General Psychological Theory Research Articles

The Psychological Consequences of Abuse for the Child

The consequences of child abuse for the emotional health and development of the child have been largely disregarded in theory, in practice, and in research. The few studies which have investigated this aspect of the child abuse problem report detrimental psychological consequences. These research findings combined with more general psychological theory and research on personality development provide a basis for predicting the psychological consequences of abuse for children. Documentation of deficits in the emotional development of abused children has important policy and practice implications for intervention and treatment.

Emotional impact of a task and its setting on work performance of screeners and nonscreeners.

This study explored desire to work at a task in a situation as a function of situational pleasantness, situational arousing quality, task pleasantness, and task arousing quality. The hypotheses which were based on a general theory of environmental psychology accounted for a major portion of the results. These showed that (1) the pleasantness of a task and/or situation is a direct correlate of desire to work, (2) the arousing quality of any situation-task combination is inversely related to the desire to work, and (3) desire to work is not affected by the arousing quality of a situation-task combination when that combination is pleasant, and decreases with arousing quality of a situation-task combination when that combination is either neutral (in terms of pleasantness) or unpleasant. An individual difference measure of stimulus screening was employed to assess characteristic differences in automatic screening of irrelevant stimuli and rapid habituation to distracting stimuli. Nonscreeners who are generally more arousable reported a lower desire to work than screeners. Further, as predicted, nonscreeners, compared with screeners, reported a greater desire to work at pleasant situation-task combinations. However, compared with screeners, they reported less desire to work at neutral (in terms of pleasantness) or unpleasant tasks.

Is Social Psychology Really Different?

Gergen (1976), outlines a number of problems that make it difficult to apply general social psychological the ories, or to assess their validity unequivocally. These dif ficulties are not unique to social psychology, however. The application of general scientific principles has never been a simple matter, not even in the well-established physical sci ences. Moreover, there are formidable difficulties in asses sing general theoretical propositions in every field of in quiry, since empirical procedures will inevitably depend on assumptions about local field conditions, the adequacy of meas urement techniques, and the like. As a consequence, if re sults are inconsistent with theoretical expectations, there will always be some uncertainty as to where the problem lies. Social psychologists should not assume that their difficulties are totally unlike those encountered in other fields of sci entific inquiry. The problems raised by Gergen do not, con sequently, rule out the possible development and application of general social psychological theories.

Effects of fear-arousing components of driver education on students' safety attitudes and simulator performance.

Despite the importance of driving safety, there is little evidence that traditional driver education courses are effective. A 2X2X2 factorial experiment examined the effects of (a) the noxiousness of an automobile accident, (b) one's probability of being in an accident, and (c) the efficacy of safe-driving practices on 144 high school driver education students. The results disclosed that increments in the noxiousness variable greatly reduced error rates on driving simulators. Additionally, if students behaved negligently, driving performance was improved by increasing either their perception of the severity of accidents or their chances of being in one. Advantages of discovering effective variables linked to general psychological theories (i.e., expectancy-value theories) were reviewed and implications for implementing these principles in driver education were discussed. /Author/

The concept of adaptation-level in psychological research.

Vuorinen, R. The concept of adaptation‐level in psychological research. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 228–240.‐ Helson's adaptation‐level theory (ALT) is appraised as a general theory of psychology. The reformulated Fechner law underlying ALT is shown to be untenable and the conceptual status of AL is shown to be self‐contradictory. The ambiguous measures and the inconsistent theoretical definitions proposed for AL are found to limit the scope of ALT. Reasons for its flexibility and claimed heuristic value are analyzed and potential sources of confusion are suggested. Some defects of ALT are likely to be shared by other behaviouristic theories since they follow from a commitment to the strict S‐R model.

Smoking as Behavior: Applying a Social Psychological Theory

Because current theoretical approaches to the study of smoking behavior have variously defined the nature of the dependent variable, have been characterized by limited generalizability, and lack continuity with general social psychological theory, a new perspective is presented. The new model is drawn from the study of the educational and occupational attainment process and views smoking as a behavior determined by an informational construct, i.e., attitude. The applicability of this model is discussed, then empirically tested by reference to a survey of 97 undergraduates and their agents of interpersonal influence. The results of this study are examined as to the applicability of the theoretical model and the implications of the approach for the formation of smoking policy.

MEANINGS, IMPLICATIONS AND UNIVERSALS: TOWARDS A PSYCHOLOGY OF MAN

Smedslund, J. Meanings, implications and universals: towards a psychology of man. Scand. J. Psychof., 1969, 10, 1–15.‐S‐R psychology ignores the nonlawful regions between stimulus and meaning, and between intention and response. Psychology is defined: the science of phenomena as they exist for the individual person. The data in psychology: the public meanings of a person's acts, i.e. the meanings shared by all members of the person's community. Mental processes are related by implication rather than causation. Logic is a precondition for efficient mental functioning. Concepts with purely logical connotations (universals) are necessary for all higher mental functioning. No general psychological theory can perhaps exist, only development of already existing a priori conceptual schemata (common sense) and of diagnostic techniques.

Explorations in the Theory of Social Movements and Revolutions

James C. Davies proposed a rise and drop hypothesis to explain the origin of revolutiolls. The present paper attempts to place this in the more general context of analyzing conditions which produce both social movements and revolutions. Three additional temporal hypotheses (rising expectations, relative deprivation, and downward mobility) and one nontemporal hypothesis (status inconsistency) are suggested. These five hypotheses are subsumed under the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. This provides a general social psychological theory of motivation which could account for individual predispositions toward participation in social movements and revolutions. Predictions are made regardinig the direction and initensity of such

Intelligence has three facets. There are numerous intellectual abilities, but they fall neatly into a rational system.

In this limited space I have attempted to convey information regarding progress in discovering the nature of human intelligence. By intensive factor-analytic investigation, mostly within the past 20 years, the multifactor picture of intelligence has grown far beyond the expectations of those who have been most concerned. A comprehensive, systematic theoretical model known as the "structure of intellect" has been developed to put rationality into the picture. The model is a cubical affair, its three dimensions representing ways in which the abilities differ from one another. Represented are: five basic kinds of operation, four substantive kinds of information or "contents," and six formal kinds of information or "products," respectively. Each intellectual ability involves a unique conjunction of one kind of operation, one kind of content, and one kind of product, all abilities being relatively independent in a population, but with common joint involvement in intellectual activity. This taxonomic model has led to the discovery of many abilities not suspected before. Although the number of abilities is large, the 15 category constructs provide much parsimony. They also provide a systematic basis for viewing mental operations in general, thus suggesting new general psychological theory. The implications for future intelligence testing and for education are numerous. Assessment of intellectual qualities should go much beyond present standard intelligence tests, which seriously neglect important abilities that contribute to problem-solving and creative performance in general. Educational philosophy, curriculum-building, teaching procedures, and examination methods should all be improved by giving attention to the structure of intellect as the basic frame of reference. There is much basis for expecting that various intellectual abilities can be improved in individuals, and the procedures needed for doing this should be clear.

Psychoanalysis and the American Scene: a Reappraisal

For many people in the United States the designation of the first part of the twentieth century as the Age of Analysis does not seem strange or even overstated. They know immediately that the phrase refers to psychoanalysis and not spectrum analysis or content analysis or market analysis. Psychoanalysis as a therapy, as a way of looking at the world, undeniably caught on in this country and in this hemisphere to a far greater extent than it has anywhere else in the world. Yet today many signs indicate that its influence has leveled off and perhaps even declined, while in Europe and Japan the boom may be just getting under way. This current disparity between the Old World and the New provides fresh impetus for speculation about the forces that implemented the acceptance of psychoanalysis in this country and for illustration of how this acceptance became in part a silly infatuation. Some of these factors should be outlined both from the point of view of phychoanalysis as a cultural phenomenon and from the point of view of psychoanalysis as potentially the most inclusive general psychological theory. To spell out some of the conditions that did and do obtain in the United States in regard to psychoanalysis may supply a baseline from which to study the similarities and differences in the growth, in other countries, of psychoanalysis as an institution and as a system of thought, as well as a part of medicine along with its barely legitimate offspring, dynamic psychiatry. This vast task can be undertaken here only in the broadest possible terms. Hence historical, sociological, and psychological generalizations will be offered without the necessary noting of ever-present exceptions and disagreements.

Spontaneous Schooling and Success in Teaching

Investigators who have studied the chaotic literature on teacher effectiveness have occasionally lamented the lack of a coherent theory in the field (1). Such a theory, however tentative, might provide a framework for discussion and lead to new lines of research. In the hope of serving these purposes, we would like to consider a general psychological theory of schooling. We want to try to show how this theory, which covers the whole general phenomenon of schooling, leads to a number of deductions regarding success in teaching. The theory is concerned with the traditional teaching process as it has functioned in primitive and civilized societies from prehistoric times to the present. It may not fully apply to the more mechanized and elaborate teaching process that some people envisage for the future. The general theory is that of spontaneous schooling (2). Starting with the traditional sociological function of the school, this theory attempts to describe the psychological forces responsible for the existence of schools or schooling, and the basic psychological mechanisms by which the school works. Naturally enough, the sociological function of the school is closely related to the role of the school in the survival of the species or group. To have a good chance of survival, members of a group must attain reasonable proficiency in many kinds of behavior. Typically, these ways of behaving, or tendencies, call for nurture or cultivation. It follows, then, that a group is more likely to survive if it has mechanisms for the cultivation of these tendencies.

The use of learning theory in the psychological treatment of children.

For some years there has been growing dissatisfaction among British clinical psychologists with psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapies. On the other hand, there has been an increasing desire to derive treatment procedures from the body of general psychological theory, in particular learning theory, which will allow of more precise formulations of problem and predictions of outcome according to the specific theoretical postulate chosen. The application of conditioning and other learning techniques in the treatment of both children and adults was, of course, described thirty years ago by M. C. Jones (5); twenty years ago, by Mowrers (8); and more recently by H.G. Jones (3, 4), Eysenck (2), Walton (11, 12) and Walton and Black (13, 14). The accommodation of theory and practice has been most fully attempted so far by Mowrer (6, 7), Dollard and Miller (1), and Shoben (9, 10).

Angell's Theory of International Prices

I So intimate has been the contact, at each stage of their development, between the theory of international trade and economic theory in general, that exploration in the history of the theory of international trade is well worth while, for the sake of general economic theory, as well as for its own sake. Up to the present, however, works on the historical side of the theory of international trade which were at once scholarly and comprehensive have been completely lacking. Beyond cursory and often ununderstanding allusions in the general treatises on the history of economic thought, and a few monographs, mostly by German scholars, on particular writers or restricted periods, nothing worthy of note dealing with the history of the theory of international trade was available until the appearance of the book which is the subject of the present review.1 Angell's study, though comprehensive, is not complete. Tariff theory; the character, the measurement, and the division of the gains from international trade; the relation of the theory of international values to general psychological theories of economic value, whether subjective cost theories, or utility theories, or eclectic combinations thereof-all of these are either deliberately excluded from the scope of the study or are summarily disposed of. Foreign exchange theory is dealt with only in its most general and theoretical aspects. There is no discussion of the problems connected with the measurement of international balances, or of the differences between the various types of balances. But what remains is still of impressive proportions. Angell, moreover, makes his examination of the history of the theory a preliminary to an appraisal of current doc-

University and Educational Intelligence

CAMBRIDGE.—The latest edition of the schedule of subjects for the Moral Sciences Tripos fully recognises physiology. In the advanced part of the examination special knowledge is required (1) of the physiology of the senses and of the central nervous system; (2) of experimental investigations into the intensity and duration of psychical states; and (3) of such facts of mental pathology as are of psychological interest. Questions will also be set relating to the philosophic treatment of the relation of body and mind as regards both the method and the general theory of psychology. Mr. Lewes's “Problems of Life and Mind,” vols. iii.v., Dr. Michael Foster's “Text-book of Physiology,” Book iii., Wundt's “Physiologische Psychologie,” Fechner's “In Sachen der Psychophysik,” Maudsley's “Physiology of Mind” and “Pathology of Mind” are among the books recommended.