Marital quality is examined as a 2-dimensional construct comprising positive and negative evaluations. Assessments of marital quality, behavior, attributions, and general affect were completed by 123 couples. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the existence of positive and negative marital quality dimensions. These dimensions also explained unique variance in reported behavior and attributions beyond that explained by a conventional marital quality measure and by positive and negative affect. Ambivalent (high-positive and high-negative) and indifferent (lowpositive and low-negative) wives differed in reports of behaviors and attributions but did not differ in scores on the conventional marital quality test. The implications of a 2-dimensional analysis of marital quality for theory and research are outlined.

Case‐centered teaching and learning is important for illustrating evaluation approaches, practicing professional problem‐solving and ethical decision‐making, and teaching professional skills and competencies. In this study we provide findings on a content analysis of 148 written cases used to teach evaluation and a critical analysis of five purposively selected cases. The findings demonstrate that evaluators have written many cases to teach the situational nature of evaluation practice. Most of the cases are simulations of practice, which include how the case actors’ think, decide, and act in an evaluation context. The study findings point to several areas for strengthening case‐centered teaching in evaluation, including providing clear learning objectives, developing supporting resources for instructors, aligning cases with professional competencies and/or core concepts in the field, developing cases to promote active and problem‐based learning, ensuring cases represent equity‐informed practices, and broadening the representation of diverse people and contexts.

Practicing evaluators' professional stories can serve as rich resources for training novice evaluators. However, converting professional stories into a written teaching case requires more than simply writing down a narrative. This article discusses the components of well written cases present in the literature, and provides guidance on how to design, develop, and write four types of cases using instructional design principles that address aspects of pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Additionally, this article discusses the development of instructor resources that can accompany a case narrative and support the use of the case as an instructional tool.

This introduction to the special section recounts the events that led to it and the rationale for it. The goals for this special section are to address the appropriate focus for our field and this journal with concrete suggestions, to address specifically the issue of Theistic Psychology as one approach, and to identify connections between our area and the field of Psychology more generally.

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