Just one look was all it took: Reply to Berbaum, Markus, and Zajonc.

Responds to the reply by M. L. Berbaum et al (see record 1982-11793-001) to the present author's (see record 1982-11821-001) critique of the confluence model developed by R. B. Zajonc et al (1975, 1976, 1979, 1980), which relates sibling spacing to intellectual development. The author restates his criticism of the internal consistency and predictive validity of the confluence model, and discusses logical and mathematical problems with its use. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A critical psychology: Interpretation of the personal world.

Reviews the book, A critical psychology: Interpretation of the personal world by Edmund V. Sullivan (1984). In this book, the author gives an indication of what an alternative psychology might look like. In doing this he draws on the ideas of a number of European philosophers and social scientists whose work has been generally ignored by North American psychologists. What distinguishes Sullivan's critical psychology from other alternatives to the mainstream is his insistence that the conditions for human action be traced not simply to the intentional activity of individuals but to the social structures of domination in which individual intentions are embedded. These are the structures of ethnicity, gender, and class. What Sullivan criticizes is that "psychologists take structural relationships of power such as capital over labour, men over women, and change them into intrapsychic phenomena." This book is an important contribution to the growing literature on alternatives to mainstream psychology. It is distinguished by its intellectual sophistication and by its marshalling of perspectives that run counter to local cultural traditions. At the very least it is a volume that ought to provoke an expansion of all too narrow disciplinary horizons. Incidentally, the very concept of intellectual "horizon" is one that the author analyses in a particularly constructive way, showing its relevance in the context of psychological research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

B. F. Skinner and psychology: Introduction to the special issue.

Celebrates the scientific and intellectual impact of Skinner on psychology. Noted are his 6 decades of prominance in psychology, including his numerous publications. Also noted is that his work spawned Division 25, Experimental Analysis of Behavior, of the American Psychological Association (APA); an independent professional organization, the Association of Behavior Analysis; 2 foundations dedicated to behavioral psychology; and at least 23 journals. Also discussed are his numerous honorary degrees, his contribution to the APA, and post-Skinnerian behaviorism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

G. Stanley Hall, A Man of Many Words: The Role of Reading, Speaking, and Writing in His Psychological Work.

The place of G. Stanley Hall within the history of psychology is both assured and problematic. While he is credited with significant contributions, those contributions are predominantly institutional rather than intellectual or scientific in nature. Further compounding the issue is the fact that those who focus on the development of psychology qua science have emphasized psychology's increasing reliance on empirical observations, its use of quantitative measures, and its subordination of language to objective referents. This has obscured the significance of Hall's work, including his massive, two-volume Adolescence (1904), which is typically criticized for falling short in these regards. A more accurate appreciation can be gained through understanding his intentions and the practices of reading, speaking, and writing that were associated with them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theodore M. Newcomb (1903–1984).

Presents an obituary for Theodore M. Newcomb. Newcomb died on December 28, 1984, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, his home base for 40 years. Born in Ohio in 1903, he graduated from Oberlin College and received his doctorate at Columbia University where he worked with Goodwin Watson and Gardner Murphy. In addition to his years at the University of Michigan, his teaching career included posts at Lehigh, Western Reserve, and Bennington. Newcomb was a major pioneer figure in social psychology and a principal force in the development of the social sciences at the University of Michigan. His death has left the field and the community poorer in intellectual and human quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the confluence model of intellectual development.

Longitudinal data from 53,000 children on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (collected at age 4 yrs), the WISC, and the Wide Range Achievement Test (collected at age 7 yrs) were used to test 5 confluence model hypotheses (R. B. Zajonc; 1975, 1976, 1979). Results failed to confirm the importance of birth interval as a determinant of intellectual development. Alternative interpretations, involving social class effects and prenatal care, are suggested. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

R. Duncan Luce: Distinguished Scientific Contribution Awards.

Presents the citation of the 1970 American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award winner, Robert Duncan Luce. The award citations reads: "For his leadership in the development of theories that range from social behavior, to learning and memory, to perception and psychophysics. By his judicious use of mathematical methods he has contributed significantly to the development of psychology as a quantitative science. The hallmark of his research has been to take an extremely simple set of axioms and explore in detail their implications for a wide range of phenomena. For example, in his theory of choice, a general axiom concerning selections from related sets of alternatives is shown to have important applications in such diverse fields as psychophysics, learning, and social utility. Mathematical theory dominates his work, but it is by no means anti-empirical; it has been a stimulus for many important experimental studies. His recent contribution to the theory of measurement has broad ramifications not only for psychology but for the general methodology of all sciences." Personal biographic information is also included, along with a list of the recipient's scientific writings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the primacy of cognition.

Replies to an article by R. B. Zajonc (see record 1984-30610-001) in which Zajonc differed greatly from the present author in his conceptualization of emotion and its relations with cognition, as well as in his evaluation of the evidence. The boundaries of emotion as a phenomenon and whether sensory preferences can be regarded as emotions are discussed, and the evidence Zajonc regards as supporting his claims for the independence of cognition and emotion and the primacy of emotion are analyzed. Finally, the indeterminancy of the issue of cognitive vs emotional primacy is emphasized. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fred L. Strodtbeck (1919-2005).

This obituary is about Fred L. Strodtbeck, who was a professor emeritus of sociology and psychology at the University of Chicago. Fred began his faculty career at Yale, moving to Chicago in 1953, where he remained continuously except for one year at the University of Michigan and another year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto, California. Although identified as a social psychologist, throughout his career Fred was fully engaged in the challenging interdisciplinary perspective propounded by the Department of Social Relations. Fred took pride in the accomplishments of his many students. His tutelage was emotional as well as intellectual, as he was mindful of those two dimensions that informed so much of his small-groups work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theodore M. Newcomb: Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award.

Recognizes the receipt of the American Psychological Association's 1976 Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award by Theodore M. Newcomb. The award citation reads: "For his leadership in social psychology which, under his impact, grew from an insignificant subarea of psychology to a field of major importance. Through his diverse contributions he enriched our theoretical and empirical understanding of man's interaction with the social environment. He opened up new fields of inquiry and fostered novel approaches to the study of the relationship of personality and culture. His work led the way to a greater interdisciplinary involvement of social psychology, especially with sociology and anthropology, not only on the conceptual level, but also in the application of interdisciplinary conceptions to pressing social problems." A biography and a listing of the recipient's scientific writings are also included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaching beyond Uncle William: A century of William James in theory and in life.

During the hundred years since his death, James's works have developed a reputation for literary flair and personal appeal, but also for inconsistency and lack of rigor; this has contributed to more admiration than influence. He had a talent rare among intellectuals for popularization of complex ideas. Meanwhile, his difficult coming of age and his compelling personality have contributed to an iconic status as a kind of uncle figure in philosophy, psychology, religious studies, and more fields that he influenced, and in American intellectual life in general, rather than as a major philosopher and scholar. Often reflecting these ways of depicting James, his biographies have gone through three phases: in the early-to-middle twentieth century, emphasis on his development of theories as solutions to personal problems; since the 1960s, increased scrutiny of deep troubles in his private life; and recently renewed attention to intellectual factors especially as amplified by greater appreciation of James's theories in the last generation. Now, with so much knowledge and insight achieved for understanding his personal life and his contributions to many fields, a next frontier for biographical work will be in synthesis of these strands of the life of William James. Recent and prospective work offers the promise of finding deeper meaning and implications in his work beyond, and even through, his informal style, and with integration of his apparent inconsistencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Solomon E. Asch (1907–1996): Obituary.

Memorializes Solomon E. Asch, the Gestalt psychologist who left his imprint on midcentury academic psychology by combining the fundamental tenets of Gestalt psychology with his own belief in the basic rationality and decency of the social human being. Central to Asch's approach was the idea that social perception, like "ordinary" perception, is relational. This is illustrated most clearly in his classic studies on impression formation, and perhaps his most celebrated work, his studies of persuasion and social pressure. Most of his other work, also within the Gestalt tradition, concerned association, framing effects, thinking, memory, and metaphor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thomas Marshall Ostrom (1936–1994): Obituary.

Memorializes T. M. Ostrom, who was known for his work on social cognition. Ostrom sought to integrate theoretical and methodological advances in cognitive psychology with classic research problems in social psychology. He also co-organized the Person Memory Interest Group, an invisible college now numbering more than 100 researchers, and served as cofounder of the modern social psychology program at Ohio State University, of which he was a faculty member throughout his career. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth order, SAT, and confluence: Spurious correlations and no causality.

In response to the article by R. B. Zajonc (see record 1987-02628-001) on the confluence model describing the influence of family factors on the Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, the present author argues that the confluence model is not as powerful a behavioral model as the article implies, and that the question whether birth order is related to intellectual development is more important. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction: Lightner Witmer's Legacy to American psychology.

Presents an overview of the legacy and contribution of Lightner Witmer (1867–1956) to the field of applied psychology. Many psychologists, beyond isolated fact, know little about Witmer or his work as a psychologist. Witmer, who began the world's first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896, is credited for the radical contribution to the course of psychology's development, especially in the fields of clinical and educational psychology. Some contemporary historians have minimized Witmer's role in the history of psychology arguing that his version of clinical psychology failed to anticipate fully psychological practice independent of medicine. Witmer's legacy was to define and enact a social role for psychology and his prescient contributions established him as a signficant pioneer in the history of American psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A closer look at Galbraith's "closer look."

Responds to comments by R. C. Galbraith (see record 1982-11821-001) on the mathematical properties and empirical basis of R. B. Zajonc and G. B. Markus's (see record 1975-09290-001) confluence model of sibling spacing and intellectual development. The present authors contest Galbraith's critique of the model's internal consistency and predictive validity, and state that if Galbraith's data on Mormon college students are analyzed properly, they may shed light on within- and between-families factors affecting intellectual development. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brian Mullen (1955-2006).

Presents an obituary for Brian Mullen. In a field that values empirical precedent and established paradigms, Brian Mullen's career was one of passion and originality. He was motivated by pure intellectual curiosity; the recognition he received for his pioneering work in archival methodology, meta-analysis, and group processes and relations was secondary. His contributions to the field of social psychology were unique and will be enduring. His 1985 book with Robert Rosenthal, BASIC Meta-Analysis: Procedures and Programs, is a classic. In 2006, he was identified as the 15th most cited scholar in social psychology textbooks. Brian died of cancer on May 4, 2006. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions: Joseph D. Matarazzo.

Cites Joseph D. Matarazzo for the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions. Matarazzo is cited for his service to patients and his research and scholarly writings in clinical psychology, health psychology, and clinical neuropsychology. His research has focused specifically on 3 areas: the clinical interview; cognitive, intellectual, and related neuropsychological functions; and health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Politics and naturalism in the 20th century psychology of Alfred Binet.

Alfred Binet is internationally recognized as the "father" of the first intelligence test as well as the most faithful French representative of laboratory experimentalism. A historical analysis of his work is therefore necessary to get to a thorough comprehension of 20th century psychology. The present article, starting from Binet's intellectual path and from the suggestions of the previous historical literature, aims at providing fresh insights into Binet's work by trying to capture the intersections between Binet, his naturalistic culture and the political context in which he worked in the early 20th century, when he actively tried to apply experimental psychology to the pedagogical area. In fact, it is possible to underline, with reference to those years, an evident turn towards applications in Binet's psychological production. The article reconstructs the political and institutional background of Binet's research and shows how the naturalism and experimentalism he promoted were complementary to the solidarist conceptions that were particularly prevalent among those who supported his work during the Third Republic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)