Humanistic psychology and the humane but tough-minded psychologist.

An analysis of definitions of humanistic psychology that appeared in the original documents establishing the Association for Humanistic Psychology, in books about humanistic psychology, and in editorial policies of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology showed little agreement about the explicit meaning of the phrase, which typically is used in a vague manner. It is argued (a) that a liberal arts background may be useful for psychologists, and in that sense a humanistic perspective is defensible; (b) that "humanistic" practices such as "growth experiences," the activities promulgated by the human encounter movement, "consciousness-raising workshops," and "humanistic psychotherapies" have not been demonstrated to be effective and must be viewed with great caution; and (c) that there is little point in substituting "humanistic" psychology for "wholistic," "gestalt," "systemic," or "organismic" psychology. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orientalism in Euro-American and Indian psychology: Historical representations of "natives" in colonial and postcolonial contexts.

The author examines the historical role of Euro-American psychology in constructing Orientalist representations of the natives who were colonized by the European colonial powers. In particular, the author demonstrates how the power to represent the non-Western "Other" has always resided, and still continues to reside, primarily with psychologists working in Europe and America. It is argued that the theoretical frameworks that are used to represent non-Westerners in contemporary times continue to emerge from Euro-American psychology. Finally, the author discusses how non-Western psychologists internalized these Orientalist images and how such a move has led to a virtual abandonment of pursuing "native" forms of indigenous psychologies in Third World psychology departments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA membership trends and fields of specialization of psychologists earning doctoral degrees between 1959 and 1962.

"This report describes general trends in APA affiliation for 1959-62 doctoral degree recipients in various psychological specialties. A total of 3285 individuals reported earning doctorates in psychology during that time (1959-1962), and NAS-NRC estimates that these data include more than 99% of potential Ss. Psychology appears to be headed toward a production of around 1000 doctorates/year with something less than 200 of these being women. Other consistent trends appear to be a steady increase in clinicians, the emergence of personality psychology as a specialty, and the gradual disappearance of psychologists who label themselves 'general' or 'other' at the time the doctoral degree is granted. APA eventually attracts close to 90% of everyone who achieves a doctoral degree in psychology." The clinical group is largest with an above average proportion of APA members; the experimental group (including comparative and physiological) has a somewhat lower than average proportion of APA members. There is a trend away from predoctoral affiliation with APA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Humanistic psychology as "the other": The marginalization of dissident voices within academic institutions.

Explores both the place and displacement of humanistic psychology within institutional contexts ranging from private liberal arts colleges to professional organizations like the American Psychological Association. First, from the perspective of social constructionism, we present the function and marginalization of humanistic psychologists (including existential, phenomenological, human science, transpersonal, and "postmodern" schools of thought) within American academic psychology. Next we consider, from the perspective of A. Schutz's social phenomenology, humanistic psychology's place within academic psychology as "the stranger," both in terms of the fundamental incongruence of "traditional" versus "humanistic" psychological relevance systems and the resulting breakdown of the "interchangeability of standpoints" that normally allows for contemporaries to communicate. The specific nature of these conflicts is then elaborated with reference to M. Heidegger's analysis of the concept of time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology education and training: Commentary on Kenkel et al. and Linden et al.

Despite general acceptance of clinical psychology as a broadly based health-care discipline, many graduate programs in clinical psychology have been slow to change from their continued primary focus on mental health education and training. The two papers in this Special Section (Linden et al., see record 2005-14076-001; Kenkel et al., see record 2005-14076-002) clearly articulate the compelling rationale for clinical psychology's full participation in all aspects of health, and provide a variety of creative ideas and initiatives regarding current and future educational reform. Interestingly, neither paper focused on the considerable research literature that already exists on graduate education reform and hence I have briefly outlined some of this work here. After reading the papers in this Special Section, I found myself agreeing with much of what was said and disagreeing strongly with some ideas. I also found myself sensitized to the notion that as educational reform proceeds, psychologists need to be vigilant to ensure that they maintain their own unique identity without drifting toward adopting key aspects of the identities of other professions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Military psychology in the United States of America.

"Between World War I and World War II, there was almost no interest of American psychologists in military problems, perhaps because there was almost no interest of the military in gaining the assistance of psychologists." The 1948 APA Directory identifies 98 psychologists as working for the Departments of Defense, Army, Air Force, or Navy. "This represents about 2% of the 5,047 members of the APA at that time. In the 1957 APA Directory, I have counted 729 psychologists who are listed as working for agencies of the military departments." This represents "almost 5% of the 15,000 members listed in the 1957 APA Directory." Various branches of military psychology within the Army, the Navy, and the Air Forces are indicated "to give appropriate emphasis to the great diversity of uses to which psychologists are put and to the consequently great variety of projects these agencies must, by their very titles and associations, engender." It also provides a statement "about how military psychology is organized within the Armed Forces in the States." The roles of the psychologist in military personnel management and in weapons development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scientific communication: The dissemination system in psychology and a theoretical framework for planning innovations.

"About 1000 persons make presentations at a single annual national convention of APA, and an equal number appear before meetings of regional associations affiliated with APA. There are close to 1000 journals of some interest to psychologists. About 20 of these journals may be considered central. 200-300 technical books relevant to psychological work are published each year." There appear to be "only about 2000 psychologists who are extremely active in scientific communication within psychology." 2 diagrams are provided, one indicating in detail the process of the dissemination of scientific information from work production to secondary publication and the other suggesting an innovation on the system for the dissemination of scientific information in psychology. Major sections are: Discussion of some findings. Dissemination as a dynamic process. Effects of innovation upon the dynamic process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Needs of Clinical Students.

Comments that the existence of the so-called "scientist-professional" model in clinical psychology is rooted in the fact that graduate education must inevitably be based on a fundamental imbalance between the number of students to be taught and the number of professors to teach them. It is asserted that experimental psychologists must teach their material to graduate classes and clinical students are required to take these experimental courses and the author hopes that the new humanistic departments of psychology may be more receptive the needs of clinical students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is psychology relevant to new priorities?

Discusses ways in which psychology participates in establishing and in implementing new social priorities through theory, methods, applied research, and professional skills. The social import of the "metapsychological" assumptions about human nature purveyed by psychologists is stressed. The assumptions of Skinnerian behaviorism and of "humanistic psychology" are both challenged in terms of their scientific base and social consequences. A humanized scientific psychology is advocated. (37 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why the studies of science need a psychology of science.

As I have argued elsewhere (Feist, 2006a; Feist & Gorman, 1998), the psychology of science is a discipline that incorporates all the major subdisciplines in psychology, in particular the neuroscientific, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social perspectives. The empirical investigations that psychologists have contributed to the study of scientific thought, interest, and achievement have substantially altered and added to our understanding of the nature of science. Moreover, psychologists of science bring unique methodological and theoretical tools to the studies of science. Only psychologists, for instance, can bring a true experimental design to the study of scientific thought and behavior. The contributions by Simonton, Gorman, Brewer and Schommer-Aikins, Runyan, and myself in this current special issue exemplify some of uniqueness and diversity that psychology has to offer the studies of science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loosely organized "organized psychology": 1988 executive officer's report.

Reviews the important events in the American Psychological Association (APA) during 1988. Conflict and collaboration (CC) that ensued during 1988 is described; however, a brief history of APA shows that such CC has been present since APA's founding in 1892. This CC is ascribed to the range of diversity among psychologists as illustrated by the number of associations that exist. "Organized psychology" is defined and APA's role in organized psychology is discussed. It is noted that APA cannot meet all the needs within the field of psychology, hence the need for state, specialized, and international organizations, as well as other multidisciplinary groups whose interests intersect with psychology. APA as the largest association of psychologists in the world forms the integrative force in the loosely organized "organized psychology." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Clinical psychology training in Canada: Its development, current status, and the prospects for accreditation": Comment on Conway.

Comments on the original article, Clinical psychology training in Canada: Its development, current status, and the prospects for accreditation by John B. Conway (see record 1985-10567-001). I found that Dr. Conway provided me with a good service when he so clearly presented the case for the accreditation of Canadian clinical psychology training programmes. I am sure that many other readers join me in thanking him. My first inclination was to reject his arguments, and to regard the fact that Canadian psychology departments were giving up their academic independence to a trade association as being a prime example of Fromm's escape from freedom. But Dr. Conway's arguments were well founded, and obviously they represent the view of the majority of my colleagues. I had to ask myself a number of questions and, being biased, it was difficult for me to try to be fair in my answers. I have done this and my comments on Dr. Conway's paper will, I hope, reflect a "yes and" rather than a "yes but" approach. If this be so, then it may be a useful exercise, since it bridges a significant difference in basic attitudes within the compass of clinical psychology and I am gratified that, in a real sense, Dr. Conway is coauthor of what I wish to write in this review. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA and (AP)–2.

Psychology developed 100 yrs ago as a laboratory "science," and there was no real interest in application until World War I. After World War I, psychology became more applied, but after World War II it exploded as clinical psychology. Clinical psychologists sought a professional society in the state psychological associations and eventually gained the support of the American Psychological Association (APA). The author emphasizes that, although basic and applied training procedures parallel the medical model, clinical psychologists are not junior psychiatrists and that they make a unique contribution because of their training in research and statistics. The author further states that their contributions should be supported by all psychologists for the benefit of everyone, including academic psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral "Medicine" and the Collaboration Model of Knapp and Vandecreek.

Knapp and Vandecreek's (1981) article provided a helpful outline of some ethical and legal considerations of the health psychologist. Their recommendations regarding "physician collaboration" (p. 679) in the psychological management of physiological health concerns lead to practical problems that require further ethical and legal inquiry. Some concerns arising from efforts to apply the collaboration model are considered here: interaction with physicians who are minimally sophisticated about the psychological aspects of illness; collaboration with physicians who routinely equate patient's health psychology concerns only with emotional disorder and consign these individuals to the psychologist; and whether health psychologists can select an accurate diagnosis for conditions that are not psychological in nature. Health psychologists may ultimately resolve these issues as the professional identity of behavioral "medicine" and its practitioners develops. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Position and the nature of personhood: An approach to the understanding of persons.

Reviews the book, Position and the Nature of Personhood: An Approach to the Understanding of Persons by Larry Cochran (1985). This book is full of abstractions, full of arguments made by examples from literature, full of verbal distinctions. It is literary and philosophical in approach. It is hostile to analysis, that is, to resolution into simpler elements by analysing; the author prefers to consider objects as undivided wholes. It is hostile to behaviourism. It is unsympathetic to quantification. Accordingly, if you are sympathetic to a so-called humanistic approach, if you value intuition over rational analysis, you will approve of the author's views. Who might find this book of value? Not Canadian psychologists; most of them are likely to be impatient with Cochran's long-winded presentations of verbal distinctions. Not graduate students of psychology; their professors will not be in sympathy with the anti-analytic views of the author. Not philosophers, for the book seems hardly to be sufficiently well argued to be of interest to a professional philosopher (though philosophers no doubt can speak for themselves on this). Not the general reader. Although I enjoyed reading the literary examples, I found myself dreadfully bored by the philosophical discussions. Reading this book has not helped me to understand people better or to prepare myself better for conducting research. The author might argue, however, that such a result is only to be expected for a person holding my position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Watch-dog, go homep or Reactions to Stanford Ericksen's "Responsibility of psychological science to professional psychology."

Responds to comments by S. C. Ericksen (see record 1967-03569-001) regarding the opportunities presented by the fact that psychologists are both behavioral scientists and humanistic professionals. It is concluded that there is no viable division between theoretical and applied psychology. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consider the scientific study of morality.

Comments on I. Prilleltensky's (see record 1997-04451-002) proposed framework for examining the moral dimensions of psychology. It is stated that, although American psychologists need to deal more explicitly with values and morality, Prilleltensky's framework is both ill-conceived (as based on a problematic assumption about the nature of morality) and ill-advised (psychologists may become advocates for social, economic, and political ideologies being rejected by those who have lived with such in formerly communist states). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology: An endangered species?

Surveyed 65 VA hospitals as to the status, roles, and responsibilities of doctoral level counseling psychologists. Results suggest a declining image of the discipline as a visible entity, with large numbers of counseling psychologists defecting to become clinical psychologists. Bias operating against counseling psychologists in the areas of hiring, promotional opportunity, and duty assignments was reported by some chiefs. Counseling psychologists fare comparatively well in being named to administrative positions in the VA. Criticism of counseling psychology is not directed at American Psychological Association-approved programs but rather at programs associated more closely with schools of education. Such programs are seen as producing "easier" degrees and practitioners not primarily identified with psychology. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

1957 and 1958 Russian books in psychology, psychophysiology, and related areas in psychiatry.

"I have in my possession 51 Russian books in psychology, psychophysiology, and related areas of psychiatry—24 published in 1957 and 27 in 1958." The increased quantity of Russian books "is by all tokens being matched by a rise in quality." The "most outstanding books are in psychophysiology and not in psychology proper… . I would be glad to lend my books to Russian-reading psychologists planning published reviews." An annotated list of the 51 books is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From H = log sn to conceptual framework: A short history of information.

"Information" has become a widely used term in psychology, especially within cognitive psychology. However, despite its status as a technical term, the word now rarely receives explicit definition. By contrast, when information entered the vocabulary of psychologists in the late 1940s, it had an explicit mathematical definition largely derived from developments in information theory. This article examines how information entered psychology, how its meaning changed, and how it remained a technical term in the vocabulary of psychologists in the second part of the 20th century. "Information" became a term that was required to speak to ever more diverse theoretical concerns and its earliest definitions in psychology could not sustain such uses. As a consequence, "information" became a term whose technical uses became increasingly difficult to differentiate from its everyday meanings. I argue that this has not necessarily made "information" a worthless term but one whose lack of specificity may now be unsettling to some psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)