The benefits of working hard on leisure: Comment on Tinsley and Eldredge (1995).

The persistent scholarship by Diane and Howard Tinsley represents the premier research program on the psychology of leisure. The article by H. E. A. Tinsley and B. D. Eldredge (see record 1995-27399-001) advances the Tinsleys' work by developing a large-scale taxonomy of leisure activities based on psychological needs. Their empirical and methodological work is exemplary. However, some of the conceptual and theoretical bases for their article are not always as clear or compelling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Jamesian model of self-investment and self-esteem: Comment on Pelham (1995).

B. W. Pelham (see record 1996-14327-001) proposed new perspectives for a weighted-average model of esteem based on W. James (1890) and responded to my (H. W. Marsh, 1993b) critique of B. W. Pelham and W. B. Swann (1989). In this Jamesian perspective, the effect of a specific self-view on global esteem is moderated by the importance an individual places on the self-view. For example, if one judges musical skills to be unimportant, then one's self-evaluation of musical skill should have little effect on one's self-esteem. The intuitive appeal of this Jamesian perspective is so compelling that it has been widely accepted for over 100 years despite a dearth of supportive research. B. W. Pelham and I seem to agree that support is weaker than previously assumed and limited primarily to specific traits and, perhaps, specific subgroups of individuals. This continuing dialogue offers new theoretical insights and methodological advances for this central issue in self-concept research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical orientation and psychotherapy integration: Comment on Poznanski and McLennan (1995).

J. J. Poznanski and J. McLennan (see record 1996-07039-001) have made a strong contribution to our understanding of theoretical orientation. This comment considers their discussion and proposals for measurement of theoretical orientation in light of recent interest in psychotherapy integration. Suggestions are made to allow better assessment of the orientation of counselors who espouse integrative theories or technical eclecticism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How to improve Bayesian reasoning: Comment on Gigerenzer and Hoffrage (1995).

G. Gigerenzer and U. Hoffrage (1995) claimed that Bayesian inference problems, which have been notoriously difficult for laypeople to solve using base rates, hit rates, and false-alarm rates, become computationally simpler when information is presented with frequencies based on natural sampling. They made an evolutionary argument for the improved performance. The authors of the present article show that performance can improve with either probabilities or frequencies, depending on the rareness of the events and the type of information presented. When events are rare, probabilities are more difficult to understand than frequencies (i.e., 5 out of 1,000 vs. .005.). Furthermore, when the information is presented as joint and marginal events, nested sets become more apparent. Frequencies based on natural sampling have these desirable properties. The authors agree with Gigerenzer and Hoffrage that frequencies can improve Bayesian reasoning, but they attribute that improvement to the use of mental models that involve elements of nested sets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood is a component of mental context: Comment on Eich (1995).

E. Eich (see record 1995-42800-001) found that partcipants' ratings of the similarity of their feelings at input and test sessions predicted the size of the observed place dependent memory effect and that a mood manipulation affected recall more than did a place manipulation. He concluded that mood dependence is the underlying cause of place dependence (and possibly of drug-state dependent memory). This conclusion assumes that mood states are transsituationally identical and that a mood can cue all associated memories, regardless of how the mood is achieved. An alternative explanation of Eich's results, the mental context hypothesis, views mood, place, mental set, and other factors as components of one's mental context, any of which can serve to cue the representation of mental context at test. In this light, Eich's results can be interpreted as showing that mood is a more reliable determinant than place of one's mental context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptualizing and Measuring Personality Vulnerability to Depression: Comment on Coyne and Whiffen (1995).

J. C. Coyne and V. E. Whiffen (1995) reviewed research on personality vulnerability to depression, focusing on S. J. Blatt's (1974, 1990) concepts of dependency and self-criticism and A. T. Beck's (1983) concepts of sociotropy and autonomy. The authors discuss 6 issues raised in that review: (a) the typological or dimensional nature of vulnerability, (b) the theoretical implications of "mixed" vulnerability, (c) the relations of vulnerability to Neuroticism. (d) the potential confounding of vulnerability with concurrent depression, (e) the potential confounding of vulnerability with social context, and (f) the differentiation of dependency from relatedness. The authors conclude that Blatt's and Beck's concepts are continuous, nearly orthogonal dimensions that can be identified and measured independently from Neuroticism, depression, and social context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment perspectives on the counseling relationship: Comment on Mallinckrodt, Gantt, and Coble (1995).

B. Mallinckrodt, D. L. Gantt, and H. M. Coble (see record 1995-42468-001) highlight the role of attachment theory for explaining critical elements of the client–counseling relationship and the counseling process. The use of the Client Attachment to Therapist Scale as a typological vs continuous measure and the relationship between attachment style and therapeutic relationship constructs are discussed. A cautionary note on the internal validity of this scale is raised before underscoring the rich research possibilities gained by it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theories, theoretical orientation, and theoretical dimensions: Comment on Poznanski and McLennan (1995).

J. J. Poznanski and J. McLennan's (see record 1996-07039-001) article helpfully integrates research on a topic of considerable importance. Their derivation of two second-order "factors" (analytic-experiential and objective-subjective), as well as five more specific factors, in theoretical orientation is particularly helpful. In this comment, I seek to clarify how therapists' preferences for certain techniques relate to theoretical orientation. Reasons for the slow pace of research on multi-item self-report measures of theoretical orientation are suggested, as is an alternative measurement approach to that recommended by Poznanski and McLennan. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reassessing working memory: Comment on Just and Carpenter (1992) and Waters and Caplan (1996).

M. A. Just and P. A. Carpenter's (1992) capacity theory of comprehension posits a linguistic working memory functionally separated from the representation of linguistic knowledge. G. S. Waters and D. Caplan's (1996) critique of this approach retained the notion of a separate working memory. In this article, the authors present an alternative account motivated by a connectionist approach to language comprehension. In their view, processing capacity emerges from network architecture and experience and is not a primitive that can vary independently. Individual differences in comprehension do not stem from variations in a separate working memory capacity; instead they emerge from an interaction of biological factors and language experience. This alternative is argued to provide a superior account of comprehension results previously attributed to a separate working memory capacity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward differentiating client attachment from working alliance and transference: Reply to Robbins (1995).

S. B. Robbins (see record 1995-42475-001) provided a thought-provoking response to the article (B. Mallinckrodt, D. L. Gantt, and H. M. Coble; see record 1995-42468-001) that described the development of the Client Attachment to Therapist Scale (CATS). In this reply, recent elaborations of attachment theory are reviewed as applied to adult close personal relationships, and points of similarity and difference between the attachment-based constructs measured by the CATS and measures of client working alliance and transference are clarified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

For the love of Josie

BACKGROUND: Unbuffered rapid urease test (RUT) is an accurate and inexpensive method to detect Helicobacter pylori. However, the test is not always readily available because the reagents must be mixed freshly or stored at -20 degrees C after mixing. From our experience, storage at 4 degrees C for less than 6 days seemed to have no effect on the test's accuracy. This prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the shelf life of our unbuffered RUT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-five patients were studied. From all patients, two sets of antral biopsy (X2) and body biopsy (X1) were taken. One set was subjected to histological examination; the other set was placed into a single capped Eppendorff tube for RUT. The tube was examined for any color change at 1 and 5 minutes. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients (58%) were infected as defined by histological examination. The reagent was classified according to the storage time (group 1, < or = 5 days; group 2, > 5 days). The mean storage times of group 1 (n = 24) and group 2 (n = 21) were 3.1 (1.7 SD) days and 7.7 (1.2 SD) days, respectively. At 1 and 5 minutes, the sensitivity of group 1 was consistently higher than that of group 2 (1 minute, 61% versus 38%; 5 minutes, 92% versus 62%), and no false-positive result was observed in either group. CONCLUSION: RUT remains highly sensitive and specific when it was stored at 4 degrees C for up to 5 days but should be discarded after that period.     

Linking stress experiences with coping resources and responses: Comment on Catanzaro, Horaney, and Creasey (1995), Long and Schutz (1995), Heppner et al. (1995), and Bowman and Stern (1995).

The articles in the Special Section on Stress and Coping (see PA, Vol 82:43479; 45556; 42425; and 45331) are considered within the historical perspective of research on these topics in psychology. In addition, the potential contributions of cognitive psychology for defining the linking mechanisms between stress and related coping resources and responses are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction between semantic and orthographic factors in conceptually driven naming: Comment on Starreveld and La Heij (1995).

P. A. Starreveld and W. La Heij (see record 1995-42762-001) tested the seriality view of lexical access in speech production, according to which lexical selection and the encoding of a word's form proceed in serial order without feedback. In 2 experiments, they looked at the combined effect of semantic and orthographic relatedness of written distractor words in tasks that required conceptually driven naming. They found an interaction between semantic relatedness and orthographic relatedness and argued that the observed interaction refutes the seriality view of lexical access. In this comment, the authors argue that Starreveld and La Heij's rejection of serial access was based on an oversimplified conception of the seriality view and that interaction, rather than additivity, is predicted by existing conceptions of serial access. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of observational coding in family therapy research: Comment on Alexander et al. (1995).

The author recommends a systematic, context-sensitive method for using observation to increase understanding of how change actually occurs in couples and family therapy. In this method, a task analysis of in-session performances on a specific task leads to the building of a model of the change process. This approach is exemplified in the process of in-session conflict resolution in couples therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Afterthoughts on counselor theoretical orientation: Reply to Arnkoff (1995) and Gelso (1995).

C. J. Gelso's (see record 1996-07032-001) and D. B. Arnkoff's (see record 1996-07029-001) responses to our review of past research into conceptualizing and measuring counselors' theoretical orientation (J. J. Poznanski & J. McLennan, see record 1996-07039-001) suggest that further conceptual analysis and empirical exploration is required. Counselor theoretical orientation should be seen as multifaceted and incorporating four elements: Theoretical School Affiliation, Espoused Theory, Inferred Theory in Action, and the superordinate component Personal Therapeutic Belief System. Implications for measuring theoretical orientation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Father absence, mother love, and other family issues that need to be questioned: Comment on Silverstein (1993).

Additional information is added to L. B. Silverstein's (see record 1994-17264-001) article regarding human fathers' involvement with their children. It is argued that the "cad–dad" dichotomy should be conceptualized as a continuum to reflect the varying degrees of paternal involvement with children in a variety of family constellations. In addition, H. F. Harlow's (1958) classic research on contact comfort is discussed in relation to misrepresentation of research results on the basis of historical context. Finally, suggestions are provided to expand the reciprocity hypothesis in humans to include other benefits from family involvement, such as emotional connectedness and personal satisfaction from sharing with others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Turner (2000).

Field research like that of A. L. Turner (see record 2000-03669-001) has the potential to develop theory about coping and treatment processes. We discuss theoretical concepts from social support research, social comparison theory, and emotional processing models, which can help to understand what is happening in group-based interventions and to plan interventions that address the interface between socially supportive processes and individual differences in anxiety reactions. We discuss methodological approaches that can be used to assess how treatment effects are mediated and suggest settings where controlled evaluations are possible. Such research can enrich theory about group processes and build the effectiveness of group-based interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral observation and family psychology: Strange bedfellows or happy marriage?: Comment on Alexander et al. (1995).

J. F. Alexander et al (see record 1996-17914-001) provide a thoughtful and comprehensive framework for conceptualizing the process of developing, evaluating, and using observational coding systems. In this article, the authors attempt to link the framework of Alexander et al. with that proposed by F. Floyd (1989), and they discuss how observational methods may contribute to the advancement of family psychology. They discuss specific issues and recommendations that they believe will contribute to moving the field of behavioral observation forward, including, for example, the ascendance of global over microanalytic coding systems, the importance of considering effects of gender and ethnicity of coders on coding, difficulties in conducting observational research and analyzing observational data, and the persistent problem of capturing low base-rate behaviors using observational methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Natterson (2003).

The author views J. M. Natterson's (2003) article as a return to Freud's emphasis on the centrality of love in psychoanalysis freshly conceptualized within a contemporary intersubjective perspective. Natterson's definition of love is viewed by the author as consisting of 3 independent components (attachment, recognition, and mutuality) that may harmonize or conflict. The author notes the rarity of Natterson's intimate disclosure of the specifics of his own subjectivity to the reader, and their value in advancing the understanding of psychoanalytic process and theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)