Convex and Concave,Part II: Images of Emptiness in Men

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

The sociology of adolescent drug and drinking behavior: A review of the state of the field: Part II

This is Part II of our general assessment of the state of sociological research on adolescent substance use. In Part I, presented in the previous issue of this journal, we analyzed the methodological issues in the field and summarized findings on extent and trends of use. Here, we summarize structural, interactional, and attitudinal correlates of teenage drinking and drug behavior. We characterize the field as being theoretically underdeveloped and argue that the place to look for theory to organize empirical generalizations and derive testable hypotheses is among the existing sociological theories of deviance, which have been given scant attention in the adolescent drug and drinking literature. The field of study is in need of primary data collected to test hypotheses from a single general theory that is capable of integrating structural, interactional, and attitudinal variables.     

Reinvigorating the concept of situation in social psychology

The concept of situation has a long and venerable history in social psychology. The author argues that recent approaches to the concept of situation have confused certain important elements. Herein, the author proposes that attention to three of these elements will reinvigorate the concept of situation in social psychology: (a) that the analysis of situations should begin with their objective features; (b) that situations should be conceptualized as affordances; and (c) that the interpersonal core of situations, in particular the extent to which they are influenced by relationships, is the proper and most profitable focus for social psychology. These elements are consistent with recent developments in the study of situated social cognition and may help better define social psychology's position within the sciences.     

Sense and nonsense in the social psychiatry concept

The term social psychiatry was justified when coined as a name denoting a psychiatric sub-discipline in order to promote the development of this specific aspect of psychiatric research and practice which, at the time, ran counter to established theory. At present, however, social psychiatry is in danger of becoming isolated, of developing in the boundary regions of psychiatric practice, and thus failing to fulfil its actual role of permeating psychiatry as a whole. The term social psychiatry is regarded as an expression of this isolation and should be avoided.     

Historical and political interpretations of jurisprudence and the social action perspective in sociology

It is argued that a full comprehension of classical and contemporary manifestations of the “social action perspective” in sociology will be significantly facilitated by placing it within the context of jurisprudential theory, especially the theory of legal actors. The Weberian and Parsonian views of social action theory are outlined in some detail, and these positions are related as a whole to the concept of legal action in late-nineteenth-century German jurisprudence. Having established structural similarities between the two perspectives, an historical argument is developed within which it is asserted that: (a) Among the academic disciplines of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Germany, jurisprudence held a relative autonomy derived from ideological circumstances which may ultimately be traced to the political economy of the nascent German state. (b) Given such an autonomy, jurisprudence provided a paradigm for the sociocultural sciences. Each of these contentions is phrased within the intellectual milieu of the day which included both Kantian and Hegelian currents. (c) Finally, certain implications are drawn from the foregoing analysis concerning ideology and contemporary social action theory, the sociology of law, and the need for future research on the relationships between jurisprudential and other forms of social theory.     

Individualism and the social in early American social psychology

In this paper an attempt is made to specify the original conception of the social dimensions of cognition, emotion and behavior-and of a distinctively social psychology-that was held by early American social psychologists, but abandoned by later generations of social psychologists committed to Floyd Allport's individualistic experimental program. Two influential forms of "individualism" in the work of Floyd Allport are distinguished and detailed.     

The american “colonization” of northwest European social psychology after World WAR II

The term colonization as used in this article does not refer to the suppression of one culture by another, but to a voluntary intellectual submission, eventually resulting in a “neo-colonial” relationship in which, in spite of a “decolonization” movement, much of the dominant culture has been retained. Contrary to the traditional view, Europe had a rich social psychological literature before the Second World War, and much of this early work still is of interest for contemporary social psychology. The Netherlands is used as an example of the “colonization” of Northwest European social psychology after 1945. It is shown that there has been an effort on the part of the older generation to integrate the European heritage and the newer American social psychology. The younger generation, however, according to an analysis of citations, adopted American social psychology, as a guiding model soon after the Second World War. The colonization metaphor draws attention to the power aspects of knowledge transfer. The author concludes that later “de-colonization” does not imply a turning away from everything American, but a cross-fertilization of perspectives, leading to a truly international approach. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

BJSP and the changing face of the group in social psychology

I reflect on the contribution that BJSP has made to the conceptualization of the group within social psychology by highlighting two cases studies from the social identity tradition published in 1990. These illustrate BJSP's distinctive strength and openness to theoretical innovation over the last decades.     

Convex and Concave,Part I: Images of Emptiness in Women

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Testing the concept of goodness of fit in early intervention

While the conceptual and clinical utility of the goodness of fit concept has been documented extensively, the number of specific empirical tests of the concept has been limited. In this study, the concept was applied in the conceptualization and analysis of early intervention efforts. The major question examined was the extent to which the goodness of fit of child, maternal, and support variables discriminated good and poor adaptation of the mother as measured by the quality and appropriateness of care giving involvement with her handicapped child. Findings indicated that an index of maternal and child characteristics and measures of maternal locus of control, child temperament, and social support collectively contributed to the correct classification of 77% of mothers in high vs. low involvement groups. Locus of control and the maternal/child index accounted for 25% of the variance in caregiver involvement. The findings illustrate the applicability of the goodness of fit concept and provide support for efforts focused on maximizing the fit of the child, family, and variables in early intervention.     

Girls' identity formation in the changing social structure of Sri Lanka.

Adolescent girls (N = 118) from diverse social backgrounds in Sri Lanka described their views of womanhood. Qualities of the ideal woman considered most important were kindness and honesty, liking children, intelligence, and having a good job. Although the traditional role of the Sri Lankan woman is that of homemaker, most girls in the study (55%) drew the ideal woman working outside the home, often as a teacher or a doctor. Nevertheless, adolescent girls emphasized traditional qualities of the woman at both work and home as self-sacrificing and serving others.