The proper concern of educational psychologists.

Reviews the questions of the functions of educational psychology and summarizes that the proper concern of their specialty is to "make fundamental contributions to the general understanding of human behavior as well as education theory and practice." 40-item bibliography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social learning and clinical psychology.

Reviews the book, Social learning and clinical psychology by Julian B. Rotter (1954). Social Learning and Clinical Psychology is in effect two books in one, a trenchant and forceful evaluation of just what clinicians are doing, and a formulation of a behavior theory which strives to provide a more secure groundwork upon which meaningful clinical practice may be based. The theory, admittedly tentative and incomplete, represents a genuine contribution to the clarification of thinking about clinical problems. The book falls rather naturally into three distinct sections. Chapters I through IV present a detailed survey of the current functions and problems faced by the working clinical psychologist from a theoretical and technical point of view. The middle section of the book comprises the author's unique contribution, a "social learning theory of personality." The third section of this book, while broadest in scope, is somewhat disappointing. Here Rotter attempts to relate his four classes of variables, the subject's behavior, expectation of reinforcement, the value of external reinforcements, and the psychological situation, to the vast panoply of theoretical approaches, clinical instruments, and psychotherapeutic techniques which are involved in the clinician's functioning. On the whole, then, this book is an impressive achievement. Despite a few shortcomings, there is much to be learned from this book by those who are willing to read it carefully and reflectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished scientific awards for an early career contribution to psychology.

Recognizes Avshalom Caspi (developmental psychology), Fernanda Ferreira (human learning/cognition), Charles M. Morin (health psychology), and Christopher J. Patrick (psychopathology) for winning the distinguished scientific awards for an early career contribution to psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

And Esau was an hairy man.

Attention is focussed on "certain aspects of the professional behavior of industrial psychologists… . It is within the realm of possibility for legitimate PhDs in the profession of psychology to exhibit various shades of professional behavior under various levels of motivation. Both inside and outside the profession of psychology, alarms have arisen about the potential misuse of behavioral sciences in the control of human behavior." Attributes of professional and nonprofessional occupations are distinguished. What can be done to preserve our present status as professionals and also insure true professional behavior on the part of industrial psychologists? Realistic ethical codes will only guide the way. "Industrial psychology cannot operate under the rules of the open market. Either we develop acceptable rules of professional service to society or society will define the conditions of psychological practice by legal restrictions. The choice is up to us as to who will shape the future of industrial psychology. Smooth men or hairy ones." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serious Satire.

It is a pleasure to have two humorous pieces in one issue of the usually sober American Psychologist. I enjoyed the article "Adventures in Implied Psychology" by Frank Landy (see record 1979-24949-001), but I was much more amused by the seemingly serious piece, "Humanistic Psychology and the Humane but Tough-Minded Psychologist," by Michael Wertheimer (see record 1979-22531-001). It is instructive to us all to see satire masked as scholarship pretending to take a serious look at a major area of American psychology. Those of us in the field, of course, were most amused by the tacit assumption that real psychology is something that is rigid and undertakes no interior change, but it may be necessary to point out to same of the other readers that although the article was vastly amusing, it was totally irrelevant to the several thousand members of the Association of Humanistic Psychologists. Keep up the good work. We are looking forward to a similar silly piece on behaviorism that will, of course, suggest that the initial definitions of Watson and Skinner are now made hopelessly vague and diffuse by the meanderings of later writers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Human tracking behavior.

"Apart from the complexities of closed-loop behavior, which is somewhat more complicated than the open-loop situations used by most psychologists in their studies of human behavior, tracking behavior is beset with the added complications of mediating responses and stimuli which are important variables intervening between the display and the measured motor response… . We appear to be a long way from understanding these factors and, until we do, we are a long way from the beginnings of any kind of theory of tracking." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1CD55A. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The specialty practice of cognitive and behavioral psychology.

What makes cognitive and behavioral psychology a specialty practice when many psychologists of differing orientations may inquire about a client’s cognitions and behaviors? Distinctive and unifying aspects of the specialty practice of cognitive and behavioral psychology are discussed as they relate to psychotherapeutic practice. A brief history of the field is given, and procedures in assessment, case conceptualization, and treatment planning are reviewed. Information regarding education and training is provided. Resources are suggested for individuals who wish to develop competency in cognitive and behavioral psychology. Psychologists who use cognitive and behavioral principles in assessments, treatment planning, case conceptualizations, interventions, or all of these are encouraged to pursue specialty certification in cognitive and behavioral psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Annual Review of Psychology Vols. 5 & 6.

Reviews the fifth and sixth volumes of the book "Annual Review of Psychology," edited by Calvin P. Stone, and Quinn McNemar (1954, 1955). Where the topic itself provides the organization, as for instance in the chapters on the special senses, the factual approach works admirably, and the relevance of the data presented is established by a fairly well-articulated context. Looking back over this review it seems that too much time has been spent trying to tell a body of able and energetic psychologists how to do better what they are already doing extremely well. The Annual Review fulfills an indispensable function in the psychological world, and the 1955 volume worthily continues a short but honorable tradition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Free Will Versus Determinism.

Comments on an article by Rolland Waters (see record 1959-07228-001). The commentator states that this article has motivated him to make an observation about another situation which some persons perceive as a dilemma in psychology. He refers to the paradox of free will versus determinism in human behavior. The commentator states that the fact that some persons are still disturbed by the free will-determinism paradox is evidence that philosophical thinking in psychology is still somewhat confused. This would not be the case if psychological thinking was completely operational as most psychologists claim it should be. The bewilderment when faced with this apparent paradox is simply a function of language and not of human behavior. The commentator states that what we are doing is to employ two modes of thought or frames of reference simultaneously where this cannot be done. Lastly, the commentator admits that he may be incorrect in assuming that psychologists in general are not aware of this philosophical interpretation. However, the fact that the free will determinism paradox is still cited in many current works reinforces his belief. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kenneth E. Moyer (1919-2006).

Presents an obituary for Kenneth E. Moyer. Before becoming an internationally known expert in the field of aggressive behavior, Kenneth Evan (Keck) Moyer held jobs as an acrobat, a physical therapist, and a farmer. He served as a marine in World War II and was a consultant to the Norwegian government. The range of his life experiences amazed his friends, who wondered how he could have done all these things and still have acquired such a breadth of scholarly knowledge. Throughout his life, his scholarly pursuits had practical applications, and his practical endeavors had a scholarly basis. Keck died May 18, 2006, of an apparent heart attack. His son, Robert S. Moyer, a psychologist who recently retired from the faculty of Bates College, and his daughter, Cathy Noblick, a marriage and family counselor in New Jersey, survive him. Also surviving are five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He was devoted to all of them and to children he supported through international programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some comments on psychology and psychophysics.

Historically the development of psychophysical procedures was instrumental in fostering the growth of psychology and its emergence as a discipline separate from philosophy. At the present time, while psychophysical studies are still performed extensively, there has been a diminution of interest in them among psychologists and a misunderstanding of them among some other disciplines. The article discusses some of the problems faced by the psychologist engaged in psychophysical research. It is argued that there are two major areas of difficulty that are apparent. The first is the trend away from a psychological framework for psychophysics and the second is ignorance about sensory psychology and the methods it uses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explorations in ecological psychology.

The "great diversity of coupling between psychologists and psychological phenomena can be divided into 2 types which produce data of crucially different significance for the science of psychology." (1) Psychologists as Transducers—T Data: The psychologist transforms data and in effect is a translating machine. (2) Psychologists as Operators—O Data: The psychologist "achieves control which allows him to focus upon segments and processes of particular concern to him, via data that refer to events which he, in part, contrives." Psychologists "as operators and as transducers are not analogous, and… the data they produce have fundamentally different uses within science. A central problem of our science is the relation between ecological events (the distal stimuli) at the origin of E-O-E [environment-organism-environment] arcs and the succeeding events along these arcs." There "are a number of reasons for avoiding the role of transducer in psychological research… . The skills and personality attributes required of a successful transducer are different from those of a successful operator… . The techniques of the transducer are in many respects more difficult than those of the operator." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists view a Candid Camera seminar.

Allen Funt, creator of Candid Camera, spontaneous recordings of human behavior presented via radio, film and television, invited Evans to organize and chair a 4 day conference "to explore the potential of the already available film and the Candid Camera technique in general for research purposes; to speculate on theoretical formulations in social science which allow this candid behavior to be placed in perspective; to explore their utilization for formal and informal educational purposes; simply to share the materials with educators and researchers who had indicated an interest in them." Participants included psychologists, sociologists, educators, clergymen, publishers, government agency representatives, etc. Conference activities are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The skew in clinical psychology.

"The group studied is the 781 psychologists whose dissertations were listed by Rabin… in his A Bibliography of Doctoral Dissertations in Clinical Psychology… . The entire group produced a total of 2,922 publications during the period studied, with a mean of 3.7 and a median of 1.6. The distribution was extremely skewed with 28.9% of the group having no publications to their credit and another 19.2% having only one publication; 10% of the group accounted for 45% of their output… . In the language of the day, the particular mixture of fact and fantasy which we have here appears to be a highly fissionable one… " (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching values and psychology.

"Why do colleges fall short in stimulating students to think in terms of their life values when academicians have so clearly stated such goals for them?" Psychologists in teaching "are concerned verbally with the growth of values in their students; in contrast to this relative clarity there seem to be few specific testable hypotheses concerning the stimulation of the growth of values in students or widespread empirical students on the nature of mature values in our culture. These areas need the same attention from our profession as is given to other current problems such as defense, health, and commerce." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Invited Introductory Remarks to the Special Issue.

Provides introductory remarks to the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science. The author notes that as the scientific discipline and profession that investigates and applies the principles of human behaviour and mental processes, psychology has much to contribute to the law. As scientists, psychologists can study the assumptions that the law makes to test whether such assumptions are supported by empirical evaluation. As practitioners, psychologists can apply the principles of psychology to help assess or modify an individual's behaviour and mental processes. While noting the important contributions Canadians have made to the field as researchers, clinicians and editors of key journals in the field, the author addesses areas that can benefit from further attention, including the need for ongoing thought about the definition of the field, and the need for further research and practice focus on areas of law that have heretofore either been neglected or ignored. In addition, he brings attention to the need for increased interdisciplinarity in our field and notes training needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Let's Be Psychologists.

In the February, 1956 "American Psychologist" three viewpoints were expressed concerning the relationships between psychology and psychiatry. That something should be done is well agreed upon by most psychologists; however, I have the uneasy feeling that there is a lack of agreement as to how we should bear arms for the common cause. The psychologist prides himself in being able to observe events in an objective fashion. My proposition is this: let's be psychologists. Instead of talking about the hypothesized issues, let us investigate (observe, measure, test) the issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Notes and News.

Presents a series of notes and brief new items relevant to psychology. These include death announcements, career milestones and other achievements and appointments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)