Editorial: Psychology in the Public Forum.

With this issue, I am pleased to announce a new section of the American Psychologist entitled "Psychology in the Public Forum," with Patrick H. DeLeon as the associate editor for this section. Psychology in the Public Forum intends to provide psychologists with perspectives concerning the public arenas in which psychology must exist. Such a forum approach should aid our understanding of those public issues that both affect psychology and provide opportunities for psychologists to bring their expertise to bear as scientists, as practitioners, and as educators. I am very pleased to have two quite distinct articles appearing this month to inaugurate this section. Senator McGovern provides a broad-ranging view from a 20- to 30-year perspective of a number of intertwined issues that have in his view influenced the course of our society, and Mary G. Hager covers science and health in the Washington area for Newsweek magazine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the Public Forum: The Psychologist and Organized Labor.

Provides an overview of the articles in this section, which illustrate the growing interest in the potential contribution of psychologists to labor unions and their members. The authors attempt to provide an international perspective, a summary of ongoing activities within organized psychology, and an illustrative case of a mutually beneficial relationship between psychology and labor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the Public Forum: Perspectives on Persons with Disabilities.

Jackman (1983) states that the predominant perspective in America on persons with disabilities is to view them as flawed individuals who need to be rehabilitated in order to be made as normal as possible. Because people with disabilities cannot do some of those things done by people without disabilities, they are seen as incompetent, helpless, unproductive, and dependent on others for care. If individuals with disabilities are to improve their status, it is necessary for them to rely on those who can help them accommodate to their disabilities. An alternative conception is to view individuals with disabilities as members of a minority group who lack power and are denied their civil rights. From this perspective, persons with disabilities face problems stemming from a society that stigmatizes and devalues those who are different. Many psychologists could be contributing to knowledge on and service to people with handicaps from both perspectives, but most view such activities as a narrow area of specialization outside the mainstream. The articles in this forum discuss the relationship among psychological knowledge, issues relating to those with disabilities, and public policy primarily from the civil rights perspective. It is hoped that the civil rights perspective can be added to the dominant rehabilitation viewpoint within psychology, attract a greater following within psychology, and produce a psychology of disability that can speak more forcefully to issues of disability and public policy. The six articles in this forum suggest that issues of disability need not remain narrowly segmented within psychology and nearly invisible to most of the discipline. Through greater attention by a broader segment of psychology and attention to the civil rights as well as the rehabilitation perspective, more enlightened public policies on issues of disability can emerge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Public Image of Psychology.

Comment on the public image of psychology. It is suggested that an alarming and distasteful image of psychologists is in the process of being formed as a by-product of the Era of the Corruption of Things Psychological. This era has been ushered in by our neglect of public relations, by the Sunday-supplement popularity of the mysteries of the mind, and by the discovery that psychological means of influencing behavior are a highly salable commodity in the nonacademic market place. As psychologists expand and refine their techniques for control of human behavior, the urgency of this problem of public relations will increase accordingly. This demands something more than the tranquilizing effect of an APA symposium on the Ethics of the Application of Psychology or the soporific of a prestige-laden committee to define the nature of the problem. We would be well-served by a simple tithing of the time, energy, and resources we now devote to the internecine conflicts with other helping sciences. Ideally, the perception others have of us ought to be a prime order of business for the leaders of every division of psychology, and participation in a design for public education ought to be as automatic a contribution to our mutual well-being as the paying of annual dues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in flux: The academic-professional bipolarity.

The "main fission in psychology is that between academic psychology and professional psychology." Clinical, industrial, and social psychology, among other applied fields, have expanded dramatically since World War II. Experimental psychology itself is now being professionalized. Serious problems stem from the fact that most graduate curricula are oriented to training "pure scientists" as scholars while most psychology graduates will "wind up in professional work outside universities and colleges." One solution is "to set up a school forthrightly embracing both academic and professional graduate training." There would be an "academic department" and a separate "professional department." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental Psychology and Public Policy: Progress and Prospects.

This article outlines a framework for developmentally oriented policy research. Drawing from U. Bronfenbrenner's (1995) dynamic developmental systems theory, the authors suggest ways in which the key tenets of process, persons, context, and time can inform policy research in developmental psychology and can be used to support a causal interpretation of the results of those analyses. Conceptualizing public policies from a dynamic developmental systems perspective has a variety of implications for future research, and this article considers some of these implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the News.

Presents a collection of psychology in the news items. The first item concerns an address by Chief Justice Warren. The second item concerns comments by the new California State Superintendent of Education calling for "sanity in instruction" and addressing instructional aids and the need for good teachers. The third item contains a reprint of an article in War/Peace Report. The final item addresses a Newsweek report on pastoral counseling and therapy under church auspices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the States.

Presents a collection of news items about psychology in the US states. The first item concerns the development of the new National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, directed by Robert A. Aldrich. The second item discusses a study examining the problem of classifying emotional disorders in children, and conducted by a group of psychologists in a behavioral classification project of the Florida State Board of Health. The third item presents comments on the recent Publications Board Report. Items from APA state newsletters make up the fourth item. The fifth item discusses state awards programs for outstanding students and science fair psychology projects. The sixth item addresses recognition of psychologists' services by insurance companies. The seventh item notes a Department of Justice ruling that services rendered by psychotherapists qualify as deductions under the medical expense section of the income tax return, even though services are rendered by other than medical practitioners. The eighth item concerns the meeting of new APA committees. The ninth item makes note of a new report surveying Federal scientific activity. The final item contains a "more truth than poetry" item from an old issue of Medical World News. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Awards for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest.

This article reports on the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, which is given by the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest annually to two individuals who have advanced psychology as a science and/or profession by a single extraordinary achievement or a lifetime of outstanding contributions in the public interest. This year's recipients are Maria P. P. Root and James G. Kelly. Root received the citation for her outstanding research, writing, and overall contribution to the public policy discourse on the topic of race, with particular emphasis on racially mixed people, relationships, and identities. Kelly was cited for important contributions to the public interest as a rigorous scholar, an examiner of values, and a respecter and protector of the rights and needs of public consumers of psychology. For both winners a citation, biography, and selected bibliography of their work are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Public Health and Psychology: An Important, Expanding Interaction.

The authors opine that the behavioral sciences and the field of psychology are absolutely vital in meeting the nation's needs regarding health and health policy. Psychologists have become increasingly involved in health psychology, as reflected by the establishment and rapid growth of Division 38 (Health Psychology). This expansion of psychologists' involvement in physical health research and intervention has led to increased contact between psychologists and nurses, public health experts, and nonpsychiatric physicians. With such contact, psychologists are being recruited into the faculties of schools of nursing, schools of public health, and schools of medicine. This article examines aspects of psychology's role in, involvement with, and contribution to one sector of this arena--public health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in Japan: 1960.

"It is hoped that American psychologists interested in foreign developments in their field will achieve a better understanding of Japanese research from this review and will be more aware of their own influence on the Japanese psychological scene." Major sections are: Psychological Publications, Foreign Influences, Research Emphases in Japan, Current Research Effects (Visual Perception, Learning, Comparative and Physiological, Personality and Psychodiagnostics, Social Psychology, Industrial Psychology), Educational Practices, Professional Activity. "Japanese psychology is in active ferment and… Japanese psychologists aspire to a position of increasing international prominence." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boundaryless Psychology: A Discussion.

Comments on the articles by G. P. Latham and P. A. Heslin (see record 2003-07215-006), G. H. Seijts and B. W. Latham (see record 2003-07215-007), and R. G. Lord et al (2003) which examined the concept of a boundaryless psychology, focusing on industrial/organizational psychology. This article is divided into three parts. In the introduction, I echo the case for breaking down boundaries. In the Article Critiques, I point out some of the good points and some concerns about each of the empirical articles in this section. In the General Comments, I design a two-dimensional matrix to help researchers decide how to best break down barriers in their research. This matrix has Order of Distance Between Fields on one axis and Theory Development on the other. In order of proximal to distal, the former axis is divided into target subdiscipline, other like-paradigm subdisciplines, other subdisciplines, other broad category sciences, and other sciences. In order of moving away from one's own discipline, the later axis is divided into statistical methodologies, philosophy of science, history of science, humanities, vicarious experience, and personal experience. Finally, I give a hypothetical example to illustrate how a researcher could use this matrix to break down barriers in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ideographic Concept Mapping in Counseling Psychology Research: Conceptual Overview, Methodology, and an Illustration.

This article provides an overview of the research approach called concept mapping at conceptual, methodological, and practical levels. The relevance of the approach to counseling psychology research is discussed, and the approach is located conceptually in the realm of qualitative methods available to counseling psychology researchers. To illustrate ideographic concept mapping, the authors collect, present, and discuss data from 2 psychologists regarding their conception of the scientist-practitioner construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond the Psychology Fair.

Comments on the article by Benjamin et al (see record 1978-30211-001) which discussed the college psychology fair as a vehicle for providing the public with a view of experimental psychology, a view shared by and Perloff and Perloff (see record 1977-28555-001). The current author agrees that providing high school students with an insight into the science of psychology is important, but suggests that psychology departments and the APA need to encourage the teaching of a scientific attitude to undergraduates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the News.

Reports that a leaflet called, "Are The People of America Being Brain-Washed Into Slavery?" claims that there is a 30-year-old secret textbook of the Communists called Psychopolitics which long ago explained how psychology could be Communism's main ally in the US. It is noted that two articles about the work of W. H. Holtzman and J. McConnell appeared in Time magazine. Also, two psychologists, J. D. Matarazzo and O. R. Lindsley, were selected to split the annual American Psychiatric Association's Hofheimer Prize for Research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rethinking Education in Psychology and Psychology in Education: The Inaugural Education Leadership Conference.

The inaugural Education Leadership Conference was convened by the American Psychological Association (APA) in October 2001 to provide a forum for groups and organizations across all levels of education and training to address issues of mutual concern, to promote a shared disciplinary identity among education and training leaders in psychology, and to influence public policy regarding education in psychology and psychology in education. Participants from 23 national education and training organizations, 25 APA divisions, and national credentialing organizations in psychology identified 8 major issues for education and training in psychology and addressed a number of specific questions relevant to ongoing work of the Board of Educational Affairs. A full report is available at http.http://www.apa.org/ed/elc/home.html. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative Psychology.

In a recent issue of this journal, Dukes (Amer. Psychologist, 1960, 15, 157) revisited Beach's "Snark," the classic analysis of the types of animals and behavior processes investigated by psychologists. Using Beach's original categories, Dukes showed that there has been little change in the distribution of animal species studied during the past decade, except for an increase in the use of primate subjects. In the following paragraphs I will present a further analysis of the variety of animals used in experiments reported in the Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology (1956-59), and a breakdown into the separate themes the papers reported during that period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology Without Boundaries: Crossing the Longest Undefended Border in the World.

The abolition of boundaries dividing subfields of psychology is made difficult by, among other forces, different reward systems and overwhelming amounts of information. The current collection of papers is an interesting demonstration of the values of transporting intellectual goods across one set of such boundaries: those between I/O psychology and clinical, social/personality, and cognitive/neuropsychological research and theory. Although because of space limitations the demonstration is incomplete, it should encourage more cross-boundary thinking and the recognition that academic and applied psychologists have much to offer to, and to gain from, each other's fields of endeavour. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

University Psychology Students Having Had Psychology in High School.

Does a high school course in psychology influence students to take further work in the subject? Is high school psychology of assistance to those who take psychology in a university? In an attempt to answer these questions, 13 university departments of psychology (Denver, Florida State, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Purdue, Southern California, Texas, Vermont) were contacted and asked to administer a very short questionnaire to students in their introductory courses who had had a course in psychology in high school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a Boundaryless Psychology.

This series of papers argue for the integrating of psychology as a core discipline. They show the benefit to the science and practice of psychology, of psychologists being aware of and building upon theory and research outside their subspecialty. Specifically, the three respective papers examine potential advances in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology through knowledge of clinical, social, and neuroscience psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)