Book Reviews

C ampbell , J oseph . The mythic image.
S torr , A nthony . The dynamics of creation.
L aing , R. D. The facts of life.
W olff , H. Jesus der Mann—Die Gestalt Jesu in tiefen psychologischer Sicht.
A urigemma , L uigi . Le signe zodiacal du scorpion dans les traditions occidentales de l'antiquité gréco-latine à la renaissance.     

Interest congruency as a moderator of the relationships between job tenure and job satisfaction and mental health

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of interest-present job congruency as a moderator of the relationship between job tenure and job satisfaction and mental health. In a sample of 54 middle managers, significant moderator effects were found for the mental health indices of self-esteem, life-satisfaction, and overall mental health and for satisfaction with supervision. As expected, these indices correlated positively with job tenure for high congruency individuals. For low congruency individuals, the relationships were expected to be negative. However, the obtained correlations did not differ significantly from zero.     

Divorce therapy: an in-depth survey of therapists' views

In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 highly experienced therapists on the criteria of a constructive divorce, the obstacles to achieving such a divorce, and the strategies and tactics of divorce therapy. The primary criterion of a constructive divorce was the successful completion of the process of psychic separation and the protection of the welfare of minor children. Therapy may focus on the decision to get divorced and/or the negotiation of the terms of a divorce settlement. Three types of therapeutic strategies were identified: reflexive intervention by which the therapist orients himself to the marital problems and attempts to gain the trust and confidence of the partners; contextual interventions by which he tries to promote a climate conducive to decision-making; and substantive interventions intended to produce resolution on terms the therapist has come to believe are inevitable or necessary. The nascent state of divorce therapy as an area of therapeutic specialization is noted. The problem of diagnostic criteria for divorce, the relationship between therapists and lawyers, the nature and consequence of therapist impartiality, and the degree to which therapists should mediate the terms of divorce are considered central issues meriting further study.     

Developmental differences in recall and recognition: The relationship between rehearsal and memory as test expectation changes

An overt rehearsal procedure was used to study the relationship between children's rehearsal strategies and their memory performance under different conditions of test expectation. Previous work has shown that developmental differences in rehearsal content affect recall performance. This study was designed to address the question of why active rehearsal content results in superior recall performance. The equivalence of recognition-memory performance for third- (age 9) and sixthgraders (age 12) suggests that developmental differences in recall are due to the effects of rehearsal content on item retrieval from permanent memory. In addition, the data indicate that third- and sixth-graders can differentiate between expected recall and recognition tests and, with the exception of the sixth-grade boys, use this information to modify their rehearsal content. These differences in rehearsal content, as a function of the type of test expected, corresponded to changes in recall performance.     

The role of noun imagery in the speed of processing the grammaticality of adjective-noun phrases

This experiment investigated speed of processing the grammaticality of phrases consisting of the adjective “one” or “two” followed by a singular or plural noun. The subject’s task was to press one of two keys, depending upon whether the phrase was grammatically correct or incorrect. There were eight types of phrases, formed by the factorial combinations of singular or plural adjectives, singular or plural nouns, and high or low noun imageD’. These served as within-subjects variables. Between-subjects variables were the factorial combinations of sex of subject, duration of stimulus phrase (.2 or 2.5 sec), and hand assigned to the correct-grammar key. A fourth between-subjects variable was whether or not the subject reported using an artificial phrase-scanning strategy to determine grammaticality. Correct grammar, singular noun form, high noun imagery, and reported use of the strategy all produced highly significant reductions in reaction times. Only 1% of the interactions were significant. A multistage serial processing model that could be based upon Sternberg’s additive factor paradigm or even Donders’ subtraction method was found to be highly successful in describing the results.     

A genetic perspective on stuttering

If one considers stuttering to be one possible outcome of a developmental and learning process, it is possible to conclude, a priori, that both environmental variation and genetic variation are likely to be involved in determining those who ever stutter and those who never stutter. Proof exists of the importance of nongenetic (environmental) variation in the etiology of stuttering; no conclusive proof exists of the involvement of genetic variation. The available evidence on the familial concentration of stuttering is compatible with hypotheses that incorporate a major genetic component. According to these hypotheses, the familiality is due to genetic transmission, and the interaction of genetic predisposition with environmental factors is affected by the individual's sex. No conclusion is yet possible on the specific type of genetic transmission.     

Material Aid and Social Attraction1

Aid programs can be used as an antidote to social conflict. Under certain conditions, however, they may create hostility. In this experiment subjects representing six hypothetical countries (1) either received or did not receive material aid from a seventh nation and (2) had a high or low level of material need. Attraction for the aid-giver decreased markedly when aid was denied, but increased very little when it was granted. When subjects were high in material needs, the denial of aid produced maximal antagonism. However, when aid was received, high need did not enhance attraction to the donor. The implications of these findings for an exchange theory of attraction and for aid giving are discussed.     

CORRELATES OF COUNSELING EFFECTIVENESS IN EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWERS

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of effective counseling behavior in employment interviewers as measured by the Kelz Counselor Performance Rating Scale. Four demographic variables were studied: age, length of employment as an employment interviewer for a state employment agency, sex, and level of education. Seventeen employment interviewers employed by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Employment Security served as subjects. Significant negative correlations were found between effective counseling behavior as measured by the Kelz Scale and both age and length of employment as an interviewer for a state agency. No relationship was found between the criterion variable and the sex or level of education of the interviewers. Some possible implications of these findings are discussed and tentative hypotheses presented.