Fechner's "inner psychophysics."

Though psychologists are generally aware that Gustav Fechner introduced psychophysics and set down its essential methodology, most of them only know about the part that Fechner called “outer psychophysics.” In his classic publication of 1860, Fechner insisted that “inner psychophysics” was more important, yet this aspect of Fechner's work failed to receive any attention. The article reviews Fechner's presentation of inner psychophysics and suggests reasons why that part of his work was neglected and has been forgotten. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The case against suicide prevention": Reply.

Responds to the comments by G. A. Clum (see record 1988-05003-001) about the article by the present author (see record 1986-27453-001) advocating against coercive suicide prevention. The present author denies that he advocates a policy of nonintervention, argues that mental health professionals should be willing to intervene noncoercively—by offering help to persons troubled by the idea of committing suicide, and states litigation is not relevant to the issue of treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The case against suicide prevention": Comment.

Comments on the article by T. Szasz (see record 1986-27453-001) advocating against coercive suicide prevention. The present author argues that suicidal behavior is often temporary, and as such warrants temporary restraint. He argues that treatment may reduce the danger of suicide, but inaction will not. He further maintains that Szasz overestimates the legal threat facing professionals who assume responsibility for suicidal persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to "A note on the MMPI as a suicide predictor."

Replies to J. R. Clopton's (see record 1979-05119-001) comments on the present author's (1977) article on the MMPI as a suicide predictor. Clopton's viewpoint that patients who attempt suicide are probably all members of the same population regardless of the success of their attempts is discussed. His concern that future research should emphasize the development of useful MMPI indices of suicidal risk and should recognize the need to cross-validate these indices is endorsed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behind the "seens": The inner experience of at least one psychoanalyst.

Discusses the present author's thoughts and feelings as he has observed them in the course of his functioning as a psychoanalyst. The ongoing nature of the therapist's experience in sessions, why he says what he says, and what prompts his interventions were concepts that guided the observations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Completed suicide in the gifted: A late comment on "Suicide among gifted women."

A recent study by C. Tomlinson-Keasey et al (see record 1986-24809-001) found differences between completed suicides in L. M. Terman's sample of gifted children and comparison Ss. The present article suggests that the differences identified in Tomlinson-Keasey et al may have been confounded by the fact that completed suicides are typically found to have higher levels of psychiatric disturbance than nonsuicides. Data are presented to illustrate that when the completed suicides in Terman's sample are matched for psychiatric disturbance with the comparison Ss, few differences are found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Comparing genuine and simulated suicide notes: A new perspective": Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by S. T. Black (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1993[Aug], Vol 61[4], 669–702). On page 701, the 4th column heading in Table 2 appears as "Dunnett's t test probability.' The correct column heading is "Dunn's t test probability.' (The following abstract of this article appeared in record 1993-45704-001.) E. S. Shneidman and N. L. Farberow (1957) preselected writers of simulated suicide notes to eliminate vulnerable Ss. Subsequent comparisons of genuine and simulated notes have perpetuated the methodological misstep of the original study. In this study, a new set of genuine notes were selected from completed suicides by men and women who left at least one note, who were White, and who were older than 18 yrs of age. The simulated note writers (SNWs) were unpreselected, unpaid community volunteers. Genuine note writers in the current and the 1957 samples were not found to differ; SNWs from the samples did differ. Problems with the interpretation of differences between genuine and simulated notes are discussed, with a focus on the role-playing nature of simulated notes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Critelli and Neumann's "The placebo."

Asserts that, in their article on the placebo effect, J. W. Critelli and K. F. Neumann (see record 1984-26517-001) failed to recognize that treatment cannot be of benefit if a patient knows that a treatment is a placebo. Critelli and Neumann's contention that placebo factors (the mere belief that improvement will result from treatment) could legitimately comprise all that is active in psychotherapy is criticized. It is argued that any therapy that succeeds only because of placebo effects will eventually lose credibility. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Black's (1993) article, "Comparing genuine and simulated suicide notes: A new perspective."

The recent article by Stephen T. Black (see record 1993-45704-001) comparing genuine suicide notes with simulated notes is examined here. This article corrected a sampling error made in the original study by E. S. Shneidman and N. Farberow (1957), but Black's design suffers from theoretical and methodological problems that render it uninterpretable: First, no theoretical background is elaborated, and no hypotheses are offered. Second, no constructs are operationalized, and no predictions are tested. In the present article, the operational design is critiqued, and then it is suggested that the study of suicide notes in this fashion should cease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaction to "The creation and destruction of value."

Suggests that B. Schwartz's (1990) article on the question of creating vs destroying value in human interactions may raise false hopes about the possibility of achieving an enlightened society. It is not solely the social milieu that is responsible for cultural variations of "goodness" and "badness," nor is an individual's proclivity for creating value totally responsible for existing value orientations within a social milieu. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Widiger and Rorer's "The responsible psychotherapist."

Contends that T. A. Widiger and L. G. Rorer (see record 1984-29794-001) are vulnerable to the criticism that a misunderstanding occurred because of faulty analysis. The doctrine of informed consent has developed out of the application of the basic legal and ethical practices of citizens in the treatment relationship. It is argued that Widiger and Rorer failed to discuss rights and responsibilities as dialectical processes, juxtaposed ethical and effective therapy, and implied that evidence establishes that one or another therapeutic model is so superior that a defense can be made about setting aside basic rights and responsibilities when a person assumes the role of patient. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On "The reality of repressed memories."

Comments on E. F. Loftus's (see record 1993-37888-001) review of data on patients' recovery of repressed memories of sexual abuse in psychotherapy. Concerns are raised about the selection of the data reviewed, the validity of Loftus's assumptions, and the apparent factual inaccuracies that she used to support her conclusions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The "I," the "we," and the "when": A meta-analysis of motivational primacy in self-definition.

What is the primary motivational basis of self-definition? The authors meta-analytically assessed 3 hypotheses: (a) The individual self is motivationally primary, (b) the collective self is motivationally primary, and (c) neither self is inherently primary; instead, motivational primacy depends on which self becomes accessible through contextual features. Results identified the individual self as the primary motivational basis of self definition. People react more strongly to threat and enhancement of the individual than the collective self. Additionally, people more readily deny threatening information and more readily accept enhancing information when it pertains to the individual rather than the collective self, regardless of contextual influences. The individual self is the psychological home base, a stable system that can react flexibly to contextual influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The unconscious" and unconscious processes.

In response to K. S. Bowers's (see record 1988-16849-001) discussion of the unconscious, the present author addresses the issue of defining the unconscious and the distinction between 1st- and 2nd-order consciousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

William Osler's "The nervousness of American women."

Almost a century ago, William Osler, the foremost physician of his time, was approached by a leading periodical to write a series of articles on the health of the American woman. Osler, then the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, wrote an essay dealing with the psychological stresses affecting the "new woman" of the early 20th century at varying stages of her development and the "nervousness" that ensued. The article was never published as a result of his belated reservations on the propriety of a professional writing for a lay journal. Osler's thinking frequently reflected the spirit of his Victorian-Edwardian era, although at times he demonstrated advanced and prescient ideas about sexuality, not often the subject of discussion, even in circumspect form, in contemporary nonprofessional literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "The case of William McDougall."

Agrees that R. A. Jones's (see record 1988-03145-001) account of W. McDougall's decline and fall in the field of psychology in terms of the elaboration-likelihood model of R. E. Petty and J. T. Caciappo (1986) is plausible. However, McDougall's negative image surely had more important sources than the mass media. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On selection and "deselection."

While N. Hirschberg and S. Itkin (see record 1979-27229-001) assume that the key to increasing the number of students who complete doctoral programs in psychology is more accurate selection, the percentage of students who complete these programs could be increased by examining the interpersonal processes of graduate programs in as much detail as the intrapsychic structures of students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond "competing," beyond "compatible." Commentary on J. Archer.

Comments on J. Archer's 1996 article in which he considers whether observed patterns of sex differences in human social behavior are best explained by social role theory or by the evolutionary principles of Darwinian theory. The author believes that Archer's conclusion that the 2 theories are actually compatible is important and is concerned that such a valuable conclusion may be lost to discussions over the rest of the article. The author argues several points made in the original article and then concludes that Darwinian and cultural perspectives on human sex differences are not opposing theories, nor are they merely compatible but instead are necessarily interdependent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"She," "He," Coexistence, and Bastardy.

Before proposing a solution for the sex bias problems inherent in the generic use of the pronoun he, Spencer (see record 1990-58427-001) reviews some efforts to solve the problem. The attempted solutions are evaluated as "not an improvement ... awkward... jarring ... disturbing" (p. 782), In one case, Spencer notes that coauthors of a book "slip up" twice. To avoid the difficulties and the accompanying unpleasant experiences, Spencer suggests the use of co: "The form is derived from an old Indo-European common form for both male and female English pronouns" (p. 783). While arguing for the "goodness of fit" (p. 783) of co. Spencer acknowledges that "there is currently one exception in our language to this meaning of co-coed, in which the form has been bastardized and debased from its source" (p. 783). A clinical psychologist is assuredly not an expert in psycholinguistics, but one could reasonably argue the following: The concept of bastardy with all of its connotative meaning, including debased, derives from patriarchal, patrilineal, male primary societies and history. In short, it is a sexist concept. Ours is a difficult language to use and avoid the expression of bias. Perhaps we ought to be gentler with those who are trying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Management "Style."

Some search committees ask applicants to send along with application, resume, references, and so forth a brief statement, not over a few paragraphs, on one's "management style." When I first heard that, I wished desperately to know what some other, any other, psychologist had done. In that spirit, I offer some notes. I do not think it will help in getting appointments. I do not think any responses to such questions do. Perhaps, though, with a little correspondence, psychologists could work out a standard little statement that everyone could copy and send as representing his or her views. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)