The placebo puzzle: putting together the pieces.

This article outlines and assesses the main theories of the placebo effect and suggests how they might sit together in a larger model of placebo etiology. Among the approaches considered are expectancy theory, emotional change theory, classical conditioning, and the biological approach. Although these are sometimes assumed to be competing models, in many cases they shed light on different pans of the placebo puzzle. Expectancies are the core of most placebo effects in human beings. The effects of expectancies are sometimes unmediated but in other cases are mediated by changes in emotional state, immune system function, perception, or behavior. Although expectancies are implicated in most placebo effects, a small number of placebo effects may be solely attributable to nonconscious contingency learning.     

Construct Validity and Reliability of Hartman's Color Code Personality Profile1

The three reliability and two construct validity studies presented here represent the first psychometric research on the commercially successful and popular Hartman Color Code Personality Profile. The reliability studies found high reliability after 3 and 6 weeks. The construct validity studies substantiated that the Color Code assesses some personality traits. The magnitude of the error variance suggests caution, however, in using the Color Code classifications at the individual level.     

A ray of light about frozen embryos.

The Tennessee Supreme Court's decision in Davis v. Davis, a case that raises the question of how to allocate frozen embryos in the event of divorce, addresses many of the legal issues posed by in vitro fertilization. The decision considers the interests of the progenitors as well as of the children who may result. For example, the court held that gamete providers' discretion regarding the disposition of embryos can be limited only when their decisions would harm the children who might be born. The court also made clear that efforts to seek genetic parenthood are protected only when accompanied by a desire to raise the resulting children, a conclusion that also affects other reproductive technologies. In addition to elaborating an analytic framework, the court set guidelines for resolving disputes when the couples had made no prior agreements, including holding that while the embryos are ex-utero the desire to avoid genetic parenthood almost always trumps the wish to become a parent. The well-reasoned analysis in Davis v. Davis should help shape legal and ethical discussion regarding the use of in vitro fertilization for many years to come.     

Coping strategies and diastolic blood pressure

An organizational field study involving 95 civil service employees examined the ways these individuals coped with the stressful events of their daily living. Lazarus' cognitive-phenomenological analysis of psychological stress provided the theoretical framework. Subjects indicated on Lazarus' Ways of Coping Checklist those coping thoughts and actions used in the specific encounter described as stressful. As hypothesized, individuals experiencing higher diastolic blood pressure were more likely to cope using strategies characterized by wishful thinking, avoidance, and minimization of threat than were individuals exhibiting lower blood pressure. Implications from both an individual and organizational perspective are discussed.