the special issue amply reflect the naturalness with which the self and social identity theme transcends the boundaries of JPSP sections. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How development and personality influence scientific thought, interest, and achievement.

In the present article, I review and summarize two subdisciplines of the psychology of science, namely development and personality. In the first section concerning developmental psychology of science, I review three major developmental topics: 1) the literature on the developmental and familial influences behind scientific interest and scientific talent (e.g., birth-order and theory acceptance, immigrant status and scientific talent); 2) gender and scientific interest and talent; and lastly, 3) age and scientific interest and productivity. In the second section concerning personality psychology of science, I organize the review around four major topics: 1) which traits make scientific interest in general more likely; 2) which traits make interest in specific domains of science more likely (especially social and physical science); 3) which traits make different theoretical orientations more likely; and finally, 4) which traits make scientific achievement and creativity more likely. From the empirical evidence reviewed, it is quite clear that developmental and personality factors impact directly and indirectly scientific thought, interest, and achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental psychology and the real world.

Describes factors that led the author to move his field of interest from laboratory social psychology to the emerging field of environmental psychology. Environmental psychology is defined as the attempt to establish empirical and theoretical relationships between the behavior and experience of the person and the built environment. The writer points up his dissatisfaction with the laboratory approach and the need to find a new methodology focused on complex environmental problems. Five methodological requirements for research in environmental psychology are described: the absolute integrity of person-physical-setting events; the distinction between behavior system reactions and psychological system reactions; a content orientation to problems; the time orientation of environmental psychology; and a context orientation in the analysis of problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genes, Race, and Psychology in the Genome Era: An Introduction.

The mapping of the human genome has reawakened interest in the topic of race and genetics, especially the use of genetic technology to examine racial differences in complex outcomes such as health and intelligence. Advances in genomic research challenge psychology to address the myriad conceptual, methodological, and analytical issues associated with research on genetics and race. In addition, the field needs to understand the numerous social, ethical, legal, clinical, and policy implications of research in this arena. Addressing these issues should not only benefit psychology but could also serve to guide such thought in other fields, including molecular biology. The purpose of this special issue is to begin a discussion of this issue of race and genetics within the field of psychology. Several scholars who work in the fields of genetics, race, or related areas were invited to write (or had previously submitted) articles sharing their perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gordon Allport, character, and the "culture of personality," 1897–1937.

Examines the cultural context of early American personality psychology through a consideration of the early career of Gordon Allport. Between 1921 and 1937, Allport was among the leading figures in the movement to establish personality as a research category in American psychology. Far from being a strictly scientific concern, Allport's project was deeply embedded in the cultural politics of the age. Of particular importance was the gradual erosion of the language of character and the self-sacrificing, morally grounded self that it supported. Allport's "psychology of personality" helped fuel this trend while simultaneously attempting to resist it. His experience illustrates the elasticity and moral ambiguity of the newly emerging category of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring the universality of personality judgments: Evidence from the great transformation (1000 BCE–200 BCE).

We examined whether personality judgments were present in texts of the diverse religious and philosophical traditions that emerged during the Great Transformation, an era spanning roughly 1000 BCE to 200 BCE. Some psychologists have suggested that the tendency of humans to judge personality has evolved; if some ancient societies failed to record personality judgments, it would be evidence against such an evolutionary position. In addition, learning about the prevalence and specifics of ancient personality judgments can help psychologists better understand the prehistory of personality psychology. Eight cultural traditions were studied: two each from China (Confucianism, Taoism), Greece (Classical and Hellenistic philosophy), India (Buddhism, Hinduism), and the Middle East (Judaism, Zoroastrianism). We found evidence that personality judgments were an important aspect of all of these traditions. Not only did people judge one another, but they also offered instructions on how to judge others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Floyd H. Allport (1890-1978).

October 15, 1978 was a dark day for psychology, for it marked the passing of one of its Olympian figures, Floyd Henry Allport. Floyd Allport was the father of experimental social psychology. He was the first to apply experimental methods systematically to the study of group process and social relationships. Social psychology is often assigned 1908 as its birth date because that is the year Edward Ross and William McDougall brought out their systematic treatises on social psychology. But it was not until the appearance of Allport's Social Psychology in 1924 that we had a text based heavily on experimental and research studies. This text made the field, which before its appearance had seen few and scattered courses. Moreover, Allport's continuing contributions in the form of theory and research marked the major avenues along which social psychology was to travel in later decades. Allport was both a distinguished theorist and a creative methodologist. His early formulation of a sophisticated behaviorism and his later event-system theory anticipated developments in the field and in some respects are still in advance of them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression research methodologies in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: A review and critique.

Personality and social psychological studies of depression and depressive phenomena have become more methodologically sophisticated in recent years. In response to earlier problems in this literature, investigators have formulated sound suggestions for research designs. Studies of depression published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP) between 1988 and 1993 were reviewed to evaluate how well these recommendations have been followed. Forty-one articles were examined for adherence to 3 suggestions appearing consistently in the literature: (a) multiple assessment periods, (b) multiple assessment methods, and (c) appropriate comparison groups. The studies published in JPSP have not adhered well to these standards. The authors recommend resetting minimum methodological criteria for studies of depression published in the premier journal in personality and social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy in interpersonal perception: A social relations analysis.

For the past 30 years, the study of accuracy in person perception has been a neglected topic in social and personality psychology. Research in this area was stopped by a critique of global accuracy scores by Cronbach and Gage. They argued that accuracy should be measured in terms of components. Currently, interest in the topic of accuracy is rekindling. This interest is motivated, in part, by a reaction to the bias literature. We argue that modern accuracy research should (a) focus on measuring when and how people are accurate and not on who is accurate, (b) use each person as both judge and target, and (c) partition accuracy into components. The social relations model (Kenny & La Voie, 1984) can be used as a paradigm to meet these requirements. According to this model, there are four types of accuracy, only two of which are generally conceptually interesting. The first, called individual accuracy, measures the degree to which people's judgments of an individual correspond to how that individual tends to behave across interaction partners. The second, called dyadic accuracy, measures the degree to which people can uniquely judge how a specific individual will behave with them. We present an example that shows high levels of individual accuracy and lower levels of dyadic accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The place of personality and social structure research in social psychology.

In this article, I examine the relevance of the personality and social structure perspective for social psychology. A brief historical review summarizes earlier studies in this tradition and examines the limitations of these previous works, particularly the failure to explicate the linkages between individuals and their social worlds. At the same time, significant strengths of the personality and social structure perspective are emphasized, especially the concern with how normative culture influences people's values, beliefs, and behaviors, areas traditionally neglected in mainstream social psychology. Thus, the objective of the article is to describe the ways in which the personality and social structure perspective both contributes to and benefits from greater discourse with traditional domains of social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A constant error approach to the study of dimensions of social perception.

"A method was described for use in the study of dimensions of social perception which consisted of the factor analysis of intercorrelations between trait judgments of photographs where each judgment was made of a different stimulus." 4 factors were isolated, and the findings were related to other research on social perception and personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Judgment of covariation by social perceivers.

Judgments about relationships or covariations between events are central to several areas of research and theory in social psychology. In the present article, the normative, or statistically correct, model for making covariation judgments is outlined in detail. Six steps of the normative model, from deciding what data are relevant to the judgment to using the judgment as a basis for predictions and decisions, are specified. Potential sources of error in social perceivers' covariation judgments are identified at each step, and research on social perceivers' ability to follow each step in the normative model is reviewed. It is concluded that statistically naive individuals have a tenuous grasp of the concept of covariation, and circumstances under which covariation judgments tend to be accurate or inaccurate are considered. Finally, implications for research on attribution theory, implicit personality theory, stereotyping, and perceived control are discussed. (137 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

David C. McClelland.

David C. McClelland is recognized for his achievements in psychology. This article provides a citation explaining his accomplishments, a biography and a selected bibliography. The citation is as follows: "For leading the vanguard of a new motivational psychology bridging the study of personality and society, beginning forty years ago with methodological innovations and empirical discoveries of lasting significance in pioneering studies of the Achievement Motive and the Achieving Society. By experimental arousal of achievement motivation, he established the validity of using a particular kind of imaginative thought content as its measure. Combining bold vision and practicality, he turned traditional arguments into testable hypotheses. His broad and indelible impact on the social sciences is amplified by seminal writings on personality, the power motive, motivation training—and by the productivity he inspired in his students." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applying psychology in outer space: Unfilled promises revisited.

Argues that numerous issues directly relevant to the field of personality and social psychology are present and may become increasingly important in the US space program. It is suggested that data from personality and social psychology have been underused resources in the US space program. The responsibility for this outcome is seen as resting both with investigators and in structural aspects of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The contrasting centrality of psychology in the Russian space program is noted. Suggestions for increasing the role of personality and social psychology in the US space program are offered. (25 ref) (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)     

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. High: Multidimensional scaling of alcoholics' self-evaluations.

Developed a social cognition paradigm to study 40 male alcoholics' self-evaluations. Ss made judgments of similarity among all possible pairs of a set of 15 stimulus people. The "target" stimuli in this set were sober self and high self. The "marker" stimuli included a broad array of hypothetical people representing various personality types. Data were scaled according to multidimensional successive intervals. Results suggest that alcoholics consider themselves to be entirely different people when sober than when high. The stability and meaningfulness of these findings support the continued development of this assessment procedure for further investigation in the alcoholism area and also for general personality research. (35 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why the studies of science need a psychology of science.

As I have argued elsewhere (Feist, 2006a; Feist & Gorman, 1998), the psychology of science is a discipline that incorporates all the major subdisciplines in psychology, in particular the neuroscientific, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social perspectives. The empirical investigations that psychologists have contributed to the study of scientific thought, interest, and achievement have substantially altered and added to our understanding of the nature of science. Moreover, psychologists of science bring unique methodological and theoretical tools to the studies of science. Only psychologists, for instance, can bring a true experimental design to the study of scientific thought and behavior. The contributions by Simonton, Gorman, Brewer and Schommer-Aikins, Runyan, and myself in this current special issue exemplify some of uniqueness and diversity that psychology has to offer the studies of science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)