Effects of Creative and Non-Creative Work on the Tendency To Drink Alcohol During the Restitution Phase of the Creative Process

An experimental study explored how type of task (hard or light creative task or hard non-creative task) would affect the propensity to drink either alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages. Subjects worked for forty minutes and a following taste test indicated that subjects working on the hard creative task drank more totally and more of both the alcohol and the placebo drinks than subjects working on the hard non-creative task. Also subjects with light creative work drank more alcohol than did the control subjects. The results were discussed in terms of a need to calm down during a phase of restitution after creative work. The results are in keeping with how creative artists seem to use alcohol.     

Communication and Adjustment in Marriage: Investigating the Relationship

The relationship between marital communication and adjustment is assumed to be a strong one, although little research has been done to verify the assumption. This article reports a study in which the relationship was shown to be positive; it also describes some clinical observations of the sample couples in a related research task. It suggests that those scoring low on marital adjustment tended to either communicate more about their relationship than about the content of the task or to ignore each other in favor of working on the task independently.     

The Clergyperson as Counselor: An Inherent Conflict of Interest

Counseling is a function performed by many clergypersons as part of their overall role of minister in a congregational setting. There is an inherent conflict of interest when a clergyperson seeks to be an objective and therapeutic counselor to members of the very group on which he or she depends for both material benefits and volunteer help. The authors provide illustrations of this conflict of interest and then examine it in the light of codes of ethics of several professional counseling organizations. Clergy who do counseling are urged to adopt a professional code of ethics and abide by it, even if this involves cessation of the counseling function.     

Searching for the Glass Slipper: A Case Study in Midlife Career Counseling

There seems to be a paucity of counseling reports written from the perspective of both counselor and client. This article is presented as a case study of the first author's experience as a career counseling client of the second author. It is intended to illuminate for students and practitioners some typical counseling practices and the theoretical foundations from which they spring, as well as how the client reacted to them.     

The severity of depression in cancer patients

The Hamilton Rating Scale was used for measuring the severity of symptoms of depression in cancer patients and healthy control subjects. The rating of patients took place at the end of clinical tests carried out for determining their diagnosis. Cancer patients had elevated scores for depressed mood, loss of work and interests, agitation, general somatic symptoms, hypo-chondriasis, and loss of weight. Total depression scores indicative of moderate depression (i.e. 9–18) were found in 41% of patients, whereas 24% had scores greater than 18, indicative of severe depression. The findings suggests that the majority of cancer patients may require appropriate psychological support.     

Transforming Helplessness: An Approach to the Therapy of "Stuck" Couples

Therapists working with couples often find themselves frustrated when they proceed to negotiate conflicts, even when the historical antecedents and psychological dynamics seem well understood. Despite the genuine willingness of each member to negotiate a solution, they remain stuck in demands that the other take the first steps toward change. This article proposes that a crucial step--transforming helplessness--must precede efforts at fostering communication/negotiation skills. A four-square analysis of the situation helps to explain how this stalemate occurs. Also, it points the way to strategies that can transform the couple's attitudes from helpless complaining to empowered, creative action. Three case examples illustrate clinical applications of this approach.     

INDIVIDUAL REACTIONS TO ORGANIZATIONAL RECRUITING: A REVIEW

The present paper reviews the research that has examined the influence of organizational recruiting on applicants' attitudes and job choice behaviors. It was found that recruiting representatives, administrative practices, and procedures used to evaluate applicant qualifications are all potentially important influences on job seeker attitudes and behaviors. However, limitations of the existing research necessitate caution in the interpretation of findings. Of particular concern is the likely generalizability of results presented here to all job seekers. The review concludes with recommendations for the conduct of subsequent recruiting research.     

Assessing Creative Persons*

ABSTRACT Personality assessment, in contrast to psychodiagnosis, psychological testing, and the measurement of individual differences, attempts to delineate the person as a whole through the use of a multiplicity of procedures and emphasizes the more favorable and positive aspects of personality and its potentialities for effective functioning. Developed during World War II, the method has been most extensively used by the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research, University of California. Berkeley, in its studies of highly creative persons. In these researches the characteristics of such persons have been effectively revealed, e.g., through the use of life history interviews, personality trait ratings, an adjective check list, and the Q-sort method, and their level of creativeness predicted by multiple regression analyses.