Progress in ethnic minority psychology: an overview and challenge, or "when you wish upon a star"

The 1999 American Psychological Association president, Richard M. Suinn, presents a historical overview of ethnic minority issues within the American Psychological Association. By weaving the ethnic minority collective history with his personal narrative as a psychologist of color, Suinn reflects on his thoughts and goals for his presidential year. He invites and challenges us to advance the ethnic minority psychological agenda through the development of creative ideas and actions.     

Cultivating the field of psychology. Psychological journals at the turn of the century and beyond

Prominent psychologists, including G. Stanley Hall, James Mark Baldwin, and James McKeen Cattell, cultivated the field of psychological publishing with privately owned and managed journals. Hall's journals, including the American Journal of Psychology and Pedagogical Seminary, reflected his view of psychology as the empirical study of human nature and his support for applied psychology. Baldwin and Cattell's periodicals, including Psychological Review and Psychological Monographs, reflected a narrower scientific and academic view of psychology. Baldwin and Cattell were more successful editors than Hall and strategically linked their journals to the American Psychological Association (APA). The Psychological Review journals were purchased by APA in 1925. The narrower vision represented in these journals may have contributed to applied psychologists' dissatisfaction with APA during the late 1920s and early 1930s.     

Henry A. Murray. The making of a psychologist?

The work of Henry A. Murray at the Harvard Psychological Clinic played a major role in shaping the face of American psychology. In particular, he was instrumental in broadening the scope of academic psychology to include such topics as personality, abnormal, and clinical psychologies as viable areas of research. However, by reason of his background and education, Murray had virtually nothing in common with his specialist-trained professional colleagues. This article details Murray's education and conversion to psychology and briefly analyzes the controversies surrounding the establishment of the Harvard Psychological Clinic and its relationship with the Department of Psychology.     

THE REGENTS VERSUS THE PROFESSORS: EDWARD TOLMAN'S ROLE IN THE CALIFORNIA LOYALTY OATH CONTROVERSY

In 1950, the University of California Board of Regents approved a policy that all faculty members, as a condition for continued employment, were required to either sign an oath indicating that they were not members of the Communist Party or explain why they would not sign. A group of faculty members, led by psychologist Edward Tolman, refused to sign the oath and were fired. This article discusses how Tolman emerged as the leader of the faculty nonsigners and how his stature within psychology enabled him to recruit assistance from the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.     

Fetuses,corpses and the psychological approach to personal identity

Olson (1997a) tries to refute the Psychological Approach to personal identity with his Fetus Argument, and Mackie (1999) aims to do the same with the Death Argument. With the help of a suggestion made by Baker (1999), the following discussion shows that these arguments fail. In the process of defending the Psychological Approach, it is made clear exactly what one is and is not committed to as a proponent of the theory.     

In Hall's shadow: Edmund Clark Sanford (1859-1924)

Edmund C. Sanford of Clark University had earned a reputation by the end of the nineteenth century as a leading American psychologist. He had written the first training manual for experimental psychology and created numerous pieces of laboratory apparatus. He was also editor of the American Journal of Psychology and a charter member of the American Psychological Association. Although his peers elected him to the presidency of the APA in 1902, his standing had already begun to decline. Sanford's impact on early American experimental psychology is documented and the reasons for his reduced status as American psychology grew in the early years of the new century are explored.     

Behavioral Functions of Aesthetics: Science and Art,Reason, and Emotion

The Psychological Record - In his landmark article for this journal, Francis Mechner (2017) presents a novel analysis of the confluence of unique combinations of variables accounting for aesthetic...     

Ranald Macdonald and statistical inference

Ranald Roderick Macdonald (1945–2007) was an important contributor to mathematical psychology in the UK, as a referee and action editor for British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology and as a participant and organizer at the British Psychological Society's Mathematics, statistics and computing section meetings. This appreciation argues that his most important contribution was to the foundations of significance testing, where his concern about what information was relevant in interpreting the results of significance tests led him to be a persuasive advocate for the ‘Weak Fisherian’ form of hypothesis testing.     

The five functions of psychological type

From the mid‐1930s to the end of his life, Jung complained that most readers misunderstood the main point of his book Psychological Types. He viewed being a type as one‐sided and problematic for a variety of reasons. His symbol‐based solution to the ‘type problem’ involved developing a transcendent function to become the new dominant function of consciousness. However, this function has not featured in the popular use of his typology and Isabel Briggs Myers believed that the one‐sidedness of Jung's eight types could be balanced by the auxiliary function. This has led to the transcendent function being widely ignored, and to a developmental philosophy that encourages a degree of one‐sidedness. This divergence of popular type theory and analytical psychology is the result of various factors, such as Jung describing typology as containing four functions, and a letter in 1950 where Jung apparently supported Myers’ version of type theory. This hinders the application of analytical psychology to normal psychology, and particularly individual and cultural development. If we refer to Jung's typology as containing five functions not four, this more accurately represents both the content of the book Psychological Types and the primary value Jung saw in typology.     

Antonio E. Puente: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice

Presents Antonio E. Puente as the 2011 winner of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice. "For his decades of efforts to enhance the recognition of psychologists in providing health care services, through his work with the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Panel to develop and maintain appropriate CPT codes for the breadth of professional practice; for his willingness to participate in litigation establishing the expertise of neuropsychologists to testify in court about their findings; for his tireless work in cross-cultural assessment relative to criminal trials; for his leadership of professional societies in clinical neuropsychology; for his promotion of legislation and policy at all levels of government; and for his countless other contributions to the enhancement of independent practice in psychology. Antonio Puente is a far-thinking visionary who freely shares his knowledge to improve the quality of psychological practice and the reimbursement system that attests to the worth of the profession. He is the very embodiment of the psychologist for whom this award is intended." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).     

Robert I. Watson and the founding of division 26 of the American psychological association

Robert I. Watson was instrumental in the founding of Division 26 of the American Psychological Association (the Division of the History of Psychology). This article traces Watson's involvement in the prehistory of the division and describes his installation as its first president in 1966.     

A Conversation With Donald H. Blocher

Donald H. Blocher has been a major contributor and advocate in the field of counseling psychology for more than 30 years. He has written six books, more than 60 book chapters and journal articles, and has had several publications translated into international journals. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from Harvard University, and a Fulbright Lecturer in the United Kingdom. Donald Blocher was interviewed on the occasion of his retirement after a distinguished career. In this conversation he discusses a wide range of provocative ideas as he looks back at his life as a developmental psychologist.     

The church studies its emerging function

This article appeared originally in the Journal of Social Issues, published by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (a division of the American Psychological Association) and is published by permission of the editor and the author. The entire issue of that quarterly was devoted to the theme of psychotherapy and group counseling by the various helping professions. In commenting on Dr. Cope's particular article, the editors of the issue said: We feel that Dr. Cope's article expresses in an eloquent way the real sense of responsibility he has toward the growth of personality as a function of one of society's oldest institutions. Moreover in his own style he has related the issues involved in psychotherapy to the great historical issues of the ages. Perhaps we can say that his article is a kind of datum as to the impact of social science on his own thinking and his institutional office.     

Jon Carlson: Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology

Presents Jon Carlson as the 2011 winner of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology. "For his contributions in creating educational and training materials in psychology for instruction and the public. Jon Carlson has a distinguished career in higher education, maintained an active private practice, served 34 years as a school psychologist/counselor, is a prolific author and scholar, and is an innovator in the development of media-based training materials. His contribution to education and training is noteworthy for the volume of his professional production, the scope of topics addressed, and his ability to provide meaningful tools to change how psychologists are trained. His audiovisual work documents the profession of psychology in terms of research and practice for current scholars and for future generations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).     

Edward A. Delgado-Romero: Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest

Presents Edward A. Delgado-Romero, the 2011 winner of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. "Societies, professions, and individual citizens are enriched by the contributions of those who care. Edward A. Delgado-Romero has demonstrated through his scholarship, leadership in psychological associations such as the National Latina/Latino Psychological Association, and collaborations with universities and school districts in Georgia that he cares and is committed to addressing challenges in the provision of culturally sensitive psychological services to benefit the public interest. His example of servant leadership leaves a legacy to other early career professionals and graduate students alike. Es un hijo honorado." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).     

A Functional Analysis of “Aesthetic”: A Commentary on Mechner

The Psychological Record - In his target article, Mechner provides a bio-behavioral analysis of effects called “aesthetic.” He then examines hundreds of such effects across a wide range...     

How Can We Talk about Creativity?

The Psychological Record - In his work Philosophical Investigations, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1953/2009) argues that our language is only clearly communicated by agreement of definitions and judgments....     

David Shakow and schizophrenia research at Worcester State Hospital: the roots of the scientist-practitioner model

As Chief Psychologist and Director of Psychological Research at Worcester State Hospital (WSH), David Shakow (1901-1981) made substantial contributions to the scientific study of schizophrenia and by extension to the study of psychopathology in general. His methodological innovations--particularly on issues of diagnosis and conditions of testing-set a new standard for experimental rigor in the field. Shakow helped to establish many of what are considered basic facts about schizophrenia. His empirical work at WSH-specifically on the crossover effect--provided the scientific foundation for his theory of schizophrenic cognition, known as segmental set. Moreover, Shakow's schizophrenia work informed his developing ideas on the synergy between clinical practice and research.     

“Was Maslow an Aristotelian?” Revisited

The Psychological Record - It is argued that in the formulation of his health and growth psychology Maslow was not inspired by Aristotelian philosophy but rather by Kurt Goldstein. A close study of...