Psychoanalysis and the United States research university: current trends

In this essay the author describes the status of the humanities within United States research universities, and notes that there is a place in the research university for clinical analysts with non-quantitative research interests, who are seen as humanities scholars by other humanities specialists. He discusses the current trend in psychoanalytic research in the United States, which perpetuates an historically well-known divide between quantitative and non-quantitative investigators, and causes non-quantitative clinician-researcher analysts to seek a workplace outside organized analysis, as it exists within the American Psychoanalytic Association. He goes on to describe the way a clinical analyst with a strong non-quantitative research commitment has found a supportive home for his investigations in a humanities institute in a research university. That analyst has been welcomed as a colleague by university-based humanities scholars, and has found that those collegial relationships offer creative freedom and interdisciplinary stimulation. The author notes that a cadre of analysts, enriched by such experiences, will be better equipped to bridge the divide which exists between non-quantitative and quantitative analytic researchers, for the benefit of psychoanalytic research in the future. The author also illustrates the benefits experienced by university-based humanities scholars when they collaborate with clinical analysts, and suggests this makes stronger ties between psychoanalysis and research universities more likely in the future.     

Past, current, and future trends in infant face perception research

Our review of infant face perception research had three purposes. First, we briefly attempted to describe a number of themes prevalent in the literature before 1979. Although the themes were broad and difficult to identify clearly, the underlying issues of the time seemed to fit three headings: (a) research that either did or did not support the existence of an innate preference for faces, (b) research that explored infants' general knowledge of faces, particularly their sensitivity to the invariant properties of faces, and (c) how infants acquire information about faces, as demonstrated through studies of facial scanning and feature discrimination. Our second goal was to summarize current trends. Here emphasis was placed on studies concerned with the face as a conveyer of socially-salient information, the neurological basis of face perception, and recent methodological innovations. Our final goal was to provide a sampling of issues and questions that seemed appropriate for investigation during the next decade.     

Importance of developmental theory and investigation to research in clinical child psychology

Focuses on the developmental periods of infancy, childhood, and adolescence to offer illustrations of the advantages of using developmental theory and research to establish targets for research on intervention, assessment and treatment planning, and evaluation of effective strategies for prevention of childhood and later adult disorders. The importance for training clinical graduate students in developmental approaches to research is stressed, and hopes for a future of mutual contributions of developmental and clinical psychology are expressed in light of the fact that, after a troubled history of isolation from one another and even active denigration of one another's goals and methods, developmental and clinical psychology are exhibiting joint recognition of the advantages of collaborative research.     

An empirical analysis of trends in psychology

The present research examined trends in the prominence of 4 widely recognized schools in scientific psychology: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. The results, which replicated across 3 measures of prominence, showed the following trends: (a) psychoanalytic research has been virtually ignored by mainstream scientific psychology over the past several decades; (b) behavioral psychology has declined in prominence and gave way to the ascension of cognitive psychology during the 1970s; (c) cognitive psychology has sustained a steady upward trajectory and continues to be the most prominent school; and (d) neuroscience has seen only a modest increase in prominence in mainstream psychology, despite evidence for its conspicuous growth in general. The authors use these findings as a springboard for discussing different views of scientific prominence and conclude that psychologists should evaluate trends in the field empirically, not intuitively.     

Graduate education in qualitative methods in U.S. psychology: current trends and recommendations for the future

The visibility of qualitative research methods (QRM) in U.S. psychology has increased with the dissemination of qualitative research in journals and books, formation of professional and scientific organizations, and recognition in educational institutions. While gains have been made, the current state of doctoral training in qualitative methods remains uncertain. It is unclear what training graduate students receive in U.S. psychology programs about qualitative methodologies and how further gains can be made in expanding visibility of QRM in graduate education. In this mixed-methods study, we surveyed a sample of faculty in U.S. psychology graduate programs about the frequency of QRM course offerings, graduate training, and students’ use of QRM in their dissertation research. We also explored qualitative responses from faculty regarding their attitudes about QRM and how these attitudes might help increase or diminish the frequency of methods training available to students. We found that even within graduate programs where there was support for QRM, enduring perceptions about the value of qualitative research limit faculty and graduate students’ use of qualitative methodologies in their research. With these findings in mind, we offer several recommendations for increasing the visibility of QRM in U.S. graduate education and the discipline of psychology as a whole.     

Why mindfulness belongs in counseling psychology: A synergistic clinical and research agenda

Mindfulness has become an increasingly visible part of the landscape in psychology and medicine in the past several decades. Only recently has this same interest in mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions appeared in counseling psychology. This article provides a brief synopsis of the mindfulness literature and explores the theoretical, ideological, and practical overlap between core values of counseling psychology and this burgeoning area of research and practice. In addition, the article explores ways in which counseling psychology can contribute uniquely to mindfulness research and practice through a focus on multiculturalism and social justice, psychotherapy process and outcome, and supervision and training. Further, ways in which mindfulness can inform counseling psychology’s mission are examined, including offering a strengths-based approach to psychological intervention and prevention and informing supervision and training. Lastly, five specific recommendations for a synergistic research agenda marrying mindfulness and counseling psychology are offered.