Karl Scheibe | Wesleyan University (original) (raw)

Papers by Karl Scheibe

Springer eBooks, 2017

Chemists, physicists, and biologists are commonly criticized, from within the discipline of psych... more Chemists, physicists, and biologists are commonly criticized, from within the discipline of psychology, for being reductionistic—for attempting to explain the complexities of human life by descriptions at the level of molecules, atoms, or cells. Despite this critical tradition, I ...

Springer eBooks, 2017

When invited to write a chapter on a work that has had a lasting impact, without a moment’s hesit... more When invited to write a chapter on a work that has had a lasting impact, without a moment’s hesitation I thought of the writings of Erving Goffman, especially his first major work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959; hereinafter Presentation). Although nominally a sociologist, Goffman’s oeuvre was indifferent to disciplinary boundaries—all his perceptive analyses centered on understanding the varieties of conduct at the heart of human interaction. I begin this appreciative essay, first, with some descriptive comments about the basic theme of Presentation. Second, I review briefly a sampling of the conceptual categories in the book that have helped illuminate many dark corners of the phenomena of social interaction. Third, I incorporate some comments to support the claim that the book has had an impact on theory and method in social psychology and offer some observations on the reasons for the book’s impact. Finally, I conclude with a brief coda.

Springer eBooks, 2017

My goal in this essay is, first, to clarify the notion of root metaphor, and, second, to propose ... more My goal in this essay is, first, to clarify the notion of root metaphor, and, second, to propose the narrative as the root metaphor for contextualism. The root metaphor method is indispensable to an understanding of worldviews, metaphysical systems, or scientific paradigms. For Pepper (1942), the root metaphor for contextualism is the historical act. It is my intention to unpack the historical act and to show that the subtext of the historical act is narrative. In the latter part of my paper I discuss some features of narrative that support my claim that it is an appropriate root metaphor for contextualism.

Springer eBooks, 2017

Introduced by J.R. Kantor in the 1920s, the concept of reactional biography, although weighty wit... more Introduced by J.R. Kantor in the 1920s, the concept of reactional biography, although weighty with implications for a more complete science of psychology, was left untilled and neglected until the 1970s. Even with the behaviorist-tinged “reactional” as a modifier, “biography” as a working metaphor remained undeveloped as a feature of theory building, probably because it appeared to have been borrowed from soft literary rather than hard scientific sources. To be sure, the case history form of biography had become standard procedure in the clinical arts, but it failed to serve as a central feature in systematic psychology. New life was breathed into Kantor’s “reactional biography” concept with the borrowing of narrative concepts from the field of literary studies. Subsequently, some personality and social psychologists, such as Bruner (1986), Gergen and Gergen (1986), and McAdams (1985), began to employ a fresh set of constructions, including “self-narrative,” “life-narrative,” and “identity.”

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1969

Groups of male and female college students volunteering for summer work in mental hospitals were ... more Groups of male and female college students volunteering for summer work in mental hospitals were compared to control students on personality, occupationalinterest, and life-history variables. Striking personality characteristics of mental health volunteers were maturity and control, drive for independent achievement, and sensitivity to people and human problems. Vocational interests and life-history data on volunteers were consistent with these personality characteristics. In vocational interests, volunteers were similar to men and women in the independent professions and in professions emphasizing social service or the exercise of language and artistic skills. Life-history data indicated that volunteers were more service-oriented and committed to mental health work than other college students. The role of test-taking attitudes in producing these differences was discussed.

Page 1. i v Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. about lologists," say ing there is to kn lore an... more Page 1. i v Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. about lologists," say ing there is to kn lore and the wl he rest of us, olde han rats, in lives ev e formers and even e latter's? How *~* md even tra "know -9Hf ie college than sopomoiv more confusing ...

Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967

Extensive new data are reported on the test-retest reliabilities and personality scale correlates... more Extensive new data are reported on the test-retest reliabilities and personality scale correlates of the internal-external control dimension (I-E). I-E is found to relate consistently to measures of maladjustment, with internal scorers less maladjusted. I-E is consistently related to a variety of personality scales, with internal scorers describing themselves as more active, striving, achieving, powerful, independent, and effective. For 2 of 3 samples, internal scorers were also significantly more effective as mental hospital volunteers than external scorers. These results are consistent with those reported in previous reviews, but adjectival descriptions of extreme scorers, as well as other data, suggest that internal scorers are a more homogeneous group than external scorers. Suggestions are offered for differentiation of the concept of externality.

This chapter attempts to clarify the role of imagination in narrative construction and interpreta... more This chapter attempts to clarify the role of imagination in narrative construction and interpretation. No framework for analyzing narratives can be complete without including the psychological processes usually subsumed under the generic term “imagination.”

This chapter is written from the perspective that the narrative is an organizing principle for co... more This chapter is written from the perspective that the narrative is an organizing principle for contemporary psychology. I have made the claim for a narrative principle previously (Sarbin, 1986a, 1986b, 1986c, 1989a, 1989b, 1990a, 1990b, 1993, 1997a, 1997b, 1997c)—the readiness of human beings both to organize their experience and to interpret their social lives according to narrative plots. The grounds for my claims are common experiences. Our fantasies and daydreams are storied. Our night dreams are experienced as stories, often with mythic undertones. Rituals of daily life are organized to tell stories. The pageants of special occasions are fashioned along story lines. The plans we make, our rememberings, even our loving and hating, are all guided by narrative plots. Survival in a world of meanings would be problematic in the absence of skill to make up and to interpret stories about interweaving lives.

Four years ago, Captain Kenneth Karols and I submitted to the Department of Defense a draft repor... more Four years ago, Captain Kenneth Karols and I submitted to the Department of Defense a draft report in which we recommended that research be undertaken, the results of which might facilitate the integration of gay men and lesbians into the armed forces. The recommendation followed from a historical and social psychological analysis, and also from the expectation that continuing pressures from civil rights advocates would influence the president, the Congress, or the Courts to rescind the discriminatory policy. On the basis of our conclusions that stereotypes, rather than empirically confirmed facts, provided the support for the resistance to changing the exclusionary policy, the recommended research would have focused on ways and means of deconstructing stereotypes (Sarbin & Karols, 1988). Our recommendation fell on deaf ears.

Springer eBooks, 2017

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser c... more APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser configuration. - alerts user that their session is about to expire - display, print, save, export, and email selected records - get My ...

Springer eBooks, 2017

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

Theory & Psychology, May 18, 2016

This article traces the contributions to psychological theory and practice of Theodore R. Sarbin ... more This article traces the contributions to psychological theory and practice of Theodore R. Sarbin over a career that began in the 1930s and ended with his death in 2005. His early research on clinical vs. actuarial prediction and on hypnosis reflected a disposition to be critical of received ways of thinking in psychology. He came to think of many of the terms in the psychological vocabulary as ossified metaphors turned into myths. His promotion of role theory within social psychology gave priority to social structure as the key to understanding conduct, and he saw the self and social identity as products of the interaction of the individual with society. He rejected both mentalism and mechanism as adequate approaches to psychology. He turned to contextualism as the preferred world view for psychology, and to narrative as a way of understanding the flow of human life.

Springer eBooks, 2017

Over the past few years, I have asked more than 30 adults, most of them psychologists, to define ... more Over the past few years, I have asked more than 30 adults, most of them psychologists, to define the term “emotion.” After each respondent formulated a definition, I asked him or her to give me an instance, an illustration, of emotion drawn from observation of self or others. Little uniformity characterized the off-the-cuff definitions save for one feature. Almost all the respondents included in their definitions a locus for emotion: inside the body. The psychologists in my sample phrased their definitions with the language of psychophysiology, sometimes elegantly. The agreement on bodily locus is not surprising—all of us have been exposed to the writings of several generations of textbook authors who composed chapters on emotion with the vocabulary of psychophysiology. These authors were indebted to the work of earlier exponents of this paradigm. William James and Walter B. Cannon, each in his own way, focused research and theory on emotion as internal happenings. An examination of current textbooks shows no break with this tradition.

Psychological Record, Apr 1, 1964

Two hypotheses were put forth with respect to the relationship of value to statements of expectan... more Two hypotheses were put forth with respect to the relationship of value to statements of expectancy. First, given a specific sequence and relative frequency of a set of outcomes, the perception that the outcomes are skill-influenced will result in expectancy statements biased in direct relationship to the values of the outcomes. Secondly, forcing a distinction in expectations regarding events which are equally likely introduces. a bias directly related to the values of the outcomes. Four groups of 10 subjects each were run under four experimental conditions. These were, Skill-Forced rank-order; Skill-Equal rank option; Chance-Forced rank-order; and Chance-Equal rank option. Both major hypotheses were supported by the data. In the discussion it was emphasized that the Skill-Chance dimension must be taken into serious consideration in research on expectancies (subjective probabilities) and that it is advisable to liberalize the judgment categories provided for expectancies in order to minimize the danger of artifactual bias.

Deep Drama, 2017

No one starts a war-or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so-without first being clear in h... more No one starts a war-or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so-without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it." …. Karl von Clausewitz The United States of America has conducted at least two wars in recent history that have failed the test that Clausewitz proposed as sensible grounds for starting a war. First was the War on Drugs, declared by President Nixon in 1969 as a reaction to the deep fear that increasing drug use posed a major threat to the safety and welfare of our nation. The second example of a campaign not grounded in good sense is the War on Terror (the major topic of this presentation), declared by President Bush, reflexively, after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Once again, fear of a major threat to the safety and welfare of our nation served as a justification for this declaration of war. Both wars, I contend, are psychologically absurd and thus bound to fail. More, the cost of conducting these absurd wars has been little short of ruinous-both in economic and moral terms. We can now see signs that the rhetoric supporting these exercises in absurdity is being abandoned. The long and arduous task of economic and moral redemption can begin once our thinking is no longer dominated by fear and the reflexes fear produces.. Before leaving the War on Drugs for my main topic of the War on Terror, a few observations about the former are in order, for it provides an instructive case. As a recent commentator has noted, if there has been a War on Drugs over the past four decades in the United States, then it should be clear that Drugs have won. 1 The use of drugs has not diminished, drugs of all kinds are readily available at relatively low cost and high potency, and the cost in the United States to our criminal justice system is enormous. Over 50% of those incarcerated in federal prisons in the U.S. are there because of drug offenses. 2 The United States has the highest per capita incarceration rate of any nation in the world, about five times the international average. And yet the traffic in illegal drug use continues unabated. On the supply side, this has created enormous political and criminal costs throughout Latin American. On the demand side, the United States is the unmatched leader for both consumption and finance. We should now clearly recognize that the strategic objective of achieving a drug-free environment is not attainable by law enforcement tactics of interdiction, arrest, confiscation, and destruction of supplies. The alternative to pursuing a War on Drugs is to think of the problem in another way-as a problem in public health, rather than as a criminal justice issue. This can lead to more attention to prevention via education-along the lines of the campaign against the use of tobacco. The public health perspective will lead as well to improved treatment of those addicted to drugs-along the lines of effective treatment programs for alcoholics. These positive changes can only come about if we have the courage and good

Springer eBooks, 2017

Chemists, physicists, and biologists are commonly criticized, from within the discipline of psych... more Chemists, physicists, and biologists are commonly criticized, from within the discipline of psychology, for being reductionistic—for attempting to explain the complexities of human life by descriptions at the level of molecules, atoms, or cells. Despite this critical tradition, I ...

Springer eBooks, 2017

When invited to write a chapter on a work that has had a lasting impact, without a moment’s hesit... more When invited to write a chapter on a work that has had a lasting impact, without a moment’s hesitation I thought of the writings of Erving Goffman, especially his first major work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959; hereinafter Presentation). Although nominally a sociologist, Goffman’s oeuvre was indifferent to disciplinary boundaries—all his perceptive analyses centered on understanding the varieties of conduct at the heart of human interaction. I begin this appreciative essay, first, with some descriptive comments about the basic theme of Presentation. Second, I review briefly a sampling of the conceptual categories in the book that have helped illuminate many dark corners of the phenomena of social interaction. Third, I incorporate some comments to support the claim that the book has had an impact on theory and method in social psychology and offer some observations on the reasons for the book’s impact. Finally, I conclude with a brief coda.

Springer eBooks, 2017

My goal in this essay is, first, to clarify the notion of root metaphor, and, second, to propose ... more My goal in this essay is, first, to clarify the notion of root metaphor, and, second, to propose the narrative as the root metaphor for contextualism. The root metaphor method is indispensable to an understanding of worldviews, metaphysical systems, or scientific paradigms. For Pepper (1942), the root metaphor for contextualism is the historical act. It is my intention to unpack the historical act and to show that the subtext of the historical act is narrative. In the latter part of my paper I discuss some features of narrative that support my claim that it is an appropriate root metaphor for contextualism.

Springer eBooks, 2017

Introduced by J.R. Kantor in the 1920s, the concept of reactional biography, although weighty wit... more Introduced by J.R. Kantor in the 1920s, the concept of reactional biography, although weighty with implications for a more complete science of psychology, was left untilled and neglected until the 1970s. Even with the behaviorist-tinged “reactional” as a modifier, “biography” as a working metaphor remained undeveloped as a feature of theory building, probably because it appeared to have been borrowed from soft literary rather than hard scientific sources. To be sure, the case history form of biography had become standard procedure in the clinical arts, but it failed to serve as a central feature in systematic psychology. New life was breathed into Kantor’s “reactional biography” concept with the borrowing of narrative concepts from the field of literary studies. Subsequently, some personality and social psychologists, such as Bruner (1986), Gergen and Gergen (1986), and McAdams (1985), began to employ a fresh set of constructions, including “self-narrative,” “life-narrative,” and “identity.”

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1969

Groups of male and female college students volunteering for summer work in mental hospitals were ... more Groups of male and female college students volunteering for summer work in mental hospitals were compared to control students on personality, occupationalinterest, and life-history variables. Striking personality characteristics of mental health volunteers were maturity and control, drive for independent achievement, and sensitivity to people and human problems. Vocational interests and life-history data on volunteers were consistent with these personality characteristics. In vocational interests, volunteers were similar to men and women in the independent professions and in professions emphasizing social service or the exercise of language and artistic skills. Life-history data indicated that volunteers were more service-oriented and committed to mental health work than other college students. The role of test-taking attitudes in producing these differences was discussed.

Page 1. i v Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. about lologists," say ing there is to kn lore an... more Page 1. i v Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. about lologists," say ing there is to kn lore and the wl he rest of us, olde han rats, in lives ev e formers and even e latter's? How *~* md even tra "know -9Hf ie college than sopomoiv more confusing ...

Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967

Extensive new data are reported on the test-retest reliabilities and personality scale correlates... more Extensive new data are reported on the test-retest reliabilities and personality scale correlates of the internal-external control dimension (I-E). I-E is found to relate consistently to measures of maladjustment, with internal scorers less maladjusted. I-E is consistently related to a variety of personality scales, with internal scorers describing themselves as more active, striving, achieving, powerful, independent, and effective. For 2 of 3 samples, internal scorers were also significantly more effective as mental hospital volunteers than external scorers. These results are consistent with those reported in previous reviews, but adjectival descriptions of extreme scorers, as well as other data, suggest that internal scorers are a more homogeneous group than external scorers. Suggestions are offered for differentiation of the concept of externality.

This chapter attempts to clarify the role of imagination in narrative construction and interpreta... more This chapter attempts to clarify the role of imagination in narrative construction and interpretation. No framework for analyzing narratives can be complete without including the psychological processes usually subsumed under the generic term “imagination.”

This chapter is written from the perspective that the narrative is an organizing principle for co... more This chapter is written from the perspective that the narrative is an organizing principle for contemporary psychology. I have made the claim for a narrative principle previously (Sarbin, 1986a, 1986b, 1986c, 1989a, 1989b, 1990a, 1990b, 1993, 1997a, 1997b, 1997c)—the readiness of human beings both to organize their experience and to interpret their social lives according to narrative plots. The grounds for my claims are common experiences. Our fantasies and daydreams are storied. Our night dreams are experienced as stories, often with mythic undertones. Rituals of daily life are organized to tell stories. The pageants of special occasions are fashioned along story lines. The plans we make, our rememberings, even our loving and hating, are all guided by narrative plots. Survival in a world of meanings would be problematic in the absence of skill to make up and to interpret stories about interweaving lives.

Four years ago, Captain Kenneth Karols and I submitted to the Department of Defense a draft repor... more Four years ago, Captain Kenneth Karols and I submitted to the Department of Defense a draft report in which we recommended that research be undertaken, the results of which might facilitate the integration of gay men and lesbians into the armed forces. The recommendation followed from a historical and social psychological analysis, and also from the expectation that continuing pressures from civil rights advocates would influence the president, the Congress, or the Courts to rescind the discriminatory policy. On the basis of our conclusions that stereotypes, rather than empirically confirmed facts, provided the support for the resistance to changing the exclusionary policy, the recommended research would have focused on ways and means of deconstructing stereotypes (Sarbin & Karols, 1988). Our recommendation fell on deaf ears.

Springer eBooks, 2017

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser c... more APA PsycNET Our Apologies! - The following features are not available with your current Browser configuration. - alerts user that their session is about to expire - display, print, save, export, and email selected records - get My ...

Springer eBooks, 2017

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

Theory & Psychology, May 18, 2016

This article traces the contributions to psychological theory and practice of Theodore R. Sarbin ... more This article traces the contributions to psychological theory and practice of Theodore R. Sarbin over a career that began in the 1930s and ended with his death in 2005. His early research on clinical vs. actuarial prediction and on hypnosis reflected a disposition to be critical of received ways of thinking in psychology. He came to think of many of the terms in the psychological vocabulary as ossified metaphors turned into myths. His promotion of role theory within social psychology gave priority to social structure as the key to understanding conduct, and he saw the self and social identity as products of the interaction of the individual with society. He rejected both mentalism and mechanism as adequate approaches to psychology. He turned to contextualism as the preferred world view for psychology, and to narrative as a way of understanding the flow of human life.

Springer eBooks, 2017

Over the past few years, I have asked more than 30 adults, most of them psychologists, to define ... more Over the past few years, I have asked more than 30 adults, most of them psychologists, to define the term “emotion.” After each respondent formulated a definition, I asked him or her to give me an instance, an illustration, of emotion drawn from observation of self or others. Little uniformity characterized the off-the-cuff definitions save for one feature. Almost all the respondents included in their definitions a locus for emotion: inside the body. The psychologists in my sample phrased their definitions with the language of psychophysiology, sometimes elegantly. The agreement on bodily locus is not surprising—all of us have been exposed to the writings of several generations of textbook authors who composed chapters on emotion with the vocabulary of psychophysiology. These authors were indebted to the work of earlier exponents of this paradigm. William James and Walter B. Cannon, each in his own way, focused research and theory on emotion as internal happenings. An examination of current textbooks shows no break with this tradition.

Psychological Record, Apr 1, 1964

Two hypotheses were put forth with respect to the relationship of value to statements of expectan... more Two hypotheses were put forth with respect to the relationship of value to statements of expectancy. First, given a specific sequence and relative frequency of a set of outcomes, the perception that the outcomes are skill-influenced will result in expectancy statements biased in direct relationship to the values of the outcomes. Secondly, forcing a distinction in expectations regarding events which are equally likely introduces. a bias directly related to the values of the outcomes. Four groups of 10 subjects each were run under four experimental conditions. These were, Skill-Forced rank-order; Skill-Equal rank option; Chance-Forced rank-order; and Chance-Equal rank option. Both major hypotheses were supported by the data. In the discussion it was emphasized that the Skill-Chance dimension must be taken into serious consideration in research on expectancies (subjective probabilities) and that it is advisable to liberalize the judgment categories provided for expectancies in order to minimize the danger of artifactual bias.

Deep Drama, 2017

No one starts a war-or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so-without first being clear in h... more No one starts a war-or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so-without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it." …. Karl von Clausewitz The United States of America has conducted at least two wars in recent history that have failed the test that Clausewitz proposed as sensible grounds for starting a war. First was the War on Drugs, declared by President Nixon in 1969 as a reaction to the deep fear that increasing drug use posed a major threat to the safety and welfare of our nation. The second example of a campaign not grounded in good sense is the War on Terror (the major topic of this presentation), declared by President Bush, reflexively, after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Once again, fear of a major threat to the safety and welfare of our nation served as a justification for this declaration of war. Both wars, I contend, are psychologically absurd and thus bound to fail. More, the cost of conducting these absurd wars has been little short of ruinous-both in economic and moral terms. We can now see signs that the rhetoric supporting these exercises in absurdity is being abandoned. The long and arduous task of economic and moral redemption can begin once our thinking is no longer dominated by fear and the reflexes fear produces.. Before leaving the War on Drugs for my main topic of the War on Terror, a few observations about the former are in order, for it provides an instructive case. As a recent commentator has noted, if there has been a War on Drugs over the past four decades in the United States, then it should be clear that Drugs have won. 1 The use of drugs has not diminished, drugs of all kinds are readily available at relatively low cost and high potency, and the cost in the United States to our criminal justice system is enormous. Over 50% of those incarcerated in federal prisons in the U.S. are there because of drug offenses. 2 The United States has the highest per capita incarceration rate of any nation in the world, about five times the international average. And yet the traffic in illegal drug use continues unabated. On the supply side, this has created enormous political and criminal costs throughout Latin American. On the demand side, the United States is the unmatched leader for both consumption and finance. We should now clearly recognize that the strategic objective of achieving a drug-free environment is not attainable by law enforcement tactics of interdiction, arrest, confiscation, and destruction of supplies. The alternative to pursuing a War on Drugs is to think of the problem in another way-as a problem in public health, rather than as a criminal justice issue. This can lead to more attention to prevention via education-along the lines of the campaign against the use of tobacco. The public health perspective will lead as well to improved treatment of those addicted to drugs-along the lines of effective treatment programs for alcoholics. These positive changes can only come about if we have the courage and good