"The highly inappropriate calibrations of statistical significance": Comment.

Comments on E. R. Harcum's (see record 1989-31713-001) discussion of the inappropriate use of verbal modifiers to describe statistical significance. Phrases such as "highly significant" and "very significant" are often overlooked by reviewers and journal editors, thus perpetuating the usage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A highly significant comment.

Notes that the term significant has a meaning to statisticians that is very specific and that significant should not be used as a synonym for important. The term reliable is suitable for these situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some semantic constraints of culture-specific geography.

Takes exception to use of the term "Eastern neighbors" in referring to the Japanese in the J. R. Weisz et al (see record 1985-19979-001) cross-cultural study of the psychology of control. Use of such geographically restricted terms places a linguistic constraint on thinking. Direction-free population terms (e.g., Asiatic, European) are preferred. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More about often.

Replies to Hakel's (1968) study of frequency adverbs by noting that "often" may occasionally be "sometimes." Also discussed is B. E. Goocher's (1965) study of frequency adverbs, which found that Ss who disliked an activity described it as occurring more frequently than those who reported liking the activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content of an abstract: De jure and de facto.

Comments on the guidelines presented in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (see record 82-03290) for writing abstracts. A brief history is given of abstract guidelines for an empirical article, and data is reported on the degree of compliance with the requirements stated in the Manual, as reflected by actual published abstracts. The percentage of abstracts that adhered to the word limit varied considerably across journals. The following 3 recommendations are given: (1) report participant information if individual differences are the primary concern of the study, (2) ignore the requirement of reporting statistical significance levels because statistical significance levels do not represent the theoretical or practical importance of a research finding, and (3) do not be overly concerned with the word count. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rigor, but not rigor mortis, in depression research.

With reference to the depression research methods review of H. Tennen, J. A. Hall, and G. Affleck (see record 1995-31710-001) and the earlier recommendations of P. C. Kendall, S. D. Hollon, A. T. Beck, C. L. Hammen, and R. E. Ingram (see record 1987-30135-001), the present discussion considers and then reaffirms selected methods. Discussion includes issues such as the use of analogue vs. clinical samples, single vs. multiple assessments, self-report vs. structured diagnostic interviews, and the use of multiple gaiting and analyses of symptom clusters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: A reply.

H. Tennen, J. A. Hall, and G. Affleck (see PA Vol, 31710) argued in their critique of depression research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP) that investigators have failed to comply with several methodological recommendations often cited in the depression literature. They recommended resetting minimum criteria for publication of depression research in JPSP. In this article, it is asserted that Tennen and his colleagues did not consider a number of critical issues surrounding this set of methodological criteria. It is also contended that insufficient data are available to require strict adherence to several of the criteria. In light of the complexities surrounding Tennen et al.'s methodological criteria, it is concluded that JPSP's editors, reviewers, and readers would do better to evaluate studies on a case-by-case basis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rigor, rigor mortis, and conspiratorial views of depression research.

The authors reassert the need for methodological changes in depression research appearing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and other personality and social psychology journals. In this rejoinder the authors update their earlier literature review (H. Tennen, J. Hall, & G. Affleck; see record 1995-31710-001) and respond to the commentaries by P C. Kendall and E. C. Flannery-Schroeder (see record 1995-31700-001) and G. Weary, J. A. Edwards, and J. A. Jacobson (see record 1995-31713-001). The authors notice that G. Weary et al.'s own findings demonstrate the need to change how depression is measured and participants are assigned to experimental groups. The authors also challenge G. Weary et al.'s contention that structured interviews are limited because they require interviewer judgments, and they urge personality and social psychologists to learn more about these interviews. Finally, G. Weary et al.'s suspicion that depression research guidelines reflect professional parochialism is disputed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How to write a highly cited article without even trying.

The personal story behind a much-cited article, "The hippocampus and behavior," is related in some detail. The twists and turns of this 8-yr odyssey form a context in which many important issues in psychology are discussed. The greatest emphasis is placed on an analysis of citations and what they mean, but this inevitably leads to such seemingly unrelated issues as the interpretation of history, the stealing of ideas, fads and fashions, the possible dangers of peer review, and others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on Debra Hull's concept of rationality.

D. B. Hull (1988) misinterprets "rationality" as used in rational-emotive therapy (RET) in her critique of the present author's (1987) article. As used in RET, rational not only means derived from reason, but also means efficiently aiding human happiness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dunnette's games.

Comments on M. D. Dunnette's (see record 1966-10566-001) article on some unspoken but common attitudes among psychologists and suggests 3 categories of "games" or procedures to which many psychologists subscribe. These are (1) "How to Get into Journals" (i.e., how to get one's article published); (2) "No Controls," in which a psychologist conducts a disastrous research project; and (3) "Dear God," which involves falsification of research data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nomenclature syndrome.

Questions the significance the term identity crisis has placed on the phenomenon of the maturing person in a changing world. The age-old endeavor to understand oneself better may not require the attention it has been receiving in the form of "new" treatment approaches. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The manpower issue revisited.

Responds to general comments on the special manpower issue of the American Psychologist (May, 1972), which included articles by J. Cates and T. Cummings and R. B. Freeman, W. W. Sorensen, J. C. Speisman, and R. W. Wildman et al (see PA, Vol 49:889, 914, 915, and 2556, respectively). Some readers expressed lament over the failure of the issue to address the problems of nonacademic psychologists, while others provided constructive employment suggestions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further comment on the risky shift.

In commenting on D. Cartwright's (see record 1973-31210-001) article on "risky shift" research, the author suggests that the term "risky shift" is somewhat misleading and proposes the alternative "shift to increased risk" to reflect that it is the abstract process of reaching group consensus, which is not conceived in terms of risk or caution, that is most interesting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Carl Rogers, "counseling," and the Minnesota point of view.

With reference to D. Super's (1989) discussion of C. Rogers's (1942) use of the word "counseling" in the title of his 1st psychotherapy book, the decision to use this term was based on a desire to evoke greater interest in nondirective counseling/psychotherapy among counselors who might otherwise avoid a treatise on psychotherapy because of its specialized medical connotation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misuse of statistical tests in three decades of psychotherapy research.

Reviews the misuse of statistical tests in psychotherapy research studies published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in the years 1967–1968, 1977–1978, and 1987–1988. It focuses on 3 major problems in statistical practice: inappropriate uses of null hypothesis tests and p values, neglect of effect size, and inflation of Type 1 error rate. The impressive frequency of these problems is documented, and changes in statistical practices over the past 3 decades are interpreted in light of trends in psychotherapy research. The article concludes with practical suggestions for rational application of statistical tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Note on the use of the term subject in pre-1886 discussions of thought-transference experiments.

In response to K. Danzinger's (see record 1986-00068-001) suggestion that the first use of the term subject in the English-language psychological literature occurred in 1886 in the context of experiments involving the hypnotic state, the present author points out that there are examples of the use of the term in discussions of experiments on thought transference published by the Society for Psychical Research in the 1880's. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In defense of "bootstrapping."

Responds to A. G. Weinstein's (1972) comments on R. M. Dawes's (see record 1971-25701-001) findings supporting "bootstrapping" in Dawes's study of graduate admissions. Bootstrapping can be used when actuarial analysis is impossible (e.g., criterion information is lacking or unavailable until after decisions are made). It is not implied that linear composites based on paramorphic representations are superior to those based on actuarial analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Punctuation and publishability: A reexamination of the colon.

Extended J. T. Dillon's (1981) study of titular colonicity by examining the 552 papers submitted to The Philosophical Forum over an 8-yr period. While colonic titles were longer than noncolonic titles, neither titular colonicity nor titular extensiveness enhanced publishability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Consumer Reports study of psychotherapy: Invalid is invalid.

Contends that M. E. P. Seligman's (see record 1996-13324-001) reanalysis of the Consumer Reports survey does not warrant any new conclusions about the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Several methodological flaws are also noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)