Showing papers in "American Psychologist in 1992"

In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors.

Abstract: How people intentionally change addictive behaviors with and without treatment is not well understood by behavioral scientists. This article summarizes research on self-initiated and professionally facilitated change of addictive behaviors using the key transtheoretical constructs of stages and processes of change. Modification of addictive behaviors involves progression through five stages—precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance—and individuals typically recycle through these stages several times before termination of the addiction. Multiple studies provide strong support for these stages as well as for a finite and common set of change processes used to progress through the stages. Research to date supports a transtheoretical model of change that systematically integrates the stages with processes of change from diverse theories of psychotherapy.

Establishing and maintaining healthy environments. Toward a social ecology of health promotion.

Abstract: Earlier research on health promotion has emphasized behavior change strategies rather than environmentally focused interventions The advantages of integrating lifestyle modification, injury control, and environmental enhancement strategies of health promotion are substantial The author offers a social ecological analysis of health promotive environments, emphasizing the transactions between individual or collective behavior and the health resources and constraints that exist in specific environmental settings Directions for future research on the creation and maintenance of health promotive environments also are examined

Ethnic differences in adolescent achievement: An ecological perspective.

Abstract: Using data collected from a large sample of high school students, the authors challenge three widely held explanations for the superior school performance of Asian-American adolescents, and the inferior performance of African- and Hispanic-American adolescents: group differences in (a) parenting practices, (b) familial values about education, and (c) youngsters' beliefs about the occupational rewards of academic success. They found that White youngsters benefit from the combination of authoritative parenting and peer support for achievement, whereas Hispanic youngsters suffer from a combination of parental authoritarianism and low peer support. Among Asian-American students, peer support for academic excellence offsets the negative consequences of authoritarian parenting. Among African-American youngsters, the absence of peer support for achievement undermines the positive influence of authoritative parenting.

The concept of mental disorder: On the boundary between biological facts and social values.

Abstract: Although the concept of mental disorder is fundamental to theory and practice in the mental health field, no agreed on and adequate analysis of this concept currently exists. I argue that a disorder is a harmful dysfunction, wherein harmful is a value term based on social norms, and dysfunction is a scientific term referring to the failure of a mental mechanism to perform a natural function for which it was designed by evolution. Thus, the concept of disorder combines value and scientific components. Six other accounts of disorder are evaluated, including the skeptical antipsychiatric view, the value approach, disorder as whatever professionals treat, two scientific approaches (statistical deviance and biological disadvantage), and the operational definition of disorder as "unexpectable distress or disability" in the revised third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). The harmful dysfunction analysis is shown to avoid the problems while preserving the insights of these other approaches.

New look 3. Unconscious cognition reclaimed.

Abstract: Recent research has established several empirical results that are widely agreed to merit description in terms of unconscious cognition. These findings come from experiments that use indirect tests for immediate or long-term residues of barely perceptible-but-unattended, or attended-but-forgotten events. Importantly, these well-established phenomena--insofar as they occur without initially involving focal attention--are limited to relatively minor cognitive feats. Unconscious cognition is now solidly established in empirical research, but it appears to be intellectually much simpler than the sophisticated agency portrayed in psychoanalytic theory. The strengthened position of unconscious cognitive phenomena can be related to their fit with the developing neural network (connectionist) theoretical framework in psychology.

Nonconscious acquisition of information.

Abstract: The authors review and summarize evidence for the process of acquisition of information outside of conscious awareness (covariations, nonconscious indirect and interactive inferences, self-perpetuation of procedural knowledge). Data indicate that as compared with consciously controlled cognition, the nonconscious information-acquisition processes are not only much faster but are also structurally more sophisticated, in that they are capable of efficient processing of multidimensional and interactive relations between variables. Those mechanisms of nonconscious acquisition of information provide a major channel for the development of procedural knowledge that is indispensable for such important aspects of cognitive functioning as encoding and interpretation of stimuli and the triggering of emotional reactions.

Early childhood intervention. A promising preventative for juvenile delinquency.

Abstract: Programs to reduce or prevent juvenile delinquency have been generally unsuccessful. Apparently the risk factors that make a child prone to delinquency are based in too many systems--including the individual, the family, and community networks--to make isolated treatment methods effective. Surprisingly, longitudinal studies of some early childhood intervention programs suggest they may help to reduce future delinquency. These programs take an ecological approach to enhancing child development by attempting to promote overall social competence in the many systems impacting on children. Not engaging in criminal acts is one indicator of competence that is related to others, such as being successful in school and in personal relationships. Evaluators must gather more data to confirm this unanticipated benefit of comprehensive interventions.

Understanding implicit memory: A cognitive neuroscience approach.

Abstract: This chapter is based on the address to the 1991 meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, in receipt of the Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology. The cognitive neuroscience orientation has itself undergone rapid development during the past decade, and is a major force in the study of perception, attention, language, and emotion. The typical research strategy in studies of implicit memory is to test theoretical hypotheses in the same domain in which they were generated—for cognitive psychologists, by examining the performance of college students, and for neuropsychologists, by examining the performance of patients with memory disorders. Research and theorizing about letter-by-letter readers has typically proceeded separately from and independently of the implicit memory literature. Explicit memory was much higher following the category than the pitch encoding task, whereas priming of auditory word identification was either less affected or entirely unaffected by the study task manipulation.

The lab versus the clinic. Effects of child and adolescent psychotherapy.

Abstract: Four recent meta-analyses, involving more than 200 controlled outcome studies, have shown consistent evidence of beneficial therapy effects with children and adolescents. However, most of the studies involved experimental procedures, nonreferred subjects, specially trained therapists with small caseloads, and other features that may not represent conventional clinic therapy. Research focused on more representative treatment of referred clients in clinics has shown more modest effects; in fact, most clinic studies have not shown significant effects. Interpretation studies have not shown significant effects. Interpretation of these findings requires caution; such studies are few and most could profit from improved methodology. The clinic studies do raise questions as to whether the positive lab findings can be generalized to the clinics where most therapy occurs; however, the lab interventions that have worked so well may point the way to enhanced therapy effects in clinics.

Social psychological contributions to the decade of the brain. Doctrine of multilevel analysis.

Abstract: The 1990s were declared by Congress to be the "decade of the brain" This declaration is important to all psychologists, not only neuroscientists, because with this declaration come expectations of the cognitive and behavioral sciences generally and because the brain does not exist in isolation but rather is a fundamental component of developing and aging individuals who themselves are mere actors in the larger theater of life This article examines the importance of a multilevel, integrative approach to the study of mental and behavioral phenomena in the decade of the brain, reviews how this approach highlights the synergistic relationship between theoretical and clinically relevant research, and illustrates how this approach can foster the transition from microtheories to general psychological theories

Ethical dilemmas encountered by members of the American Psychological Association: a national survey

Abstract: A random sample of 1,319 members of the American Psychological Association (APA) were asked to describe incidents that they found ethically challenging or troubling. Responses from 679 psychologists described 703 incidents in 23 categories. This process of gathering critical incidents from the general membership, pioneered by those who developed APA's original code of ethics, may be useful in considering possible revisions of the code and preserving APA's unique approach to identifying ethical principles that address realistically the emerging dilemmas that the diverse membership confronts in the day-to-day work of psychology. View citation and copyright. (#copy) Founded in 1892, the American Psychological Association (APA) faced ethical problems without a formal code of ethics for 60 years. As the chair of the Committee on Scientific and Professional Ethics and Conduct in the early 1950s observed, The Committee on Scientific and Professional Ethics was created in 1938 and began handling complaints on an informal basis (\"A Little Recent History,\" 1952). By 1947, the committee recommended that APA develop a formal code. \"The present unwritten code...is tenuous, elusive, and unsatisfactory\" (\"A Little Recent History,\" 1952, p. 427). The method used to create the formal code was innovative and unique, an extraordinary break from the traditional methods used previously by more than 500 professional and business associations (Hobbs, 1948 ). Setting aside what Hobbs termed the \"armchair approach\" (p. 82) in which a committee of those \"who are most mature, in wisdom, experience, and knowledge of their fellow psychologists\" (p. 81) would study the various available codes, issues, and literature and then submit a draft to the membership for approval, APA decided to create \"an empirically developed code\" based on an investigation of the ethical dilemmas encountered by a \"representative sample of members\": \"The research itself would involve the collection, from psychologists involved in all of the various professional activities, of descriptions of actual situations which required ethical decisions\" (p. 83). A survey collecting examples of the ethical dilemmas encountered by APA members led to a draft code (APA Committee on Ethical Standards for Psychology, 1951a, 1951b, 1951c) that was refined and approved in 1952 (APA, 1953). APA had created a process through which it could produce \"a code of ethics truly indigenous to psychology, a code that could be lived\" (Hobbs, 1948, p. 84). The 1959 revision, the result of nine drafts over a three-year period, was adopted for use on a trial basis (APA, 1959). The committee anticipated that future revisions would be necessary to address changing conditions of practice: The Committee on Ethical Standards hopes that these major principles stated in general form will weather considerable growth of psychology without drastic alteration. Unlike the general principles, the explanatory paragraphs which accompany them are quite specific and, therefore, subject to change or extension as the need arises. They may serve the purpose fairly well for the present, but it would be a sad mistake indeed to assume that there is little left to say about the ethical behavior of psychologists! (Holzman, 1960, p. 247). To maintain the unique nature and effectiveness of the code, future revisions were to be based not only on discussion among members but also on \"additional critical incidents of controversial behavior\" (Holzman, 1960, p. 247). To base revisions on recommendations by ethics committees seemed inadequate because \"the energies of ethics committees are so totally devoted to fire fighting that fire proofing or concern with problems that have not yet emerged in the form of complaints must take a lower priority\" (Golann, 1969, p. 454). Moreover, if the existing code neglected certain issues or dilemmas, individuals would obviously have no basis on which to file complaints relevant to those issues or dilemmas; thus there could be extreme discrepancies between the issues brought to the attention of an ethics committee and the issues encountered by the diverse membership. Even if a committee of experts were to develop ethical standards for diverse areas, they would, according to the rationale of the original code, likely overlook problems in implementing those standards that would be obvious to someone whose day-to-day work was in one of those areas. The conviction that revisions should be based on subsequent critical incident studies was also based on beliefs about empowerment, management style, group process, and allegiance (e.g., Golann, 1969; Hobbs, 1948; Holzman, 1960). This conviction reflected the assumption that two ways of developing a revision would produce very different results. In the first approach, unique to psychology, the revision process would begin by actively soliciting through a formal mail survey the observations, ideas, and questions from those working \"on the front lines\" in diverse specialties, settings, and circumstances. A revision committee would then base its work on the primary data of this survey. In the alternate approach, used by virtually all other professional and business associations, a committee would decide how the code should be revised. The draft would then be circulated or published along with an announcement inviting comments. The first approach, as a style for managing the revision process, was considered to empower individual members by involving them meaningfully at the beginning of the project. The process seemed likely not only to lead to a better revision but also to create and benefit from better group dynamics. The membership would be involved at ground level in the revision process, an involvement more likely to foster a psychological sense of community and a personal as well as professional allegiance to the revised code. The unique nature of the code was that it was \"based upon the day-to-day decisions made by psychologists in the practice of their profession, rather than prescribed by a committee\" (Golann, 1969, p. 454). Basing revisions on recent critical incidents provided by the membership was believed necessary to maintain an ethical code \"close enough to the contemporary scene to win the genuine acceptance of the majority who are most directly affected by its principles\" (Holzman, 1960, p. 250). Although studies in which investigators usually specified the dilemmas to be addressed have examined various ethical issues in specific topic areas by surveying speciality groups, APA never again conducted a mail survey of a representative sample of the membership as the basis for revising the general code. However, the Ad Hoc Committee on Ethical Standards in Psychological Research, appointed by the Board of Directors in 1966, patterned its work in accordance with APA's heritage as \"the first society to develop a code of ethics by means of empirical and participatory principles\" (Committee for the Protection of Human Participants in Research, 1982, p. 10). They conducted an impressive pilot survey and two major mail surveys of APA membership as a foundation for the Ethical Principles in the Conduct of Research with Human Participants (Committee for the Protection of Human Participants in Research, 1982). The purpose of the study reported in this article was to collect, from a representative sample of APA members, contemporary data of the type that provided the unique foundation for APA's ethics code and was intended as a basis for revisions. METHOD A cover letter and survey form were developed to invite APA members to provide examples of the ethical dilemmas they faced in their work. A major objective of refining the survey form was to identify factors that would encourage participation in light of the original APA study's return rate of \"approximately 15%,\" which has tended to be the range of \"all surveys that request actual incidents regarding problems of ethics\" (Golann, 1969 , p. 456). Brevity and simplicity emerged as salient factors. Consequently, all questions regarding the participant's age, sex, and other related Happily, I am able to report no ethical problems in the past several years. Which is not to suggest that military research psychology is without its frustrations. The challenge is to convince leadership of the value of advice and analysis provided. This has become easier, albeit not easy. My work has been in both social and instructional settings. Table 1 Categories of 703 Ethically Troubling Incidents Category n % Confidentiality 128 18 Blurred, dual, or conflictual relationships 116 17 information were eliminated. Participants were asked only to \"describe, in a few words or more detail, an incident that you or a colleague have faced in the past year or two that was ethically challenging or troubling to you.\" They were asked to reply even if they had not encountered a troubling incident. A table of random numbers was used to select 1,319 individuals listed as members or fellows in the APA membership directory. Each member was sent a cover letter, survey form, and stamped return envelope. When packages were returned as undeliverable, a replacement name was randomly selected from the directory. RESULTS Replies were received from 679 psychologists, for a return rate of 51%. Fourteen respondents reported that they were retired and 3 reported that they were not working as psychologists. There were 134 respondents who indicated that they had not encountered ethically troubling incidents in the past year or two, as the following examples illustrate. As an Industrial/Organizational psychologist I have not encountered any issues that I believed were related to ethical challenges. Specifically when the context of our work has been explained to executives/managers relating to confidentiality/conflict of interest etc no one has ever challenged me or asked me to do something that would compromise the ethical standards of the APA. Essentially

Breaking the structuralist barrier. Literacy and numeracy with fluency.

Abstract: Behavior analysis is an example of a selection science, and behavioral programs that follow the tenets of selectionism, long advocated by B. F. Skinner, can have a large impact on social problems. This article describes the characteristics of selection sciences and their application in the Morningside Model of Generative Instruction, which addresses both adult literacy and children's learning and attention problems. School curricula are analyzed for their key component elements and underlying tool skills. Teaching procedures then establish and build these key components to fluency. New and complex repertoires then emerge with little or no instruction, producing curriculum leaps that allow students to make rapid academic advancement. Children typically gain more than two grade levels per school year, and adults advance two grades per month.

Where's Poppa?: The Relative Lack of Attention to the Role of Fathers in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

Abstract: Compared with mothers, fathers are dramatically underrepresented in clinical child and adolescent research. The author reviewed empirical and theoretical clinical child and adolescent literature to ascertain the reasons for this underrepresentation. Four somewhat interrelated factors are discussed: practical issues in participant recruitment, differential base rates of paternal vs. maternal psychopathology, theory-driven research based on sexist theories, and research assumptions based on outdated societal norms. Suggestions for future research are discussed, including parallel investigations of paternal characteristics whenever maternal characteristics are investigated, assessment of both similarities and differences in the role of fathers and mothers in child and adolescent psychopathology, and investigation of parenting factors for both fathers and mothers (e.g., time spent in actual caretaking, career vs. family orientation) in relation to child and adolescent psychopathology.

Unconscious influences revealed. Attention, awareness, and control.

Abstract: Recent findings of dissociations between direct and indirect tests of memory and perception have renewed enthusiasm for the study of unconscious processing. The authors argue that such findings are heir to the same problems of interpretation as are earlier evidence of unconscious influences--namely, one cannot eliminate the possibility that conscious processes contaminated the measure of unconscious processes. To solve this problem, the authors define unconscious influences in terms of lack of conscious control and then describe a process dissociation procedure that yields separate quantitative estimates of the concurrent contributions of unconscious and consciously controlled processing to task performance. This technique allows one to go beyond demonstrating the existence of unconscious processes to examine factors that determine their magnitude.

Broken hearts or broken bonds. Love and death in historical perspective.

Abstract: Psychological theories and practices frequently neglect the extent to which their subject matter is historically and culturally defined. This issue is explored in the context of theories and therapies related to bereavement. Contemporary orientations emphasize the importance of breaking bonds with the deceased and the return of survivors to autonomous lifestyles. Placing the orientation in cultural and historical context reveals that it is largely a product of a modernist worldview. Within the romanticist ethos of the preceding century, such breaking of bonds would destroy one's identity and the meaning of life. In light of contemporary variations in subcultural meanings and values, a postmodern view is suggested in which reflexive responsibility is focal.

The Adaptive Nature of Cognitive Immaturity.

Abstract: The prolonged cognitive immaturity characteristic of human youth is described as adaptive in and of itself. The adaptive nature of cognitive immaturity is examined in developmental research in the areas of metacognition, egocentricity, plasticity and the speed of information processing, and language acquisition. Some of the consequences of viewing children's immature cognition as adaptive for cognitive development and education are discussed.

Redefining the science-practice relationship and professional training.

Abstract: A revised conception of the relationship between psychological science and professional practice is proposed in the light of postmodern changes in perspectives on knowledge. Positivistic science, which has dominated the traditional interpretation of scientist-practitioner training, is considered from a constructivist point of view to be only one possible foundation of psychological knowledge. It is argued that the knowledge base of the profession should be derived with diverse methods and from multiple sources, including the knowledge of practice. The mutuality of science and practice is emphasized. An evolving framework for understanding the epistemology of practice, based on cognitive psychology, is presented. Emphasis on broadened choices of research methods, the development of reflective skills, and better linkage between teaching in the domains of research and practice are urged. Suggestions for research related to scientific training and the knowledge processes of practice are offered.

Emergenesis: Genetic traits that may not run in families.

Abstract: Traits that are influenced by a configuration--rather than by a simple sum--of polymorphic genes may not be seen to be genetic unless one studies monozygotic twins (who share all their genes and thus all gene configurations) because such "emergenic" traits will tend not to run in families. Personal idiosyncrasies that have been found to be surprisingly concordant among MZ twins separated in infancy and reared apart may be emergenic traits. More speculatively, important human traits like leadership, genius in its many manifestations, being an effective therapist or parent, as well as certain psychopathological syndromes may also be emergenic. These ideas reemphasize the importance of the role played in human affairs by genetic variation.

The science of choosing the right decision threshold in high-stakes diagnostics.

Abstract: Many diagnostic tasks require that a threshold be set to convert evidence that is a matter of degree into a positive or negative decision. Although techniques of decision analysis used in psychology help one select the particular threshold that is appropriate to a given situation and purpose, just the concept of adjusting the threshold to the situation is not appreciated in many important practical arenas. Testing for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and for dangerous flaws in aircraft structures are used here as illustrations. This article briefly reviews the relevant techniques and develops those two examples with data. It suggests that use of the decision techniques could substantially benefit individuals and society and asks how that use might be facilitated.