Comprehensive System Rorschach Data on Vietnam Combat Veterans

To better understand and, therefore, treat Vietnam combat veterans with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Rorschach was administered to 50 patients so diagnosed. The most important findings were that, on average: (a) These patients have a low level of stress tolerance and are, therefore, likely to respond impulsively to stressful situations; (b) this tow stress tolerance appears to be a long-term adjustment problem; and (c) their perception of reality is unconventional and often distorted. A primary therapeutic indication from these data is that the use of structure would be important for successful therapy. Other findings and therapeutic recommendations are also discussed.     

Faking Good on the MCMI–III: Implications for Child Custody Evaluations

Jean Piaget, Paul Fraisse and Maurice Reuchlin. Paul Fraisse and Jean Piaget (Eds.). Experimental Psychology: Its Scope and Methods. Vol. 1. History and Method. New York: Basic Books, 1968, 245 pages, $5.95. Reviewed by Steven G. Vandenberg.

Joseph Nuttin, Paul Fraisse, and Richard Meili. Paul Fraisse and Jean Piaget (Eds.). Experimental Psychology: Its Scope and Methods. Vol. 5. Motivation, Emotion and Personality. New York: Basic Books, 1968. 289 pages, $5.95. Reviewed by Steven G. Vandenberg.

Magda B. Arnold (Ed.) The Nature of Emotion: Selected Readings. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968. 398 pages. $1.95 Reviewed by David C. Murray.

Gilbert Kliman, Psychological Emergencies of Childhood. New York and London: Grune &; Stratton, 1968, 145 pages. Reviewed by Michael L. Peck.

Warren D. Gribbons and Paul R. Lohnes. Emerging Careers. New York: Teachers College Press, 1968 Reviewed by Steven G. Vandenberg.

Pascal, Gerald R., Behind the Screen. Boston, Christopher Publishing House, 1969, 243 pages, $6.50. Reviewed by Dell Lebo.

A. A. Roback and Thomas Kiernan. Pictorial History of Psychology and Psychiatry, New York: Philosophical Library, 1969, 294 pages, $12.50. Reviewed by Irving R. Stone.

Patricia Minuchin, Barbara Biber, Edna Shapiro, and Herbert Zimiles. The Psychological Impact of School Experience. New York: Basic Books, 1969, xxii + 514 pages, $12.50. Reviewed by Lita Linzer Schwartz.

William H. Grier &; Price M. Cobbs. Black Rage. New York: Basic Books. Pp. 213, $5.95. Reviewed by Dell Lebo.

Ruth M. Beard. An Outline of Piaget's Developmental Psychology for Students and Teachers. New York: Basic Books, Inc. Publishers, 1969. Pp. xvi + 139. $4.95 Reviewed by Louise Bates Ames.

Arthur Wellon. Five Years in Mental Hospitals. New York: Exposition Press, 1967. Pp. 155, $5.50. Reviewed by Irving R. Stone.     

Music for the Seasons: Seasonal Music Preferences in College Students

The present research examined music preferences in relation to the seasons: fall, winter, spring, and summer. Across two studies, male and female college students (N = 232 and 199) were primed to think about the seasons and indicate their music preference from Rentfrow and Gosling’s (2003) music classification scheme. Participants were predicted to prefer reflexive and complex music when primed with fall/winter and energetic and rhythmic and upbeat and conventional music when primed with spring/summer. Study 1 had participants read winter or summer season scenarios and Study 2 had participants write their own fall, winter, spring, or summer seasonal experiences. Overall, results were consistent with predictions for the reflexive and complex and energetic and rhythmic classifications, indicating an environmental influence of musical preferences.     

Clinical Validity of a Dimensional Assessment of Self- and Interpersonal Functioning in Adolescent Inpatients

The Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale–Global Version (SCORS–G) is a clinical rating system assessing 8 domains of self- and interpersonal relational experience that can be applied to narrative response data (e.g., Thematic Apperception Test [TAT; Murray, 1943], early memories narratives) or oral data (e.g., psychotherapy narratives, relationship anecdotal paradigms). In this study, 72 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents consented and were rated by their individual and group therapist using the SCORS–G. Clinicians also rated therapy engagement, personality functioning, quality of peer relationships, school functioning, global assessment of functioning (GAF), history of eating-disordered behavior, and history of nonsuicidal self-injury. SCORS–G composite ratings achieved an acceptable level of interrater reliability and were associated with theoretically predicted variables (e.g., engagement in therapy, history of nonsuicidal self-injury). SCORS–G ratings also incrementally improved the prediction of therapy engagement and global functioning beyond what was accounted for by GAF scores. This study further demonstrates the clinical utility of the SCORS–G with adolescents.     

Implementing Housing First Across Sites and Over Time: Later Fidelity and Implementation Evaluation of a Pan-Canadian Multi-site Housing First Program for Homeless People with Mental Illness

This article examines later fidelity and implementation of a five‐site pan‐Canadian Housing First research demonstration project. The average fidelity score across five Housing First domains and 10 programs was high in the first year of operation (3.47/4) and higher in the third year of operation (3.62/4). Qualitative interviews (36 key informant interviews and 17 focus groups) revealed that staff expertise, partnerships with other services, and leadership facilitated implementation, while staff turnover, rehousing participants, participant isolation, and limited vocational/educational supports impeded implementation. The findings shed light on important implementation “drivers” at the staff, program, and community levels.     

Parsing of algebraic expressions by experienced users of mathematics

The present study investigates how experienced users of mathematics parse algebraic expressions. The main issues examined are the order in which the symbols in an expression are scanned and the duration of fixation. Two experiments tracked the order in which the symbols of an expression were scanned. The results were analysed using Markov Chain models of the scanpath data and provided strong support for the hypothesised scanning order: a left-to-right, top-to-bottom syntax-based scanning order. Length of fixation was also analysed in the first experiment. When reading text, readers pause significantly longer at the end of clauses and sentences. A similar pattern was found for mathematical expressions: Symbols at the end of a phrasal constituent were fixated upon for significantly longer than symbols at the start or middle of the phrasal constituent. These results suggest that the parsing of algebraic expressions has marked similarities with the way in which sentences of natural language are processed and reinforces the importance of syntax in their comprehension.     

Exploring Psychological Reactions to Injury in the Australian Football League (AFL)

This study explored Australian rules footballers’ psychological responses to injury. This exploratory study was the first in a series of studies planned to examine the injury-related experiences of professional Australian football players. Forty-three professional AFL players from the one team participated in semi-structured interviews. Results provided a detailed account recalled by AFL footballers of their past injury experiences. Specifically, AFL players discussed their initial emotional reactions to injury, which were dependant on the severity of the injury, the extent of isolation during injury, the repetitive nature of the rehabilitation process, and the influence of social support on their reactions.