Monitor on Psychology - December 2011 - (Page 4)

Letters ‘Seared in our memories’ I appreciated the numerous articles the September Monitor devoted to 9/11. Like many of my psychology teacher colleagues, I planned to introduce the topic of “flashbulb memory” around the 10th anniversary of 9/11. In addition to investigating my students’ memories of 9/11, I decided to try to determine what effect the events had on their lives through a short survey I gave to all 47 of them and their parents. The students’ mean age on Sept. 11, 2001 was 9.48 years. Their parents’ mean age was 36.84. Both groups were asked to indicate the clarity of their memories on a six-point scale, from “none at all” to “very clear.” The students averaged 4.42 while their parents averaged 5.7, a statistically significant difference (p< .05). Thirty-five percent of the students indicated they were too young to understand what was happening, but 13 percent noted that they looked to their parents and others for understanding. Students and parents were asked, “What effect, if any, has 9-11 had on your quality of life, attitudes, or opinions?” The most frequent response (26 percent) from students was that 9/11 had no long-term effect on their lives; 17 percent expressed a fear of (or anger toward) terrorists and flying, and 15 percent expressed an appreciation for life and/or country. Fifteen percent of my students indicated that 9/11 events made them aware that anything can happen at any time. Compared with 26 percent of the students, not one parent indicated that 9-11 had no long-term effect on their lives. Rather, the majority (54 percent) of parents listed fear of (or anger toward) terrorists and flying as 9/11’s long-term impact on their lives. Six percent referred to an appreciation of life or country and 8.5 percent referred to the realization that anything can happen at any time. Students and parents were invited to include additional comments. A very poignant comment about the long term effect of 9-11 came from a student. The pregnant, surrogate mother of her younger twin brothers was in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001: “I don’t take my brothers for granted. Every time they get on my nerves, I think they might not have been here.” ElizAbEth JACobS, PhD Glendale Community College north Phoenix, Ariz. observations with respect to Selz is that he was not only a forerunner to cognitive science, but he also had a documented influence on modern educational psychology (through Prins) and philosophy (through Popper) – both of these influences are as little recognized as the impact he had on cognitive psychology which you describe in your article. At the University of Mannheim, where he was head of the psychology department and also served as president for a year, Selz is well remembered. We commemorate his work and his life in several ways. Today, the road encircling the university, which is housed in a baroque palace, is named after Selz. Moreover, an interdisciplinary research institute for applied psychology, named the Otto-Selz-Institute, is a modern, Mannheim-based research laboratory and a psychological outpatient treatment unit (www.osi. uni-mannheim.de/otto_selz). This institute also maintains the Otto-Selz Archive where we document his life and work and secure his last library and his writings, which are accessible by appointment. This year, on June 27, we had the opportunity to lay a commemorative plaque at the site where Selz taught and lived. PRof. DR. GEoRG W. AlPERS otto-Selz-Institute at the University of Mannheim PRof. DR. hANS-WolfGANG ARNDt University of Mannheim in honor of otto Selz Thank you for your thoughtful review of the life and work of Otto Selz in your September issue. We agree with your assessment that Selz was a visionary thinker and avid researcher who preceded much of what later became known as cognitive science. However, we feel that one of the most amazing 4 Please send letters to smartin@apa.org or Sara Martin, Monitor editor. Letters should be no more than 250 words and may be edited for space and clarity. Monitor on psychology • DeceMber 2011 http://www.osi.uni-mannheim.de/otto_selz http://www.osi.uni-mannheim.de/otto_selz http://www.apa.org/monitor/digital

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - December 2011

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Willpower Pioneer Wins $100,000 Grawemeyer Prize
Single-Sex Schooling Called Into Question by Prominent Researchers
Maternal Depression Stunts Childhood Growth, Research Suggests
For Boys, Sharing May Seem Like a Waste of Time
Good News for Postdoc Applicants
In Brief
Treatment Guideline Development Now Under Way
Government Relations Update
Psychologist Named Va Mental Health Chief
The Limits of Eyewitness Testimony
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Deconstructing Suicide
Questionnaire
A Focus on Interdisciplinarity
A Time of ‘Enormous Change’
The Science Behind Team Science
Good Science Requires Good Conflict
A New Paradigm of Care
Speaking of Education
Science Directions
New Labels, New Attitudes?
Psychologist Profile
Early Career Psychology
Unintended Consequences
Better Options for Troubled Teens
Saving Lives, One Organ at a Time
New Journal Editors
APA News
Division Spotlight
Guidelines for the Conduct of President-Elect Nominations and Elections
American Psychological Foundation
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011