Comments: Techniques in Teaching Abnormal Psychology.

Author briefly addresses the statement by Eugene S. Mills (American Psychologist, 1955, 10, 74-78), (see record 1956-00173-001), suggesting that material in mental hygiene and abnormal psychology courses can be made more meaningful to the student by giving him contact with existing community facilities. Donald R. Brown, in the same issue (pp. 85-86), (see record 2005-07724-003), described a technique in which the student interprets his own personality test performances without knowing until afterwards that he had been analyzing his own protocol. He describes a technique which makes similar use of the student as his own subject, but which leaves room for the operation of defense mechanisms that had been used successfully at his university. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of An outline of abnormal psychology.

Reviews the book, An outline of abnormal psychology rev. ed., edited by G. Murphy and Arthur J. Bachrach (see record 1955-02647-000). This is not just another book on abnormal psychology, as the title may suggest, but a collection of readings which may be used either to supplement existing texts, or alone, as an aid to stimulating insight and understanding in the searching layman. As psychology's role in the community continues to be enlarged, there will be more and more need for authentic, readable, and relevant books such as this for the average reader. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Theory and problems of adolescent development.

Reviews "Theory and problems of adolescent development," by David P. Ausubel (see record 1955-00581-000). Unlike most other books in this area, this book offers a systematic presentation of psychological knowledge woven around a dynamic point of view. It is a scholarly book written in language that makes for easy and interesting reading. The author opens his book with an organized set of arguments designed to convince his readers that there is justification for a book on the "Psychology of Adolescent Development." His major premise states that "adolescence is treated as a separate developmental period not because it covers a decade but because it spans an interval in which distinctive changes occur in a biosocial status of the human organism. The author has marshaled his psychological knowledge and psychiatric experience into a well-organized book. Dr. Ausubel quotes freely from other authors and from his own writings and research. There are extensive references contained in the bibliography at the end of each chapter. Although the author states that "this book is primarily intended as an advanced textbook in adolescent psychology for graduate students in psychology and education," it would appear that this book is written with sufficient clarity and nontechnical language to be used in any college course dealing with adolescent behavior. It would be especially desirable in clinically-oriented courses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On recruiting graduate students.

"In the fall of 1955, the Committee on Undergraduate Education conducted a questionnaire survey of American colleges regarding their undergraduate psychology programs." About ? of the country's 4 year liberal arts colleges cooperated. 73% of responding institutions offer a major in psychology. About 75% of the colleges offering majors have 1 term courses in introductory psychology, the other 25% have 2 terms 10 colleges require less than 20 semester hours work for the major in psychology, 12 require 35 semester hours or more. Data are also presented in answer to the following questions: (a) How many students enter graduate school each year? (b) What proportion of seniors and senior majors continue into graduate study? (c) Are small colleges better at producing graduate students? (d) Did the survey identify any single variable associated with rate of producing graduate students? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Manual of Child Psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the review by Roger G. Barker of the L. Carmichael edited book, Manual of Child Psychology (Psychological Bulletin, 1955, Vol 52[3], 263-267). The sentence on page 266, right-hand column, should read "However, this reader found intriguing the world view so boldly sketched." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2005-10141-002). This book is a good picture of child psychology in 1954. The weaknesses of the Manual are largely the weaknesses of the science it surveys. A good manual of child psychology awaits a more mature science of child behavior. In the meantime this book and, it is to be hoped, its future editions provide an important aid in achieving this maturity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Dynamic and abnormal psychology.

Reviews the book, Dynamic and abnormal psychology by W. S. Taylor(see record 1955-01101-000). According to the reviewer, the standards set up for this book by the publishers include system, comprehensiveness, and readability. The first and second are readily conceded; the third calls for more scrutiny. The reviewer states that Professor Taylor offers this book explicitly as a text for courses in its field, for supplementary and reference use in related fields, and as a "survey for independent readers." These objectives are somewhat disparate, and a reviewer can only hope to be reasonably clear about the one for which he is from time to time trying to evaluate. According to the reviewer, for the "independent reader" let this counsel suffice. Do not try to read this book as you would a story, or even the work of an essayist. Take it in small doses. You can open it at random and within two minutes should find something rewarding--which ought to be justification for any book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of How people change.

Reviews the book, How people change by Rebecca Curtis and George Stricker (see record 1991-98045-000). This book, subtitled "Inside and Outside Therapy," brings together knowledgeable and thoughtful people from the practitioner domains of clinical/counseling psychology and similarly scholarly individuals from other areas of psychology (such as industrial/organizational and social psychology). Reading this book called to mind a time when we used to consider psychology a single discipline with areas of specialization, not the fragmented puzzle whose pieces do not appear to fit together. The attempts to integrate the ideas related to behavior change are reminiscent of Dollard and Miller's attempts to blend Freudian theory with the data and methodology of learning theory; Rotter's (1954) attempt to incorporate concepts from both learning theory and Lewinian models of social interaction into a theory for clinical psychology. This book serves as evidence that reports of the demise of an integrated body of knowledge we call psychology have been greatly exaggerated. This work will appeal to the careful, thoughtful reader, one who is interested in extrapolating to the larger issues relevant to the issue of how human behavior changes. Curtis and Stricker, following the trail set by integrationists like C. R. Snyer and John Harvey, are to be commended for their work on this volume and for their own written contributions to it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The herring gull's world.

Reviews the book "The herring gull's world," by Niko Tinbergen (see record 1955-00376-000). This book summarizes in nontechnical language a large number of observations and experiments by the author and his students on the behavior of herring gulls. Primary emphasis is placed upon social behavior including formation of breeding pairs, establishment and maintenance of a territory, courtship and mating, and rearing of young. The book achieves several objectives very effectively. First, it presents a clearly drawn picture of the behavior of gulls in their natural environment. Second, it illustrates authoritatively a method of analyzing behavior which differs in several important ways from techniques used by American psychologists. Third, the book exemplifies an attitude or philosophy of behavior study quite unlike that of experimental psychologists. The author's enthusiasm for behavior study combines with his long-standing affection for sea gulls to produce an eminently readable, entertaining, and informative volume, the attractiveness of which is enhanced by numerous excellent photographs of gull behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The unity of psychology.

An analysis of contemporary psychology reveals the existence of three distinct subject matters: behavior, neurophysiological events, and phenomenal experience. To unify psychology requires reducing two of the subject-matter areas to the theoretical principles of the third. Whether one subject matter can be reduced to another (e.g., behavior to neurophysiology) depends upon the formalization of the two theories involving the different subject matters and the demonstration that one formulation can explain the other. Explanation can be examined within two different frameworks, epistemological and psychological. Epistemologically, explanation occurs when a phenomenon is deduced from a set of theoretical principles. Psychologically an event is explained when it can be intuitively comprehended; made sensible in terms of one's own phenomenal experience. A unified psychology does not, and may never, exist. Whether a unity can potentially be achieved depends on the acceptance of a common criterion of explanation. Without a common conception psychology will inevitably be split into separate and distinct disciplines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forty years of useless research?

The author discusses his 40 years in the field of abnormal psychology, and suggests that practitioners have not advanced the science much over this period of time, with regard to either predicting or controlling the "natural" events of the field. He argues that as much emphasis needs to be placed on "describing" events in the field of abnormal psychology, as there is on data-collection and hypothesis-testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Employment psychology: The interview.

Reviews the book "Employment psychology: The interview" by Roger M. Bellows and M. Frances Estep (see record 1955-01632-000). This text was "written for professional interviewers and for students of applied psychology who desire to become acquainted with the uses and limitations of the interview in selection of personnel." At the outset, the authors list requirements of self-training aimed at helping the interviewer to become more proficient. The emphasis then throughout the text is that the selection interview using the so-called talking methods alone lacks validity and utility. More objective selection material must be used in conjunction with the interview if selection is the goal. The reviewer would have liked to see discussed such related topics as occupational information and attitudes, age differences in job values, and pertinent information from the counseling field pertaining to the degree of leads various interviewers use. The presentation would have been more stimulating and complete, but it is well worth reading regardless. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The continuity of abnormal and normal behavior.

"Pearson and Kley (see 33: 1700) criticize the writer for basing his belief in the continuity of normal and abnormal states on the invalid consideration that test scores tended to be continuous between the groups. In answer, the writer has pointed out that he himself had discussed the lack of validity of this procedure in detail and had advocated a different method, namely, that of criterion analysis, specifically designed by him to deal with problems of this kind." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Essentials of abnormal psychology, first Canadian edition.

Reviews the book, Essentials of abnormal psychology, first Canadian edition by V. Mark Durand, David H. Barlow, and Sherry H. Stewart (2007). This first edition covers the terrain one might expect of an abnormal psychology textbook. This includes chapters on historical context, approaches to psychopathology, clinical assessment, diagnosis and research methods, anxiety disorders, somatoform and dissociative disorders, mood disorders and suicide, physical disorders and health psychology, eating and sleep disorders, sexual and gender identity disorders, substance-related disorders, personality disorders, schizophrenia and other related disorders, developmental and cognitive disorders, and finally, legal and ethical issues as related to mental health. Although the book initially may look rather dense (it is not), there are numerous organisational aids to facilitate learning. The authors have more than amply succeeded in their stated intention to present a multidimensional perspective, integrating behavioural, emotional and cognitive, and social contexts to explore the essentials of abnormal psychology. Using easy to understand language appropriate for undergraduates, this book guides the reader through the fascinating field of abnormal psychology, pointing out the expected, and for an added bonus, the unexpected and often neglected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The perpetuation and evolution of biological science": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Beach (American Psychologist, 1966[Oct], Vol 21[10], 943-949). On page 943, Footnote 1 should have read "the official opening of three new science buildings at McGill University." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1967-03566-001.) Students should be trained for the future rather than the present and increasing emphasis should be placed on increasing the understanding of human behavior. "The social environment in which biological science exists and to which it must adapt is currently in a state of rapid and complex change." The environment is ripe for the rapid diversification and expansion of behavioral studies. "All of the conditions are propitious for prompt evolutionary radiation of the parent species biological science.... Various combinations of neurology, endocrinology, microbiology, and psychology have been tried, and some of them have yielded promising results. New permutations must be devised and the resulting strains of biology must be given a chance to survive, to reproduce, and to evolve still further.... Man's greatest problem... is not to understand and exploit his physical environment, but to understand and govern his own conduct.... If he is to survive he must proceed to explore himself and to control his own activities." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue on personality and psychopathology.

The goal of this Special Issue is to enhance this reintegration of normal-range personality and abnormal psychology, 30 years after they were split apart. The articles in the Issue examine the topic from a variety of approaches, but each of them addresses the central problem of how normal-range individual differences are related to abnormal behavior. Seven of these articles examine personality in relation to specific types of psychopathology: personality disorders, alcoholism and antisocial personality, mood and anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, somatoform disorders, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. It is impossible to summarize the wealth of findings that are contained in these articles; each deserves to be examined carefully. However, we can note some general conclusions here. First, it is abundantly clear that personality traits and psychopathological disorders are, in fact, empirically related. Second, although the observed relations tend to be orderly and psychologically meaningful, they also are relatively nonspecific. That is, one does not see a one-to-one correspondence between a given trait and a specific disorder; rather, each of the extensively studied traits is associated with several diagnostic categories. Third, due to a paucity of relevant data, the nature of these observed relations is still largely unclear. Several different explanatory models have been proposed, and each has received at least suggestive support in the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Current status of graduate education in psychology.

Surveyed chairmen of psychology departments in 32 state universities and 9 private universities offering doctoral-level programs in basic and applied psychology, to determine the extent to which education and training is available for graduate students in the applied areas of psychology, specifically clinical psychology. Results indicate the following: (a) For all practical purposes, the PhD degree is the only doctoral degree being awarded in both basic and applied psychology. (b) The majority of the departments offering advanced graduate work in psychology insist on a variable core of required courses. (c) The comprehensive examinations taken by students in these programs are largely broad and integrative and are more likely to be administered by either a departmental examining committee or the student's own program committee. (d) For those departments in which a core of courses is not required of all doctoral students, there are substitute requirements, including demonstration of competencies and knowledge in content areas through examinations, or in the successful completion of a minor academic area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On Psychologists and Phonies.

The current author states that he would like to dispute Henry David's conclusion that "the public showcase of professional psychology has become more respectable...the growing competition from APA members has made the market place of the Classified Telephone Directories less attractive for enterprising 'phonies'?" (Amer. Psychologist, 1954, 9, 240, see record 1955-01864-001). The author further adds that his own feeling is that the presence of so many APA psychologists in the classified section would have a "spread of effect" to others in the classified section and therefore might prove particularly attractive to the alleged phonies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Children's social behavior: Development, assessment, and modification.

Reviews the book, Children's social behavior: Development, assessment, and modification, edited by Phillip S. Strain, Michael M. Guralnick, and Hill M. Walker (1986). This book is an edited collection of 10 well-crafted chapters that review important research in the development, assessment, and modification of children's social behavior. Not only is the topic highly relevant to school psychology, but practitioners will appreciate the fact that the book is comprehensive, current, thoughtfully organized, and concisely written. The volume is organized into three areas of children's social behavior: development, assessment, and modification. Chapters in the first two sections tend to be written from the researcher's perspective, and readers should draw their own implications for practice in the schools. Potential applications are many though, and a careful study of these chapters will lead to a more productive and empirically defensible assessment of social skills in schools. Chapters in the modification section also review research studies but are more pragmatic and reflect the authors' clinical experiences. They provide excellent preparation for any practitioner intending to intervene in children's social development. The issues, resources, and procedures discussed in Children's social behavior can serve as a comprehensive reference for school psychologists whose practice includes the management of social behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)