Must the psychology of avoiding nuclear war remain free and insignificant?

Responds to criticisms by M. D. Intriligator and D. L. Brito, L. Nelson, W. B. Earle, R. R. Holt and M. B. Smith (see PA, Vol 75:24635, 24650, 24609, 24632, and 24674) of the present author's article (see record 1987-16803-001); it is suggested that in order for psychologists to make a responsible contribution toward ending the risk of nuclear war, they must remove themselves from the discipline of psychology as it currently exists and begin to work within the realm of policymakers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the threat of nuclear war.

Discusses what is known about the effect of nuclear war on survivors' behavior, the effect of the threat of nuclear war, reducing the threat of nuclear war, and psychology's role in reducing the threat of nuclear war. It is concluded that although psychology has a certain level of understanding of the causes and consequences of nuclear war, its ability to provide counsel is limited. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In defense of nuclear depth psychology.

Presents a brief historical review and statements of policymakers to demonstrate that the central principles of psychologists concerning nuclear war have affected the behavior of some policymakers. It is suggested that J. G. Blight's (see record 1987-16803-001) pessimism about the incompatibility between the views of psychologists and policymakers is unwarranted; considerations of why psychologists have had low impact on national security policy are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

History of peace psychology: Comment on Morawski and Goldstein.

Comments on J. Morawski and S. Goldstein's (see record 1986-02251-001) article on psychology and nuclear war by calling for a broader historical perspective to include pre-World-War-II developments, psychological research on general war, and the contributions of non-American psychologists in this area of research. Sociohistorical biases in Morawski and Goldstein's article that result from the omission of these issues are discussed. (69 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are Psychologists Unpatriotic?

The author notes that, whether or not it is good for the advancement of a science of psychology, the psychologist has a duty to himself and to humanity to contribute far more than he has to one of the most pressing problems of our day--the problem of war and peace. Probably, there should be three types of literature about psychology and war: methodology, psychological information, and overall analyses. The production of information and idea patterns related to war and peace should not have to wait on special appropriations or special invitations to psychologists to participate. Psychologists should go to work on the problem and somehow see that their efforts find expression in publications that become widely available to those who might be interested in reading them. It would also seem reasonable to suppose that a national psychological convention would devote a major part of its time to this vital topic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological Treatments.

Psychology has recently identified itself as a health care profession and codified this change in the bylaws of the American Psychological Association. Although psychologists make a number of contributions to the nation's health-and mental health-the most identifiable activity focuses on treating physical or psychological pathology with psychological interventions. Recently, health care policymakers have established that evidence supporting the efficacy of these interventions is more than sufficient for their inclusion in health care systems around the world. To promote faster and more widespread dissemination of these interventions specifically targeting problems severe enough to be included in health care systems and to solidify the identification of psychology as a health care profession, perhaps it is time for a change in terminology. It is proposed that psychologists label these procedures psychological treatments so as to differentiate them from more generic psychotherapy, which is often used outside of the scope of health care systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The potential contribution of psychology to nuclear war issues.

Considers the relevance of psychology to 9 nuclear war issues (the nuclear arms race, attitudes toward other nations, deterrance, arms control negotiations, defense-related decisions, crisis behavior, war outbreak, accidental nuclear war, and crisis and conflict management) in response to an article by J. G. Blight (see record 1987-16803-001) and suggests that psychologists could contribute to the understanding of nuclear war by studying these issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the public sector: Addressing the psychological effects of combat in the U.S. Navy.

The response of military psychology in times of war or other great public crises may presage the success of the profession in less perilous times. The ability of public-sector psychologists to provide assistance and improve the common welfare during conflict or turmoil is generally followed by an increased demand for psychological services. This likely reflects the success of the psychological response during those crises, and it underscores the fact that psychological consequences of war or disaster require both immediate clinical attention and long-term policy development. The U.S. Navy serves as a model for public-sector psychological service provision. A brief history of Navy psychology is provided, followed by an examination of how Navy psychologists are responding to the issues raised by the current conflict in the Middle East and the problems associated with stigma in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Federal legislation recognizing psychology.

Contends that policymakers often are unfamiliar with psychology as a discipline and as a profession, and they lack knowledge of the important contributions psychologists or behavioral experts can make to specific problem areas. Hence, specific reference to psychology or psychological expertise may not appear in various federal statutes, and this limits the possibility of psychology contributing to needed solutions to national problems. The political process of policy formation is discussed, and the explicit federal recognition of psychology within enacted legislation is examined. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Molecular genetics and control of iron metabolism in hemochromatosis

To determine how physicians might participate in the prevention of nuclear war in the post-Cold War era, we review, from a medical perspective, the history of the nuclear weapons era since Hiroshima and the status of today's nuclear arsenals and dangers. In the 1950s, physicians were active partners in governmental civil defense planning. Since 1962, physicians have stressed prevention of nuclear war as the only effective medical intervention. Public advocacy by physicians helped end both atmospheric nuclear testing in the 1960s and superpower plans for fighting a nuclear war in the 1980s. Today's dangers include nuclear arms proliferation, an increasing risk of nuclear terrorism, and the 35000 warheads that remain in superpower-nuclear arsenals, many still on hair-trigger alert. Physicians have recently joined with military and political leaders and over 1000 citizens' organizations in calling for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. Global medical collaboration in support of a verifiable and enforceable Nuclear Weapons Convention would be a major contribution to safeguarding health in the 21st century.     

U.S. mental health policy: Proactive evolution in the midst of health care reform.

Argues that it is vital that psychological and behavioral health care perspectives be explicitly recognized during the coming reform of the US health care system. Mental health policy should not be treated as a mere extension of physical health policy; to do so extends all the flaws of the physical health system into the psychological care arena, resulting in a mismatch with the actual health care needs of the nation. Furthermore, organized psychology must remind policymakers that psychologists provide health services in areas of health care beyond mental health. The challenge to psychology is to ensure the continuation of adequate and timely access to appropriate psychological and behavioral health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of psychology to limiting climate change.

Psychology can make a significant contribution to limiting the magnitude of climate change by improving understanding of human behaviors that drive climate change and human reactions to climate-related technologies and policies, and by turning that understanding into effective interventions. This article develops a framework for psychological contributions, summarizes what psychology has learned, and sets out an agenda for making additional contributions. It emphasizes that the greatest potential for contributions from psychology comes not from direct application of psychological concepts but from integrating psychological knowledge and methods with knowledge from other fields of science and technology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why don't they like us? Psychologists' public image in Israel during the Persian Gulf War.

The public image of psychologists has been a major concern to the field. This article describes and analyzes the phenomenon of negative reaction toward the involvement of psychologists in the public media in Israel during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. The war period was characterized by a massive presence of psychologists in the media, which gave rise to both lay and professional criticism of psychologists and their messages. An examination of the content of psychological material published during the war does not reveal blatant professional mistakes. Therefore, it is suggested that overdosage, rather than the content, of psychological messages was responsible for the extremely negative reaction against psychology, compounded by the extreme circumstances of the war. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Editors' introduction to the special issue: Behavioural origins and solutions of environmental problems.

With this special issue, CJBS joins several journals in focussing on environmental problems and their relation to human behaviours. The six research papers by Canadian researchers in this issue are grouped into three areas: environmentally responsible behaviours, managed resource use, and community problems. An invited essay by the Minister of Environment, the Honourable Sergio Marchi, P.C, M.P., concludes this issue with a call for psychological research targeted to the needs of policymakers and legislators. This introduction sets these articles in the context of environmental psychology research, defined as a perspective on psychological research in which the focus is on transactions between people and their physical surroundings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence-based practice in psychology.

The evidence-based practice movement has become an important feature of health care systems and health care policy. Within this context, the APA 2005 Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice defines and discusses evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP). In an integration of science and practice, the Task Force's report describes psychology's fundamental commitment to sophisticated EBPP and takes into account the full range of evidence psychologists and policymakers must consider. Research, clinical expertise, and patient characteristics are all supported as relevant to good outcomes. EBPP promotes effective psychological practice and enhances public health by applying empirically supported principles of psychological assessment, case formulation, therapeutic relationship, and intervention. The report provides a rationale for and expanded discussion of the EBPP policy statement that was developed by the Task Force and adopted as association policy by the APA Council of Representatives in August 2005. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Challenging the stultifying bonds of tradition: Some philosophical, conceptual, and methodological issues in applying the scientist-practitioner model.

Discusses the quality of school psychology education and training in light of a continuing bifurcation of the science–practice relationship in both education and training and professional practice. The mutuality of science and practice is emphasized, and the problems of better linkage between psychological science and professional practice are discussed. The current status of the scientist–practitioner model is discussed, and arguments for the need to move beyond textbook accounts of the scientific process are presented. The war of words taking place regarding the nature of psychological science is examined, and an answer to the question of what is meant by the integration of science and practice is provided. Considerations are included of suppositions, including that fruitful interaction of science and practice often is an opportunistic process and that there is nothing so theoretical as good practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The psychologist as expert witness": Reply to Sokal.

Responds to M. M. Sokal's (1981) criticism of the authors' (see record 1980-09551-001) omission of H. Münsterberg's book from their discussion of psychology and law. It is argued that the authors' historical review was intended to begin with a point in time at which psychological research had been accepted by the legal field and that in the early 1900s, Münsterberg's novel ideas about the psychologist's contribution to legal problems were not widely accepted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and public policy.

Discusses ways to increase the involvement, awareness, knowledge, and education of psychologists in the public policy process. Psychologists have functioned effectively in a variety of roles that are relevant to the policy sector. For example, they are increasingly called upon as expert witnesses. There is a great need for people who can translate the findings of psychology and the behavioral sciences into language and recommendations easily comprehended by the public. Probably the most common role for a psychologist in public policy is that of researcher or evaluator, which uses the psychologist's methodological skill to help policymakers determine whether a program, intervention, or treatment was effective. Psychologists have also increasingly taken positions as administrators in education, health, mental health, welfare, correctional, and human service organizations, where they are directly responsible for the formation and implementation of social policies. Psychologists can also function as activist-collaborators by advocating solutions to social problems. It is concluded that greater involvement of psychology in the public policy process will facilitate the growth of psychological knowledge and the application of that knowledge to the world of which psychology becomes continually a larger part. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responding to the psychological impact of war on the Iraqi people and U.S. veterans: Mixing icing, praying for cake.

The psychological impact of the war in Iraq stimulated major initiatives to build a modern mental health care system for the Iraqi people and to improve mental health services for U.S. veterans of the Iraq war. Although these two initiatives differ in important respects, they are both informed by general principles of psychology concerning the nature of social problem definition, the process of human adaptation to extreme stress and its aftermath, and the role and limits of mental health services. Building on these common themes and my own experiences, I describe how two nations are trying to address the colossal psychological damage wrought by the war in Iraq. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)