Dr. Janet E. Helms: Envisioning and creating a more humane psychological science, theory, and practice.

Dr. Janet E. Helms's use of psychological science to engage the field of psychology in radical progressive debates about race and identity is unprecedented. Her scholarship transformed prevailing paradigms in identity development theory and cognitive ability testing in psychology, to name a few. However, mainstream psychology often ignores, dismisses, and minimizes the importance of Dr. Helms's scientific contributions. Despite the numerous systemic barriers she encounters as a Black woman in psychology, Dr. Helms has persisted and made immeasurable contributions to the field and society. The intellectual gifts she has provided have shaped psychology for decades and will undoubtedly continue to do so for centuries to come. This article aims to provide an overview of Dr. Helms's lifetime contributions to psychology and the social sciences. To achieve this goal, we provide a brief narrative of Dr. Helms's life as a prelude to describing her foundational contributions to psychological science and practice in four domains, including (a) racial identity theories, (b) racially conscious and culturally responsive praxis, (c) womanist identity, and (d) racial biases in cognitive ability tests and measurement. The article concludes with a summary of Dr. Helms's legacy as an exceptional psychologist who offers the quintessential blueprint for envisioning and creating a more humane psychological science, theory, and practice anchored in liberation for all. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

[Inventing the standard: psychology in the Brazilian Mental Hygiene League]. / A invenção da norma: a psicologia na Liga Brasileira de Higiene Mental.

The article analyzes psychology within the Brazilian Mental Hygiene League, an institution founded in 1923 for the adaptation of individuals and to shape the "universal morals of tomorrow." Among other purposes, the league worked to adapt psychological tests and studies on child development in an attempt to assess mental function and establish standards. As an element that helped broaden the power of psychiatry, psychology was involved in two dimensions of disciplinary power: individual bodies and the social body. In this way, psychology also encountered the possibility that it could be vulgarized, as well as contradictions arising from the position of knowledge and techniques in this area.

O artigo analisa a psicologia na Liga Brasileira de Higiene Mental, instituição fundada em 1923 que tinha como princípios fundamentais a adaptação dos indivíduos e a constituição da "moral universal do amanhã". Entre outras proposições, ela se dedicou à adaptação de testes psicológicos e aos estudos sobre o desenvolvimento infantil que buscavam avaliar o funcionamento mental e delimitar sua norma. Como elemento que colaborou para a extensão do poder psiquiátrico, a psicologia implicou-se em duas dimensões da atuação do poder disciplinar: os corpos individuais e o corpo social. Assim, a psicologia também encontrou a possibilidade de sua vulgarização, não sem as contradições emergentes na posição de saber e técnica disciplinar.

A invenção da norma: a psicologia na liga brasileira de higiene mental / Inventing the standard: psychology in the brazilian mental hygiene league

Resumo O artigo analisa a psicologia na Liga Brasileira de Higiene Mental, instituição fundada em 1923 que tinha como princípios fundamentais a adaptação dos indivíduos e a constituição da "moral universal do amanhã". Entre outras proposições, ela se dedicou à adaptação de testes psicológicos e aos estudos sobre o desenvolvimento infantil que buscavam avaliar o funcionamento mental e delimitar sua norma. Como elemento que colaborou para a extensão do poder psiquiátrico, a psicologia implicou-se em duas dimensões da atuação do poder disciplinar: os corpos individuais e o corpo social. Assim, a psicologia também encontrou a possibilidade de sua vulgarização, não sem as contradições emergentes na posição de saber e técnica disciplinar.

Abstract The article analyzes psychology within the Brazilian Mental Hygiene League, an institution founded in 1923 for the adaptation of individuals and to shape the "universal morals of tomorrow." Among other purposes, the league worked to adapt psychological tests and studies on child development in an attempt to assess mental function and establish standards. As an element that helped broaden the power of psychiatry, psychology was involved in two dimensions of disciplinary power: individual bodies and the social body. In this way, psychology also encountered the possibility that it could be vulgarized, as well as contradictions arising from the position of knowledge and techniques in this area.

Picturing ethnopsychology: A colonial psychiatrist's struggles to examine Javanese minds, 1910-1925.

This article explores C. F. Engelhard's struggles to construct psychometric devices for the Netherlands Indies between 1910 and 1925. A young Dutch psychiatrist, Engelhard moved to the Netherlands Indies in 1916, where he applied his clinical experience to subject Javanese individuals to mental assessment devices. He imagined that basic picture tests and one's orientation in time provided apt solutions to the cross-cultural challenges facing him. To turn his prototypes into actual tests, Engelhard had to leave his daily work environment and move into the surrounding villages. Aided by local chiefs and his assistant, Soekirman, he managed to set up temporary testing sites, where he examined hundreds of Javanese individuals. Yet despite his attempts to transform Javanese farmers into subjects capable of taking a psychological test, the Javanese remained free to make-or fail to make-meaning out of Engelhard's images. Even though the psychiatrist went to great lengths in taking into account the particular social and cultural features of psychological practice in a colonial context, a vast chasm remained to exist between him and his test takers. This article examines Engelhard's practices against the backdrop of his training as a Western psychiatrist, colonial ideology in the Netherlands Indies, and the reception of his research by other colonial scientists with a wide range of attitudes about "the native mind." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

O desenvolvimento da avaliação psicológica no Brasil: Avanços históricos e desafios / The development of psychological assessment in Brazil: Historical advances and challenges / El desarrollo de la evaluación psicológica en Brasil: Avanzos históricos y retos

A história da avaliação psicológica no Brasil é encontrada de maneira dispersa, existindo a necessidade de congregar essa informação, assim como os marcos da sua evolução. O seu desenvolvimento se torna mais nítido a partir dos últimos 20 anos, com a fundação do Instituto Brasileiro de Avaliação Psicológica e do apoio ao movimento pelo Conselho Federal de Psicologia ao organizar as comissões de avaliação psicológica e o Sistema de Avaliação dos Testes Psicológicos-SATEPSI. Os resultados podem ser percebidos com o aumento sensível de laboratórios para criação e validação dos testes em diferentes pontos do país, grupos de pesquisa, criação de associações e publicações na área. Pode-se concluir que a avaliação psicológica no Brasil atingiu um considerável nível de maturidade, podendo ser considerada como um exemplo para outras nações da América do Sul. (AU)

The history of psychological assessment in Brazil is found in a scattered way, so there is the need to gather this information as well as to present the milestones of its evolution. Undoubtedly, this evolution has been noticed since the last 20 years, with the foundation of the Brazilian Institute of Psychological Assessment-IBAP and the support from the Federal Council of Psychology which organized commissions for psychological assessment and created the System for Evaluating Psychological Tests-SATEPSI. The results can be observed with the increase of laboratories for test construction and validation, research groups, professional associations as well as publications. We conclude that psychological assessment in Brazil reached a considerable level of maturity and can be considered as an example for other South American countries. (AU)

La historia de la evaluación psicológica en Brasil se encuentra de manera dispersa y existe a necesidad de reunir esta información y indicar los hitos de su evolución. Sin duda este desarrollo se vuelve más nítido a partir de los últimos 20 años, con la fundación del Instituto Brasileño de Evaluación Psicológica, y del apoyo al movimiento por el Consejo Federal de Psicología organizando las comisiones de evaluación psicológica y el Sistema de Evaluación de las Pruebas Psicológicas- SATEPSI. Los resultados pueden ser percibidos con el aumento sensible de laboratorios para crear y validar pruebas psicológicas en diferentes puntos del país, grupos de investigación, creación de asociaciones y publicaciones en el área. Se puede concluir que la evaluación psicológica en Brasil alcanzó un considerable nivel de madurez, pudiendo ser considerada como un ejemplo para otras naciones de América del Sur. (AU)

MENTAL ASSOCIATION: TESTING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES BEFORE BINET.

This paper challenges the historiographical discontinuity established between earlier "anthropometric testing" and the arrival of "psychological testing" with Binet and Simon's intelligence test in 1905. After some conceptual clarifications, it deals with "word association": a kind of psychological experimentation and testing which became popular over the last two decades of the 19th century. First Galton's exploration are presented, followed by experiments performed at the Leipzig laboratory by Trautscholdt, and then Cattell and Bryant's collective testing. Additionally, I document the use of this method for the study of mental difference through the works of Münsterberg, Bourdon, Jastrow, Nevers and Calkins. The cases I present show how the method gave rise to various measurements and classifications. I conclude that the word association technique triggered reflection on mental "uniqueness", gender traits and the influence of education, among other topics. Moreover, it prepared the terrain and anticipated some basic attractions and problems intelligence testing would later encounter.

Arthur Kronfeld's Psychological Approach to Neuropsychiatry: Philosophical Pretensions or Epistemological Perspicacity?

Arthur Kronfeld (1886-1941) was a major representative of the psychological approach to psychiatry during the interwar period. In his major work from 1930, Perspectives on Nervous and Mental Diseases (Perspektiven der Seelenheilkunde), Kronfeld developed a psychological analysis of the structure of intentionality underlying psychotic manifestations. Yet even though some consider Kronfeld to be perhaps the most outstanding theoretician of psychological psychiatry, psychiatrists from the 1930s to the present day have manifested a peculiar reluctance to deal with the concept of intentionality. This article will illustrate Kronfeld's scientific individuality through a survey of some important aspects of his biography, his philosophical background, and his psychiatric work.

Psychological testing and the German labor market, 1925 to 1965.

From the 1920s to the 1950s, the massive German Labor Administration used loosely standardized, pragmatic evaluations of personality to steer young people into appropriate jobs. Starting in the late 1950s, the Administration shifted to American scientific methods of trait and factor psychological testing. Behind this change lay not a change in academic psychology but a power shift in the German labor market. Originally, the Labor Administration had to appeal to employers, for whom pragmatic evaluations of personality seemed most convincing. Thanks to the Economic Miracle in the 1950s, the Administration had to gain the trust of young Germans, their parents, and the public, who, it was hoped, would be won over by science.

Screening the psychological laboratory: Hugo Münsterberg, psychotechnics, and the cinema, 1892-1916.

ARGUMENT: According to Hugo Münsterberg, the direct application of experimental psychology to the practical problems of education, law, industry, and art belonged by definition to the domain of psychotechnics. Whether in the form of pedagogical prescription, interrogation technique, hiring practice, or aesthetic principle, the psychotechnical method implied bringing the psychological laboratory to bear on everyday life. There were, however, significant pitfalls to leaving behind the putative purity of the early psychological laboratory in pursuit of technological utility. In the Vocation Bureau, for example, psychological instruments were often deemed too intimidating for a public unfamiliar with the inner workings of experimental science. Similarly, when psychotechnical means were employed by big business in screening job candidates, ethical red flags were raised about this new alliance between science and capital. This tension was particularly evident in Münsterberg's collaboration with the Paramount Pictures Corporation in 1916. In translating psychological tests into short experimental films, Münsterberg not only envisioned a new mass medium for the dissemination of psychotechnics, but a means by which to initiate the masses into the culture of experimental psychology.

Psychological measurement in Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s.

This article deals with the initial applications of psychological tests in Brazil during the 1920s and 1930s, and it is focused on their use in education under the influence of the New School and the Mental Hygiene movements. Thus, the objective is to highlight the implication of psychology as a "social science" (Rose, 1996), a support to the legitimacy of racial theories in force during that period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

The psychologist and the bombardier: the Army Air Forces' aircrew classification program in WWII.

During World War II, psychologists in the Army Air Forces were given an unprecedented opportunity to showcase their discipline by developing examinations to test the aptitude of aviation cadets as pilots, navigators, or bombardiers. These psychologists enjoyed success in classifying pilots and navigators, but became quickly frustrated by their results for bombardiers. The trouble lay not in their choice of tests but in their performance measures for bombardiering, a difficulty that came to be known as 'the problem of the criterion.' This episode in the history of military mental testing exemplifies the challenges faced by psychologists at the moment they were poised to gain the support of the armed services, and highlights how these new hazards shaped postwar military psychology.

Roy Schafer's contributions to psychological testing: from clinical sensibility to the analytic attitude.

The author reviews Schafer's contributions to psychological testing, emphasizing his development of the test battery, his significant contributions to psychoanalytically oriented Rorschach interpretation, and his understanding of the complex interpersonal dynamics involved in psychological test interpretation. The author also discusses his use of Schafer's writing in his own teaching and academic work, noting that Schafer's contributions have not only provided innovative methods for examining test data, but have also promoted a respectful, humanistic, and individualized approach to the patient in testing and treatment. The author asserts that Schafer's later seminal contributions to psychoanalysis had their origins in his early career as a psychologist applying psychoanalytic ideas to testing.

Roy Schafer: a narrative.

The author provides a brief overview of the papers given at the Schafer Symposium in October 2012 by the following six presenters: Henry Schwartz, Richard Fritsch, Rosemary Balsam, Lucy LaFarge, Michael Feldman, and Jay Greenberg. He also highlights some important ongoing themes in Schafer's writing, including theory-about which Schafer takes a unique position-history, and ideas from other disciplines. Schafer prefers continuing explorations over arriving at conclusions, the author notes, and believes that students should remain faithful to their mentors' thinking-until it is time for them to move beyond it.

Fearless dominance and the U.S. presidency: implications of psychopathic personality traits for successful and unsuccessful political leadership.

Although psychopathic personality (psychopathy) is marked largely by maladaptive traits (e.g., poor impulse control, lack of guilt), some authors have conjectured that some features of this condition (e.g., fearlessness, interpersonal dominance) are adaptive in certain occupations, including leadership positions. We tested this hypothesis in the 42 U.S. presidents up to and including George W. Bush using (a) psychopathy trait estimates derived from personality data completed by historical experts on each president, (b) independent historical surveys of presidential leadership, and (c) largely or entirely objective indicators of presidential performance. Fearless Dominance, which reflects the boldness associated with psychopathy, was associated with better rated presidential performance, leadership, persuasiveness, crisis management, Congressional relations, and allied variables; it was also associated with several largely or entirely objective indicators of presidential performance, such as initiating new projects and being viewed as a world figure. Most of these associations survived statistical control for covariates, including intellectual brilliance, five factor model personality traits, and need for power. In contrast, Impulsive Antisociality and related traits of psychopathy were generally unassociated with rated presidential performance, although they were linked to some largely or entirely objective indicators of negative job performance, including Congressional impeachment resolutions, tolerating unethical behavior in subordinates, and negative character. These findings indicate that the boldness associated with psychopathy is an important but heretofore neglected predictor of presidential performance, and suggest that certain features of psychopathy are tied to successful interpersonal behavior.

Producción de conocimiento en psicometría en instituciones de educación superior de Bogotá y Chía / Production of knowledge in psychometrics in higher education institutions in Bogotá and Chía

Esta investigación se propone describir la producción de conocimiento en psicometría e identificar aspectos que permitan retroalimentar las políticas de formación en el área. Para ello, se recolectaron tesis y trabajos de investigación de docentes de Psicología de Bogotá y Chía desde 1960 hasta el 2009. De un total de 7.259 trabajos, se revisaron con una rejilla diseñada 241 relacionados con el área de medición. Se identificó un incipiente pero creciente interés en el área en las dos últimas décadas, y la necesidad de profundizar en la apropiación y evaluación de los modelos vigentes en teoría de los test: teoría clásica y teoría de respuesta al ítem. Se señala, desde la doble perspectiva, teórica y aplicada, de la psicometría, la necesidad de fortalecer el dominio de los modelos, criterios y procedimientos de producción de evidencias de validez y confiabilidad de las pruebas construidas o evaluadas. Se resalta también la falta de consenso en relación con la clasificación de estudios en psicometría.

The main goal of this research project is to describe the production of knowledge in psychometrics and to identify aspects that make it possible to provide feedback for the development of training policies in this area. For this purpose, 7.259 theses and research projects carried out by professors of psychology in Bogotá and Chía between 1960 and 2009 were gathered, and 241 of them, related to the field of measurement, were analyzed using a grid designed for that purpose. results showed an incipient yet growing interest in the area over the past two decades, as well as a need for further appropriation and assessment of the existing models in test theory: classical theory and item response theory. From the dual perspective of theoretical and applied psychometrics, the study indicated the need to strengthen the models domain, the criteria, and the evidence production processes for the validity and reliability of constructed or evaluated tests. The study also showed the lack of consensus regarding the classification of psychometric studies.

A historical context for understanding "An eye roll test for hypnotizability" by Herbert Spiegel, M.D.

Herb Spiegel was known for many professional and scientific achievements. He is may be best remembered for his discovery of the Eye Roll Sign (ERS) and its relation to innate trance capacity and the parallel creation and development of the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP). The present paper provides a historical context for understanding Herb's 1972 publication of "An Eye Roll Test for Hypnotizability" which originally appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 38 years ago and is reprinted in this journal issue.

The space psychological research in the Czech Republic.

The paper informs about the history of psychological space research in Czechoslovakia and in the Czech Republic. The origins of aerospace research date back to the 1970s and were related to Interkosmos program. The paper details research carried out within its frame, focusing namely on the study of astronaut's personality and his/her psychological condition, ability of operators to work, impact of zero gravity and G-force, and study of small isolated groups.