Parents: Psychotherapy's scapegoats

In this article the author reviews the assumption made popular in self-help literature that parents are to blame for most failings in life. She traces the assumption's occurrence in writings of pioneer theorists and practitioners, and then cites researchers who describe a more complex understanding of human distress. She concludes by suggesting an approach to counseling which is supportive to parents.Dr. Alter is a therapist in private practice and teaches for Pacific School of Religion and New College Berkelely. She is the author of Resurrection Psychology: an Understanding of Human Personality based on the Life and Teachings of Jesus (Loyola, 1994) and many journal articles.     

Integrating Experimental and Observational Personality Research—The Contributions of Hans Eysenck

ABSTRACT A fundamental aspect of Hans Eysenck's research was his emphasis upon using all the tools available to the researcher to study personality. This included correlational, experimental, physiological, and genetic approaches. Fifty years after Cronbach's call for the reunification of the two disciplines of psychology ( Cronbach, 1957 ) and 40 years after Eysenck's plea for experimental approaches to personality research ( H. J. Eysenck, 1966 ), what is the status of the unification? Should personality researchers use experimental techniques? Do experimental techniques allow us to tease out causality, and are we communicating the advantages of combining experimental with multivariate correlational techniques? We review the progress made since Cronbach's and Eysenck's original papers and suggest that although it is still uncommon to find experimental studies of personality, psychology would benefit from the joint use of correlational and experimental approaches.     

The Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: An American sample

A sample of 1838 students enrolled in public schools in Merced, CA, responded to the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ). The students ranged in age from 7 to 15 yr and included 938 boys and 900 girls. Means and SDs for each age and sex were computed and compared to the corresponding values for the British sample presented in the manual. Differences between the two samples were small. In addition, a factor analysis of the item responses was conducted for the American sample. This analysis produced four factors closely corresponding to the scales on the JEPQ. This study along with previous literature indicate that the JEPQ is appropriate for use in the United States.     

Pioneer profiles: An interview with Don Baer

This is an interview with Donald M. Baer. The interview includes discussion of his education at the University of Chicago, his work at the University of Washington and the University of Kansas, events that influenced his career, and his perspectives on various issues. His accomplishments include developing the standards for the practice of applied behavior analysis, creating an empirical research base for language training for people with severe disabilities, initiating procedures that led to generalized imitation, formulating experimental designs for applied behavioral research, and devising procedures for generalization and maintenance of behavior.