Developing and Applying a Systematic Process for Evaluation of Clinical Outcome Assessment Instruments.

In recent years, there has been increasing demand within the mental health field for practitioners and administrators to evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of psychological services delivered to the populations they serve. In response to these demands, there has been a proliferation of outcome assessment instruments. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and application of a systematic process for evaluating and selecting clinical outcome measures for use by mental health organizations. A group of Veterans Affairs Medical Center psychologists systematically applied criteria to a set of brief, commonly used, self-report outcome instruments. Results of this evaluation process are discussed, and the implications for selecting outcome measures for other mental health settings and outcome measurement in general are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When Do the Stigmatized Make Attributions to Discrimination Occurring to the Self and Others? The Roles of Self-Presentation and Need for Control.

Two experiments examined how the goals of self-presentation and maintenance of control over one's outcomes influence women's tendencies to make or to avoid making attributions to discrimination. Demonstrating the importance of self-presentational goals, Experiment 1 showed that targets of discrimination were just as likely as similar others to make attributions to discrimination under private reporting conditions, but they were significantly less likely to do so under public reporting conditions. This experiment also provided initial evidence that need for personal control increases discrimination attributions. Experiment 2 demonstrated that targets' minimization of discrimination, observed in public reporting conditions, was eliminated when the need to reassert personal control was induced. Both experiments also demonstrated that failing to view events as discrimination has negative psychological costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making law modern: Toward a contextual model of justice.

Contemporary psychological and legal models of behavior are still fundamentally at odds, and the impending paradigm clash may have profound, long-term consequences for our 21st-century legal doctrines and institutions. The 19th-century "formative era" of American law coincided with the dominance of psychological individualism in the nation's collective view of human nature and resulted in the institutionalization of a now antiquated model of human behavior. As we enter the new millennium, a "New Legal Realism" based on a view of human nature more consistent with contemporary psychological thinking is urged, along with a series of interlocking legal changes intended to both incorporate a more contextual view of human nature into law and improve the quality of justice our system currently dispenses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Portrait and story: Dramaturgical approaches to the study of persons.

Reviews the book, Portrait and story: Dramaturgical approaches to the study of persons by Larry Cochran (1986). In the title of one of his well-known papers on personology, Gordon Allport raised the difficult but fundamental question, "What units shall we employ?" In this book Larry Cochran, a self-defined follower of Allport further inspired by the "dramaturgical" methods of literary critic Kenneth Burke, suggests the interesting answer of using the story as a basic unit in the psychological analysis of human lives. A story begins with an individual's perception of some deficiency or problem in life, continues with efforts to resolve it, and concludes with some sort of definitive outcome. Stylistically, the book is often difficult to read, showing signs of hurried writing and/or insufficient copy editing. More substantive limitations occur because the book, although addressed to psychologists, proposes almost exclusively aesthetic criteria for assessing personalities and life histories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peak performance in sport: Identifying ideal performance states and developing athletes' psychological skills.

Can psychologists help performers in sport, business, and the performing arts achieve peak performances more often and with greater consistency? Sport psychologists have taken the lead in researching peak performance in an attempt to answer this question. This article focuses on optimal experiences in sport and ways in which the author works with athletes to help them achieve peak performances. Peak performance in sport is overviewed, the application of two models related to the preparation for peak performance in sport are discussed, and applied sport psychology experiential knowledge is shared. Implications for practice for psychologists considering work in this area are also considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of long-term racial environmental composition on subjective well-being in African Americans.

Two studies (N=126, N=114) of African Americans supported a model predicting that more racially segregated life contexts are associated with feelings of acceptance by other in-group members and, to a lesser extent, rejection by outgroup members. In-group acceptance and out-group rejection in turn influenced identification with the in-group, which was a strong predictor of psychological well-being. Alternative models were not supported. Results suggest that environments that are segregated offer in-group support and acceptance, thereby protecting self-esteem against possible perils of rejection by a powerful out-group. Findings suggest that the improvement of intergroup relations should not be at the expense of intragroup relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hermeneutics, authenticity and the aims of psychology.

The contribution hermeneutic philosophy can make to reflection on issues in psychology is shown through a critique of the "positive psychology" movements inaugurated in the special issue of the American Psychologist edited by M. Seligman and M. Csikszentmihalyi in 2000. Drawing on the broad historical sense advocated by hermeneutics, it is shown that the conceptions of the good life defended by the contributors to the special issue might turn out to be limited to the rather narrow range of questionable and shallow ideals of contemporary Western consumerist economy. In particular, the attempt made by S. E. Taylor, et al (2000) to show that "positive illusions" are conducive to a good life is shown to rest on dubious conceptions about what is genuinely worthwhile in life. As an alternative to the somewhat arid conception of human existence presupposed by the authors contributing to the special issue, M. Heidegger's (1962) conception of authentic existence is put forward as a hermeneutically inspired basis for rethinking what constitutes the richest and most fulfilling life for humans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

空中乘务员心理素质测评体系的研究

为了提高空中乘务员选拔的客观性和科学性，研究设计了《空中乘务员心理素质测验》，研究从工作岗位分析开始，查阅相关献，参考国内外有关的心理量表，编制了测度工具，对国内某大型航空公司空中乘务员进行了施测，获得有效问卷304份，经过严格的信度，效度检验，最终制定了该测验的常模资料，可供空乘这一职业选拔参考。     

The Scope and Impact of Perinatal Loss: Current Status and Future Directions.

The loss of an expected child can be devastating and traumatizing for parents, placing them at risk for postloss mental health complications, such as complicated or traumatic grief. The authors review the psychological and social impacts of perinatal loss and describe the standard care provided in the hospital. The authors review studies that examine the efficacy of standard care and highlight the need for empirical evidence confirming the efficacy of these current interventions. The authors provide recommendations for health care professionals in contact with the perinatally bereaved and suggest areas for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)