PsycCRITIQUES Blog

How Best to Define Child Poverty?

In Alice Honig's review of Poverty and Brain Development During Childhood: An Approach From Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience by Sebastian Lipina and Jorge Colombo, she discusses the authors' review of different operational definitions of child poverty. She notes that some definitions focus on income level, others focus on family access to programs that prevent premature birth and infant/child mortality, while others focus on family variables that impact child development such as low cognitive stimulation, lack of learning materials in the home, and/or punitive parenting styles. As yet there is no clear consensus on how to conceptualize and measure child poverty. The authors call for "real dialogue" and a "multidisciplinary effort" among researchers and practitioners to identify children's environmental requirements as a step toward consensus on definitions and measurement issues.

How might the goal of consensus best be achieved? What barriers need to be overcome in order to have the dialogue and multidisciplinary effort that the authors call for? In terms of defining child poverty, what variables would be imperative to include?

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The Awesome Brain and the Harm That Poverty Can Cause
By Alice Sterling Honig
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(46)

Have Professional Schools Helped or Hurt Psychology?

Morgan Sammons compares the training of professional psychologists with that of other health professions, and notes that most students in professional psychology take five post baccalaureate years to complete the PsyD degree and over six years to complete the PhD. He suggests there is a fundamental misalignment between the goals of training programs and the goals of entering students: the former aim to train educators or investigators, while the latter are seeking training as clinicians. This misalignment has resulted in development of the PsyD degree and the proliferation of professional training programs.

Has the professional school movement advanced professional psychology by providing the kind of training clinical and counseling students desire and need, or has it hurt the profession by producing too many psychologists for the market to absorb?

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Defining Competency in Graduate Education in Psychology: With So Much Time on Our Hands, Why Is This So Difficult?
      By Morgan T. Sammons
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2010 Vol 55(6)

Curiosity in the Clinical Setting

Todd Kashdan dives deep into exploring the research and application of one of the key human character strengths, curiosity, in his book Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life. In his PsycCRITIQUES review of the book, Grant Rich notes that, according to Kashdan, "the 'big five' benefits of curiosity are health, intelligence, meaning and purpose in life, social relationships, and happiness."

Considering these enormous benefits and the significant potential of using curiosity in a more structured way in the clinical setting, why do you suppose this construct has not been more well researched over the decades? It is now in the wake of the science called "positive psychology" that curiosity is receiving wider study and more appropriate coverage. Curiosity seems to be a natural bedfellow with clinical psychologists who often query their clients with comments like, "I'm curious about the pain you experienced in that situation," and "I'll be curious to hear what happens with that homework exercise when we meet next week."

How could curiosity have flown so far under the radar of empiricists, scientists, and scholarly clinicians interested in formalizing interventions? Have you ever tried to directly increase a client's curiosity level? For what purpose?

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No Flotation Tank? Read This Book
By Grant J. Rich
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(48)

Man, Woman, and Other: The Fluidity of Sex and Gender

The symbolic interactionist perspective has held that identity is fluid and in part based on how individuals or groups believe that they are perceived by others. We frequently discuss the creation of identity when considering race, ethnicity, nationality, etc; however, we seem to have only recently confronted the fluidity of sex and gender head on.

The discussion of sex and gender continues across the globe and in virtually every community, with different perspectives, attitudes, requirements, and levels of acceptance and practice created. In reviewing Allah Made Us: Sexual Outlaws in an Islamic African City, Sheilah F. Clarke-Ekong notes:

So we move 6,000 miles and find additional support, according to Gaudio, for the argument "that gender, sexuality, and other identities should be seen as practices rather than essences, as things people do (doing the deed) rather than things people are. The idea that identity is practiced, or performed encourages us to think about identities as fluid and variable, neither static nor fixed" (p. 65).

What does it mean to be a "real man" if your behaviors signal feminine to others?

As the preeminent behavioral discipline, have we as psychologists held the discussions and developed the evidence that allows us to speak on these issues with confidence? What is our role in assisting the public in understanding and accepting the fluidity of these constructs, as well as other constructed identities of the societies in which we live?

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The Dynamics of Identity and Maleness in an African City
By Sheilah F. Clarke-Ekong
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2010 Vol 55(3)

Bridging Research and Practice

The disconnect between research and practice has been part of an ongoing national dialogue. In his review of Weisz and Black's book Programs to Reduce Teen Dating Violence and Sexual Assault: Perspectives on What Works, Clifton R. Emery writes, "This gap between research and practice, in part engendered by the failure of psychology and social work professions to adequately mandate evidence-based practice, will surely result in the retention of less-than-optimal and potentially harmful practices." He further writes that "this situation can be improved … via making evidence-based practice a paradigmatic component of social work education."

Do you agree with Emery's recommendation? What role does practice-based evidence play in this dialogue?

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On the Ground With Prevention Educators: Reducing Teen Dating Violence and Sexual Assault
      By Clifton R. Emery
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(48)

Who Will Help Psychology Majors Save the World?

APA has issued a major report, Undergraduate Education in Psychology: A Blueprint for the Future of the Discipline, edited by Diane Halpern. This report is intended to have an impact on hundreds of departments and an estimated one million students. That will happen only if the report is read and acted on by those in responsible positions. It has been several months since the report was issued (although the official publication date is 2010), but I have seen little in APA publications indicating that it created much of a stir. PsycCRITIQUES has a large and diverse readership, including many psychologists who could at least initiate discussions and perhaps take action on the recommendations in this report, for example, requiring graduate students who teach to have formal training for teaching. Given the number of students and faculty involved, this should be a high priority issue. Are there any readers who are optimistic about prospects for action?

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Could Psychology Majors Save the World?
By James H. Korn
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2010 Vol 55(1)

Differential Diagnosis

In Jillon Vander Wal's review of Depression: Causes and Treatment (2nd ed.) by Aaron T. Beck and Brad A. Alford, she notes that the authors identify differential diagnosis as an area in need of investigation. Specific diagnoses discussed were unipolar depression vs. bipolar II disorder, schizoaffective disorder, "considerations for the differentiation of mood from schizophrenic disorders, and the novel idea of looking at these disorders in terms of a spectrum of disorders ranging from the manic-depressive with good prognosis to the purely schizophrenic with poor prognosis." Vander Wal highlights the specific suggestion that "differential diagnosis of psychiatric disorders could be sharpened by consideration of the cognitive content and degree of impairment." Is consideration of these issues sufficient to produce diagnostic clarity or reliability among mood disorders?

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Depression: A Synthesis of Experience and Perspective
By Jillon Vander Wal
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(49)

Overcoming Stigma in Mental Health: Our Role

In the review of Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Schizophrenic Psychoses: Past, Present and Future, Larry Davidson, Ph.D., calls on psychotherapists to consider more humane depictions of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Davidson states, "For psychotherapists to garner broader support for their approach, and for them to play a more central role in future developments in clinical psychiatry, they will have to find less de-humanizing, demeaning, and offensive ways to describe the people they want to be entrusted to care for." When psychotherapists must be called to task in this manner, should we consider our role in the ongoing stigma experienced by individuals with mental illness in our society? How do our communications to and about our clients further depictions of individuals as unable to make decisions and contribute substantively to families, communities, and the society at large?

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A Renaissance in Psychotherapy for Schizophrenia?
By Larry Davidson
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(49)

The Dynamical What?

After reading this review, I wondered how many psychologists could define the dynamical approach. Before reading the review of Dynamical Psychology: Complexity, Self-Organization, and Mind by Jay Friedenberg, I could not give a definition, and I am not sure that previously I would have been interested in this topic that seems antithetical to my theoretical approach to human behavior. However, this very readable and intriguing review highlights the promise of this approach and made me consider what the future might hold for psychology's ability to produce long term and effective behavior change in areas such as weight control and addiction.

There has always been acknowledgement of the "complex, continually changing, and self-organizing aspects of many psychological phenomena" (Jeffrey B. Wagman review) assumed in the dynamical approach. Beside this recognition has been healthy skepticism related to the use of "specialized mathematical and statistical tools to understand such systems." The more mathematical and biological the explanation of psychological phenomena, the more some in psychology have claimed that we were moving to mere reductionism. Given the disparate philosophical and theoretical perspectives represented in psychology, can dynamical psychology, or any new perspective, move us toward a paradigm shift that resolves traditional "mind vs. body" and "nature vs. nurture" debates and results in a more unified psychology?

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Aligning Psychology With the Physical and Biological Sciences
By Jeffrey B. Wagman
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(45)

Is Overprotection Depriving Today's Children?

Ed de St. Aubin and Sharon Shatil, reviewers of Helene Guldberg's Reclaiming Childhood: Freedom and Play in an Age of Fear, summarized the book's take-home message as follows: U.K. and U.S. societies have become too overprotective of children due to out of proportion fears about "stranger danger," bullying, and Internet predators. Guldberg makes other claims about society going too far to protect children, such as excessive worrying over the effects of junk food consumption and overexposure to the media. She believes that this level of overprotection has left today's children worse off than children of two generations past and deprived them of experiences that foster resiliency, curiosity, and self-efficacy. Although initially inclined to agree with some of the book's premises, de St. Aubin and Shatil were very critical of Guldberg's use (or misuse) of science and therefore did not believe that her arguments were persuasive or well supported.

Are parents and societies more overprotective now than generations ago? Are today's children worse off in terms of their resilience, curiosity, self-efficacy, or other outcomes as a result of overprotection? Does the scientific literature provide any validation, or refutation, of these arguments?

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Reclaiming Science: Evidence and Truth in the Age of Persuasion
By Ed de St. Aubin [and] Sharon Shatil
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(43)

Has Positive Psychology Come Into Its Own?

In his review of editor Shane Lopez's two-volume set The Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology, Harris Friedman contends that the field of positive psychology is not developed enough nor distinct enough from humanistic psychology to warrant an encyclopedia. What is your view of this? Friedman later critiques the field of positive psychology as having "emerged as a repackaged product that has been aggressively marketed and has achieved amazing success as a result."

Do you believe these claims are fair? Has Friedman adequately and accurately considered the scope of research, scholarly output, and cross-discipline work to other fields that positive psychology has accomplished over the last 10 years? Most important, do you believe there is more that needs to be done to bridge gaps and collaborations between positive psychology and humanistic psychology?

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Positive Psychology From A to W
By Harris L. Friedman
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(35)

Emerson's Advice on Staying Creative Through Life's Ups and Downs

In First We Read, Then We Write: Emerson on the Creative Process, biographer Robert Richardson draws from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays and journals and shares Emerson's advice on creativity and productivity in thought and writing. Throughout the book, Richardson presents us with an essential tension between the Emerson who insisted on nonconformity and originality, versus "…another side (of Emerson), a side where both his feet are planted in everyday reality, a side of him that often sounds overwhelmed, sometimes desperate, but always determined" (p. 3). In my review of the book, I discussed this tension, and the necessity for determination even in the face of desperation, as it may apply to a life and career in psychology. I shared a little of my own struggle to maintain interest and creativity in my work as my career path led me to a non-tenured, soft-money job—not the destination I envisioned as a student, but one that has held more possibilities for interesting work than I had imagined. Emerson's insistence that we rely not just on literature but on close observation of nature to generate ideas, and that we push forward with our work on the darkest days, resonated deeply with my experience.

What has your experience been? Has your career—whether you are still in graduate school or well beyond—brought setbacks and disappointments, or perhaps simply unexpected changes in direction? If so, have you found ways to maintain or rekindle interest and regain direction? Does Emerson's call for originality and bravery especially in the worst of times inspire you, or does it feel naive and unrealistic given the professional realities you encounter?

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"Whence Is Your Power?" What Psychologists Can Learn From Ralph Waldo Emerson
      By Jeffrey Noel
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(41)

What Does Psychology Need?

In the review of Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives, by Albert Ellis and Mike Abrams (with Lidia D. Abrams), Simon Boag comments on the presentation of Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavioral Theory of Personality. Boag notes that "despite Ellis's numerous contributions to psychology (see Farley, 2009), it is difficult to really say that Ellis contributes a novel 'theory' of personality per se." Boag describes the presentation of Ellis's work as an attempt to synthesize and integrate components of other theories with cognitive theories. At this moment in our history, what is required to move behavioral science forward?

Is psychology ready for another "grand theory" of personality and behavior or do we need better integration of existing theories?

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Does Psychology Really Need Another Personality Textbook?
By Simon Boag
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(41)

Standards for Self-Help Recommendations

We are increasingly focused on the evidence base for therapeutic treatments and interventions, as well as the translation of that evidence into practice. Brandon A. Gaudiano and Lily A. Brown note in Back to Life, Back to Normality: Cognitive Therapy, Recovery, and Psychosis that "often, it is assumed that because a book is based on an evidence-based psychotherapy, it is acceptable to present the same principles in a self-help format as they are thought to be safe and effective, even if a bit watered down (Redding, Herbert, Forman, & Gaudiano, 2008)."

In an environment that increasingly requests the evidence base for therapies and interventions, what is required to proceed with self-help recommendations? Do psychology and other mental health professions have a responsibility to develop an evidence base that addresses self-help recommendations, or are these reasonable dissemination efforts based on general therapeutic knowledge?

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Self-Administered Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis: Untapped Potential or Premature Promotion?
      By Brandon A. Gaudiano [and] Lily A. Brown
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(41)

Are Bound Dictionaries Obsolete in the Age of the Internet?

Reviewing the new APA College Dictionary of Psychology, Dana Dunn notes "This dictionary may well be one of the few resources that psychology students will keep and consult throughout their academic careers. As a relatively modest investment, it is to be recommended highly."

But are students really likely to use a paper dictionary, or is the Internet a juggernaut that will eventually make all such reference books obsolete?

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Defining the Discipline for the Student Audience: A Concise and Direct College Dictionary
      By Dana S. Dunn
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(37)

Video Self-Modeling: Another Useful Strategy for Helping Children with Autism?

In the book Seeing Is Believing: Video Self-Modeling for People With Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Tom Buggey describes video self-modeling (VSM) as a tool for modifying behavior by having children watch themselves enact a behavior correctly and/or at a slightly more advanced level. Video clips used for this intervention are drawn either from role plays or through a process of editing video to target positive behaviors captured during natural observation. The theoretical underpinning of VSM draws heavily from Bandura's social learning theory.

Reviewers Jeanne M. Slattery and MollyJill Smrekar raise concerns about VSM's limited evidence-base, use of single-subject designs, and the author's request for users of VSM to submit their own research to his website. They surmise that research findings submitted to the website "will be overrepresented by positive outcomes and, if he uses them as testimonials … he is likely to add to the hype to which parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders are exposed."

How valid is this concern? What are the benefits and/or drawbacks of having VSM users submit their findings to the author's website?

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Hype or Interesting Lead? Video Self-Modeling for People With Autism
By Jeanne M. Slattery [and] MollyJill Smrekar
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(33)

What Role Do Psychologists Play in the Current Health Care Debate?

Would a healthier U.S. population lead to improvements in our current health care crisis? If so, what is the best role for psychologists working in medical settings such as primary care practices? These questions are not directly addressed in Hunter et al.'s Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care: Step-by-Step Guidance for Assessment and Intervention or Jeff Reiter's PsycCRITIQUES review of the book, however, considering the challenging times facing the U.S. health care, it is difficult to not draw relevant connections. In his review, Reiter discusses how psychologists who wish to work in primary care must learn to adapt to the mission and culture of primary care by conducting briefer consultations and seeing a wider variety of patients than the typical psychologist.

Would integrating behavioral health more seamlessly in all primary care clinics contribute in any way to fixing a part of the broken health care system? If all U.S. primary care clinics had a trained behavioral health generalist on staff to see every patient that sees a physician, what impact might this have on the health of the U.S. population and the system that tries to care for it?

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The Right Book at the Right Time
By Jeff Reiter
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(33)

Are Medical Schools and Other Academic Health Centers Good Places for Psychologists to Work?

Scott Temple, reviewing Faculty Health in Academic Medicine: Physicians, Scientists, and the Pressures of Success, notes,

Anyone working on the faculty of an American academic medical center will resonate with the thesis of this book: Increasing workloads in a disintegrating, chaotic, and dehumanizing health care system are leading to ever higher rates of faculty dissatisfaction. Demands for increased clinical and grant productivity leave little time for the rich range of teaching and scholarly activities that draw physicians and doctoral faculty to academic medical centers. Concerns with economic survival increasingly trump the humanitarian mission of academic medicine, as the art of listening is supplanted by the demand for more relative value units.

Are academic medical centers good places for early career psychologists to begin their careers?

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Faculty Burnout in Academic Medical Centers: New Efforts Toward Its Amelioration
By Scott Temple
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(33)

Was Raymond B. Cattell One of the Greatest Psychologists of the 20th Century?

In his review of William H. Tucker's The Cattell Controversy: Race, Science, and Ideology, Frank Dumont notes, "In 1997, the American Psychological Foundation (APF) awarded Raymond B. Cattell, a renowned figure in the field of multivariate analysis and personality psychology, its Award for Life Achievement in Psychological Science. Soon after, a small group of academics and publicists, deeply concerned by the ideological implications of his eugenicist writings, disseminated relevant extracts to the APF and other interested parties. They highlighted ideas in his eugenicist texts that they alleged contaminated his scientific achievements in other fields." However, Dumont also points out that "Cattell … was a charming, respectful, wise, and genial mentor to his students and a friend to his colleagues [and] … unlike Cattell’s signal contributions to trait psychology and multivariate analysis, his eugenicism seems to be fast receding into oblivion."

How will the 21^st century judge Cattell's contributions to psychology? Do his views on eugenics diminish the significance of his other contributions to the science of psychology?

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Eugenicism, Bigotry, and Stirring the Embers of a Troubling Episode
By Frank Dumont
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(27)

Read the Response

Dearth of Evidence: Response to "Eugenicism, Bigotry, and Stirring the Embers
of a Troubling Episode" (A Review of The Cattell Controversy: Race, Science,
and Ideology)
      By William H. Tucker
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(35)

Is Suicidal Behavior Being Effectively Assessed and Managed?

In his review of Suicidal Behavior by Richard McKeon, Marc Hillbrand notes the call for "solid foundational training in the assessment and management of suicidal behavior, on-going continuing education on suicidality, along with supervision and consultation (Maris, Berman, Silverman, Bongar, 2000)."

In your opinion, what does "solid foundational training in the assessment and management of suicidal behavior" consist of? To what extent are PhD and PsyD programs preparing psychologists to address this issue in professional practice?

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Saving Lives
By Marc Hillbrand
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(29)

What Is Psychology's Role in Debates About Causes of and Treatments for Autism?

In Stuart W. G. Derbyshire’s review of Defeating Autism: A Damaging Delusion by Michael Fitzpatrick, he quotes the author's criticisms of the unorthodox biomedical movement that "seeks to redefine autism as an epidemic disease caused by vaccines or some other, as yet unidentified, environmental factor (p. xv)." Although the link between autism and vaccinations is presented as a controversial issue by some, there appears to be little controversy within the mainstream medical community. Mainstream physicians and scientists do not support the autism-vaccine link, or the use of unorthodox treatments on the grounds of insufficient empirical evidence. Derbyshire calls the unorthodox biomedical movement "a divisive and destructive force that threatens to derail autism research and undermine the quality of life that children with autism can enjoy." Furthermore, he describes a level of reluctance on the part of scientists to openly challenge pseudoscientific claims regarding the causes of autism because of "fear that a frank debate may not be effective, may alienate parents and patients, or may undermine access to funding."

Do you agree that there is reluctance among scientists to speak out against pseudoscientific claims related to autism? What may be the reasons for this reluctance, in addition to those cited by Derbyshire? What role should psychologists take in addressing claims of an autism-vaccine link and within the debate about unorthodox treatment?

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Unorthodox Theories of Autism Are Wrong and Inhuman
By Stuart W. G. Derbyshire
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(24)

Have We All Exceeded Dunbar's Number?

In reviewing Psychological Aspects of Cyberspace: Theory, Research, Applications, Matthew Hile of the Missouri Institute of Mental Health alludes to "Dunbar's number," the theoretical upper limit on the number of persons with whom one can maintain meaningful, stable, and coherent social connections (estimated to be approximately 150 people). This number is hypothesized to be set by relative neocortex size.

With our numerous links to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social networking sites, have many of us exceeded the cognitive limits set by Dunbar's number?

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A Brave New World
By Matthew G. Hile
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(23)

Does Gender Research Facilitate Sexism?

Alejandra Suarez begins her review of The Neuropsychology of Women by noting,

From the time when Aristotle claimed that the leader of a hive is the king bee, that women have smaller brains than men, and that the female of the species has fewer teeth than the male (Mayhew, 2004), there have been attempts to pass off misogyny as science. In particular, pseudoscientific claims of biological differences have been used to justify oppression and disdain (see discussion in Gould, 1981). A book documenting sex and gender dimorphism is like a comedy routine—timing is everything. If the text appears before its time, it can be a breeding ground for prejudiced rationalization of flimsy conclusions. If the book is thoughtfully published when the field is ripe enough, it can combat those same prejudices.

Can you think of other examples of research in gender differences in which the resulting data have been used to stigmatize women?

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Neuropsychology: Hers and His
By Alejandra Suarez
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(23)

Did Psychologists Practice on the Dark Side?

In his review of The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, Edward J. Tejirian writes,

[A secret] memo provided the rationalization for a whole range of abusive "techniques" that were put into practice at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, and in the CIA's secret prisons. It also enabled the president to flatly declare, "We don't torture," and, in his own mind, to believe that he was telling the truth. Yet, in practice—and this is what makes The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals so critically relevant to psychologists and to psychology—almost all the torture inflicted on those detained was psychological in means and intent. It is true that physical abuse that adversely affected the health and safety of detainees was also used—the occasional beating, exposure to extremes of heat and cold, and, of course, water boarding. But it was the "dark side" of psychological theory that provided the rationale for the suffering that was inflicted on those detained in the "war on terror."

Psychologists interested in these issues are encouraged to read Tejirian's review of The Dark Side, along with the companion review by Steven Behnke, and Charles Figley's review of The Trauma of Psychological Torture in the same release.

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Alternate Realities
By Edward J. Tejirian
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(22)

Is an Interdisciplinary Approach Key to Studying Interethnic Violence and Conflict?

In his review of Explaining the Breakdown of Ethnic Relations: Why Neighbors Kill (edited by Victoria Esses and Richard Vernon), Jeffrey Noel notes that a strength of the book is its interdisciplinary nature, which "includes contributions from psychology, education, sociology, philosophy, and political science." He highlights a quote from contributors Miles Hewstone, Nicole Tausch, and colleagues: "Social conflict is more complex than intergroup bias. … Real-world intergroup relations owe at least as much of their character to history, economics, politics, and ideology as they do to social psychological variables such as self-esteem, ingroup identification, group size, and group threat. (p. 65)."

Are social scientists of any discipline doomed to fail at understanding interethnic violence if they refuse to collaborate to study this very complex set of causes? For example, should social psychologists (in psychology) who often study prejudice in the lab actively collaborate with historians, economists, sociologists, and others? Should this be the future of studying interethnic violence and conflict?

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Against the Blood-Dimmed Tide: Psychology’s Response to Mass Killing and Genocide
      By Jeffrey Noel
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(18)

Are U.S. Schools and Education Policy Failing the Poor?

In her review of Stop High-Stakes Testing: An Appeal to America's Conscience by Dale D. Johnson et al., Luanna Meyer questions the premise that anyone can achieve "the American dream" through education. Specifically, she argues that the United States’ system of public schools and universities does not equal the playing field among the rich and the poor, and, in fact, public schools are just another place that allows poor children to fail. The book authors and reviewer alike sharply criticize the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), arguing that holding schools accountable via student test scores, without addressing fundamental issues of poverty, disparities in health care access, racism, funding inequities, etc., will only reflect what is already known—that children from middle-class and wealthy families will outperform poor children on standardized tests.

Should, as the book authors suggest, the NCLB be repealed and all forms of public school accountability based on testing be discontinued? What are the benefits, if any, of retaining NCLB? What are alternative approaches to school accountability that do not ignore historical, cultural, and societal inequities? On what basis should schools be held accountable, i.e., on math, science, and reading only or expanded to other subjects such as arts, music, critical thinking, etc.?

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Waking Up From the American Dream: Beyond Metaphors
By Luanna H. Meyer
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(11)

Questions on Every Parent’s Mind

In her review of The Education–Drug Use Connection: How Successes and Failures in School Relate to Adolescent Smoking, Drinking, Drug Use, and Delinquency, Liz Sale writes,

As parents, many of us worry about the future of our teenagers. They might be getting good grades in middle school, and, for the most part, they don't get into trouble. But what if they start hanging around the "wrong" kids in high school? The ones who fight, skip school, drink, smoke, and use drugs? Will our kids act out, too? And if they do, how will it affect them as young adults? Can they succeed academically despite their "problem" behaviors in high school?

What is the relationship between academic success and substance use behaviors?

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Cigarettes, Booze, Drugs, and the Honor Roll (?)
By Liz Sale
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(11)

How Do We Get Better Support from Family and Community to Improve Academic Performance of Black Male Youth?

In his review of Pedro Noguera's The Trouble With Black Boys: And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education, Carlton Parks, Jr. notes,

…[a number of] scholars of color have focused their attention on how to intervene, utilizing the African American extended family, to bring African American males and their families to the table as collaborators with teachers and other school personnel to provide culturally responsive classrooms (e.g., Boyd-Franklin & Bry, 2000; Coles, Coles, Coles, & Coles, 1997; Shade, Kelly, & Oberg, 1997; Watts & Jagers, 1997).

One theme that runs through these scholarly volumes and Noguera's experiences in the schools is the notion of the adoption of African-centered consciousness-raising intervention/prevention programs among African American male youth. When such a model incorporates the African American extended family and the broader school/community, independent of their socioeconomic status, it typically results in elevations in self-esteem and self-concept among African American males that are critical to subsequent changes in academic achievement.

There is plenty of blame to go around (teachers, administrators, family, government, etc.) for the poor academic performance of some Black youth, especially Black boys. My friends and family members who teach in the public school system note that their job as teachers and administrators is more difficult because students are, first, not getting the discipline they need at home, so the children act out in school, and consequently teachers spend a lot of time trying to control disruptive students, instead of teaching, which inhibits learning for the entire class. Second, they note that students are not being positively reinforced for studying and learning at home; parents are not monitoring, not making sure students are doing their homework, and not attending PTA meetings or staying in contact with teachers about their students' progress. This occurs for a variety of reasons (e.g., very young, inexperienced parents, parents working multiple jobs for long hours, etc.).

How can we get extended family and community groups, such as churches, which are so important in the Black community, involved to better support parents and educators to maximize Black males students' academic performance?

Read the Review

African American Males: An Endangered Species in the 21st Century?
By Carlton W. Parks, Jr.
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(8)

Children, Media, and Society

Leonard A. Jason and Ilana M. Barach note the increasing levels and variety of media exposure in children's lives. Their review of The Handbook of Children, Media, and Development notes the complex issues involved in assessing the impact of media exposure on child development. The Handbook discusses the fact that media can "encourage short-term and long-term violence and aggression in children, but it can also initiate prosocial behavior."

Given the complexity of the issues, the limited research on the long-term impact of new media, and multiple media exposure on child development, does psychology have enough data to weigh in on what represents quality, developmentally appropriate media? Are American children at risk in our media-rich environment?

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Kids and the Media: What We Know and What We Need to Learn
By Leonard A. Jason [and] Ilana M. Barach
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(13)

Do Deaf Learners Process Information Differently?

In her review of Deaf Cognition: Foundations and Outcomes edited by Marc Marschark and Peter C. Hauser, Kathy Pierce notes that "[the] investigation of cognitive strengths and liabilities in relation to hearing peers [is] inadequate, frequently focusing on negative aspects instead of searching for strengths that could help optimize the learning experiences of deaf individuals."

Do you think that deaf individuals process information in the same manner as hearing individuals? If not, what are the implications for academic and vocational success?

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Thinking About Being Deaf: Will the Present Research Help Guide Future Teaching?
By Kathy J. Pierce
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(13)

Thinking About Those Mindless Moments

In his review of The Unintended Consequences of Civilization, Gordon Pitz writes,

"Smart people do stupid things because they behave mindlessly. The automatic response system that produces mindless behavior evolved because it was adaptive, but it comes at a cost. That everything beneficial comes at a cost is a special case of the Newtonian principle of maximum entropy."

How do mindless behaviors, the problems of modern civilization, evolution, and fundamental principles of physics relate?

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The Unintended Consequences of Civilization
By Gordon Pitz
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(12)

What Is the Value of the Genovese Parable?

In his review of two books about the Kitty Genovese murder case (Thirty-Eight Witnesses: The Kitty Genovese Case and Twisted Confessions: The True Story Behind the Kitty Genovese and Barbara Kralik Murder Trials), Harold Takooshian asserts that this was a parable about street crime (you could say the same about Jesus's story of the Good Samaritan) that "served to increase our awareness of public safety" and had an impact that has "reverberated around the world for four decades." The moral responsibility to help others, especially when they are in serious danger, is an established principle in philosophy and religion. We did not need the Genovese murder to become a parable so we could better understand this principle. Was this perhaps more of a parable of human nature, not morality, and the lesson was that people are inherently evil—that is, insensitive to the needs of others?

One clear impact of the event was that it lead to a period of extensive research on "bystander intervention." However, what is the evidence that the critical event or the research had an impact on public behavior or policy? Takooshian concludes, "Yes Kitty, we hear you now and we are not the same because of this." Even if we could assess the change in moral fiber of individuals or society over a 45-year period, surely we also would find a multitude of determining factors. I suspect a street crime in New York City would account for a negligible amount of the variance in that change.

Of course, the initial event was important and the research was interesting, but how can we determine the impact of these things, in the short run, or over a span of decades?

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The 1964 Kitty Genovese Tragedy: Still a Valuable Parable
By Harold Takooshian
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(10)

The Terror of Death and the Passion for Life...Coming Together

The prolific psychiatry luminary Irvin Yalom uses clinical case histories to discuss death anxiety and existentialism in his new book Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death. In his review of Yalom's book, Paul Wong reflects,

Our unique human capacity to reflect on our existence, anticipate our own demise, and imagine the horrible details of dying inevitably creates a sense of terror. Death awareness, no matter how vague, poses a constant threat and makes us uncomfortable because we can never escape from the long shadow of death...In spite of the predominance of death in human existence, it is helpful to recognize that there is deep within us a reservoir of passion for life, a longing for meaning and happiness, no matter how dreadful the circumstances.

Wong challenges the reader to syncretize one's deep awareness of death with an embrace of the passion for life. Is this a realistic notion or purely idealistic? Practically speaking, how might one accomplish this? Can the embrace of one enhance the awareness of the other?

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Positive Existential Psychotherapy and Pathways to Death Acceptance
By Paul T. P. Wong
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(8)

The Challenges of Choosing a Methodology

In their book What Counts as Credible Evidence in Applied Research and Evaluation Practice?, Stewart Donaldson and his colleagues address the challenges of designing and implementing sound applied research and evaluation designs. They attempt to move beyond historical quantitative-qualitative paradigm wars by critiquing a variety of methods across diverse contexts to determine what counts as credible evidence. The reader is then left to make educated decisions regarding how to apply these discussions to their particular projects.

In his review of the book, Cody Ding argues that the critical question is not which "camp" we need to be in for what types of projects, but how to link credible evidence to causality. In that vein, how do we decide which methodology to employ to document program improvement?

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Search for Truth: What Evidence Are We Looking For?
By Cody Ding
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(11)

Have Psychologists Ignored Human Sexuality?

Reviewing Teela Sanders' Paying for Pleasure: Men Who Buy Sex, Barry McCarthy and Maria Thestrup note,

Traditionally, issues involving human sexuality have not received a high priority in psychological theory, research, or clinical practice. Perhaps because sexuality is such a complex, value-laden area (particularly in relation to sexual trauma, sexual orientation, abortion, and extramarital involvement), psychology researchers have often left the field of human sexuality to other disciplines. From our perspective, this is a major mistake. The paradox of sexuality is that healthy sexuality contributes a small positive role in individual and relational well-being, but dysfunctional, conflictual sexuality—and particularly sexual avoidance—can play an inordinately powerful negative role in subverting individual and couple satisfaction and stability…

Have psychologists ignored human sexuality, or do McCarthy and Thestrup overstate their case?

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A Sociological/Anthropological Approach to Men Who Buy Sex
By Barry McCarthy [and] Maria Thestrup
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(11)

Our Virtual and Real Worlds: How Are They Interacting?

In his review of Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human, Richard Velayo notes, "A reader will likely come away asking questions about how our lives are being transformed in very real ways by what is happening in the virtual world," and "There are a number of research methodologies that may be used from within virtual worlds, including formal experimentation, observational ethnography, and quantitative analysis of social networks."

Can social scientists use virtual worlds to study "real world" human behavior? Is this an innovative and valid way to study more sensitive or controversial social behaviors that we would have difficulty studying in the real world? And, would it be useful to examine the effects of what happens to our avatars in the virtual world on our actual real world behavior?

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Studying Virtual Worlds: What's in It for Psychology?
By Richard Velayo
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 53(51)

Does Temperament Research by U.S. Psychologists Lack Explanatory Focus?

In Temperament as a Regulator of Behavior: After Fifty Years of Research, Jan Strelau describes his 50-year investigation of temperament that began with tests of Pavlov's physiological assumptions and culminated in his Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT). In her review of this book, Patricia Ashton points out that Strelau's research has been guided by a strong explanatory focus missing in theories of temperament in the United States (a point also made in the book's Foreword). She further writes: "The lack of such theories generally in psychological research in the United States appears, at least in part, to be the legacy of the anti-theoretical dominance of behaviorism and the pragmatism of researchers who failed to heed Kurt Lewin's (1951) dictum: 'There is nothing so practical as a good theory' (p. 169)."

Does temperament research conducted by U.S. psychologists lack explanatory focus? As the reviewer suggests, is this a problem with psychological research conducted in the United States in general?

Why has Strelau's theory of temperament sparked significant research in Europe, but not in the United States, and at what cost?

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Remembrance of Research Past in Hope of Research Future
By Patricia T. Ashton
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(1)

How Can Psychological Science Contribute More to the Courtroom?

Amy Hackney, in her review of the book Beyond Common Sense: Psychological Science in the Courtroom edited by Eugene Borgida and Susan T. Fiske, notes the following points made in the book:

First, research experts are often excluded from testifying on the ground that jurors do not need assistance with common knowledge. But as the science chapters make clear, many of the robust findings in psycholegal research are counterintuitive. Given all that psychological scientists know about the prevalence of erroneous beliefs, cognitive biases, and the extralegal factors that influence jury decision making, it is imperative that psychological scientists do a better job of acquainting judges and lawyers with the relevant research. Second, in general (but with notable exceptions) scientific psychologists have done a poor job using the methods of psychological science to answer the questions most relevant to legal and policy decision makers.

Do researchers need to address different independent and dependent variables that are perceived as more relevant to legal and policy decision makers in order to make a greater or more useful contribution to the legal system? Do scholars need to better "sell" the research in which they are currently engaged?

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Beyond Common Sense Makes Great Sense
By Amy Hackney
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(1)

How Much Do Psychologists Need to Know About the Business of Practice and the Practice of Business?

Dr. Robert Furey praises the new APA book by Steven Walfish and Jeffrey E. Barnett (Financial Success in Mental Health Practice: Essential Tools and Strategies for Practitioners), stating that it covers

the essential lessons that, historically, have not been covered in graduate school or postgraduate training. Can I waive copays? How do I find a good financial advisor? Will my liability insurance cover legal fees for a licensing board complaint? Should I incorporate? What should I charge for my services? What should I know about noncompetition clauses? What are the advantages and disadvantages to joining a group practice? What is an acceptable collection rate? How can I protect myself from lawsuits that arise after I retire? What do I need to know about taxes? What should I know about buying or selling a practice?

If you are a private practitioner, did your own graduate training adequately prepare you for the realities of running a business?

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The Altruistic Entrepreneur
By Robert Furey
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(3)

Too Much Emphasis on Psychological Causes of Insomnia?

Gayle Green, in her book Insomniac, levels criticism at psychologists and psychiatrists who concentrate on factors such as anxiety, depression, and/or stress as causes of insomnia (characterized as "blaming the victim") at the exclusion of examining the contribution of physiology. Stuart Derbyshire, in his review of Insomniac, suggests that physiological explanations of insomnia, however, are flawed. Specifically, he writes: "…the idea that insomnia is the product of faulty neurobiology or hormones or something else is just a guess and a guess that could be horribly wrong in many different ways." Both author and reviewer acknowledge that more research is needed to better understand the causes of sleep disorders.

What are the arguments for and against psychological influences of insomnia? Physiological influences? Can current findings in sleep research shed light on the complexities of this disorder?

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Why Can't You Just Go to Sleep?
By Stuart W. G. Derbyshire
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(52)

The Role of Psychology in the Production of Health

In his review of The Contested Boundaries of American Public Health, Brad Hesse notes that in the future, positive behaviors will become more important. Today's discussions of health, including the need to prevent and control chronic disease, highlight the role new knowledge related to motivation and complex behavior change may play in population health. Psychological theories and knowledge have been important to efforts to address the pressing issues of weight control, smoking cessation, and motivation to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, our limited success is glaring.

Are the efforts and directions of academic and research psychology attentive to the needs and opportunities in this area? Are professional organizations providing the guidance necessary to position psychologists to provide the leadership and make the contributions the profession is capable of making?

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Rebuilding the Levees in Public Health
By Bradford W. Hesse
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(2)

Interrogations: Does the APA Resolution Adequately Limit the Role of Psychologists?

Counseling psychologist and APA council member Larry James has written a provocative and important book, Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib, describing his experiences reforming Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Reviewer Rodney Lowman notes "Whether psychologists should be involved in interrogations at all is a current controversy, still hotly debated, that is only briefly addressed in the book."

Does the recent APA resolution on psychologists' involvement in interrogations put this hotly debated issue to rest?

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Reforming the Military in Troubled Times
By Rodney L. Lowman
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2009 Vol 54(2)

Have Psychologists Ignored Love?

In his new book, Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith, George Vailliant writes, "If poets are blind to love, psychologists are struck dumb. For decades psychologists tried not even to mention love." Reviewer Vincent W. Hevern notes, "At times, [Vailliant's] disdain for how psychoanalysis and academic psychology have disregarded the positive emotions is sharp and harshly ironic. At one point he observes, 'Almost since its inception, psychoanalysis has been fascinated with the dynamics of shame and revenge, but psychoanalysis has totally ignored the dynamics of forgiveness' … Freud particularly comes under criticism: 'Although Sigmund Freud was able to focus upon many emotions that others found unbearable, especially grief and lust, he blinded himself to human attachment.'"

Is this criticism of psychology and psychoanalysis justified? Do recent developments in positive psychology signal a growing acceptance of the importance of love as a human emotion [e.g., Peterson and Seligman (2004) include love on their list of those character strengths that make up the virtue of humanity]?

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Emotions and the Sacred in Human Lives
By Vincent W. Hevern
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(50)

Psychology and Religion—Secularism and Respect

Dr. Paul Priester, in his review of The Crescent and the Couch: Cross-Currents Between Islam and Psychoanalysis, asks " … whether it is possible to present Islam or any religion for that matter in a positive light when operating from a psychoanalytic perspective. Khalili has suggested that if a psychologist starts with a model of psychology based on secular presuppositions, it is impossible to subsequently view religious belief or practice in a healthy light (Priester, Khalili, & Luvathingal, 2008)."

In this age of multicultural concern, have we achieved a respectful understanding of the role of religion in human existence? Have psychologists achieved greater understanding of some religious traditions compared to others?

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Gazing at Islam Through a Psychoanalytic Lens: Acuity or Myopia?
By Paul Priester
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(52)

Is Technology Reshaping Social Connections?

Stanley J. Morse notes in his review of New Tech, New Ties: How Mobile Communication is Reshaping Social Cohesion that, "Cell phones … have clearly had a profound impact on social interaction in public space, if not elsewhere. It has become increasingly difficult to feel part of the larger community, when everyone seems to be in his or her own private, virtual reality-often communicating with an unseen partner … via an almost invisible Bluetooth connection. Traditional notions of privacy and civility have been suspended, modified, or altogether abandoned."

Do you agree that mobile communication has seismically altered social connections? If so, is the impact overly negative? What is your opinion of the reviewer's assertion that "[researchers] have probably missed the opportunity to conduct sorely needed longitudinal investigations of the impact of these relatively new but firmly entrenched technologies on social interaction and cohesion"? Have there not been some studies, both in psychology as well as communications and other disciplines, that have helped us to better understand mediated communications? And why or why not is it too late?

From a developmental and industrial/organizational psychology viewpoint, does this generation's (over?) use of cell phones mean that they are less likely to develop social skills, will have more problems with workplace relationships, face-to-face relationships of all kinds (friendship, romantic, or even classroom, etc.)?

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Who Has Durkheim's Number? Cell Phones and Social Interaction
By Stanley J. Morse
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(47)

The Role of Psychology in the Obesity Epidemic

In his review of Obesity Surgery: Stories of Altered Lives, Randall Flanery notes that the most dependable method of producing weight loss is surgery. The behavioral strategies, to eat less and exercise more, have proven difficult to implement and sustain in our current food environment. The role of the psychologist in the current model of care for obesity surgery is to identify obstacles to treatment, such as unreasonable expectations regarding the surgery, as well as readiness to make the demanding but necessary lifestyle changes.

Is this the appropriate role for psychologists in the obesity epidemic? Would the profession and society be better served if we used our knowledge of behavior to develop effective behavioral weight loss strategies?

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Obesity Surgery: When Less Is More
By Randall C. Flanery
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(49)

Does Money Buy Happiness? Do Psychologists Have Anything to Say About the Question?

In his critique of Bruno Frey's book Happiness: A Revolution in Economics, psychologist Robert Biswas-Diener notes that "Perhaps the most frequently asked question related to happiness is 'Does money buy happiness?'" He then notes that "By and large, the simple answer to the question of money and happiness is that, yes, income does seem associated in a relatively small but significant way with happiness."

He goes on to note that "Frey's discussion will be welcome to those who have long believed in the legitimacy of happiness research and will foment debate among those who don't. In either case, Frey is correct: Happiness is a topic that will bring together psychologists, sociologists, and economists."

Is the relationship between money and happiness always (modestly) positive? Is this a legitimate area for psychological research? What studies in this emerging research area are the most convincing?

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The New (Smiley) Face of Economics
By Robert Biswas-Diener
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(47)

Are Teachers Reading PsycCRITIQUES?

I [James H. Korn] recently reviewed Ludy Benjamin's collection of Favorite Activities for the Teaching of Psychology. I am wondering how many teachers are reading PsycCRITIQUES, not just for books about teaching, but, more importantly to broaden their knowledge base.

Can you provide examples of reviews that were useful in preparing lectures or learning activities?

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Good Ideas for Active Learning
By James H. Korn
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(43)

Humor: Can It Be at Home at Work?

Richard Harvey opens his book review: "At first thought, it seems hard to take a book about having fun seriously. However, the authors of The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up make a compelling case for the necessity of levity (i.e., "lightening up") in the workplace." This book is among recent literature in I/O psychology that explores the connection between corporate affect and individual affect. The potential outcomes of successfully adding levity to the workplace that the book authors Adrian Gostick and Scott Christoper discuss include increased respect and trust for leadership, better physical and mental health for employees, more innovation, and increased organizational and individual profitability. Harvey mentions,

Several organizations with household names like Nike, Boeing, Nextel, Qwest, Yamaha, U.S. Bank, and Dairy Queen use humor strategies that include having employees participate in game shows, carnivals, and movie outings. Furthermore, many of these organizations are beginning to institutionalize having fun into their core operations and human resource processes. For example, some of them are beginning to make "having a sense of humor" a competency to hire and train their executives around.

Are there any of these elements of levity where you work? This book is written more for the organizational practitioner, and Harvey says, "academicians and other cerebral types are likely to find themselves befuddled with the 'yes, buts' as they attempt to sniff out the moderators and mediators between levity and its attributed outcomes," but what might those moderators and mediators be?

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Having Fun at Work Is Serious Business
By Richard D. Harvey
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(41)

Maintaining Dignity for All: A Path to a More Peaceful World?

In the book Dignity for All: How to Create a World Without Rankism, authors Robert Fuller and Pamela Gerloff describe Fuller’s approach to understanding the problems of inequality and violence. The main components of his approach are rankism (in particular, the abuse of rank) and most importantly, dignity. And a third component is the bond, the bond between individuals and between groups. In his review of the book, Thomas Scheff describes, "Helping the other person or group maintain their dignity maintains the existing bond or strengthens it; disrespect disrupts it… Secure bonds lead to cooperation; disrupted ones, to conflict."

Scheff says, "Fuller's approach is powerful in several different ways. It is applicable to many ostensibly different issues: race, interethnic and international relations, gender, sexual orientation, social class, and so on. It also implies a theory that may explain gratuitous and/or interminable conflict between individuals and between groups." Scheff concludes, "Indeed, [Fuller’s] work could provide the foundation for a social movement to create dignitarian organizations and, ultimately, to build a dignitarian society."

Is there potential for a "dignitarian" social movement in the U.S. and in other countries? In the United States, is one political party more likely than the other to support dignitarian values?

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A New Voice in Social and Behavioral Science
By Thomas Scheff
      PsycCRITIQUES, 2008 Vol 53(42)