Polskie Towarzystwo Psychologiczne

Social change is understood as a more or less rapid and comprehensive change of societal structures and institutions, including changes to the economic, technological, and cultural frameworks of a society (Calhoun, 1992). A case in point is the breakup or transformation of the former communist countries in Europe in the 1980s. The political transition to representative democracy included a profound change of the economic system to market capitalism, which was soon overlaid by the negative effects of globalization. Today, some 20 years after the event, we have a huge variation of political and economic transformations around the world. These transformations also include countries such as the United Kingdom or China that have undergone economic reforms without changes in the basics of the political system. Given that social change is evident at the macro level, it is also plausible to assume that such changes have an impact on individuals’ behavior and development. Until recently, however, such issues did not rank very high on the research agenda, at least not for psychology. This is the background to this Special Section, which brings together papers that investigate the effect of social change on the lives of individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

We investigated how individuals negotiated demands of social change in the domains of work and family life in terms of primary and secondary control strategies of goal engagement and disengagement. A sample of N = 2,153 adults from East and West Germany was interviewed on demands they experienced, related primary and secondary control strategies, occupational and relationship status, and primary and secondary appraisals of demands. Results show little specific variance in the control strategies between the domain of work and the domain of family and a general preference for goal engagement over goal disengagement in dealing with demands of social change. Participants outside the labor market and singles reported relatively less engagement and more disengagement strategies. More favorable primary and secondary appraisals were associated with more engagement and less disengagement whereas a higher load of demands of social change predicted all control strategies in a positive way. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

The purpose of this study was to examine parents’ perceived social change and its relations with adolescents’ reports of childrearing attitudes in urban and rural China. The participants were high school students and their parents in a Northern region of China. Parents completed a measure of perceived social change, and the adolescents completed a measure of childrearing attitudes including parental warmth, control, and encouragement of independence. The results indicated that urban parents had higher scores than rural parents on major dimensions of perceived social change including work-related opportunities, self-improvement in work, and high-tech experiences. Urban adolescents reported lower parental control and higher parental encouragement of independence than rural adolescents. In addition, parents’ reports of opportunities and prospects were positively associated with adolescents’ reports of parental warmth and encouragement of independence in childrearing across the urban and rural groups, suggesting that parents who perceived more challenges and opportunities to pursue self-advancement and personal career goals were more likely to support the use of warm and sensitive parenting and to encourage their children to develop independent behaviors. The results indicated the implications of social change for socialization and adolescent development in Chinese context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Dramatic social change leads to profound societal transformations in many countries around the world. The two recent revolutions in March 2005 and April 2010, and the ethnic conflict in June 2010 in Kyrgyzstan are vivid examples. The present research aims to understand people’s reactions to dramatic social change in terms of personal well-being. To further understand how people react psychologically to dramatic social change, the theoretical framework of our research is based on a dominant theory in social psychology: Collective relative deprivation theory. In the past, researchers have argued that collective relative deprivation is logically associated with collective outcomes, and thus is not likely to impact personal well-being (e.g., Walker & Mann, 1987). Others, however, have argued that feelings of collective relative deprivation do impact personal well-being (e.g., Zagefka & Brown, 2005). We postulate that these inconsistent results arise because past research has failed to consider multiple points of comparison over time to assess collective relative deprivation. Specifically, we theorize that multiple points of collective relative deprivation need to be taken into account, and in so doing, collective relative deprivation will, indeed, be related to personal well-being. We also explore the entire trajectory of collective relative deprivation (which represents how an individual perceives the evolution of his/her group’s history across time) to predict personal well-being. In the present study, we tested these theoretical propositions in the context of dramatic social change in Kyrgyzstan. Regressions, group-based trajectory modeling, and MANOVA confirm our hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Leaving school early is generally associated with relative poor adult outcomes, as indicated by relative low social status, reduced earnings, and poor mental health. Yet, not all young people leaving school early are failing to make it. Some are able to find continuous employment and achieve financial independence. Comparing the experiences of two British Birth cohorts born in 1958 and 1970, respectively, this study examines the trajectories of young people leaving school early, and identifies factors associated with a successful transition, that is achieving financial independence. The study comprises 11,219 individuals born in 1958 and 9,541 born in 1970 following their lives from childhood into adulthood. While the majority of young people born in 1958 left school at age 16 to enter the labor market, increasing numbers of young people born in 1970 are participating in further and higher education. In both cohorts those young people who left school early and who succeeded in reaching financial independence by age 34 showed higher school motivation than those who failed to make it. The findings highlight the importance of building up positive attitudes for learning among children and their parents, as these factors have long-term beneficial effects, even for those who are leaving school early. Moreover, the role of macro-economic circumstances has to be acknowledged for a better understanding of variation in transition experiences in times of social change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Identity formation in political and occupational domains was examined from young to middle adulthood based on an ongoing longitudinal study. In addition to the participants’ identity status (diffused, moratorium, foreclosed, achieved), we assessed their perceived importance of politics, future orientation, and career stability four times in adulthood, at ages 27, 36, 42, and 50. The number of participants varied between analyses, from 168 to 291. Changes in the economic situation in Finland from 1986 to 2009 provided a context for the study. Data collections at ages 36 (in 1995) and 50 (in 2009) took place during economic recessions, and at age 42 (in 2001) during an economic boom. The results were discussed from both age-graded and history-graded perspectives. Developmental trends in political and occupational identity were reversed across age and changes in the economic situation. Political identity was at its lowest level and occupational identity was at its highest level at age 42 during the economic boom. Political identity progressed at a time of economic recession at age 50, whereas occupational identity regressed. In women, identity changes were associated with personal career stability. The perceived importance of politics increased concurrently with political identity achievement. During the recession when they were age 50, women tended to worry about future financial problems, while men perceived their future depending decreasingly on themselves and increasingly on the world situation. The results indicate that macro-level economic conditions may have psychological implications on people’s conceptions of themselves that are worth considering in developmental studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Despite several studies investigating the impact of sex and violence in television on consumer behavior and memory for products in commercials, results remain inconsistent and debated. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of television violence and sex on memory for commercials and willingness to buy products. Two hundred twelve young adults were assigned to watch either a sexual, violent, combined sexual and violent or neutral television show. Within each show were embedded 12 commercials, four violent, four sexual, and four neutral. Results indicated that violent or sexual content of the television show did not impair memory for commercials or willingness to buy products, and that sexual or violent content in the commercials themselves increased memory for those commercials. Implications for the current study are that violent or sexual shows may adequately function in attracting viewers’ attention, with sexual and violent content in the commercials themselves improving viewers memory for products. Use of violent or sexual content in commercials may thus be useful in advertising for brand recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Family law proceedings encompass a broad range of issues, including custody, maintenance, support, valuation, visitation, relocation, and termination of parental rights. The following guidelines address what are commonly termed child custody evaluations, involving disputes over decision making, caretaking, and access in the wake of marital or other relationship dissolution. The goal of these guidelines is to promote proficiency in the conduct of these particular evaluations. This narrowed focus means that evaluations occurring in other contexts (e.g., child protection matters) are not covered by these guidelines. In addition, the guidelines acknowledge a clear distinction between the forensic evaluations described in this document and the advice and support that psychologists provide to families, children, and adults in the normal course of psychotherapy and counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

This is the official listing of accredited internship and postdoctoral residency programs. It reflects all Commission on Accreditation decisions through July 18, 2010. The Commission on Accreditation has accredited the predoctoral internship and postdoctoral residency training programs in psychology offered by the agencies listed. The original date of accreditation, listed for each program, is the day on which the program’s accredited status became effective. The original date of accreditation, listed for each program, is the day on which the program’s accredited status became effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

This is the official listing of accredited doctoral programs. It reflects all Commission on Accreditation decisions through July 18, 2010. The Commission on Accreditation has accredited the doctoral training programs in professional psychology in the areas of (a) clinical, (b) counseling, (c) school, (d) other developed practice areas, and (e) combinations of two or three of the above areas. They are listed by their host institutions. The original date of accreditation, listed for each program, is the day on which the program’s accredited status became effective. Also listed for each program is the date of the next regularly scheduled site visit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

This acknowledgment from the Commission on Accreditation thanks individuals who contributed to the work of the Commission by serving on site visit teams and appeal panels during the 2009–2010 academic/training year in the field of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

The regional Psychological Associations each report summaries their annual meetings held in 2010. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

The American Psychologist acknowledges the assistance of the persons who served as consultants during the period from September 1, 2009, through August 31, 2010. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

This obituary describes the life of Seymour Bernard Sarason, professor emeritus of psychology at Yale University, who died on January 28, 2010, in New Haven, Connecticut, at the age of 91. Seymour was the founder and the “conscience” of the field of community psychology, a prophetic and guiding light in the study of school culture and reform in education, and a groundbreaking leader in the field of mental retardation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Astronomy has had a profound influence on the study of vision. Richard Langton Gregory, who died on May 17, 2010, was descended from the 17th-century inventor of the reflecting telescope, James Gregory, and his father (Clive Gregory) directed the observatory at the University of London. Seeing, and the instruments that can be used to extend its ambit, were Richard’s constant concerns, and his ability to communicate his fascination inspired many students to pursue the path of perception. Perception, especially when it was illusory, was the area in which Richard established himself in psychology. The influence of cognitive processes on perceptual experiences defined his approach, and he applied it to a wide range of phenomena. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

When Colin Martindale passed away on November 16, 2008, psychology lost one of its greatest patrons. In the course of a career that spanned four decades, he worked tirelessly to promote the scientific study of aesthetics and creativity, in the process making important contributions not only to his primary focal areas but also to psycholinguistics, computerized content analysis, author attribution, psychoanalytic theory, statistical method, personality, abnormal psychology, interpersonal attraction, and oligonucleotide frequencies in DNA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Xiaojia Ge (“Ge”) died peacefully on August 26, 2009, following a battle with lung cancer. He was born in Beijing, China, on October 24, 1954. Ge made seminal contributions to the study of adolescence and developmental psychopathology, including work on the psychosocial correlates of early puberty, the development of depression, and linkages between genetic factors and family dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

This obituary highlights the life achievements of Ruth C. Cohn who was a psychotherapist, educator, and poet. She was born August 27, 1912, in Berlin, Germany, and died on January 30, 2010, in Dusseldorf, Germany. In the mid-1950s, Ruth began developing her creative group method called theme centered interaction (TCI). In 1966, along with her friend and colleague Norman Lieberman, she created the Workshop Institute for Living-Learning (WILL) for those interested in group leadership. She founded WILL–Europe in 1972. Ruth leaves behind a well-established organization called the Ruth Cohn Institute for TCI International, with headquarters in Germany. Her life and work have influenced the lives and work of many others on several continents, though most of her publications are in German. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Comments on The dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological treatments: A review of current efforts (see record 2010-02208-010) by Kathryn R. McHugh and David H. Barlow. The lead article in the February–March issue by McHugh and Barlow (2010) emphasized the need for “dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological treatments.” The authors identified a number of intervention programs as evidence based and in need of dissemination. One is multisystemic therapy (MST). They claimed that this program is among “the most successful dissemination efforts . . . pursued by treatment developers” (p. 79). McHugh and Barlow’s (2010) discussion of the implementation of MST in Hawaii is troubling, because it neglected to mention concerns about the perceived lack of cultural sensitivity of the MST program in that state. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Replies to comments on Do haphazard reviews provide sound directions for dissemination efforts? (see record 2010-24768-012) by Eileen Gambrill and Julia H. Littell on the current authors' article The dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological treatments: A review of current efforts (see record 2010-02208-010) by Kathryn R. McHugh and David H. Barlow. In their commentary, Gambrill and Littell (2010, this issue) suggested that we provided misleading guidance on the selection of treatments for dissemination in our recent article (McHugh & Barlow, February– March 2010) on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments. These authors misread our article as an affirmation of the evidence base of the treatments involved in the dissemination and implementation efforts we described. In fact, we explicitly disclaimed in the third paragraph that “we do not revisit controversies surrounding the identification or appropriateness of [evidence-based psychological treatments] . . . rather, we focus on the status and adequacy of [dissemination and implementation] efforts currently under way (McHugh & Barlow, 2010, p. 73). Thus, our review was not intended as a guideline for which treatments to disseminate, nor was it a thorough review of the evidence base for the treatments included in the efforts we reviewed. We chose several programs for illustrative purposes as representative efforts from three general domains: national, state, and investigator initiated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)