The British Journal of Psychology centenary: A preliminary content survey and its problems

The preliminary findings are reported of a review of the contents of the British Journal of Psychology 1904–2003 undertaken to mark the journal's centenary. This identifies (a) the top 11 categories of paper published and their patterns of distribution, (b) an apparent change in the nature of papers published after 1983, (c) the overall pattern of category‐introduction, showing a dramatic change in 1965 and (d) a provisional typology of the principal patterns of distribution over time. Major conceptual and practical problems arising in the categorization of papers, and their implications, are discussed. Some reflections are offered on the possible value of research of this kind and on the nature of the journal itself.     

Psychology of the scientist: LXXXV. Research on homosexuality: a response to Schumm (and Herek)

Because social science is "messy," just about any criticism of any work--including our efforts--has validity. But the empiricist principle is more important than a theoretical search for perfection in research. The findings from our 1983-1984 nationwide random survey are superior to earlier efforts and similar enough to those reported by the 1992 nationwide random survey conducted by University of Chicago investigators, the 1994 British effort, and the 1996 NHSDA to suggest all approximate "a similar truth about reported sexuality."     

The Experimental Psychology Society Prize Lecture: Associative Priming in Pavlovian Conditioning

Any occasion on which an animal is placed in an experimental setting or context and receives pairings of one event with another provides the opportunity for a variety of associative structures to be acquired. These structures range from simple associations, which allow the presentation of one event to activate or prime a memory of the other, to hierarchical associations, which allow a simple association to be primed by some other event (e.g. the context in which the simple association was acquired). Experiments with rats that reveal priming effects consistent with both of these putative associative structures are reviewed.     

The Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology and Francis Cecil Sumner

In 1939, a psychologist could become a member of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SSPP) automatically with the endorsement of two members, payment of dues, and membership in the American Psychological Association (APA). Non-APA members with endorsements and payment of dues had to be voted in by the membership. In 1940, the rules for admission were changed to eliminate the automatic membership for APA members. Francis Cecil Sumner, the first African American PhD in psychology, qualified for SSPP membership as a member of the APA in 1939, but the SSPP's council delayed his membership and introduced the amendment to its constitution that eliminated Sumner's route to membership. This article examines the circumstances surrounding council's actions and the role that Sumner's application for membership played in it as an example of the role that race and discrimination played in the decision to change the route to SSPP membership for members of the APA.     

The birth of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology

This paper describes the inception of a scientific movement (the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology); the individuals who begot it; the two journals and numerous scientific articles which resulted; its effects in stimulating new areas of teaching and of theoretical development; and its international reception as well as its successes and failures in stimulating the creation of satellite societies on the same pattern.     

Hartmann, health, and homosexuality: some clinical aspects of "Ego Psychology and the Problem of Adaptation"

Hartmann's theories have experienced a remarkable rise and fall in popularity over the past fifty years. In this paper, an effort is made to arrive at a balanced view. The genetic and economic aspects of Hartmann's ego psychology are found to be problematic, but the dynamic aspect led to a sophisticated psychoanalytic concept of health as yet unsurpassed. Hartmann always called for the clinical application of his ideas. In this spirit, a vignette is offered from a clinical area in which questions of "health" and "illness" are particularly vexing at present.     

The Mission and Role of Psychology in a Traumatised and Changing Society: The Case of South Africa

At present there is a “crisis” in psychology in South Africa. A mental health investigation has been initiated and a national task force appointed in order to reform the profession in all its aspects. These events are the result of a deep sense of unease about the mission, relevance and image of the profession and an awareness that mainstream psychology is irrelevant to the nature and needs of the majority black population. Presently psychology in South Africa is at a crossroads. This paper identifies the mental health needs of the majority black population and suggests professional training programmes for future psychologists and the utilisation of services and resources in delivery systems. The article also re-defines the psychologist's role in a divided and traumatised society.