Confronting health care realities: A reply to Sank (1997).

The author responds to L. I. Sank's (1997) proposal that an effective way to oppose the continuing growth of managed behavioral health care is to lodge professional ethics complaints against licensed behavioral health professionals acting as case managers. The author argues that this is not only a patently ineffective strategy, it also ignores the obvious—that no amount of effort by behavioral health professionals can turn back the clock and reimpose the fee-for-service system apparently favored by a majority of professionals in independent practice. It would behoove psychologists and other mental health professionals, then, to acknowledge the contributions of managed care to clinical and fiscal accountability as well as the problems arising from managed care models and methods of implementation. More important, they should consider what they can do to influence the shape of the service delivery systems of the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring white racial identity: A reply to Helms (1997).

This article argues that J. T. Behrens' (see record 84-17563) initial analysis was appropriate and that the simple structure conclusion concerning the White Racial Identity Attitude Scale (WRIAS) holds. First, the "possible failures" of the analyses were explicitly addressed in Behrens's article and were not problematic. Second, the complex patterns expected from the WRIAS in light of the complex theory from which it was developed simply do not exist in the data. Furthermore, converging results from the use of classical measurement and latent trait analysis counter arguments concerning the weakness of the traditional approach. Third, the dismissal of the results as irrelevant to convergent and discriminant validity is rejected because the test consists of 5 scales whose interrelations are of primary interest. Implications for counseling research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient variable biases in clinical judgment: Conceptual overview and methodological considerations.

Specific conceptual factors are presented as having contributed to the negative findings of past psychotherapy bias research. Among these factors are the restrictive nature of both the definition of bias and the model of the biased clinician. A review of published studies of several patient variable biases (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and age) indicates that bias may best be defined in broader terms and that its occurrence may be more circumscribed than originally conceived. In addition, the lack of a theoretical perspective in this area of research is noted and the applicability of some social cognitive processes is discussed. Methodological factors are also considered, and recommendations for future research are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further tests of dual-process theory: A reply to Yonelinas (1999).

In a preceding article (M. Glanzer, K. Kim, A. Hilford, & J. K. Adams; see record 1999-00904-013), the authors reported the results of testing two predictions of dual-process theory concerning the shape of the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC). The theory predicts that item recognition ROCs in standard score form, z-ROCs, will, in general, be concave. It also predicts the degree of concavity that will be present. The two predictions were tested. The theory failed on both. They were tested again in this article: the first prediction with an extended set of data, the second with a new set of predicted concavity measures. The first test found again that contrary to the theory, z-ROCs were not, in general, concave. The second test found again that dual-process theory failed to predict the degree of concavity of specific z-ROCs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stroop theory, memory, and prefrontal cortical functioning: Reply to Cohen et al. (1997).

In this article, the authors respond to J. D. Cohen, K. O. Dunbar, D. M. Barch and T. S. Braver's (see record 1997-02838-005) comment on their target article (see record 1997-02838-004). The present article (a) takes issue with the characterization given by Cohen et al. of the authors' approach as a classical speed-of-processing account of Stroop effects, (b) discusses the value and relevance of other theoretical concepts, such as traditional accounts of working memory and parallel distributed processing (PDP) approaches to Stroop effects, (c) further examines the possibility that the differences the authors observed in Experiment 2 between normal participants' performance and that of participants with schizophrenia may have been due to distractor stimulus degradation, particularly for participants with schizophrenia, and (d) argues for the relevance of the prefrontal cortex, as well as other brain areas, in accounting for their results. The authors conclude with a final theoretical question. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promise and problems in theory and research on women's career development: Comment on Lucas (1997), Richie et al. (1997), McCracken and Weitzman (1997), Rainey and Borders (1997), and Schaefers, Epperson, and Nauta (1997).

The articles by M. Lucas, B. S. Richie et al., R. S. McCracken and L. M. Weitzman, L.M. Rainey and L.D. Borders, and K. G. Schaefers, D. L. Epperson, and M. M. Nauta (see records 84-22118, 22345, 22343, 22131, and 24623, respectively) in the Special Section on Women's Career Development are considered within the context of prospects and problems in the empirical and theoretical literature. Promising trends include an increasing convergence on core themes such as gender role attitudes, relational and family issues, multiple role dilemmas, cultural influences, and the effects of support and barriers on women's career development. Methodological and theoretical issues are also examined and discussed. Primary among the concluding recommendations are the need for comparative model testing and the integration of important new constructs into existing conceptual models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome research on cognitive-behavioral marital therapy: Conceptual and methodological issues.

Comments on an article by P. M. Emmelkamp et al (see record 1989-16433-001) comparing communication skills training with cognitive therapy in treating distressed couples. Issues related to the scope and methods of cognitive-behavioral interventions are addressed, including development of assessment instruments, standardization of treatment, therapist training and expertise, and matching treatments to client needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading level design: Conceptual and methodological issues in reading research.

Researchers have recently begun to use the reading level design, in which reading-disabled children are compared with younger normal children at the same level of reading achievement, in an attempt to overcome some of the interpretational problems in the field. The potential of this design for testing hypotheses is explored by using examples from current research, and a more general design is introduced that extends the utility of the design from studying reading disability to investigating normal or superior reading acquisition. Limitations and practical problems associated with this approach are discussed, and methodological issues in the implementation of reading level designs are considered in terms of the choice of a criterion of reading achievement for matching the groups, the question of whether groups should be matched on IQ, and the identification of subgroups of reading disabled children. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual, methodological, and ethical problems of placebo groups in psychotherapy research.

Psychotherapy researchers have long recognized the need to control for expectancy effects, therapist contact, and therapist attention and have generally subsumed these therapeutic factors under the placebo effect rubric. The authors suggest that the need to control for such factors must be distinguished from the necessity for a placebo group. A psychotherapy placebo group that meets the classic criteria (i.e., a theoretically inert procedure without specific activity for the condition being treated) may be unethical, impractical, or methodologically unsound in psychotherapy research of moderate or greater length. The authors suggest that the term placebo group be abandoned and that alternatives, such as "best available" therapies, component control conditions, neutral expectancy controls, and counterdemand manipulations, be used. The necessity for wait-list controls in psychotherapy research is discussed. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Laboratory research, treatment innovation, and practice guidelines: A reply to Enns (2001) and Courtois (2001).

In response to Guided Imagery and Memory by K. D. Arbuthnott, D. W. Arbuthnott, & L. Rossiter (2001), C. Z. Enns (2001) and C. A. Courtois (2001) elaborated on implications for the use of guided imagery techniques in psychotherapy, particularly for the treatment of trauma (see records 2001-00732-001 -002 and -003 respectively). In general, the authors endorse these elaborations and the practice guidelines recommended by the American Psychological Association task force for working with clients who may have experienced delayed memories for child abuse. However, they disagree with statements about the limited utility of laboratory research to inform clinical practice and discuss what they consider to be a more productive rapprochement between laboratory and clinical research. As an example of how practice guidelines can evolve with developing knowledge from laboratory studies, the authors discuss emerging evidence that is relevant to the mechanisms underlying guided imagery misattributions, which may significantly influence the caution necessary when using realistic imagery in psychotherapeutic treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual, methodological, and empirical ambiguities in the linkage between anger and approach: Comment on Carver and Harmon-Jones (2009).

C. S. Carver and E. Harmon-Jones (see record 2009-02580-003) have made an important contribution to the understanding of anger, its linkage to higher order dimensions of emotion, and potential neurobiological substrates. The authors believe, however, that their model and future research conducted to test it would be improved by a more precise explication and parsing of the primary constructs, a clearer articulation of the relation between anger and approach, and the use of methods for assessing brain activation that are more precise than the electroencephalogram. Neuroimaging studies reviewed generally fail to corroborate several features of their model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual and methodological developments in occupational stress research: An introduction to State-of-the-Art Reviews I.

Introduces a special section of state-of-the-art reviews of occupational stress research. The author briefly discusses the historical origins of occupational health psychology, focusing on job strain, effort-reward imbalance, and methodological problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a perceptual-span theory of distributed processing in reading: A reply to Rayner, Pollatsek, Drieghe, Slattery, and Reichle (2007).

K. Rayner, A. Pollatsek, D. Drieghe, T. J. Slattery, and E. D. Reichle (see record 2007-11669-010) argued that the R. Kliegl, A. Nuthmann, and R. Engbert (see record 2006-01956-002) corpus-analytic evidence for distributed processing during reading should not be accepted because (a) there might be problems of multicollinearity, (b) the distinction between content and function words and the skipping status of neighboring words was ignored, and (c) there are inconsistencies with experimental results. Reanalyses with linear mixed-effect models demonstrate that (a) regression coefficients are stable across 9 samples, (b) lexical status and skipping status (and their interactions) are highly significant but do not account for the effects of word frequency for content and for function words, and (c) there is strong evidence for lexical processing of content words while fixating function words to the left of them. A critical result about fixation durations prior to skipped words is replicated in an experiment. The distinction between correlational analyses and well-controlled experiments and questions about generalizability of results are discussed. The author argues for a complementary role of corpus analysis, computational modeling, and experiments in reading research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist interpersonal skills: Process, outcome, methodological considerations, and recommendations for future research.

Reviews psychotherapeutic outcomes as they are related to such therapist interpersonal skills as empathy, regard, and genuineness. Professional and paraprofessional training programs that have grown out of the client-centered framework are also discussed. In addition, empirical research concerning confounding variables and the methodological shortcomings of this research domain are reviewed. Conclusions include (a) the idea that Rogerian hypotheses have been only modestly supported, and (b) that the lack of support is due both to the difficulties encountered in sampling and rating therapy sessions and to the failure of client-centered theory to specify more precisely the times when specific conditions (such as empathy) might be most facilitative. It is noted that judges' ratings of audiotape recordings of counseling have not provided better predictions of positive therapeutic outcome than have client perception measures of the counseling process. It is concluded that the efficacy of popular interpersonal skills training models has not been demonstrated. It is recommended that in addition to multiple criterion measures, researchers apply multiple process measures to assess the nature of the therapeutic relationship in outcome studies. (2? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Karon and Widener (1997).

Contrary to claims by B. P. Karon and A. J. Widener (1997), the literature they cited from the WWI and WWII era fails to support the reality of repression of traumatic memories. K. Diven's (1937) experiment demonstrated that unpleasant experiences are in fact more memorable, whereas the case studies by C. Fisher (1945), by A. Kardiner (1941/1953), and by R. R. Grinker and J. P. Spiegel (1945/1963) used hypnosis, barbiturates, or leading techniques, all of which are likely to produce confabulations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting in a broader context: A reply to Emery, Fincham, and Cummings (1992).

In their comment on the authors' (see record 1992-43921-001) discussion of the role of the family in child psychotherapy, R. E. Emery et al (see record 1993-14493-001) took issue with the emphasis on the mediational role of parenting practices and the importance of parenting as a focus of treatment. In response, it is emphasized that the aim was not to offer a comprehensive analysis of etiological factors in child psychopathology but rather to provide some practical research-based guidelines for child therapists. In addition, an attempt is made to clarify some areas of possible confusion, including the meaning of contextual variables, parenting as the appropriate focus of treatment, assumptions about what is meant by parenting, and differences in conceptualizations of intervention in family process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a clinically relevant model of counseling research: Comment on Patton, Kivlighan, and Multon (1997) and Gelso, Kivlighan, Wine, Jones, and Friedman (1997).

This response to the articles by M. J. Patton, D. M. Kivlighan, and K. D. Multon and C. J. Gelso, D. M. Kivlighan, B. Wine, A. Jones, and S. C. Friedman (see records 84-23832, and 23827, respectively) focuses on the significance and timeliness of these studies, elements of an emerging model for counseling research, the current context of psychoanalytic theory relevant to the counseling and research models of these studies, and measurement of clinical constructs. A broader, though not exhaustive, set of constructs useful for research and practice in psychoanalytic counseling is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology research on sexual (orientation) minority issues: Conceptual and methodological challenges and opportunities.

This lead article of the special issue discusses conceptual and methodological considerations in studying sexual minority issues, particularly in research conducted by counseling psychologists (including the work represented in this special issue). First, the overarching challenge of conceptualizing and defining sexual minority populations is described. Second, the importance and value of scholarship about sexual minority issues are highlighted. Third, challenges in sexual minority research are outlined, using the articles in this special issue for illustrative purposes, and suggestions are offered for consideration in future research. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which counseling psychologists are uniquely positioned to advance knowledge, practice, and social justice through research on sexual minority issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)