No abstract

No abstract

ABCTRACT The first genuine psychobiography, Sigmund Freud's Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory c^His Childhood (1910Childhood ( /1957b, presented several important guidelines for psychobiographical research Among them were the rejection both of pathography and of idealization, and the avoidance both of arguments built upon a single clue and of strong conclusions based upon inadequate data Though the guidelines are sound, Freud violated those guidelines in the very work where they first appeared Freud's methodological errors and his "obsession" with the Leonardo book are traced in part to his projective identification with Leonardo, incorporating aspects of his own sexual history and his anxieties about the future of the psychoanalytic movement Sigmund Freud's book on Leonardo (1910Leonardo ( /1957b) is widely regarded as the first genuine psychobiography Other researchers, including Mobius and Sadger, had previously concemed themselves with the psychology of "great men," but their main goal was to amve at a specific diagnosis of psychopathology In Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of His Childhood, Freud went much farther He applied a systematic theory of personality to the entire span of a creative individual's life, and he provided psychological explanations for certain of Leonardo's achievements as well as his failuresMore than 75 years later, Freud's book remains m several regards a model psychobiography He chose one of the most important and chal-

Incentive theory is advanced as more satisfactory than dissonance theory in dealing with attitude change induced through role playing. Incentive theory and dissonance theory yield opposite predictions about attitudinal results of role playing which involves different incentive levels. Experimental studies in this area are reviewed, and alternative explanations are discussed. Results which appear to support dissonance theory can generally be attributed to the arousal of interfering negative affect by increasing reward levels. When opportunity for instigation of such interfering reactions is low, increased reward may lead to more effective biased scanning and thus to more attitude change. Complicating factors are noted,

Jerry M. Burger's partial replication of Stanley Milgram's (1963, 1965, 1974) classic experiments on obedience to authority is considered from the viewpoint of a contributor and witness to the original obedience experiments. Although Burger's replication succeeded in terms of gaining the approval of his local institutional review board, it did so by removing a large portion of the stressful circumstances that made Milgram's findings so psychologically interesting and so broadly applicable to instances of real-world destructive obedience. However, Burger has provided an initial demonstration that his "obedience lite" procedures can be used to extend the study of certain situational and personality variables beyond those examined by Milgram.

B. F. Skinner's basic assumptions about human behavior are described most vividly in his Utopian novel Walden Two. Though offered simply as a fictional application of radical behaviorism to the design of society, Walden Two possessed strong emotional connotations for Skinner, The "Dark Year," a period during his youth when he failed as a creative writer, displayed many earmarks of a major identity crisis. Walden Two was written during a period of mid-life crisis when identity issues again became highly salient for Skinner. The novel incorporated issues from both periods into its picture of an ideal society and helped Skinner to resolve his developmental conflicts. He emerged with a restructured identity as public advocate for a behavioristic science of human conduct, A theorist's life history and personality characteristics surely influence his or her choice of theoretical model in any field (cf. Coser, 1977;Feuer, 1974;Tomkins, 1963). But such influences are likely to be particularly salient in the development of personality theories. The personality theorist experiences certain aspects of personality most vivdly within his or her own person. Even the most conscientious theorists, who take extraordinary care to seek evidence from a wide variety of external sources, may still find it hard to accept conclusions about personality that appear strongly at variance with their own personal experience. Thus, a fuller understanding of the strengths and limitations of specific personality theories may come not only from detailed study of theory-derived hypotheses but also from increased knowledge of the personal context out of which the theories developed. Such research on the subjective origins of personality theories (and of psychological theories in general) has only recently begun to receive systematic attention, under the titles of "the psychology of psychology" (Coan, 1973) or "the psychology of knowledge" (Atwood & Tomkins, 1976).The subjective origins of subjectively oriented personality theories are often clearly demonstrable.

Milgram's original paradigm for studying obedience to authority is briefly described, and the main results are summarized. Personal observations of the conduct of the initial studies give added context for interpreting the results. Psychologists' reactions to the Milgram experiments are discussed in terms of ( 1 ) rejecting the research on ethical grounds, ( 2 ) explaining away the results as expressions of trivial phenomena, (3) subsuming obedience to destructive authority under other explanatory rubrics, and ( 4 ) endorsing or rejecting the results in terms of their perceived social relevance or irrelevance. The problem of obedience to authority may well be the crucial issue of our time. The experiments you took part in represent the first efforts to understand this phenomenon in an objective, scientific manner. (Stanley Milgram.

Recent developments in the physical and biological sciences have furthered the hypothesis that intelligent life forms exist outside of our solar system and have prompted a number of programs intended to confirm such life forms' existence. The proposed field of exopsychology would involve the forecast, study, and interpretation of the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of extraterrestrial organisms. Exopsychological research would encompass search, contact, and post-contact activities, and would include study and work with humans as well as with any extraterrestrials that might be encountered. Exopsychologists can learn from and facilitate the search process, gain an increased understanding of animal and human behavior on Earth, and help searchers, their sponsors, and the public in dealing with positive or negative search outcomes.