Perceptual constancy, long considered in the domain of experimental psychology, is now coming of importance in clinical-social psychological research. Many attempts have been made to find theoretical bases for the constancy phenomenon, but only recently have personality factors begun to take prominence in this theorizing. In 1938, Sheehan, quoting Izzet's findings that a lower constancy is more characteristic of schizothymes, stated, "While no great weight can be attached to the theory that personality may be one of the factors determining constancy, it is perhaps worth noting that Thouless has also reported (unreliably) lower ratios for a group of schizothymes" [7, p. 20]. More recently, in a study involving judgments of sizes by people who were evaluated as to personality characteristics, Holzman and Klein concluded, "Patterns of psychophysical response express stable perceptual attitudes and are predictive of personality tendencies" [4, p. 312]. Singer [8] found different size-constancy ratios for "thinking introverts and extroverts" under conditions of experimental frustration. Bruner suggests that there is a definite relationship between personality dynamics and perceptual mechanisms. With reference to the schizophrenic as viewed from psychoanalytic theory he asks, "Might not we predict for example that a withdrawal from object relations and an increasing concern for the self would lead the Veterans Administration Regional Office, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. s The authors are indebted to George Calden who, together with Richard Sanders, conceived the initial idea and who collaborated on some exploratory work at the University of Michigan in 194-8.
Pacht and his associates review court decisions that have helped to establish the psychologist as an expert witness in criminal and civil trials. They then suggest guidelines that would facilitate the acceptance of the psychologist in this role.
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