Psychology and homelessness. A public policy and advocacy agenda.

This article describes a public policy agenda developed for the American Psychological Association (APA) by the APA Ad Hoc Advisory Panel on Homelessness, which met May 31-June 1, 1991. The agenda is intended to inform APA staff in their legislative and policy work with Congress and Executive Branch agencies on issues relevant to homelessness.     

积极心理学：一种新的研究方向

积极心理学目前在西方心理学界引起了普遍的兴趣和关注。积极心理学关注于力量和美德等人性中的积极方面,致力于使生活更加富有意义。西方关于积极心理学的研究,当前主要集中在研究积极的情绪和体验、积极的个性特征、积极的心理过程对于生理健康的影响以及培养天才等方向。该介绍了积极心理学的这些研究领域,并追溯了积极心理学兴起的历史渊源,从总体上介绍了积极心理学的研究现状与进展,旨在为我国的相关研究提供参考。     

表演心理学:一种新的研究取向

表演心理学是20世纪70年代在美国兴起的新的心理学研究思潮。表演心理学在对主流心理学挑战的基础上提出了发展式表演的理论,该理论致力于唤起人们对生活中表演维度的注意,并试图通过发展式表演来改进人类生存环境、提高人类的生活质量。当前关于表演心理学的研究主要集中在社会治疗、教育改革与社会变革等方面。作为一种新的研究取向,表演心理学还有其不完善之处,但其发展式表演的理论及其应用正被更多的人所接受。     

The concept of the therapeutic alliance.

Certain conceptual aspects of the therapeutic alliance are considered. Although therapeutic alliance, transference, and the real relation are intermingled and intertwined in the actuality of the analytic relationship, they remain distinguishable and open to differentiating analysis. The distinctions between the therapeutic alliance and transference, and between alliance and the real relation, are explored and their differences clarified, including the difference between therapeutic misalliances and transferences. Some of the component dimensions of the therapeutic alliance are explored, including empathy, the therapeutic framework, responsibility, authority, freedom, trust, autonomy, initiative, and ethical considerations including values and confidentiality. Further exploration of these and other dimensions of the therapeutic alliance is called for, especially the extension of these dimensions to their practical clinical application.     

Variables in Psychology: A Critique of Quantitative Psychology

Mind is hidden from direct observation; it can be studied only by observing behavior. Variables encode information about behaviors. There is no one-to-one correspondence between behaviors and mental events underlying the behaviors, however. In order to understand mind it would be necessary to understand exactly what information is represented in variables. This aim cannot be reached after variables are already encoded. Therefore, statistical data analysis can be very misleading in studies aimed at understanding mind that underlies behavior. In this article different kinds of information that can be represented in variables are described. It is shown how informational ambiguity of variables leads to problems of theoretically meaningful interpretation of the results of statistical data analysis procedures in terms of hidden mental processes. Reasons are provided why presence of dependence between variables does not imply causal relationship between events represented by variables and absence of dependence between variables cannot rule out the causal dependence of events represented by variables. It is concluded that variable-psychology has a very limited range of application for the development of a theory of mind—psychology.

The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A Potential Common Ground for Humanistic Positive Psychology and Positivistic Positive Psychology

Today there are 2 positive psychologies: 1 that is humanistic and 1 that is not. Both focus on researching, understanding, and fostering well-being, optimal functioning, and healthy social institutions. However, in addition to emerging at different times, the 2 psychologies are characterized by major philosophical and methodological differences that help determine what is seen and not seen from each point of view. One area where these distinctions show up most strikingly is in the psychology of self-esteem. Although humanistic positive psychology understands self-esteem as playing a key role in human behavior, the more positivistic positive psychology seems to have largely missed such an important factor. This article examines how the psychology of self-esteem could be a meeting ground between these 2 approaches.     

心理学与经济学的交叉与渗透——写在“纪念Kahneman和Smith获得诺贝尔经济学奖专栏”的前面

心理学是研究人类心理活动的发生、发展规律的学科,其研究成果可以帮助我们了解自身心理活动的规律,理解周围人的行为特点,帮助我们更好地适应多变的环境。而经济学是通过市场机制,研究资源配置问题的学科,可以帮助我们了解经济运行规律,有助于人们进行理性的选择与决策。由于基本假设及研究方法等方面存在的差异,心理学与经济学对同一问题的看法往往存在根本的不同。以决策为例,传统经济学认为人类的决策是受外界物质动机驱动的,是完全理性的,是以追求自我利益最大化为目的的。决策者在进行决策时,需要对所有可以得到的信息进行分析,针对众…     

Psychology and optometry. Interaction and collaboration

Health care professionals have long recognized the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, although it is sometimes difficult to effect such collaborations. One unique possibility for interdisciplinary exchange involves the professions of clinical psychology and optometry. A number of vision conditions have psychological components and some psychological conditions may be complicated by vision difficulties; thus, there are a number of ways in which psychologists and optometrists could inform each others' practices. Better organized health care delivery is likely to result from interdisciplinary training and cooperation, as clients are likely to receive more efficient diagnosis, treatment, and management of health problems.