An Integral Psychology Response to Helminiak's (2001) “Treating Spiritual Issues in Secular Psychotherapy”

This article is a response to D. A. Helminiak's (2001) “Treating Spiritual Issues in Secular Psychotherapy” from the perspective of K. Wilber's integral psychology. The article consists of 3 sections: (a) a selective summary of integral psychology, including the perennial philosophy, 10 levels of development, lines of development, temporary states, types of orientations, the self, and the 4 quadrants; (b) various conceptual issues; and (c) usefulness to mental health practitioners (MHPs). Although D. A. Helminiak's endeavor to formulate a clear and functional definition of spirituality is commended, his claim of novelty is shown to be unwarranted. It is argued that K. Wilber's integral model is more comprehensive, clear, coherent, and helpful to MHPs.     

The effectiveness of sentence cues in measuring the Big Three motives

Despite the popularity of free response measures in the motivation literature, research geared toward the development of a standard battery of cues for measuring the Big Three motives (achievement, affiliation, power) has been lacking. The current research examined the effectiveness of sentence cues in eliciting motive imagery in two studies (students, entrepreneurs) comprising 242 men and women. Results indicated that sentence cues were effective in eliciting achievement and affiliation imagery, but not power imagery. In addition, an examination of the subcategories underlying each motive scoring system indicated that there were several infrequently scored subcategories in the achievement and power motive scoring systems that could be considered for removal.     

The Impact of the American and British Equal Pay Guarantee on Job Evaluation

Aux USA et en Grande-Bretagne, la legislation a prevu de garantir aux femmes un salaire egal pour un travail egal. Ceux qui veulent respecter cette garantie sont confrontes a la tache de definir ce que veut dire legalement travail "egal". Des questions se posent sur la definition officielle du terme "travail egal" ou travail de "valeur egale". Cet article passe en revue la plupart des cas ou le travail est d'egale valeur, et attire l'attention particulierement sur la methode d'evaluation des taches et la maniere d'etablir des taux de salaires a discuter dans ces cas. L'analyse est realisee pour expliquer la pensee legale, et ne signifie pas que Ton applaudisse ou que Ton critique des methodes particulieres d'evaluation de taches ou d'etablissement de grilles salariales. Le but de cette recherche est de savoir quelles methodes d'evaluation seront trouvees par les lois americaines et anglaises et reconnues comme methodes legalement accep-tables pour determiner les valeurs.     

Discovery and Repair: Discussion of the Article by Lynne Jacobs

Jacobs’ article initiated a process of memory having to do with my childhood experiences. In an effort to understand the differences of her White from my African American childhood, the Colonial Discourse, a set of beliefs and truths formulated by colonialists in the lands of the Other is discussed. The nature of Whiteness and racism are elaborated upon, and the need for further telling explored.     

The Internal and External Validity of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and its Relation with DSM–IV ADHD

Studies of subtypes of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have provided inconsistent support for the discriminant validity of the combined type (ADHD-C) and predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I). A large sample of children and adolescents with ADHD (N?=?410) and a comparison group without ADHD (N?=?311) were used to test the internal and external validity of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), a dimension characterized by low energy and sleepy and sluggish behavior. SCT scores were then incorporated in analyses of ADHD subtypes to test whether the discriminant validity of ADHD-C and ADHD-I could be improved by including SCT symptoms as part of the criteria for ADHD-I. Factor analyses of parent and teacher ratings indicated that six SCT items loaded on a factor separate from symptoms of ADHD and other psychopathology, providing important support for the internal validity of SCT. The external validity of SCT was supported by significant associations between SCT and measures of functional impairment and neuropsychological functioning when symptoms of ADHD and other psychopathology were controlled. However, contrary to initial predictions, high levels of SCT did not identify a subgroup of ADHD-I that was clearly distinct from ADHD-C. Instead, the current results suggest that DSM-IV inattention and SCT are separate but correlated symptom dimensions that are each independently associated with important aspects of functional impairment and neuropsychological functioning.     

Ensuring PhD Development of Responsible Conduct of Research Behaviors: Who’s Responsible?

The importance of public confidence in scientific findings and trust in scientists cannot be overstated. Thus, it becomes critical for the scientific community to focus on enhancing the strategies used to educate future scientists on ethical research behaviors. What we are lacking is knowledge on how faculty members shape and develop ethical research standards with their students. We are presenting the results of a survey with 3,500 research faculty members. We believe this is the first report on how faculty work with and educate their PhD students on basic research standards. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether individual faculty members, who are advisors or mentors, differ in how they implemented components of responsible conduct of research (RCR) with their PhD students. Mentors were more likely than advisors or supervisors to report working with all of their PhDs, who graduated in the last 5 years, on the 17 recognized critical components of RCR training and research skill development. We also found about half of the faculty members believe RCR is an institutional responsibility versus a faculty responsibility. Less than a quarter have had opportunities to participate in faculty training to be a better mentor, advisor, or research teacher, and about one third of faculty did not or could not remember whether they had guidelines related to their responsibilities to PhD students. We discuss the implications of our findings and focus on ways that PhD research mentoring can be enhanced.     

Antisocial Behavior,Psychopathic Features and Abnormalities in Reward and Punishment Processing in Youth

A better understanding of what leads youth to initially engage in antisocial behavior (ASB) and more importantly persist with such behaviors into adulthood has significant implications for prevention and intervention efforts. A considerable number of studies using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques have investigated abnormalities in reward and punishment processing as potential causal mechanisms underlying ASB. However, this literature has yet to be critically evaluated, and there are no comprehensive reviews that systematically examine and synthesize these findings. The goal of the present review is twofold. The first aim is to examine the extent to which youth with ASB are characterized by abnormalities in (1) reward processing; (2) punishment processing; or (3) both reward and punishment processing. The second aim is to evaluate whether aberrant reward and/or punishment processing is specific to or most pronounced in a subgroup of antisocial youth with psychopathic features. Studies utilizing behavioral methods are first reviewed, followed by studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging. An integration of theory and research across multiple levels of analysis is presented in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of reward and punishment processing in antisocial youth. Findings are discussed in terms of developmental and contextual considerations, proposed future directions and implications for intervention.     

Effects of treatment‐integrity failures on a response‐cost procedure

Effects of incorrect or partial implementation (poor treatment integrity) on response cost are largely unknown. We evaluated reduced treatment integrity during response cost on rates of 2 concurrently available responses. College students earned points by clicking on either a black circle or a red circle on a computer screen. Experiment 1 compared 2 types of treatment‐integrity failures (omission and commission errors) across 2 levels of integrity (20% and 50%). Compared to 100% integrity conditions, omission errors did not suppress responding to the same extent, and commission errors reduced target responding but also decreased rates of alternative behavior. Experiment 2 compared the effects of 20% and 50% omission errors within subjects. Implementation at 50% integrity adequately suppressed responding, but treatment effects were lost at 20% integrity. There may be a critical level at which response cost must be implemented to suppress responding, which has important implications for application.