Assessing the U.S. presidents using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory

This article describes the use of objective psychological instruments, including the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), to assess the personalities of all 41 U.S. presidents to date. We briefly report our findings pertaining to the average profile of chief executives on the NEO PI-R and summarize data on two of our most illustrious presidents, Washington and Lincoln. We review a typology of presidents based on our data. Finally, we summarize the results of our investigation of the Big Five personality dimensions and facets that are related to presidential success (i.e., historical greatness). The project and findings are discussed in terms of the use of the NEO PI-R in psychohistorical research and assessment.     

Subjective organization and the visibility of illusory contours

The effects of the differential organization of a Necker cube on the perceived salience of an embedded illusory triangle were examined. Overall figural salience was greater when the triangle appeared to be localized on the front rather than the back cube face. Illusory contour salience also increased with increasing inducing area contrast and was greater when the figure was oriented on cardinal as compared to oblique coordinates. However, the latter effects were independent of perceived location within the cube. The finding that subjective organizational and structural factors influenced the perceived salience of the illusory figure but did not interact is consistent with van Tuijl and Leeuwenberg's (1982) suggestion that top-down and bottom-up determinants can operate independently in illusory contour perception.     

Culture and the organization of infant sleep: A study in the Netherlands and the U.S.A.

This study investigates differences in the amount and structure of infant sleep in two cultural places with previously documented, divergent parental beliefs and practices. Eight-month-old infants (n = 24 per site) were recruited from towns in the Netherlands and the eastern U.S.A. To evaluate sleep, infants’ physical activity was recorded at home for 24 h using a miniature actigraph, while parents kept a diary of infant activities. Measures derived from actigraphy include total sleep, longest sleep episode, longest wake episode, number of sleep episodes, and percent of sleep during nighttime, as well as time in the stages of Quiet and Active Sleep. Measures based on the parental diaries include most of these aspects as well, except those related to sleep stages. Results based on the more precise actigraphy method indicate that (1) the Dutch infants averaged 13.65 h of sleep per 24 h, 1.67 h more than the U.S. infants; this difference was mostly due to daytime sleep; (2) The Dutch infants’ longest wake episode averaged less than that of the U.S. infants, while their longest sleep episode appeared slightly longer. (3) The Dutch infants, compared to the U.S. sample, spent more time in the Quiet, rather than the Active phase of sleep; (4) They began their Quiet sleep earlier in the evening than did their U.S. counterparts. Measures derived from parental diaries are largely in agreement with the actigraph findings. These results are consistent with reported and observed practices and beliefs in the two communities. The pattern of differences – less apparent maturity among the Dutch in the amount of sleep, but greater apparent maturity in the structure of sleep -- illustrates that behavioral and neurological maturity can be assessed only in the context of the developing child’s adaptation to the specific demands and affordances of the culturally structured developmental niche.     

Environmental psychology in the U.S.S.R.

A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the 19th National Convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Boston, November, 5, 1987.     

School psychology in the U.S.S.R.

Soviet psychologists perform various tasks and provide useful psychological services for pupils and educators. This article describes the general characteristics of education and the preparation and research of psychologists in the U.S.S.R. Also discussed are current practices and emerging trends relating to the establishment of school-based psychological services as well as future developments that may lead to the enhancement of the profession of school psychology in the Soviet Union.     

U.R.S.S. 1925: Politique et religion

The religious debates of the 1920's in the Soviet Union were marked by an agreement to disagree which no longer seems to exist.