Reflections on Contemporary Psychotherapy Practice, Research, and Training

We do not lack for criticism about psychotherapy practice, research, and training. Admittedly, there is much there that needs to change. But, thus far, what have we done right? What are some of the positive, affirming, constructive strides that have been made with regard to therapy practice, research, and training? In this paper, those questions are addressed. Ten broad-based themes about some aspects of psychotherapy are presented and discussed; while by no means exhaustive, each is considered to be quite robust and clearly reflective of some of the truly constructive facets now evident in the field.     

Historical influences on the use of assessment methods in counseling psychology

This paper considers the effects of four historical influences on the use of assessment methods in counseling psychology: the vocational guidance, psychometric, mental hygiene, and Rogerian counseling/psychotherapy traditions. Each historical influence is examined, and some of the implications each influence has had on our current use of or manner in approaching assessment methods are considered.     

Self-concepts of mountain children of Nepal

The authors explored the basis of the self-concepts of young children from impoverished villages high in the mountains of Nepal by having them respond to the How I See Myself questionnaire (A. Juhasz, 1985). The participants were 101 children, 7 to 14 years old, from the Sherpa and Tamang ethnic groups. The results provide evidence for questioning the appropriateness of the content of Western self-esteem instruments for such children. The authors argue that items about satisfying basic physical needs may be most appropriate for assessing the self-esteem of such children.     

A tactile suffix effect

Evidence for a representational tactile memory was obtained from a tactile analogue of the auditory suffix effect. In two experiments, a short sequence of tactile stimuli applied to the fingers was followed by an acoustic (control) or tactile (suffix) recall signal. The serial position curves for the two conditions were compared. They revealed similar and strong primacy effects, but recall of the last few stimuli was higher in the control condition. This terminal control advantage was attributed to the retention of raw tactile information.     

The intricacy of memory span

The effects of word frequency on memory span were explored using the “up-and-down” method. Mean spans were greatest when the sequences were of all high-frequency words (5.82), and smallest when they were of all low-frequency words (4.24). For mixed-frequency sequences, mean spans were greater when the high-frequency words were presented before the low-frequency words (5.19) than when the low-frequency words came first (4.65). The findings are discussed in terms of the primary-secondary memory distinction worked out for single-trial free recall, and the logic of this distinction is used to argue against attributing span performance to a simple unitary process.     

Factor analysis of the McCarthy scales of children's abilities on preschool children

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) was administered to 200 children, 100 males and 100 females, with a mean chronological age of 3–9. The results were subjected to factor analysis to determine the validity of MSCA alignment into six distinct indexes, or factors, and to determine if there were sex differences in factors produced by the MSCA. A general (“g”) factor was derived for both females and males. Specific factors (Abstract Verbal Reasoning and Remote Verbal Memory) were derived for the female sample. Two specific factors (Sequential Memory and Nonverbal Cognition) were derived for the male sample. Only the “g” factors derived for male, female, and total samples corresponded to the General Cognitive Index (GCI) used in the MSCA. The results suggested that clinical interpretation of the MSCA should be made cautiously for both normal and exceptional children until further exploration of the construct validity and sex differences in the MSCA can be conducted.     

Echoic memory and voice quality: Recency recall is not enhanced by varying presentation voice

Three experiments explored the effects on immediate recall of varying voice of presentation. Experiment 1 showed that the free-recall recency effect was not enhanced by presenting list words alternately in a male and a female voice. Experiment 2 replicated this result and also showed that recall of a given recency item from such a list was no more probable when the subjects were informed immediately following presentation that they need not recall the words presented in the other voice. Experiment 3 replicated previous findings of a reduction in the “suffix effect” when presentation voice is changed for the suffix item. The relation of this result to those of Experiments 1 and 2 is discussed.     

Toward a dependable measure of reflection-impulsivity: An application of generalizability theory

Generalizability theory was applied to the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) to analyze the dependability of the MFF as a measure of reflection-impulsivity at four grade levels: second, third, fourth, and fifth. A completely crossed, two-facet random model design was used to provide a multidimensional framework for examining the dependability of the MFF. Components of variance and coefficients of generalizability were derived from this design for the MFF error and latency scores at each grade level. Results showed that the MFF latency score was a more dependable measure than the MFF error score. In addition, the number of testing occasions made a more significant contribution to the generalizability of the MFF than the number of items. Coefficients of generalizability based on extrapolated items and occasions were also computed, providing the basis for improving the dependability of the MFF in future research. Overall, results indicate that the traditional method of allowing multiple trials for each item contributes to the imprecision of the MFF error score. An alternative procedure for administering the MFF is recommended.Portions of this article were presented at the annual convention of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto, Canada, March 1978. At various times during the conduct and completion of the present article, the first author was affiliated with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the University of California, Los Angeles.