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    Research As Therapy Question Mark

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    Research As Therapy Question Mark

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    VianaPopica
    19 views4 pages
    Paul Ekman's paper.

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    Research as Therapy Question Mark

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    Paul Ekman's paper.

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    Download as pdf
    19 views4 pages

    Research As Therapy Question Mark

    Uploaded by

    VianaPopica
    Paul Ekman's paper.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 4
    @h@ebew wae Te dhe ee wa db ew RESEARCH AS THERAPY? PAUL EK} a Inereasing realization of the widespread incicenee of mental disorder and various wnilutaptive behaviors has led to a demand for preventive techniques, Attention has slowly shifted from the pathologie individ- ual to the treatment and study of his mic lien. ‘The institutional framework is no longer merely che context within whieh the individual's personality must be understood it has beeome the focus for manipula tions imtended to have far-reaching eon- seriences for whole groups of individuals and classes of behavior, This paper diseusses one of the problems involved in conducting research on preven= ' therapeutic techniques applied within close social systems. In the eourse of evale wating a new program to combat military ‘lelinqueney, the experimenter not only af feetert the object of his study but also was instrumental in its rapid disappearanee. Tn ‘wldition to methodologic considerations, this finding will be discussed as an example of how the research investigator ean free himself trom the restricted role of partici= ‘pant observer and capitalize on these newly lixeovered powers, ‘This study was a successor to an earlier step in preventive social psyehiatey, gen- trated by the Army's concern with reeid- ivism among mititary offenders. A program wats developed in 1957 to have the Mental Hyxiene Consultation Services (MLHCS) serevm pmychiatrically all new prisoners at the curious storkades and diseiplinary bare racks, Supposelly, this eloser eollaboration Fwetween disciplinary and mental health Thos wean wae vandycted when the author ‘wom wil the Clint Pathology Seetion, Walon Acne Monqutal, Kort Dis, New demon, Precen whitise: “Tine Tangles Poriny Newayriniony Instiite, San Reunion, Ca tw Slr Wilton i. Area ‘sla estate AN, PUD! agencies produced new corrective teeh= niques, in addition to expeditious diseharge of men with poor prognosis and/or multiple courts-martial, A decrease in the nuinber of men incarcerated during the years follow- ing the adoption of this sereening program was interpreted as evidenee for the si canev of the efforts by the MHCS, It was never elear, however, whether this accom plishment eould be eredited to the develop- ment of new corrective techniques, or was simply a relaxing of the procedures for eliminating reeidivists from military pris- Nevertheless, sucli an apparent. vietory in the battic against military delinquency ‘was sufficient encouragement for a new plan to emerge, this one aimed ut preventing rather than merely treating the diseiplic ary problem, The substance of this new Program: was to institute thorough psyehi- atrie sereening at the time of the soldiers first court-martial, rather then wait, until two or three courts-martial resulted in his confinement in a disciplinary facility. Thus the first court-martial would he recognized. is a signal of inarginal adjustment and a suitable oceasion for the deploynient of the ‘mental hygiene team, Although many military posts immedi- ately adopted this First Court-Martial Program into their standard operating pro- cedures, it was initiated on x trial basis for six-month period at Fort Dix, New Jersey, The following researeh design was formu Jated to evuluate the merits of this new approach to preventing military eline quency. Soldiers receiving chieit first corte muetial were to he randomly assigned to fone of four groups, The first twy groups Would revive a complete diagtustiv eealuie tion hy the MHCS, including « social Cory, psvelialogie tests sana Fis, bifiot af sersening progr fenton interview. MICS eonelusions sande menelations would be withleld rom the re- foe ee for the men in group 1, and sent hack to the unit commanders fi pup 2, Mew assigned to group Swank nat actually be seen at MHOS, but Woubl seree ae a no-treatnent control group, Group 4 would yeevive only a brief huttery uf pryelologie tests (to provide in- formation sbout the impact of being sent to mental hywiene clinier, and would have minimal interpersonal contact, The sub- sequent military carver of all of the sub- jects was to be studied for one year to ate the accuracy of the eoneertad elin= ieal_prevtietions, ‘To establish such a project within « elosetl soeial system, pradenev indicated in- clusion of some measure of the ebanges whicl niight result from institutionalized fevathack. Simply initiating a new progeam oof any kine wight—alireetly or indircetly— lecul to some alteration in the eypieal be= avior af the key nieinbers of the institue tion, ‘This swemed particularly probable sinew the progeum entailed pevehiatrie servening, required the eo-uperation of yuasiclewal and judieial authorities, andl was to be pertoruedt within a snilitary’ commu: we the nity. Subjerts for the experiment were Hieretor slew trom only two out of the four training rginents at Fort Dis, The ronnainine new regiments serve aot adi= tional institutional controls. In May, 1959, the unit commuanclers in the two experianen- tal regiments were notified that, for the fol- lowing six months, all first court-martial olfenders must routinely be sent for evalua tion to MHCS after completion of judicial proceedings. A dircetive signed by the em manding general was eireulated in the ex- perimental regiments in June, te program actually began, No informa tion was given to the personnel in the two control regiments, In December, experinental regiments were informed that the trial period was over, and they need no Jonger send their first court-martial offend ters to MUCK, ‘Tho principal finding of this stuly was that, immediately alter the research projvet was started, the experimental regiments showel a marked drop in courtsemartial Tut the control regiments remained! u fected, Consequently, there are no results fo report on the four separate treatment groups, or on the accuracy of the clinical predictions, sinee very few first court-mur= Al offenders were ever sent to MHCS dur- ing the six-month trial period, Figure 1 gives the total courts-martial per 1000 men for the experimental and eon- trol regiments for the period January, 1958, to June, 1960—six months prior, six months during, and six months after the rescareh project. At the und of the research project. the courts-martinl given by the experimental regiments returned to the level of the eon- trols. The courts-martial rate for the ex- perimental and control reghinents was ¢ab= cal for the previous yeur tw cheek tor seasonal variation: no systenntie differ ence was found in the eourtsemuurtial rate wring 1958 between the experiniencal andl the control reintents igure 1 shows a drop in courtsctnaetil in both the experimental aud the eoncrol regiments cheee months after the end af the researel prujeet tin April, T9UOP. sine this dlcerense in eourtsenrartial seemed to pare , the op, a2 oe ae ee ee ee an 6 on ae) pe ae) ee ee ee op ee @h@ae beweameae wae dh ee ete a ae fh ae allel diqvetiy thie results abtained Dy: six ate eanpt was nuule to aetertsine the possible intl ot intease seientifie study, vuierclests Lntorma| conmmupivation = vealed that uer had beet a meeting of anit eoncuters from all of he regiments with the few! julicial military ageney early in April. ‘Phe high eourtssmartial rate at Fort Dix wae aiseussed, a wity the recom soetnfation that the parties eaneerned take hwwre ise of eampany punishinents, rather un eourtseanartial Clery, the program of psyehiatrie servenmng Inul x tevmendons influence on the rourtscmattial behavior of the unit come victors, The auost likely explanation is that tis progesmt sligpleasee them, and ing eourts-nuurtinl to pres vent MICS trons making evaluations of Uwe nian they were prnishing, While abe viously there ran be ng diteet eviience for tel su interpretation, it svenis platsible, especially since similar drop in eourtse martial occurred three months after the end dot che eseaeeh project, when all of the anie rommuaniers were informed! that their feaurts-inartial rte was eonspienously high, {nterestingly, the experimental regiments showed the oust rapid drop ity courtsetuare Hal following this meeting tApril, 1960), ‘whereas control regiments were not so eusily inlienced, Perhaps this difference retlcets \ sensitivity to environmental presstires Wwhiel the experimental regiments hd veloped through their participation in the First Court-Martial Research Projeet. ‘The results obtained inthis research ~tuly slrunatically emphasize the need te ronitral for institutional feedback in. the ronduet at reseasele within a elosel social svstem, Without the intixtation provided Uy such comtrols, new ventures in preven biatry may lave he ae bearanee of enrinyg «problem, whereas see Hnuully key members of the institution i eerely hinge heir aduinistrative pros ves fir tlir spoeifie teelniqnes. for 21 problem, Uf there luul aot been eontral regi« eats, oF if che First Court-Martial Serven= Progrant hae not heen estublishest on a trial basis, it might well have seemed that the problem of uilitary delinqueney had evn substantially redueed by the psyeli- atrie servening, Such an interpretation ase mies that the eriterion used to measure a particular phenomenon is identiesl with the hehavior itself; im actuality, vourts-inattial ‘re nut & problem, but only one index to the presence of the problem of military «letin« quency. A sindlar typo of eontusion between aan index and the aetual behavior may also be operative when a deep ia prison popula tion is interpreted as a tribute to the suc- cessful corrective efforts of the prisun per= sonnel, of when an inerease in discharge rates in at mental hospital following a wew treatment program is considered to retleet greater health inthe patients, While the number of courtsemurtial, and the size of prison or hospital populations, ure all op- rational definitions, they also, by de tion, intimately involve major administra. tive decisions; us such, they may as well reflect a change in the mood of the bureatt erutie structure, or pressures heing brouglit to bear upon it, as any possible elange in the behavior whiek these eriteria suppose cally measure, Thus, rapid inereases in dise charges in s mental hospital do not neves- surily mean that the patients atv getting well’ faster, or tore of them are getting well, but simply that some new face tor has led to a change in the operution of the administrative procedures governing discharges. ‘The essential element in the Imeastire oF control for ebianges in the oper forming research, exm be just steh a Caetar unwittingly the typical belavior of the key mebers of exerting a rtdival intlienee oin an institution, Chless he pruvisles some tniexstre of eontrol for changes in the oper sation of the institution itseli, EE inay takenly conclude tat Ihe has witnessed an in che pote is ostensibly study importanat ei ia less serions vein, the investigation at Fort Dis might alo

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