Editorial: Into the Second Century.

This editorial discusses the first century of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and speculates on the second century of the journal. In the early decades of its existence, Abnormal clearly was quite different from the typical psychological journal of today. The articles in its inaugural issue reflect the fact that its early content was heavily influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis and other forms of dynamic psychology. The first major shift in the journal's course occurred in 1921, when its scope was broadened to include social and personality research. For a variety of reasons, this union of social, personality, and clinical psychology ended in 1965, when the content subsumed by the old, expanded Abnormal was resplit into two separate outlets: Articles on personality and social processes were redirected to the newly created Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, whereas psychopathology research was retained for the rechristened Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Abnormal has been extremely well-managed in recent years, and it has maintained its status as the top-tier outlet for basic psychopathology research. Accordingly, the editor does not see a need to institute any fundamental changes in its scope or content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the role of impulsivity and externalizing psychopathology in alcohol abuse: Application of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale.

The present study explores the relation among 4 personality traits associated with impulsive behavior and alcohol abuse. Personality traits were measured using the 4 subscales of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS: S. P. Whiteside & D. R. Lynam. 2001). The UPPS and measures of psychopathology were administered to clinical samples of alcohol abusers high in antisocial personality traits (AAPD), alcohol abusers low in antisocial personality traits (AA), and a control group (total N = 60). Separate analyses of variance indicated that AAPDs had significant elevations on all 4 UPPS scales, whereas the AAs and controls differed only on the Urgency subscale. However, when controlling for psychopathology, group differences on the UPPS scales disappeared. The results suggest that personality traits related to impulsive behavior are not directly related to alcohol abuse but rather are associated with the elevated levels of psychopathology found in a subtype of alcohol abusers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology: David T. Lykken.

David T. Lyyken received the 2001 Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology. He was given this award for his theoretical and methodological contributions to personality, psychopathology, and the assessment of emotional responding. His demonstration of low fear temperament and impulsivity in psychopathy stimulated a vast literature on the nature of that deficit. He developed the Guilty Knowledge Test and criticized traditional lie detection, stimulating public policy debate on that critical topic. His Activity Preference Questionnaire provided an alternative to neuroticism as a conceptualization of anxiety in psychopathy that is represented in current personality measures, and his concept of 'perception' has proved valuable in assessing risk for substance abuse. Using twin studies, he demonstrated high heritability for numerous psychophysiological responses and developed the concept of emergenisis. He published extensive methodological issues on how to record electrodermal activity, culminating in a proposal for standardization that is universally followed today. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ira Stanley Cohen (1922–1992): Obituary.

Memorializes I. S. Cohen, who made contributions in 2 areas of psychology: psychopathology and the learning process. His research included studies in language and thought processes in schizophrenia and psychosomatic disorders. Cohen was committed to all phases of instruction in psychology and served as a professor and as director of Educational Affairs of the American Psychological Association. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology: Avshalom Caspi.

Discusses contributions of Avshalom Caspi, cited for the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology. Caspi is cited for his research on personality continuity and change across the life span. His longitudinal projects have bridged 2 distinct areas of psychology: the study of personality structure and the study of development. His life course approach is characterized by uncommon methodological sophistication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology: Kenneth A. Dodge.

The Early Career Awards recognize the large number of excellent young psychologists. Recipients of this award may not have held a PhD for more than eight years. Three areas of psychology are considered each year. The areas considered for awards in 1984 were human learning/cognition, psychopathological, and physiological. Kenneth A. Dodge was recognized for contributions to the study of childhood precursors of psychopathology; for theoretical and empirical analyses illuminating the development of social competencies in children; and for innovative research relating children's social-information-processing skills to their social status, peer interaction patterns, antisocial behavior, and risk for future deviance. His work's importance is enhanced by its promising implications for early identification and prevention. In addition to a citation, a biography and bibliography of Dodge's works are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Donald J. Kiesler (1933-2007).

Obituary for Donald J. Kiesler (1933-2007). When Donald J. Kiesler died on May 16, 2007, psychology lost one of its sharpest thinkers and most effective researchers. Don was one of those unique scientists who not only identified conceptual issues and problems but also spearheaded research efforts to determine their worth. Nowhere is this more clearly shown than in the nearly three decades of his research involving interpersonal approaches to understanding personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early Career Awards for 1978.

The Early Career Awards, given for the first time in 1974, recognize the large number of excellent young psychologists. Recipients of this award may not be more than 8 years post-PhD. For purposes of this award, psychology has been divided into nine areas (human learning/cognition, psychopathology, physiological, animal, personality, developmental, methodological, social, and sensation/perception), and the awards are given in 3-year cycles. The awards for 1978 were given in the areas of human learning/cognition, psychopathology, and physiological psychology. Every year panels are selected for the three areas in which the award is to be given, and these panels recommend nominees to the Committee on Scientific Awards. The panels for this year were Lyle E. Bourne (Chair), Donald A. Norman, and Michael I. Posner for human learning/cognition; Philip S. Holzman (Chair), John M. Neale, and Gordon L. Paul for psychopathology; and Richard F. Thompson (Chair), Robert L. Isaacson, and Patricia M. Meyer for physiological psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Culture and Psychopathology.

Reviews the book, Culture and Psychopathology, edited by Ihsan Al-Issa (1982). This book consists of 16 chapters on different aspects and issues of the study of psychopathology cross-culturally by a number of different authors, many of them well-known authorities in the field. Topics covered include methodology in cross-cultural psychopathology, social class and affective disorders, culture-bound syndromes, personality abnormalities, alcohol abuse, sexual deviation, psychosomatics, and pain. The book will serve as a good reference both for those interested in the findings of the research on the influence of culture on psychopathology and for those concerned with the issues and problems of research in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

American Psychological Association Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology: Presented to Neal E. Miller, August 16, 1991.

Presents Neal E. Miller with the American Psychological Association Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology. Miller is recognized for his research on a broad spectrum of psychological phenomena, including the learning process, primary and secondary motivation, reward and punishment, frustration and conflict, fear and aggression, and personality and psychopathology. Miller's contributions as a public representative of psychology are also noted. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions: Michael L. Rutter.

Discusses the contributions of Michael L. Rutter, winner of the 1995 Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions presented by the American Psychological Association. Rutter is cited for his focus on the biological, psychological, and social factors and environments that influence the course and outcome of adaptation and maladaptation in children and adolescents. His publications have reshaped the form and significance of research in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychology and have fostered the emergence of a field of research now identified as developmental psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Charles Wenar (1922–2008).

Charles Wenar, psychology professor emeritus at Ohio State University (OSU), died of complications from pneumonia on June 19, 2008, in Columbus, Ohio. Well-known for his methodological and substantive contributions to an understanding of normal development in infants, toddlers, and children, he was also among the pioneers in the field of developmental psychopathology. He proposed a conceptualization of psychopathology in children and adolescents as normal development gone awry and advocated for a clinical child psychology training program that was well-grounded in both developmental science and clinical child psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Awards for distinguished professional contributions: Albert Ellis.

Presents the citation, biography, and bibliography for Albert Ellis, one of the 1985 recipients of the American Psychological Association's Awards for Distinguished Professional Contributions. Ellis was honored for his theoretical contributions and their profound effect on the professional practice of psychology. His theories on the primacy of cognition in psychopathology are at the forefront of practice and research in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Ellis' theories have importantly encouraged an active-directive approach to psychological treatment, combined with a deep humanistic respect for the uniqueness of the individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Externalizing psychopathology and marital adjustment in long-term marriages: Results from a large combined sample of married couples.

The current study evaluated the associations between externalizing psychopathology and marital adjustment in a combined sample of 1,805 married couples. We further considered the role of personality in these associations, as personality has been found to predict both the development of externalizing psychopathology as well as marital distress and instability. Diagnostic interviews assessed conduct disorder, adult symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, and alcohol dependence. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale was used to measure marital adjustment. Results indicate that more externalizing psychopathology, greater negative emotionality, and lower communal positive emotionality were associated with reduced marital adjustment in both individuals and their spouses. Low constraint was associated with reduced marital adjustment for individuals but not for their spouses. Multivariate analyses indicated externalizing psychopathology continued to predict marital adjustment even when accounting for overlap with personality. These results highlight the importance of examining the presence of externalizing psychopathology and the personality attributes of both members of a dyad when considering psychological predictors of marital adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Development and Psychopathology: A Vulnerability-Stress Perspective.

Reviews the book, Development and Psychopathology: A Vulnerability-Stress Perspective by Benjamin L. Hankin and John R. Z. Abela (Eds.) (see record 2006-04904-000). In this volume, Hankin and Abela seek to advance perspectives on the development of various psychopathologies by calling attention to the joint contributions of individual susceptibilities--vulnerabilities--and adverse environmental circumstances--stressors. Vulnerability-stress models of psychopathology are rooted in such early work as Beck's diathesis-stress model of depression, and Sameroff's transactional model of development. The volume starts with one chapter on stress, followed by one chapter on vulnerability-stress models. The chapters in Part II describe genetic, neurophysiological, affective, cognitive, attachment, social cognitive (interpersonal), and personality vulnerabilities. In Part III, the volume concludes with six chapters on specific kinds of psychopathology: depression, anxiety, disruptive behaviour, substance use, eating disorders, and personality disorders. As well as briefly reviewing symptoms, prevalence rates, and ages of onset, all six chapters provide detailed and useful summaries of the many vulnerabilities linked with these problems areas. The disclaimer in the preface rings true. One finishes this book with the sense that it is a good start, but also the hope that it is the first part of a two-volume series. It begins to provide the necessary information for generating new models of the development of psychopathology based on vulnerability-stress interactions, but also leaves a number of questions unanswered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paul Meehl: Past and future lessons for the field.

Paul Everett Meehl (1920-2003) was an intellectual giant who made important contributions to several fields of thought. The present special section focuses on his contributions to psychopathology, personality, and methods of psychological inquiry. The editors identified six specific topic areas within these broad domains and invited a specialist on each topic to write a discussion. These authors were invited to review Meehl's contributions and clarify their historical significance and current relevance. In addition, two authors contributed personal perspectives on Meehl, revealing that Meehl profoundly affected psychological science by routes other than his publications and formal talks. Rather, his voluminous correspondence and his personal relationships allowed him to engage numerous colleagues in his passionate pursuit of ideas and insights. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Platelet MAO-B, personality, and psychopathology.

The article investigates the relationships between platelet monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) activity, personality, and psychopathology (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994] diagnoses. These relationships were assessed in 178 incarcerated male juvenile delinquents. Even after controlling for smoking, the authors found that both Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology were negatively related to MAO-B activity. In the final reduced model, novelty seeking fully mediated the relationships between MAO-B and Externalizing Psychopathology but not between MAO-B and Internalizing Psychopathology. It was hypothesized that low platelet MAO-B activity does not directly predispose individuals to psychopathology but is related to specific personality traits, which in turn represent a vulnerability factor for psychopathology. Future studies should help clarify the nature of the relationships between personality, biological markers, and psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early Career Awards for 1978: Gary E. Schwartz.

Gary E. Schwarts earned the Early Career Award for his outstanding contributions to our understanding of biofeedback and self-regulation of psychophysiological processes and the application of this knowledge to research on the etiology and treatment of psychosomatic and affective disorders. Schwartz conducted pioneering studies in humans, demonstrating learned specificity and patterning in the cardiovascular system and the potential of self-control of blood pressure in the treatment of hypertension. His innovative theories and research on facial muscle patterning and self-regulation of emotion in depression, lateralization of brain mechanisms in emotion, and self-regulation and disregulation in stress and disease successfully integrated psychobiology with psychopathology and medicine and enabled him to play a leading role in the development of the new fields of health psychology and behavioral medicine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)