Visual Search Across the Life Span.

Gains and losses in visual search were studied across the life span in a representative sample of 298 individuals from 6 to 89 years of age. Participants searched for single-feature and conjunction targets of high or low eccentricity. Search was substantially slowed early and late in life, age gradients were more pronounced in conjunction than in feature search, and all age groups were uniformly affected by eccentricity manipulations. However, developmental and aging trends were distinctly asymmetrical: Children's performance was particularly affected by the mere presence of distractors; whereas in late life, performance was particularly impaired on target-absent trials and with increasing numbers of distractors. The implications for life span theories of cognitive and attentional development and for cognitive-speed and inhibitory-control accounts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inconsistency in Reaction Time Across the Life Span.

Inconsistency in latency across trials of 2-choice reaction time data was analyzed in 273 participants ranging in age from 6 to 81 years. A U-shaped curve defined the relationship between age and inconsistency, with increases in age associated with lower inconsistency throughout childhood and higher inconsistency throughout adulthood. Differences in inconsistency were independent of practice, fatigue, and age-related differences in mean level of performance. Evidence for general and specific variability-producing processes was found in those aged less than 21 years, whereas only a specific process, such as attentional blocks, was evident for those 21 years and older. The findings highlight the importance of considering moment-to-moment changes in performance in psychological research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Use of Outcome Measures by Psychologists in Clinical Practice.

This survey investigated psychologists' use of outcome measures in clinical practice. Of the respondents, 37% indicated that they used some form of outcome assessment in practice. A wide variety of measures were used that were rated by the client or clinician. Clinicians who assess outcome in practice are more likely to be younger, have a cognitive-behavioral orientation, conduct more hours of therapy per week, provide services for children and adolescents, and work in institutional settings. Clinicians who do not use outcome measures endorse practical (e.g., cost, time) and philosophical (e.g., relevance) barriers to their use. Both users and nonusers of outcome measures were interested in similar types of information, including client progress since entering treatment, current strengths and weaknesses, and determining if there is a need to alter treatment. Implications for practicing clinicians are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical Practice in Corrections: A Conceptual Framework.

Given the rich complexities of clinical practice in corrections, it is surprising that professional psychology lacks a conceptual framework for organizing the knowledge that guides such work. To accommodate the sources of information contributing to this knowledge base, a conceptual framework that informs clinical practice is presented. The framework posits several psychology services, each of which differs in core knowledge and treatment parameters. Implications for training are offered to guide psychologists who contemplate or begin careers in correctional facilities as well as educators and supervisors in training and internship programs who attempt to prepare students for roles as correctional psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional psychology in California responds to the special issue on peer review.

The recent Special Issue of Professional Psychology (February 1982) raises serious questions about our profession's involvement in programs of peer review and quality assurance. You can be sure that it was read with great interest by clinical psychologists here in California. We call on you, as the editor of Professional Psychology, to continue and to expand your exploration of the issues involved in peer review and quality assurance programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conference on the professional preparation of clinical psychologists: Progress report II.

The conference will begin an August 27 and end September 1 in Chicago prior to the APA meetings. "It is expected that a total of approximately 80 participants and Os will attend. The major work of the conference will be carried out in 8 groups of about 10 persons each." The 80 participants and 8 recorders are listed; also listed are the "Psychology Groups" invited to send Os. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A National Survey of Practicing Psychologists' Use and Attitudes Toward Homework in Psychotherapy.

Homework assignments have been studied extensively in psychotherapy research, but there is little data on the way in which homework is transferred to clinical practice. A survey was conducted of 827 practicing psychologists nationwide regarding their use and attitudes toward homework. Overall, 68% of the present sample indicated that they "often" or "almost always" used homework assignments. Factor analysis revealed that practitioners have a range of attitudes that can be classified as reflecting the notion that homework has (a) a negative impact on in-session therapeutic work and (b) a positive effect on therapy outcomes. More positive attitudes were reported among those with a cognitive-behavioral theoretical orientation. Nevertheless, the use of homework among psychodynamic/analytic practitioners reported in the present sample was unexpected and suggests that theoretical and empirical work is required to examine homework's effects in a range of psychotherapy approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crossing the Quality Chasm in Behavioral Health Care: The Role of Evidence-Based Practice.

The concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) is one receiving increasing attention from providers, managers, payers, and regulators of care, yet practical guidelines for professional psychologists who may be interested in incorporating EBPs into their own work settings are not available. The author explores the pragmatics of EBP adoption within the broad context of quality problems in American health care, particularly as described in a heralded 2001 publication by the Institute of Medicine. Concrete suggestions are offered to help practitioners locate EBP resources for specific clinical problems, use an evidence hierarchy to infer "best practices," address the science-to-service management challenge, and generate outcomes data and feedback loops to continuously improve clinical effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do Psychologists Adhere to the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Tobacco Cessation? A Survey of Practitioners.

Practicing psychologists are well positioned to provide at least minimal interventions for tobacco dependence among their clients. Because smoking covaries with psychopathology, a substantial proportion of psychologists' clients are likely to be smokers. Psychologists have expertise in motivating behavior change, and they have greater contact and stronger relationships with their patients than do most other health providers. Despite these advantages, the current study found that psychologists were less likely to intervene for tobacco use than for other client behaviors, such as alcohol or illicit drug abuse. Psychologists do not regularly ask their clients whether they smoke, advise them to quit, assess their willingness to quit, assist them with quitting, or arrange follow-up. Recommendations for additional training are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Committee on the Scientific and Professional Aims of Psychology: Preliminary Report.

"This report concerns some of the issues involved in the increasing diversification of psychology." Focus was "on problems of professionalization in clinical psychology in order: (a) to deal with the problems involving the largest number of psychologists, and (b) to make it possible to speak more specifically about issues." The "training of clinical psychologists for the practice of psychotherapy should be established as a new doctoral program within the university." Interdisciplinary training is encouraged. "Generally we favor awarding a degree other than the PhD at the end of such doctoral training." "None of the present models for training of psychotherapists, whether within clinical psychology, medicine, or social work, are satisfactory means for developing competent practitioners able to meet the needs or expectations of society." Guidelines for legislation are suggested. It was suggested that "perhaps as much as 50% of the [APA Convention] program should be composed of invited talks and papers which would be either integrative in their nature or which would open up new areas in which significant advances are being made." The Committee has proposed suggestions rather than solutions to problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists' Use of Motion Pictures in Clinical Practice.

Do professional psychologists use motion pictures in clinical practice? If so, do they consider motion pictures to have therapeutic value? Of 827 licensed practicing psychologists, 67% reported the use of motion pictures to promote therapy gains. Most of these practitioners (88%) considered the use of motion pictures as effective in promoting treatment outcome, and only a minority (1%) reported them as potentially harmful. Compared with their psychodynamic counterparts, therapists practicing within eclectic-integrative, cognitive-behavioral, or humanistic frameworks were more likely to view or use motion pictures as therapeutic tools. Psychologists provided individual evaluations of 27 motion pictures that deal with a variety of mental health subjects, and overall they were characterized as "moderately helpful." Clinical applications and issues pertaining to using motion pictures in therapy are summarized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Survey on the use of clinical and mechanical prediction methods in clinical psychology.

We surveyed 491 American Psychological Association division 12 (clinical psychology) members regarding their professional use of clinical and mechanical data combination (CC and MC) in making clinical predictions; 183 (37%) responded. This is the first report of CC and MC utilization frequency known to us. Nearly all respondents used CC in practice (98%), while fewer used MC (31%). Respondents gave reasons why they did not use MC, the most common being that it is conceptually misguided. In addition to computing odds ratios for variable comparisons, we constructed a multivariate regression model to predict use of MC, using a bootstrapping method that returns an estimate of the model’s cross-validated validity. This procedure returned the null model: no predictor was powerful enough to replicate upon cross-validation. The extent to which MC was discussed in graduate school significantly mediated nearly all other relationships between variables of interest. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional Development: Training for Professionalism as a Foundation for Competent Practice in Psychology.

Professional development (PD) is a broad, albeit vaguely defined, construct that underlies psychologists' education and training and is intrinsic to professional functioning, or professionalism, throughout psychologists' careers. This article resulted from the deliberations of a working group at the November 2002 Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Credentialing in Professional Psychology. The authors propose a definition of PD and consider professionalism to be its outcome. They then focus on 2 elements of professionalism--interpersonal functioning and thinking like a psychologist--and address related development and assessment implications for training and practice. Recommendations and implications for professional psychology organizations and for training and lifelong practices of psychologists emerged for further consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conference on the professional preparation of clinical psychologists: A progress report.

Preconference planning has been carried out by a Division 12 Conference Committee and its associates; the Committee is issuing a preconference report for wide distribution and discussion. The report "includes a statement on the nature of the profession, a historical survey and review of previous conferences on graduate education in psychology, and a section on manpower." The report includes 22 invited position papers reflecting different points of view in the general area of training as well as on specific issues. Titles of the papers are listed. The Executive Committee of Division 12 has made a final selection of 60 participants; observers will be limited to official representatives from organizations such as NIMH, the VA, the E&T Board, etc. "Much of the work of the Conference will be carried out in small discussion group meetings interspersed with plenary sessions. It will begin in the afternoon on August 26 or 27 and run for 5? consecutive days." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conference on the professional preparation of clinical psychologists: A summary.

Presents a summary of the conference on the professional preparation of clinical psychologists. Without countenancing the lowering of standards as such, the conferees have sought for a responsible position in the face of the dilemma presented by the foregoing combination of circumstances. Brought together for the purpose were not only clinical psychologists and their colleagues in applied areas, but experimental and social psychologists as well, together with representatives of such other disciplines as psychiatry and social work, a group including both suppliers of clinical psychologists and consumers. Topics discussed at the conference include: professional preparation; clinical training; research training; curricula; alternative models of doctoral training; and so forth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical Psychologists Revisited: Comment.

In 1946 the VA, beginning its training program in clinical psychology, sponsored a program of research designed to increase the effectiveness of the procedures used to select trainees. The primary purpose of this five-year research project, which was directed and coordinated through the University of Michigan, was the evaluation of a variety of procedures as predictors of later success in graduate training and professional functioning in clinical psychology. In 1947 and 1948, several hundred college graduates seeking admission to or just entering the four-year VA training program in some 40 universities were evaluated by a wide variety of techniques, and predictions were made concerning their probable success in training and future professional competence. One of the most frequent comments after publication of this work was the concern that our criterion measures were obtained too early in the professional lives of the assessed trainees. In a sense this mirrors our own concern when we stated at that time that, "It is, of course, entirely possible that predictors which look unpromising at this time may have greater validity for predicting later criteria of professional accomplishment and vice versa." In an effort to extend our knowledge we are beginning a follow-up study of the approximately 1,200 persons who participated in some way in the original research. In addition to the original prediction problem, this follow-up stage will also be concerned with attempting to tease out the kinds of variables (personality or situational) which determine whether a clinical psychologist will devote himself primarily to therapy, research, diagnosis, teaching, or administration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology: Arthur L. Kovacs.

The 2004 Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology is awarded to Arthur L. Kovacs. He is recognized for making outstanding contributions to achieving statutory recognition and securing insurance reimbursement, and as a pioneer in the professional school movement, having trained several generations of practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in Psychotherapy for Psychologists: Recommendations of Clinical Psychologists.

This article discusses the current debate on the subject of psychotherapy training for psychologists and how it tends to concern itself with rather broad philosophical issues and matters of role definition. As part of a larger study, data not previously reported were derived from three questions which asked for opinions about ideal patterns of psychotherapy training for psychologists. This brief report suggests the desirability of careful stratification of the group of clinical psychologists in future opinion sampling and when policy recommendations are being developed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)