Annual Report of the Policy and Planning Board: 1969-70.

Presents the Annual Report (1969-1970) of the American Psychological Association Policy and Planning Board. During the past year, the Policy and Planning Board has come to grips with a number of the major issues now confronting psychology. In doing so, it took stock of the pressures within the Association and of the great contemporary social issues that have implications for psychology, and it attempted to develop a perspective on the role of the Association in relation to these matters. Among the issues that are focal points of tension within the Association are (a) the extent to which the APA should become involved in the legislative process, and how attendant tax-status concerns may be handled; (b) the role the Association should play with respect to public and social issues; (c) the existence of pressing demands from many quarters that APA play a greater role in training and supporting members of the profession who do not hold the PhD, possibly by a modification of membership standards; (d) possible implications of the National Information System for Psychology for the functioning of Central Office and the integrity of the journal system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the Eye of the Storm: Race and Genomics in Research and Practice.

The difficulties of operationalizing race in research and practice for social, behavioral, and genetic researchers and practitioners are neither new nor related to recent genetic knowledge. For geneticists, the bases for understanding groups are clines, observed traits that gradually change in frequency between geographic regions without distinct identifiable population boundaries and population histories that carry information about the distribution of genetic variants. For psychologists, race may not exist or be a social and cultural construct associated with fluid social inferences. Because definitions of populations and race can be socially and biologically incongruent, the authors suggest that geneticists and social and behavioral scientists and clinicians attend to external validity issues by operationalizing population and racial categories and avoiding race proxies for other biological, social, and cultural constructs in research designs, data analyses, and clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology, research, and social policy.

Contends that although it is important and timely for psychologists to be concerned with the interface between psychological research and social policy, academic and research psychologists may encounter problems in relating or adapting their research to matters of policy. For some researchers, there are few problems because their focus of research has both theoretical and policy relevance (e.g., those exploring the scientific question at hand with relevant populations or in policy-connected settings). However, it is suggested that the larger group of behavioral scientists are engaged in research that is more removed from immediate practicality or policy relatedness. It is argued that the ideal solution is not to promote the wholesale conversion of research scientists to redirect their scientific inquiry so that it deals directly with issues of policy. Rather, suggestions are tendered for the melding of policy concerns into research that maintains its relevance to the discipline and to issues of psychological theory or practice while touching also on issues of relevance to social policy. A classification model of social scientists involved with policy is included. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The war between the words: Biological versus social evolution and some related issues.

Representative responses to the 1975 American Psychological Association presidential address, "On the conflicts between Biological and Social Evolution and between Psychology and Moral Tradition," by D. T. Campbell (see record 1976-12046-001), selected by 2 guest editors, are presented in 3 sections: (a) biological vs social evolution, (b) the genetic basis of behavior (especially of altruism), and (c) the value of tradition. As a reprise, Campbell presents his general reactions. (21/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rejoinder to Robinson's "Ethics and advocacy."

Questions D. N. Robinson's (see record 1985-12952-001) argument that the American Psychological Association should not be an advocate for moral or ethical positions in important social issues because it lacks the appropriate moral authority. The present author stresses the importance of involvement in issues of social responsibilities and ethics and notes that such involvement has opened up new areas of investigation and sources of funding. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social Psychology: An Applied Approach.

Reviews the book, Social Psychology: An Applied Approach by Ronald J. Fisher (1982). In what is probably the first of a new generation of social psychology textbooks, Ronald Fisher has attempted a very ambitious intergration of basic, theoretical and applied social psychology. My overall feeling about the book is very positive, since there is much to recommend in it. Some of the chapters, such as those dealing with social issues and social change, program development and evaluation, and organizational development, are outstanding. They are scholarly, well written and contain information that traditional social psychologists should be aware of but rarely teach. Indeed, these chapters are so comprehensive, that they could serve as good introductions to these topics for graduate students. In addition, while not being a truly "Canadian" textbook, there are considerably more Canadian examples and anecdotes contained in this book than can be found in any of the other current textbooks. My hope as an instructor of an advanced undergraduate course in applied social psychology is that if there is a second edition of this text that the author might amend it by broadening the coverage of current topics in applied social psychology while retaining those chapters that are unique to the book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race and Ethnicity in the Genome Era: The Complexity of the Constructs.

The vast amount of biological information that is now available through the completion of the Human Genome Project presents opportunities and challenges. The genomic era has the potential to advance an understanding of human genetic variation and its role in human health and disease. A challenge for genomics research is to understand the relationships between genomics, race, and ethnicity and the implications of uncovering these relationships. Robust and scholarly discourse on the concept of race and ethnicity in genomic research should be expanded to include social and behavioral scientists. Interdisciplinary research teams are needed in which psychologists, as well as other social and behavioral scientists, work collaboratively with geneticists and other natural scientists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between psychology and cognate fields.

"The listing in the university catalogues which were examined indicated that psychology was most often listed as a social science and next most frequently listed as a biological science. In several universities the psychology department was classified as both a biological and social science. In terms of specific departmental recommendations of courses, it was indicated that there was an interdependence between psychology and the various social sciences. Psychology was found to depend much more heavily on the biological sciences, physical sciences, and mathematics than those areas depended upon psychology. On the other hand, the social sciences, humanities, and service areas were found to depend much more heavily on psychology than the psychology departments depended upon them." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social discourse and moral judgment.

Reviews the book, Social discourse and moral judgment by Daniel N. Robinson (see record 1992-98331-000). It is not every day that a group of such original scholars in any field come together to debate a topic of genuine significance. Social Discourse and Moral Judgment is the result of such an occasion, a symposium dedicated to examining social constructionist contributions to the study of moral judgment, conducted at Georgetown University during March of 1991. Although all of the articles in this volume assume some level of familiarity with psychological theory and vocabulary, Social Discourse and Moral Judgment should appeal to the philosophical novice as well as those well-versed in social constructionist theory. While it is entirely impossible to adequately describe or summarize the complex argument and debate presented in this volume in so brief a space, some examination of the issues discussed should serve to illuminate its worth. Although there are many themes which reoccur throughout the book, discussion of only three (agency, individualism and relativism) are dealt with in this review. As a genuinely significant contribution to research in morality and moral judgment, this book has only two drawbacks. The first, which Robinson acknowledges, is simply that there were not more selections presented from the final discussion, and that the selections presented are sometimes sketchy and hard to follow. The second drawback is that there is no critique of the social constructionist position from a clearly hermeneutic or other continental perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grooming behavior and competitive dominance in the albino rat.

Compared dominance in 28 male Wistar rats manifested in water competition under 2 levels of deprivation, with grooming activity in a nondeprived state. While competitive dominance was significantly related to motivational level, grooming emerged as a more stable indicator of social ascendance and did not require prior manipulation of a biological state. Implications of this observation for broader aspects of social motivation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolution of cognition and the social construction of knowledge.

Responds to M. Glassman's (see record 1996-03525-020) comments on D. Geary's (see record 1995-16916-001) suggestion regarding the evolution of primary and secondary cognitive abilities and the mechanisms that govern their acquisition. The author concedes that there are several features of Vygotsky's model that are useful and represents one mode of knowledge transmission, but the position that all forms of knowledge are constructed during social discourse is wrong. Social relationships are an important pressure in the evolution of many forms of cognition, thus, understanding how the social community influences the evolution of human cognition will add to our understanding of human cognition. By casting all of cognition in terms of language and social discourse creates the illusion that many aspects of our lives are beyond our control. Accepting these models are psychologically comforting, but this does not mean they are scientifically valid. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Entrepreneurship research and practice: A call to action for psychology.

Entrepreneurship is a major source of employment, economic growth, and innovation, promoting product and service quality, competition, and economic flexibility. It is also a mechanism by which many people enter the society's economic and social mainstream, aiding culture formation, population integration, and social mobility. This article aims to illuminate research opportunities for psychologists by exposing gaps in the entrepreneurship literature and describing how these gaps can be filled. A "call to action" is issued to psychologists to develop theory and undertake empirical research focusing on five key topic areas: the personality characteristics of entrepreneurs, the psychopathology of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial cognition, entrepreneurship education, and international entrepreneurship. Methodological issues are discussed and recommendations provided. It is shown that psychologists can help identify the factors that influence new venture creation and success and inform the construction of public policy to facilitate entrepreneurship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a just society: Lessons from observations on the primary prevention of psychopathology.

Discusses an important distinction that should be maintained between preventive efforts to reduce psychopathology and those aimed at improving public health. It is argued that many mental conditions are not discrete diseases; they are often learned patterns of socially deviant behavior or idiosyncratic thought that result from stress, powerlessness, and exploitation. Prevention efforts aimed at reducing psychopathology will often require social change and a redistribution of power. Efforts to change the power structure and to reduce social class inequalities are opposed by persons who accept (1) the belief that class differences are natural and even desirable from a social Darwinian perspective and (2) the "just world" belief that says that people deserve whatever happens to them. Prevention workers are more likely to accept the fatalistic view that people, only through their own political efforts, can improve the quality of life for most of humankind if they accept the fact that there is no "divine plan" and that evolution has no goal. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Altered state of hypnosis: Changes in the theoretical landscape.

Presentations of theories of hypnosis in scholarly and introductory texts portray the field as dominated by two warring camps, variously referred to as state and nonstate or as special process and social psychological. Current issues and theories in the hypnosis literature are examined. In the process, we seek to dispel the myth that hypnosis theorists can be grouped into two camps. Although there is considerable controversy about the nature of hypnosis, no issues separate all so-called special process theorists from all social psychological theorists. Instead, virtually all substantive differences between theorists cut across this apparent distinction. Furthermore, the positions taken on many of the important issues dividing the field can no longer be portrayed as simple dichotomies, such as state vs nonstate or trait vs situation. Positions on these issues can more accurately be described as points on a continuum. We conclude by drawing attention to specific questions and issues that remain unresolved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"On the conflicts between biological and social evolution and between psychology and moral tradition": Comment.

Comments on D. T. Campbell's (see record 1976-12046-001) application of evolutionary theory to human social behavior and concludes that Campbell has impressively synthesized the thinking available in many fields concerning cultural evolution. However, in his analysis he has not carried certain psychological dimensions (i.e., variability, selection, retention) as far forward as information allows. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptualizing political orientation in Canadian political candidates: A tale of two (correlated) dimensions.

Political orientation is often operationalized as a unidimensional left–right continuum. However, some research suggests that this conceptualization might be overly simplistic. The present study examined the structure of political orientation in a sample of 190 politicians who were candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. Participants completed measures of attitudes toward specific political issues (social conservatism issues, economic competition issues), ideological beliefs (right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation), and abstract values (conservation, self-enhancement) as indicators of political orientation. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the structure of political orientation was explained best by 2 moderately correlated dimensions: social left–right and economic left–right. Differences in the political orientation indicators between political parties are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biological substrates of field dependence: Implications of the sex difference.

Illustrates how biological issues can figure in the analysis of a specific problem in psychological investigation, describes the reported sex difference in field dependence, and discusses the implications of such an analysis for the psychological theory on which the field dependence construct is based. Males consistently show a more field-independent cognitive style than do females. Studies that have related sex difference to social environmental variables have yielded equivocal results. Evidence that the sex difference in spatial ability reflects a constellation of genetic, endocrinological, and neurological factors is discussed. Since perceptual field dependence is strongly correlated with spatial ability, these biological factors probably figure in that sex difference as well. Data are also reviewed that suggest that (physically) early maturers are field dependent and late maturers are field independent, on the basis of both cognitive and personality measures. Thus, maturational rate may be an important intervening variable in the field dependence construct. Finally, interpretations of field dependence that integrate personality, cognition, and physiology are offered, and the implications for the differentiation hypothesis of H. A. Witken et al (1962) are discussed. (81 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Counseling and psychotherapy of work dysfunctions.

Reviews the book, Counseling and psychotherapy of work dysfunctions by Rodney L. Lowman (see record 1993-98413-000). Dr. Lowman's book on work dysfunctions serves as a seminal product for further understanding a much-neglected component of the lives of the many men and women who seek psychological assistance in working through issues around their employment. The book conveys in a well-written, sometimes humorous, style that "work is a natural part of living, and the issues it raises are important parts of character." The overall impression is that of a well-thought-out and most readable book. There is no doubt in this reviewer's mind that it will become essential reading for psychologists, social workers, family therapists, and graduate students who are becoming increasingly involved in this field of study. What this reviewer found very helpful was the clarity of presentation of the assessment techniques as well as the amply illustrated intervention modules that may be utilized. To this reviewer, there is no doubt that this is one area for psychologists' contributions in the future--the work area. Lowman's book gives us basic material from which to continue to build our profession in a new and exciting direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the resurgent space program.

Reviews some of the psychological aspects of the space missions that began with the launching of the space shuttle Columbia in 1981. Among the salient issues discussed are those involving biobehavioral response, human factors, communications, and personal and social adjustment in space. It is argued that psychologists should be concerned with the human aspects of spaceflight. Weightlessness, confinement, high risk, and other spaceflight conditions provide special opportunities for testing theories from virtually all areas of psychology including physiological, perception, cognitive, learning, personality, social, and organizational psychology. It is concluded that as the profession of psychology gains greater understanding of the psychological issues of adaptation to outer space and builds credibility with mission personnel, psychologists will discover new research challenges and will play an increasingly important role in mission planning and in flight operations. (69 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's language acquisition.

Child language acquisition has only recently become an important research topic for developmental psychologists, although the universal appearance of language during the second year of life has long fascinated philosophers. For normally developing children, language emerges spontaneously as a means of talking about what they know so that they can accomplish social goals important to them. Some children, however, need to be taught. This article reviews current issues in child language acquisition and suggests a research agenda for helping those children who have difficulty mastering the fundamentals of language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)