An empirical study of the reports of APA's peer review panel in the congressional review of the U.S.S. IOWA incident

The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee (HASC) review of the US. Navy's investigation of the U.S.S. IOWA incident provides a case study of the problems with reconstructive psychological evaluations. The US. Navy attributed the explosion on board the U.S.S. IOWA to the intentional suicidal acts of Gunner's Mate Clayton Hartwig, a conclusion supported primarily by an Equivocal Death Analysis (EDA) conducted by the FBI. Systematic analysis of the reports of the expert panelists who consulted to the NASC reveals that 11 of the 14 panelists were critical of the conclusions reached by the Navy/FBI. There was considerable variability among the judgments of the panelists, who reached consensus only for broad categories. Because the reliability and validity of postmortem psychological reconstructions such as EDA and psychological autopsy have not been established, clinicians are urged to exercise caution in the use of such procedures and to be sensitive to ethical obligations to consumers when using such techniques.     

Psychological effects of sustained shipboard operations on U.S. Navy personnel

This study investigated the psychological and physical health status of 265 crew members on two U.S. Navy ships (a guided missile cruiser and a frigate on convoy escort duty for tankers under U.S. flag) during the Persian Gulf conflict at four time periods during combat-ready operations on a single day. Findings suggest that adaptation occurs to extreme stressors associated with sustained operations. Suggestions are made relative to measures that may minimize psychological and physical conditions that adversely affect performance under conditions of heavy stress. Report No. 89-18, supported by the Naval Medical Research and Development Command, Bethesda MD, Department of the Navy, under research Work Unit No. 63206N.M0096. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government.     

Review of psychomotor skills in pilot selection research of the U.S. military services

This review provides an historical perspective of the use of psychomotor, perceptual--cognitive paper-and-pencil, and automated tests for the selection of pilot trainees by the U.S. military services. Automated versions of vintage psychomotor tests (developed in the 1930s and 1940s) seem to be as predictive of military pilot/aviator performance today as in the past. The psychomotor tests receiving the most attention today are the Complex Coordination and Two-Hand Coordination tests originally developed by Mashburn and colleagues [correction of colleges] before World War II (Mashburn, 1934). These tests were significant predictors of Air Force and Navy pass--fail criteria in the past, and automated versions are similarly predictive today. The U.S. Army and Air Force are now using a combination of paper-and-pencil and automated psychomotor--cognitive tests for initial selection (Air Force) or helicopter assignment (Army). It appears that the Navy is considering the use of automated cognitive and psychomotor tests in a selection battery of the future.     

Psychology in the public sector: addressing the psychological effects of combat in the U.S. Navy

The response of military psychology in times of war or other great public crises may presage the success of the profession in less perilous times. The ability of public-sector psychologists to provide assistance and improve the common welfare during conflict or turmoil is generally followed by an increased demand for psychological services. This likely reflects the success of the psychological response during those crises, and it underscores the fact that psychological consequences of war or disaster require both immediate clinical attention and long-term policy development. The U.S. Navy serves as a model for public-sector psychological service provision. A brief history of Navy psychology is provided, followed by an examination of how Navy psychologists are responding to the issues raised by the current conflict in the Middle East and the problems associated with stigma in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.     

Ecological Effects in Cross‐Cultural Differences Between U.S. and Japanese Color Preferences

We investigated cultural differences between U.S. and Japanese color preferences and the ecological factors that might influence them. Japanese and U.S. color preferences have both similarities (e.g., peaks around blue, troughs around dark‐yellow, and preferences for saturated colors) and differences (Japanese participants like darker colors less than U.S. participants do). Complex gender differences were also evident that did not conform to previously reported effects. Palmer and Schloss's (2010) weighted affective valence estimate (WAVE) procedure was used to test the Ecological Valence Theory's (EVT's) prediction that within‐culture WAVE‐preference correlations should be higher than between‐culture WAVE‐preference correlations. The results supported several, but not all, predictions. In the second experiment, we tested color preferences of Japanese–U.S. multicultural participants who could read and speak both Japanese and English. Multicultural color preferences were intermediate between U.S. and Japanese preferences, consistent with the hypothesis that culturally specific personal experiences during one's lifetime influence color preferences.     

The Psychological Impact of Sexual Harassment on Women in the U.S. Military

The purpose of this research is to study the prevalence, dimensions, and correlates of psychological harm that women experience as the result of sexual harassment in the workplace. I employed data collected from a worldwide survey of sexual harassment in the active-duty U.S. military. The scientifically selected sample included over 10,000 working military women. Four general types of negative psychosocial reactions were identified among victims of sexual harassment: productivity problems, attitudes toward the organization, emotional reactions, and relations with family. Analyses explored the relations of these psychosocial reactions to (a) characteristics of the harassing behavior (what happened and who did it), (b) characteristics of the victim, (c) characteristics of the organizational climate in which the harassment took place, and (d) the victim's coping responses.     

Job scope,job satisfaction,and the Protestant Ethic: A study of enlisted men in the U.S. Navy

Questionnaire data were obtained from 149 enlisted men in the U.S. Navy. The job scope (JS)-satisfaction with the work itself (SWI) relationship was examined for the study's total sample and for subsamples created by grouping individuals on the basis of their degree of belief in the Protestant Ethic (PE). It was hypothesized and found that the JS-SWI relationship was positive and significantly different from zero for the study's total sample and each of the three PE subsamples. Contrary to one of the study's hypotheses, PE did not moderate the JS-SWI relationship. The study's results were discussed in terms of their implications for theory and practice in the area job design.     

Parental Psychological Abuse and Control in the Personal and the Social Domains: Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Samples

The study cross-nationally examined to what degree parental psychological abuse (rejection, isolation, and emotional neglect) would be associated with control of adolescents' personal domain as opposed to prudential-conventional domain. Participants (ages 14–18) included 170 Americans, 125 Japanese from Akita Prefecture, and 320 from Tokyo. With all samples, abuse was linked to overcontrol. However, the link was domain specific, pertaining only to the personal domain (e.g., hairstyle) and not prudential (e.g., use of alcohol) or conventional (e.g., table manners) domains. Psychological abuse also predicted adolescents' desire of parental authority in different domains among cultures. U.S. adolescents, linked to abuse, desired more freedom within the overlap issues, whereas Akita adolescents desired greater parental authority for the personal. Tokyo adolescents' autonomous expression was in the middle between the U.S. and Akita samples. This study suggests control of the personal is a component of psychological abuse. Cultural effect on autonomous expression linked to abuse is discussed.     

Perceived Quality of Life and Health-Related Correlates Among Men Aboard Navy Ships

The objectives of this study are twofold: First, findings are presented to provide a baseline assessment of perceived quality of life (QOL) in a group of 430 Navy shipboard men. As part of this objective, Navy shipboard QOL ratings are compared with those of a U.S. national sample to provide a perspective for interpreting Navy responses. Second, the study identifies health-related factors associated with QOL. In both the Navy and national samples, QOL evaluations are generally positive and show considerable variation. Navy shipboard QOL evaluations are higher than civilian evalua- tions on items addressing satisfaction with self and the ability to adjust to changes, but lower on items assessing satisfaction with work and personal life. A consistent association exists between better health/fitness and higher QOL, including satisfaction with one's Navy job. Consistent correlates of perceived QOL are self-ratings of health and physical fitness, perceptions of not being overweight, and lower reporting of psychosomatic symptoms.     

The Development of an Integrated Performance Category System for Supervisory Jobs in the U.S. Navy

When a single job is the target, established job analysis approaches provide relatively straightforward methods for identifying performance requirements. However, when multiple jobs are involved, the identification of a single set of relevant performance dimensions can be more daunting. In the application here, there was also a compelling requirement to develop a dimension set that conformed with U.S. Navy fleet personnel perceptions of the performance domain. Accordingly, the behavioral performance constructs that experienced Navy officers believed differentiate effective from ineffective supervisory performance were gathered using a personal construct theory protocol. We then used a methodology suggested by Borman and Brush (1993) to integrate and summarize these personal work constructs, to provide—through a series of qualitative and quantitative strategies—a dimension set targeted toward supervisors in all Navy communities. The resulting dimensions revealed certain themes that might not have emerged if traditional job analysis strategies had been used. The dimension set and the resulting behaviorally anchored rating scales appear widely relevant to Navy supervisor jobs, and the performance appraisal system that employs the scales is nearing implementation. In addition, performance feedback and development tools were developed to complement the performance appraisal system.     

U.S. and Canadian Attitudes Toward International Interactions: A Cross-National Test of the Double-Standard Hypothesis

In the early 1960s Oskamp (1965) found that American university students displayed a double standard toward similar or identical actions of the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Our research replicates and extends Oskamp's study. Using some of Oskamp's original statements that are still applicable to U.S. and Soviet actions (as well as adding several to update US-Soviet relations), parallel questionnaires were distributed to American and French-Canadian university students. Both groups displayed a double standard, although this was more pronounced for Americans than for Canadians. The effects of gender, education, and partisan affiliation are also examined, but generally found to be insignificant.     

Never Let Them See You Sweat: Silencing and Striving to Appear Perfect among U.S. College Women

Drawing on Goffman??s (1959) impression management, the present study examined how silencing the self (Jack & Dill, 1992) related to psychological distress in US college women. A sample of 149 women aged 18 to 25 enrolled at a large southwestern U.S. university completed a series of survey instruments aimed at gaining knowledge of how several potentially pressure-filled domains of women??s college environment (i.e., Body Image, Romance, Peers, Academics) may factor into a relationship between Silencing and Distress. Path analysis revealed that Silencing was directly, positively related to each source of pressure with the exception of Academic Engagement (where a negative relationship existed). Furthermore, Silencing was directly, positively related to Anxiety and Depression. Additionally, internalization of the thin ideal and competitiveness were predictive of distress among women who Present Perfection, or strive to appear perfect to others. Cluster analyses revealed 4 interpretable clusters of factors related to distress: Middle-of-the-Road, Moderately Appearance Focused, Other-Focused, and Reject Appearance Norms. The Other-Focused women showed the highest levels of distress and lowest academic engagement while those who Reject Appearance Norms showed the lowest distress and highest academic engagement. These relationships indicated that higher levels of attempting to appear perfect to others were related to higher levels of distress among US college women in our sample. This study points to a factor ??Presenting Perfection?? that may be instrumental in understanding self-silencing behaviors in college women, as well as further understanding the relation between body image, orientation toward others?? judgments, and distress.     

Perceived COVID-induced racism and contextual predictors of fear and psychological distress among Black men

The present study examined if Black men's perceptions of COVID-induced racism (i.e., the extent to which racism increased during the beginning months of the COVID-19 pandemic) were associated with their reported fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress. Self-report COVID-related variables and psychological distress data from 231 Black men in the U.S. were analyzed alongside archival percentages of confirmed cases and deaths by participants' county at the time of participation. Hierarchical regressions identified perceptions of COVID-induced racism as a significant predictor of Black men's psychological distress over and above contextual (e.g., county-level COVID-19 case %) and individual-level predictors (i.e., perceived race-related infection risk and self-reported COVID-related stressful life events). This work contributes to the growing literature on health inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic with a snapshot of Black men's experiences during the COVID-19 and racism pandemics of 2020 in the U.S.     

Methodological issues in Navy Surveys

A number of important methodological issues involving surveys have emerged in Navy research. One such issue is whether results from computer-administered sur- veys are equivalent to those obtained from paper-and-pencil surveys. After a review of relevant Navy studies, we concluded that computer and paper surveys generally yield equivalent results. The Navy's efforts and success at computerizing command- level equal opportunity surveys is described, and the advantages of this approach are discussed. The Navy's survey work on diversity issues (e.g., Hispanics, sexual harassment, and pregnancy) is described and the problems posed by attempting to use surveys to identify who is Hispanic and to determine accurate rates of sexual harassment and pregnancy are outlined. Future issues to be addressed by Navy survey research are discussed.     

Dyadic Coping in the U.S.: Psychometric Properties and Validity for Use of the English Version of the Dyadic Coping Inventory

A majority of individuals living in the U.S. experience unhealthy levels of stress; however, romantic partners can help mitigate stress’ deleterious effects by coping together (dyadic coping). The Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI) measures coping behaviors when one or both partners experience stress. Specifically, the DCI measures a) partner’s self-report of his/her own (Self) and their partner’s (Partner) behavior, and b) Common DC during the experience of a common stressor. Despite its wide use, the DCI has not yet been validated for use in the United States (U.S.). The aim of this study was to address this gap in the literature. Using a sample of 938 individuals in the U.S. currently involved in a romantic relationship, we validated the English version of the DCI by analyzing its factorial structure and psychometric properties. Results supported the theoretically assumed factorial structure of the DCI. Convergent and discriminant validity, as well as measurement invariance across gender and culture using the original Swiss sample, was confirmed. The English version of the DCI is a valid self-report instrument for assessing couples' coping in the U.S.     

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.     

Assessment for the U.S. Army Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program: the Global Assessment Tool

Psychology and the U.S. military have a long history of collaboration. The U.S. Army Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) program aims to measure the psychosocial strengths and assets of soldiers as well as their problems, to identify those in need of basic training in a given domain as well as those who would benefit from advanced training, and then to provide that training. The goals of the CSF program include the promotion of well-being as well as the prevention of problems. Assessment is the linchpin of the CSF program, and the Global Assessment Tool (GAT) is a self-report survey that measures psychosocial fitness in emotional, social, family, and spiritual domains. We review the history of psychological assessment in the military and the lessons taught by this history. Then we describe the process by which the GAT was developed and evaluated. We conclude with a discussion of pending next steps in the development and use of the GAT.