Families and family psychology at the millennium: Intersecting crossroads.

This introduction to the International Perspectives section presents a global overview of various issues and trends that families and family psychologists confront at the beginning of the 21st century. These are presented in broad strokes so that a kaleidoscopic intermingling of pieces emerges. Some predictions are included about new and expanding directions the field of family psychology is likely to take in coming decades. The need for additional research to field test criteria sets for emerging relational diagnosis and to evaluate which are the most efficacious therapeutic interventions is highlighted (F. W. Kaslow, 1987, 1995b). This section also includes 3 other articles on various aspects of family psychology by leading psychologists from 3 diverse countries and continents—the Virgin Islands (R. Dudley-Grant, 2001), Israel (E. Halpern, 2001), and Japan (K. Kameguchi, 2001). Each is representative of the larger region in which each author teaches and practices. These articles are intended to present a collage of some of the problems families are experiencing, future trends, and a call to action for psychologists to intervene to prevent and ameliorate family distress. Each author describes the history and current status of family psychology in his or her country and relates key dilemmas to what is happening on the world scene. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of eating & drinking: An introduction, Vol. 2.

Reviews the book, The psychology of eating & drinking: An introduction, Vol. 2 by A. W. Logue (1991). The second edition of The psychology of eating and drinking expands the first by three chapters. These discuss, as the author says, the psychology of eating and drinking as it applies to everyday issues. New topics address female reproduction, cigarette smoking, and cuisine and wine tasting. Following 296 pages of text, the book lists several clinics and self-help agencies dealing with disorders of taste and smell, eating, and alcohol (only one resource offered for alcohol abuse). Also, the book provides chapter-by chapter references as well as name and subject indexes. Furthermore, as the author says, the second edition updates the research-base of the original edition. Logue organizes her book into five parts, each preceded by a précis. The first three parts, which follow an introductory chapter that maps what is to come and that justifies the large number of animal (rat) studies to be presented, describe the basics of eating and drinking. Part One comprises two chapters on starting and stopping eating and drinking. Here, as elsewhere, Logue informs the reader well; by this time, one wants to work through the book. Equally as interesting, Part Two (four chapters) looks at what we select to drink and cat, and why we make such choices. Part Three (one chapter) talks about nutritive and nonnutritive substances. It concerns the interplay of what we eat and what we subsequently do. Part Four (three chapters) gets directly at the clinical issues. It explains and discusses eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia), obesity, and alcoholism. Lastly, Part Five (three chapters) addresses everyday concerns. Logue intends that the book be read by lay persons and psychologists, but I doubt that those devoid of psychology background will fully appreciate all she has to say. She also intends that the reader will come away from the book appreciating the value of the scientific method in phrasing and answering questions about why we do what we do. Here Logue clearly achieves her goal, for the reader cannot help but see what scientific thinking can bring to the understanding of the psychology of eating and drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychologie positive et personnalité.

Reviews the book, Psychologie positive et personnalite (Positive psychology and personality, activation of resources) by Firouzeh Mehran (2010). This is an interesting book on a captivating subject that has been little examined. Psychology has produced much more research on human distress than on people’s well-being. On the practical level, it presents a variety of techniques applicable in therapy. On the personal level, the book encourages the reader to modify current habits and suggests several ways of doing so. The book begins with personality theories prior to positive psychology that focused on healthy aspects of human existence; then examines current trends. Among other aspects, the author discusses spirituality and humor, their utility in clinical work and future possibilities. This is a theoretical book that offers practical ideas on acquiring healthy attitudes. Many techniques are suggested for therapists, and their clients, such as the principles and exercises of meditation in the mindfulness approach. It is not only an instructive source of knowledge but a tool for change and professional development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Entering the circle: Hermeneutic investigation in psychology.

Reviews the book, Entering the circle: Hermeneutic investigation in psychology edited by R.B. Addison and M.J. Packer (1989). Entering the Circle is highly recommended, if only to familiarize us with (or remind us of) the penetrating critique and contribution that hermeneutic thought offers psychology. In addition this book should be recommended because it contains, perhaps more so then other books of this genre, a diverse group of essays (dealing with developmental, clinical, social and educational psychology) that grapple with methodological and practical issues of hermeneutic psychology by reporting on research that is grounded, to a greater or lesser extent, in a hermeneutic approach. Also, another distinctive aspect of this book is that it is almost entirely devoted to the concerns of hermeneutics (the catchword "interpretive," often used in this book, I take to be interchangeable with "hermeneutic"), and thereby distinguishes itself from what has come to be known as existential or phenomenological psychologies—a distinction that for many purposes is unnecessary but may prove to be helpful in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Supportive therapy for borderline patients—A psychodynamic approach.

Reviews the book, Supportive therapy for borderline patients—A psychodynamic approach by Lawrence H. Rockland (see record 1992-97952-000). In this book, the author addresses the supportive psychotherapy of clients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). While there is an abundant literature on expressive and psychoanalytic treatments for the borderline client there is very little on supportive approaches in the psychotherapy literature. Rockland offers a guide to the therapist who, after careful assessment and treatment planning, decides that a primarily supportive psychotherapy is most appropriate for his/her client, either initially or throughout the treatment. Using a practical, how-to format, Rockland applies the principles of Psychodynamically Oriented Supportive Therapy (POST)—an approach that he formulated (Rockland, 1989)—to clients with BPD. This text will assist clinicians in conceptualizing interventions that are often already part of their "supportive" repertoire but are applied in an unorganized and unsystematic fashion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of human possibility and constraint.

Reviews the book, The psychology of human possibility and constraint by J. Martin and J. Sugarman (see record 1999-02336-000). This wide-ranging, compact, dense, yet very readable little book presents many of the key elements of a badly needed, more credible philosophy of social science for academic and professional psychologists. The book gives no specific examples of theories or research findings that might illustrate what is meant by a better kind of "knowledge" or "theory" in psychology, so the reader is left somewhat high and dry concerning this question. Perhaps it is simply the case that these questions about what might be the best kind of social and psychological inquiry and what sense to make of the plethora of theories and findings to date, are difficult, murky, and on the frontier of a hermeneutic reenvisioning of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social Psychology: An Applied Approach.

Reviews the book, Social Psychology: An Applied Approach by Ronald J. Fisher (1982). In what is probably the first of a new generation of social psychology textbooks, Ronald Fisher has attempted a very ambitious intergration of basic, theoretical and applied social psychology. My overall feeling about the book is very positive, since there is much to recommend in it. Some of the chapters, such as those dealing with social issues and social change, program development and evaluation, and organizational development, are outstanding. They are scholarly, well written and contain information that traditional social psychologists should be aware of but rarely teach. Indeed, these chapters are so comprehensive, that they could serve as good introductions to these topics for graduate students. In addition, while not being a truly "Canadian" textbook, there are considerably more Canadian examples and anecdotes contained in this book than can be found in any of the other current textbooks. My hope as an instructor of an advanced undergraduate course in applied social psychology is that if there is a second edition of this text that the author might amend it by broadening the coverage of current topics in applied social psychology while retaining those chapters that are unique to the book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of How the mind works.

Reviews the book, How the mind works by Steven Pinker (see record 1997-30233-000). In this book, the author writes with optimism and excitement about recent progress in psychology, but with despair about the human condition. The scope of the book is stated briefly: "I will try to explain what the mind is, where it came from, and how it lets us see, think, feel, interact, and pursue higher callings like art, religion, and philosophy" (p. 3). The reader will be disappointed in many of these explanations: the book dwells on the already-expansive topics of what the mind is, and where it came from. As for the rest, we are told that humans have innate knowledge of optics, logic, mathematics, physics, botany (p. 377), and even psychology (p. 329). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Art and Visual Perception.

Reviews the book "Art and visual perception," by Rudolph Arnheim (see record 1955-03680-000). In reading this book, one realizes why more psychologists have not been concerned with art. Art is a technical specialty in its own right and one must be expert both in psychology and in either creative art or the history of art to write on art. Arnheim's book brings the scientific knowledge of a trained psychologist to bear on the fundamental problems of visual art as it has developed through the ages. The discussion is always with reference to concrete works of art. Many original drawings, diagrams, and figures illustrate basic principles and important points. The writing is superb. The book is full of penetrating insights into questions of art and also into many problems of concern to the psychologist. Fundamentally this book is an argument against the usual art historian's approach, so well described by Arnheim as the purely subjective point of view, that what a person sees in a work of art "depends entirely on who he is, what he is interested in, what he has experienced in the past, and how he chooses to direct his attention". A book which reflects so well the author's urbanity, catholicity, and keenness of mind, as well as his technical grasp of the scientific and the artistic, is no small achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Essentials of abnormal child psychology.

Reviews the book, "Essentials of abnormal child psychology," by Ernest Harms (see record 1954-06156-000). This is one of the most unorthodox books in the field of psychology the reviewer has seen in a long time. From the title one would expect a systematic treatment of the psychopathology of childhood; what one actually finds is a series of independent articles. Much of the material presented is intriguing because of its novelty. Harms' first major contribution to an original look at this field is the concept of paternus and materna as a substitute for Freud's infant sexuality and Oedipus. They represent the aboriginal relationship of a human child to his parents. The author also discusses childhood schizophrenia and hysteria, the burden of which is that these conditions are frequently misdiagnosed. Another "new concept" presented by Harms is that of ego inflation and ego deflation. "The most important contribution this volume makes to the field," says Harms, is the chapter on the Mignon Neurosis (a one-sided developmental pattern in which the child wants to grow up faster than he can). The work is divided into two parts, and Part II deals with Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures. After detailed discussion of child art as diagnostic means, we find presentations of original therapeutic approaches such as Transitional Therapy, Autogentic Therapy, and Substitution Therapy. There also are chapters on the incorrect diagnosis of feeblemindedness, education of the mentally retarded, and brief child guidance treatment. The book is original, provocative, and provoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Motivation and personality.

Reviews the book, Motivation and personality by A. H. Maslow (1954). As indicated in the preface, "this book was started during the years 1935-1936 and was intended to be a systematic psychology of the older type." Thirteen of the eighteen chapters appeared as separate articles although the author did have an over-all plan into which these separates did fit. There have been only slight changes in the chapters in the preparation of this publication because the author felt that his thinking has "stood up very well." The opening chapter has as its thesis the importance of taking into account the scientist as well as the science, and is followed by a second chapter with a related theme. The third chapter, titled "Holistic-Dynamic Theory in the Study of Personality" is described by the author as being "already somewhat dated." The fourth chapter is titled "Preface to Motivation Theory" and presents some vital concepts such as treating the individual as a whole. In the following chapter, "A Theory of Human Motivation," the author makes the point that "The organism is dominated and its behavior organized by unsatisfied needs." This chapter is followed by one in which the author re-evaluates the instinct theory. Subsequent chapters discuss love and self-actualization. The reviewer reports that overall, the general style of the book as a whole is pleasant in its personal quality and sincerity. It is easy to see how as individual articles, the sections could have been interesting points of departure for discussion, but the assembling of these does not result in an integrated approach nor the "systematic psychology" which the author mentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of An object-relations theory of the personality.

Reviews the book, An object-relations theory of the personality by W. Ronald D. Fairbairn (see record 1955-00532-000). In a series of lectures delivered in the 1940's, the author developed what for him was a renovation of Freud's libido theory and Abraham's "developmental phase" theory. It is these lectures which appear in the first portion of this book; in succeeding sections there appear three case histories which are used to illustrate the author's resynthesis, and a group of miscellaneous papers. For many classical psychoanalysts, the author will probably represent a particularly repugnant type of heresy in his disavowal of "accepted" basic principles. To the neo-Freudian, his dynamics may appear too far removed from the social world to be considered practicable. Finally, for those who demand of a conceptualization that the referents be clear, and that labels and names not be treated as entities, there will be little incentive to read beyond the first chapter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Bodies in treatment: The unspoken dimension.

Reviews the book, Bodies in treatment: The unspoken dimension by Frances Sommer Anderson (see record 2007-07946-000). In this book, the author aims to move talk and body therapists closer to one another, so that each appreciates the narrative and the visceral and so that, together, they can care for patients as wholly as possible. Body therapists consider the body to be a rich source of information, with the potential to facilitate regulation and reorganization of emotional states, explains William Cornell, in his chapter “Self in Action: The Bodily Basis of Self-Organization.” Specifically, body therapists ask patients to verbalize their physical sensations, to notice and to change their breathing, to adjust their posture. Sometimes body therapists touch patients to better sense and to reconfigure troubled parts of the body. These techniques aim to heed, deepen, and even change experiences at the level of the body. Despite this book’s imperfect cohesion and inconsistent strength (both common in edited books), it succeeds strongly in bringing needed attention to a dimension of treatment that has been largely ignored, and sometimes exploited, by therapists. This book will be of particular interest to clinicians (from graduate students in the field to seasoned analysts) who treat patients with eating disorders and/or trauma histories, patients who somatize, and patients who suffer from chronic illnesses. Francis Sommer Anderson is brave to have written about the ways her own profession of talk therapy failed to touch and heal some aspects of her patients, and some aspects of herself. The authors of her volume all contribute—most, very creatively and innovatively; some, eccentrically—to Anderson’s aim of including bodies in treatment and of healing patients as completely as possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Readmitting the Mind.

The author addresses the following question: In what sense of the word "mind" may modern psychology be correctly described as the study of the mind? The author argues that "mind" should be defined as "the organization of behavior" and that psychology is the science of the mind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Manual of Child Psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the review by Roger G. Barker of the L. Carmichael edited book, Manual of Child Psychology (Psychological Bulletin, 1955, Vol 52[3], 263-267). The sentence on page 266, right-hand column, should read "However, this reader found intriguing the world view so boldly sketched." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2005-10141-002). This book is a good picture of child psychology in 1954. The weaknesses of the Manual are largely the weaknesses of the science it surveys. A good manual of child psychology awaits a more mature science of child behavior. In the meantime this book and, it is to be hoped, its future editions provide an important aid in achieving this maturity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Theory and problems of adolescent development.

Reviews "Theory and problems of adolescent development," by David P. Ausubel (see record 1955-00581-000). Unlike most other books in this area, this book offers a systematic presentation of psychological knowledge woven around a dynamic point of view. It is a scholarly book written in language that makes for easy and interesting reading. The author opens his book with an organized set of arguments designed to convince his readers that there is justification for a book on the "Psychology of Adolescent Development." His major premise states that "adolescence is treated as a separate developmental period not because it covers a decade but because it spans an interval in which distinctive changes occur in a biosocial status of the human organism. The author has marshaled his psychological knowledge and psychiatric experience into a well-organized book. Dr. Ausubel quotes freely from other authors and from his own writings and research. There are extensive references contained in the bibliography at the end of each chapter. Although the author states that "this book is primarily intended as an advanced textbook in adolescent psychology for graduate students in psychology and education," it would appear that this book is written with sufficient clarity and nontechnical language to be used in any college course dealing with adolescent behavior. It would be especially desirable in clinically-oriented courses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)