Psychology and the U.S. military have a long history of collaboration. The U.S. Army Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) program aims to measure the psychosocial strengths and assets of soldiers as well as their problems, to identify those in need of basic training in a given domain as well as those who would benefit from advanced training, and…

An appreciation of the psychological impacts of global climate change entails recognizing the complexity and multiple meanings associated with climate change; situating impacts within other social, technological, and ecological transitions; and recognizing mediators and moderators of impacts. This article describes three classes of psychological…

Research designed to establish the empirical underpinnings of psychotherapy relies heavily on arbitrary metrics, and researchers often do not know if clients receiving an evidence-based treatment have improved in everyday life or changed in a way that makes a difference, apart from the changes the arbitrary metrics may have shown. In other words,…

Guidelines have been developed by the Committee on Professional Practice and Standards of the American Psychological Association Board of Professional Affairs for psychological evaluations in child-protection matters. The 17 guidelines, which are not mandatory, may be useful to many interested parties, but are designed primarily for psychologists…

This article presents comments on the article by D. Westen and J. Weinberger, which explored the benefits and limitations of clinical observation and judgment. Westen and Weinberger identify two categories of informants--clinicians and participants--but these categories could be expanded to include other observers who might have particular…

The majority of mental health clinicians are monolingual and white. Even if unbiased assessment techniques are developed, valid psychodiagnosis of Hispanic patients will remain illusory to the extent that clinicians are insensitive to the linguistic and cultural nuances of their clientele. Recommendations for improving clinical practice are…

Examines the issue of validity and values in the scientific method of research, and suggests that researchers must continuously question the premises upon which their research is based. (SB)

Children are considered "disturbed" when they behave in ways that are unacceptable to signficant adults in their environment. Diagnosis of such children, however, is more often for administrative purposes than for the purpose of preventing further and more serious disturbance. (Author/GC)

Thirty publications were examined to locate literature on acculturation and mental health among Hispanics immigrants. Points of convergence, problems, limitations, and new directions for research are discussed. Research is needed to discover how acculturation shapes the experience and expression of psychological distress. (CJS)

Many psychological tests have arbitrary metrics but are appropriate for testing psychological theories. Metric arbitrariness is a concern, however, when researchers wish to draw inferences about the true, absolute standing of a group or individual on the latent psychological dimension being measured. The authors illustrate this in the context of 2…

Major reasons for the continuing divergency of opinion as regards the nature and meaning of intelligence are examined. An appraisal of intelligence as a relative concept is proposed which advocates the necessity of specifying the reference systems to which a statement about intelligence refers. (EH)

Presents the history of psychometrics in terms of the various investigators who worked in this area; the fields of computer utilization, testing, scaling, factor analysis, and learning theory are examined. (JM)

Challenges the assumption that extensive training is required to develop effective skills in psychotherapy and psychodiagnosis. It is argued that educators of researchers in psychology should examine common assumptions about the nature of psychology practice and consider conceptions of professional work that emphasize reflection in action and…

An explanatory model of evaluation research is presented from a psychological perspective that incorporates concepts of internal and external validity, formative and summative evaluation and points toward the roles in which psychologists trained in more traditional areas can contribute to this enterprise. While the classical experimental approach…

Data from a survey of directors of APA-approved programs in clinical psychology reveal that a substantial number of programs offer formal training in clinical psychophysiology. Details are provided regarding types of training available; content areas covered; and, ratings indicating interest, utility and potential of biofeedback,…