Children and social policy: Section introduction.

This article introduces this special section in the current issue of the American Psychologist. The present section serves as an introduction and exemplar of the interface between child development research and social policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applied psychology in action: Psychological research in personnel administration.

Industrial management has undoubtedly been skeptical about the value of the personnel psychologist as a direct part of its operations payrolled as its job evaluation, training, organization and methods and other functions are. Yet a large number and variety of management problems can be attacked by the application of the specialized skills of the research psychologist. And in most cases not only can they provide the most valid solutions and recommendations but can do this in a manner which will please even the most practical administrator. To do this, it seems important for the research psychologist to be close enough to the management and operations of the organization so that he can sense needs for research in day-to-day problems. And he can make acceptable recommendations for application of research results in the same setting. The possibilities for success are greater, of course, where the relationship between administrator and psychologist is a close and continuing one. The Civilian Personnel Research Branch (CPRB) of the U. S. Air Force Headquarters is in the fortunate position of approximating this ideal. This Branch conducts psychological research originating from everyday problems of the civilian personnel program of the Air Force. The author concludes that staffing with personnel specifically trained for such work pays dividends, if in no other way than in making such research sufficiently sound to assure management that the conclusions may be applied with confidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The federal sentencing guidelines: Psychological and policy reasons for simplification.

The federal sentencing guidelines are the most controversial and most complex of all the sentencing reform efforts. The undue complexity of the federal guidelines, and the continuing pressures for change that add to complexity, undermine the goals of sentencing reform. Based on policy grounds and on psychological theory and research, sentencing should be structured through the use of sentencing guidelines, which need to be both simple and comprehensible. The federal guidelines should be based on a 2-step process, in which (a) the broad outline of sentences is determined by the offense of conviction and (b) judges can consider, within well-defined limits, the aggravating and mitigating factors of a case using relevant conduct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology research for environmental policy.

As Environment Minister, I have had the unique opportunity to travel across the country, meeting individual Canadians who are working for the environment in their own communities. As a government, it is our responsibility to ensure that the policies and programs are in place to support their work. It is also our responsibility to try to spur others on to similar action, and to build public support for a sustainable environment. We cannot do this if we do not adequately understand the links between attitude, behaviour, and preservation of our environment. I commend the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science for focussing on the behavioural origins of environmental solutions. I hope that the issues raised in the articles contained herein spur many of you to consider how research can help us answer some of the questions I have raised. The participation of the behavioural sciences is essential, not only to the success of environment protection, but to its very feasibility. Well-conceived research is essential in order to engage and retain public support and thus devise responses that are both environmentally sound and economically possible. Here is a challenge worthy of your expertise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Putting self psychology to good use: When social and clinical psychologists unite.

The subareas of psychology often fail to share with one another their research and theorizing. This article attempts to redress this lack of communication as it pertains to social psychological theorizing and research on self-motives. The article starts with a review of the social psychological literature surrounding people's needs for positivity and verification, followed by a discussion of how to integrate these seemingly incompatible literatures. The article then highlights how these self-motives likely play a role in the psychotherapy enterprise and suggests ways in which therapists might use this information. By bridging the gap between the social and clinical literatures in this way, the authors anticipate that both fields will progress more productively toward their respective goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition.

Reviews the book, The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition by Neil McKinnon Agnew and Sandra W. Pyke (2007). In 1969, Neil Agnew and Sandra Pyke published the first edition of The Science Game, a 182-page survey of the major components of what they call the game of sciencing, a game, they claim, that like all other games of consequence, is a mixture of art, enterprise, and invention held loosely together by man-made rules. Using the same quirky but engaging style as in the original, in the seventh and latest edition, Agnew and Pyke dedicate a full 471 pages to the task, tackling a host of topics bearing on the activities of science, ranging from the strengths and weaknesses of humans' cognitive capacity for problem solving to debates in the philosophy of science regarding the nature of knowledge. Although this most recent edition elaborates on many of the same themes presented in earlier versions, it is much grander in scope and includes a number of new features, including the introduction of a central theme and memory aid throughout the book (i.e., a puzzle-solving theme), the inclusion of statements of chapter goals, and chapter-end summaries and self-test quizzes. The Science Game provides a fairly comprehensive set of sound bites pertaining to the techniques, procedures, and conventions adopted by social science researchers and is accessible to either students encountering these topics for the first time or more advanced students in need of a refresher. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and policy around the world: Widening psychology’s sphere of influence.

This edition of Psychology in the Public Forum focuses on social and professional psychological concerns that transcend national borders. As psychologists become more attuned to issues beyond academia and the clinic, the etiological importance of socioeconomic conditions influencing human behavior is attracting increasing recognition. The articles that follow suggest that, in the years ahead, psychologists will have increasing opportunities to develop or participate in research and service activities with longer term potential for affecting the well-being of society. There will be a growing emphasis on determining not only why something is so but how it can be changed, how quickly, and at what cost. Policymakers will seek recommendations for decisions, not just scientific conclusions—and the two are not necessarily the same. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Families of handicapped persons: Research, programs, and policy issues.

Reviews the book, Families of handicapped persons: Research, programs, and policy issues by James J. Gallagher and Peter M. Vietze (1986). This edited volume consists of a collection of papers presented at the Conference on Families with Mentally Retarded Children sponsored by the Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The purpose of the conference was to stimulate leaders in the field to both review current trends and project future research directions regarding issues relevant to families having members with mental retardation. The main text of the book is composed of sixteen chapters covering a variety of topics, such as the development of typologies for classifying families, adaptation to stress, the impact of the family life cycle on family adaptation, the role of the father in the family, sibling relationships, mentally retarded parents, behavioral parent training, and social policy issues. A major strength of the book is that a number of the authors advocated four perspectives that reflect a positive shift in philosophical approaches to the study of families having a child with mental retardation. The present reviewer found Wickler's chapter applying Hill's ABCX Stress Model to the study of family adaptation to be the most useful presentation among those advocating a systems/transactional approach to research on families having a disabled member. Unlike Wickler, other chapters focusing on family systems/stress issues tended to present vague connections between popular theoretical approaches (e.g., family systems theories, stress theories, Samaroff s transactional model) and the needs of families having a member with mental retardation (although Farren, Metzger, & Sparling is an exception here). In summary, this book presents some interesting ideas regarding areas that should be investigated by further research. Selected chapters within the book are very well conceptualized and clearly written. Although the remaining chapters present interesting ideas, they tend to be repetitive and somewhat vague with respect to specific research suggestions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological research using television.

Psychologists "… along with other behavioral scientists, have both personal and professional responsibilities for research related to telecommunications." Three main barriers to research using television and related media are (1) the lack of adequate, continuing financial aid and of available facilities, (2) the lack of highly competent research men "… motivated to investigate the complex processes of communication… ", and (3) the lack of a sound research tradition for experimental psychologists in the field of the mass media and telecommunications. "Now is the time for research and development work before the flood of students reaches our colleges and universities." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Science of obvious and common sense causes in historical perspective.

In her present stage of development, the science of obvious and common sense causes finds herself at cross roads. This paper provides a brief historical sketch of her actual development as a function of methods, professional identification and units of research employed. Prisoner's dilemma paradigm (PDP) is used as an explanatory model to highlight the implications of earlier choices made by social psychologists and social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social psychology of Rorschach validity research.

An analysis of the research extant in the literature on the validity of the Rorschach, revealed that there was a relationship between where the research was done (academic, nonacademic settings) and type of validity study (construct, criterion, i.e., theoretical or practical validity). Ramifications of these findings with regard to formulation and interpretation of studies on the Rorschach were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Navigating politics, policy, and procedure: A firsthand perspective of advocacy on behalf of the profession.

Psychology's expertise as a behavioral science is essential to effectively address society's most pressing concerns. Advocacy for clients and the public good--and in turn, for the profession of psychology--occurs on multiple levels through active participation in local and federal legislatures, agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations that influence implementation of regulations and policies. The authors offer a number of observations and recommendations from their cumulative past experience to argue that presence, persistence, and long-term vision are absolutely essential for the ultimate success and advancement of professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power of the situation: The impact of Milgram's obedience studies on personality and social psychology.

Few psychological studies, if any, can claim a legacy as imposing as the obedience studies of Stanley Milgram. Their impact was of notable consequence in the separate spheres of research ethics, research design, and theory in psychology, and they changed the ways that psychologists conceptualize and conduct their research. The authors discuss the legacy of these studies, especially as they effected dramatic changes in the fields of personality and social psychology. The article concludes with a discussion of what psychological science has lost in the aftermath of Milgram--high impact studies--and the salience that such research has in illuminating the most significant problems of our society, studies that could produce great human benefits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A history of psychology: Original sources and contemporary research, 3rd edition.

Reviews the book, A history of psychology: Original sources and contemporary research, 3rd edition by Ludy T. Benjamin Jr. (see record 2008-08540-000). This book joins recent scholarship in the history of psychology with an assortment of classic articles and texts in the field. Published primarily as a reader or companion text, it offers a collection of 44 articles, 20 of which are primary source material; the remainder are more recent secondary sources from well-established authors in the area. In this third edition, Benjamin has made some editorial changes from previous versions of this popular text. For example, the number of chapters has been reduced from 16 to 11 in order to make it a more suitable companion to a traditional textbook on the history of psychology. While there are some wonderful articles here, the reviewer notes a general lack of critical perspective in both Benjamin’s narratives and his choice of secondary sources which prevents him from giving this review the glow that one would normally associate with such esteemed authors and scholarship. His main concerns are that, first, the epistemic and ontological perspectives offered are largely those of professional psychologists rather than those of historians, reflecting a field where researchers already struggle with the notions of interpretation and context, all set within a self-imposed framework of empirical science and objectivity. Second, as a result of this, the future of the history of psychology course is in peril because of its own popularity as a capstone course, where it seems to serve, by and large, the ceremonial and disciplinary function of codifying psychology’s scientific identity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creating a link between research and practice.

Reviews the book, Understanding Research in Clinical and Counseling Psychology by J. C. Thomas; M. Hersen (Eds.) (see record 2003-02257-000). This is a research methods textbook written primarily for clinical and counseling students and would be useful for any students who are planning on pursuing a helping vocation, or for current practitioners. Targeted for this specific audience, it bridges the gap between research and practice by describing clear links between the two throughout the text. Even though this is an edited book, with different authors for each chapter, the writing across the chapters is similar, and thus is easy to read and understand. The authors' foci on bridging this gap sets this text apart from other available research textbooks. The most prominent difference with this text is the use of examples. The emphasis of the examples is on aspects of research that are relevant and important to the field of psychology. The 16 chapters are divided into four sections: Research Foundations, Research Strategies, Research Practice, and Special Problems. Each section has a different scope, which creates structure and links between the various topics. The gap between research and practice can be vast and difficult to close for many practitioners. The book keenly focuses on the issue of closing this gap by presenting research concepts interwoven with practice issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approaching Psychological Science With Kuhn's Eyes.

Comments on the article by Driver-Linn (see record 2003-05602-002), which uses the work of Kuhn to highlight areas of redress in the field of psychology. The current authors applaud Driver-Linn's efforts to encourage further consideration of Kuhn's pointed criticisms of psychological science. In the hope of enlarging the deserved attention to Kuhn's work, they focus on two additional considerations: risk-aversive tendencies to examine problems in which answers tend to be known in advance and a stubborn refusal to discard or modify dominant theoretical frameworks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social psychology and desegregation research.

"The role of social science, particularly sociology and psychology, in the desegregation process has been much publicized and criticized by southern segregationists." Reasons are considered for the failure of foundations to support desegregation research. The concept of latent liberal is introduced. The "definitive inter-disciplinary case study of desegregation has yet to be started. Properly buttressed by the necessary foundation aid, such a study should involve comparisons before, during, and after desegregation of a wide variety of communities." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2GA05P. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Historiography of Czech psychology.

The paper is aimed at presenting the development of the Czech historiography of psychology, which was strongly influenced by the political changes in Central and Eastern Europe. The authors deal with the historiography of psychology at the three universities offering an undergraduate program in psychology, located in Prague, Brno, and Olomouc, and at the Institute of Psychology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Recent research, teaching, textbooks, and journal articles published in Czech and in foreign languages are showcased. The historiography of Czech psychotherapy is mentioned as a special thematic development. Contemporary problems and perspectives in the field of the history of psychology in the Czech Republic are discussed, sources of information are given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)