Open Questions and the Manifest Image

The essay argues that, on their usual metalinguistic reconstructions, the open question argument and Frege's puzzle are variants of the same argument. Each are arguments to a conclusion about a difference in meaning; each deploy compositionality as a premise; and each deploy a premise linking epistemic features of sentences with their meaning (which, given certain meaning‐platonist assumptions, can be interpreted as a universal instantiation of Leibniz's law). Given these parallels, each is sound just in case the other is. They are, in fact, unsound. The essay first argues that reformulations of these arguments directly in terms of Leibniz's law are unsound and then that subarguments of the metalinguistic versions are unsound for structurally similar reasons. Finally, given how the theory/observation distinction is deployed in linguistic practice, the meaning‐platonist assumptions are shown to be optional. Shouldn't philosophers be permitted to rise above faith in grammar? All due respect for governesses–but hasn't the time come for philosophy to renounce the faith of governesses? FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Beyond Good and Evil, 1886     

Publication trends in individual DSM personality disorders: 1971–2015

Growth in personality disorder research has been documented by previous authors up to 1995. The aim of the present study was to extend this by examining publications rates for individual DSM personality disorders over the period 1971–2005, and making projections to 2015 based on these data. It was found that personality disorder research has grown in absolute terms, and as a proportion of overall psychopathology research. Research output is dominated by borderline personality disorder, with strong publication rates in other conditions such as antisocial and schizotypal personality disorders. In contrast, several personality disorders such as schizoid and paranoid personality disorder have failed to attract research interest. Based on current projections, there is expected to be no research output in 2015 for schizoid personality disorder. It was found that the rate of publications for personality disorders was not influenced by the publication of the last three revisions of the DSM diagnostic criteria. Several potential explanations such as the difficulty in conducting certain types of personality disorder research, and the validity of the current DSM diagnostic taxonomy are discussed.     

USING WEB-BASED FRAME-OF-REFERENCE TRAINING TO DECREASE BIASES IN PERSONALITY-BASED JOB ANALYSIS: AN EXPERIMENTAL FIELD STUDY

We identify sources of biases in personality-based job analysis (PBJA) ratings and offer a Web-based frame-of-reference (FOR) training program to mitigate these biases. Given the use of job analysis data for the development of staffing, performance management, and many other human resource management systems, using biased PBJA ratings is likely to lead to a workforce that is increasingly homogenous in terms of personality but not necessarily a workforce with improved levels of performance. We conducted a field experiment (i.e., full random assignment) using 2 independent samples of employees in a city government and found evidence in support of the presence of biases as well as the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Specifically, FOR training was successful at decreasing the average correlation between job incumbents' self-reported personality and PBJA ratings from .27 to .07 (administrative support assistants) and from .30 to .09 (supervisors). Also, FOR training was successful at decreasing mean PBJA ratings by d = .44 (administrative support assistants) and by d = .68 (supervisors). We offer the entire set of Web-based FOR training materials for use in future research and applications.     

Multicultural Counseling and Intrapersonal Value Conflict: A Case Study

The internal conflict between professional and personal values that counselors can experience when working with clients whose culture and values are different from their own is discussed. This is not a conflict between the counselor and the client, but is a conflict experienced within the counselor who is attempting to help resolve problems within the client's frame of reference, or worldview. A case study is presented that illustrates the senior author's experience in coping with a specific value conflict. It is suggested that as counselors become more proficient in multicultural counseling and more able to promote decision making from another's point of view, feelings of internal conflicts will decrease. Means of decreasing the likelihood of value conflicts are offered.     

A “Circuitous” Test of Holland's Theory

This article uses an “inverse” method to assess the validity of Holland's theory. Specifically, this study examined the degree of congruency between participants' least-characteristic Holland types and their stated least desirable college major. Implications for career counselors are briefly discussed.     

The Divine Triangle: God in the Marital System of Religious Couples

Incoporating both Bowenian and structural approaches, this article offers a constructivist view for dealing with religious belief systems of couples. After exploring the evolving process by which couples mutually define an ongoing triadic relationship with their Deity, different triangular processes from an integrated structural and Bowenian perspective are presented. This view is evaluative in terms of the triangulation process rather than the belief systems themselves, and, as such, it can be useful in marital therapy regardless of the religious beliefs of the therapist. Implications for marital therapy are examined.     

APPLICANT WITHDRAWAL: THE ROLE OF TEST-TAKING ATTITUDES AND RACIAL DIFFERENCES

The role of test-taking attitudes in the decisions of applicants to withdraw from a selection process was examined. Measures of test-taking attitudes were administered to 3,290 police officer applicants. Interviews were conducted with 618 applicants who withdrew from the selection process. Comparative anxiety, motivation, and literacy scales were found to predict withdrawal, but the effects were quite small. African-Americans were more likely to withdraw. Small race differences were found on test attitude scales. The requirement of taking a test was not a major factor in applicant withdrawal; procedural fairness and several other factors appeared to play a greater role. A model of applicant withdrawal is proposed based on the qualitative data from applicants who withdrew.     

Teaching Employment Interview Skills to Unemployed Adults

This study evaluates the effects of a behaviorally based textbook on the performance of employment interview skills by unemployed adults.