Psychology postdoctoral training: A developmental perspective.

Postdoctoral training for psychologists has increased. This article provides an overview of postdoctoral fellowships, including information regarding training opportunities and requirements for licensure and employment. A developmental perspective on the postdoctoral training experience is offered, focusing on negotiating the tasks of individuation and self-definition. Special attention is paid to personal issues. As the postdoctoral fellow's professional identity solidifies, he/she develops expertise in focused areas of interest, experiences a deepening commitment to the work, develops an increasing sense of self-efficacy and self-acceptance as a psychologist, and gains respect from others as a competent professional. This enables the postdoctoral fellow to develop more collegial relationships with former mentors, teachers, and supervisors and shift toward the practice of professional psychology and the teaching of more junior professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in relation to design: An overview.

Suggests that the behavioral sciences will play a greater role in the design of the built environment. The complexity of current design programming makes the traditional intuitive approach of designers less satisfactory. A new set of considerations has appeared, including user needs, how the physical-spatial environment affects behavior, how individuals attend to and perceive this environment, and the social use of space. This set of concerns defines the emerging area of environmental psychology. Future research should be focused on man-environment interactions that can be translated into the design process. It is suggested, however, that it is unlikely that the built environment accounts for a substantial portion of the variance in human behavior, and that the expectations of designers are often not concordant with the potential offerings of behavioral science. (76 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workplace mobbing and bullying: A consulting psychology perspective and overview.

Mobbing and bullying are forms of abusiveness that are of increasing concerns in the workplace. This special issue overviews various issues and interventions relevant for the practice of consulting psychology. The articles describe theoretical issues including prevalence, definitional clarity, and the influence of individual, work group, and organizational dynamics; they also describe various organizational interventions, including alternative dispute resolution, antimobbing training, and antibullying policy development. These articles and commentaries are intended to inform, provide strategies, and foster discussion of how consulting psychologists can best serve clients and client organizations that are experiencing mobbing and bullying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and cancer: A reply to Stachnik.

T. J. Stachnik's (see record 1980-10503-001) call for work in the area of prevention contains a naive assumption that we know what to do to prevent cancer. However, oncologists and epidemiologists involved in cancer research disagree about this very issue. Current research suggests that alterations in the tumor–host relationship, mediated at the biochemical level by endocrine or immune function and influenced by psychological response to the disease state, should not be ignored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and medicine: A new approach for community health development.

Notes that the problems of medical and mental health care delivery in developing countries are such that typical Western, urban-based approaches are inadequate. A programmatic solution in Costa Rica is described that relies on a cooperative team approach between physicians and psychologists in rural areas. A large-scale pilot program with a health team approach has shown great promise, and preliminary data indicate massive gains in the effectiveness with which community health development may be implemented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and complementary and alternative medicine.

Can the fields of complementary and alternative medicine provide psychologists with new career opportunities in practice, education, and research? With 42% of Americans estimated to be seeking unconventional treatments, collectively spending $21.2 billion annually, it is recommended that psychologists become informed about alternative medical practices, possible benefits and risks of such practices, and relevant licensing laws and education required for complementary medical practitioners. This article introduces psychologists to the emerging new health fields of complementary and alternative medicine; outlines the theoretical perspectives of 4 disciplines—Chinese medicine, Indian Ayurvedic medicine, naturopathy, and homeopathy; presents a brief sample of research literature; and discusses expanded career opportunities and roles for psychologists in interaction with alternative medicine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists in schools of medicine in 1977: An overview.

A questionnaire survey of psychologists working at medical schools revealed (a) an increase in the number of psychologists employed, (b) improved status and employment of females, (c) attitudes about organizational structures, and (d) an increase in degree programs in psychology at medical schools. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology of religion: Placing paradigm in a historical and metatheoretical perspective.

Comments that R. L. Gorsuch (see record 1985-02900-001) cogently discussed both the current status and the prospects for future success of the measurement paradigm in psychology of religion. S. McFarland (see record 1985-02927-001) criticized Gorsuch's measurement paradigm as being too narrow and proposed that personological and comparative approaches be added to form a more encompassing paradigm. It is suggested that there are historical forebears to McFarland's call and that a broader paradigm must be based on a conceptual framework. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The American Board of Professional Psychology, 1947 to 1997: A historical perspective.

The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), originally established in 1947 as the American Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1997. This brief history and perspective of the organization documents the important place that the ABPP occupies in the history of professional psychology and in future directions of the profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in space: A metaphor.

The planet Psychology has 4 major continents: Sigma, Lab, Klinikos, and Socio. The 3 major nations on Sigma are Statistics, Personnel, and Measurement. Lab "is a very intriguing continent, made up loosely of a large number of countries or baronial states of Experimental and Theoretical Psychology. This is the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, and it takes its seniority very seriously." Klinikos is made up of Clinical, Counseling, Child, Developmental, and School Psychology. This continent "developed very rapidly and its rate of population has been amazing compared to the other continents on the planet." It has engaged in interplanetary skirmishes with the continent Psyche on the neighboring planet Medic." On Socio "we are met by natives in groups." The oceans between continents are far too big and the underdeveloped parts on all continents "stretch out in tremendous size, beckoning for explorers." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and Phenomenology: A Clarification.

Controversies are rampant in contemporary psychology concerning the appropriate method for observing consciousness and the role inner experience should play in psychological theorizing. These conflicting orientations reflect, in part, methodological differences between natural science and human science interpretations of psychology. Humanistic psychology and philosophical phenomenology both employ a human science approach to psychology that seeks to explain behavior in terms of a person's subjective existence. Maslow's and Heidegger's formulations are both fulfillment theories in that they specify moral values that suggest how life ought to be lived. Natural science methodology rejects the possibility that moral imperatives can be validated, whereas human science methodology allows phenomenological convictions to justify recommendations about a fulfilled life and a good society. The social role of psychology is analyzed within the framework of phenomenological convictions and scientific truth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boundaryless Psychology: A Discussion.

Comments on the articles by G. P. Latham and P. A. Heslin (see record 2003-07215-006), G. H. Seijts and B. W. Latham (see record 2003-07215-007), and R. G. Lord et al (2003) which examined the concept of a boundaryless psychology, focusing on industrial/organizational psychology. This article is divided into three parts. In the introduction, I echo the case for breaking down boundaries. In the Article Critiques, I point out some of the good points and some concerns about each of the empirical articles in this section. In the General Comments, I design a two-dimensional matrix to help researchers decide how to best break down barriers in their research. This matrix has Order of Distance Between Fields on one axis and Theory Development on the other. In order of proximal to distal, the former axis is divided into target subdiscipline, other like-paradigm subdisciplines, other subdisciplines, other broad category sciences, and other sciences. In order of moving away from one's own discipline, the later axis is divided into statistical methodologies, philosophy of science, history of science, humanities, vicarious experience, and personal experience. Finally, I give a hypothetical example to illustrate how a researcher could use this matrix to break down barriers in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in China: A brief survey.

Discusses evidence that psychology still exists as a viable profession within China. 3 specialities appear to predominate: medical (or clinical), educational, and industrial. Graduate training is available in these specialities at a few universities including Peking. Research is carried out mainly at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Peking and Peking University, although educational research in psychology is probably conducted more widely. Although professional psychology is quite limited, perhaps as many as 40,000-50,000 students are enrolled in lower-level psychology courses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the law: A symposium.

There has been growing concern in the community at large about the impact of the work of psychologists and other social scientists on various aspects of life. Many people are beginning to believe that effective control over some procedures and restrictions on the use of material obtained by psychological and other investigations may be necessary. What form such control will take depends to a very large extent on the ability of the disciplines involved to make a meaningful statement of their position in matters of such great sensitivity as the invasion of privacy or the utilization of human research subjects in the process of developing knowledge and applying it for the benefit of the individual and society as a whole. In light of these concerns there has been an increase in discussion among psychologists, about the need to explore some of the critical issues as they relate to practice, research, and the legal implications of the work carried out by psychologists. There have been significant and worrying incidences in which research and applied work have been threatened or stopped due to community reaction (or over-reaction, if you wish) to the threat which the "brain watchers" pose for the rights of the individual. In order to provide a forum for discussion of some of these problems it was decided to hold a symposium at the C.P.A. Annual Meeting in Calgary to present issues and to discuss some of the significant aspects which relate to this matter of Psychology and the Law. Dr. Castaneda, who has spent much time studying the ethical problems relating to research, discussed implications for psychologists doing research with human subjects. Mr. Berry explored aspects of practice which are receiving increasing attention in the legal sphere. Professor Desmond Morton of Osgoode Law School attempted to put in perspective some of these issues as they are seen by our legal colleagues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and nursing: A natural alliance.

Argues that although the professions of psychology and nursing each possess their own tradition, clinical skills, and scientific knowledge base, there is much that they share in that both are evolving into autonomous disciplines. It is suggested that increased cooperative interdisciplinary efforts in the clinical, scientific, and public policy areas could contribute to each profession's autonomy. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A behavioral medicine perspective on adherence to long-term medical regimens.

Adherence is a major problem in pharmacological intervention, with approximately half of all patients with chronic diseases not adhering to their medical regimens. Studies have demonstrated that feedback of drug levels and reinforcement for medication intake are effective behavioral measures, whereas self-monitoring of medication or symptoms is so far only a promising method. Methodological concerns of compliance research are addressed, including setting goals for compliant behavior, measurement of compliance, and the interpretation of adherence as a correlated and independent factor in outcome. Areas for future research include long-term follow-up, better integration of behavioral theory to treatment development, and better understanding of the compliance and health outcome relationship. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anthroposophical medicine: a nursing perspective. Interview by Joanna Trevelyan

Despite its popularity on mainland Europe, particularly in Germany and Switzerland, anthroposophical medicine remains relatively unknown in the UK. Joanna Trevelyan takes a closer look at this truly holistic form of medicine, and asks Frances Bay, one of the founders of the Anthroposophical Nurses Association in Great Britain, what it can offer nurses.     

Psychology and politics: Heat or light: A reply to The Committee on Women in Psychology.

Argues that the Committee on Women in Psychology's (the Committee on Women in Psychology and E. Kaschak; see record 1984-07805-001) reply to Senator Orrin Hatch's (see record 1983-11524-001) article on psychology, society, and politics distorted facts, proselytized the Committee's values, and at the same time criticized Hatch for having values different from theirs. Several aspects of the Committee's comment are addressed. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)