Kenneth W. Sewell

Longtime psychologist, scholar, author, and member of the constructivist psychology community Rue L. Cromwell died on December 91, 2020. Rue was 92 years old.Rue Levelle Cromwell was born in Linton...

A convenience sample of 209 participants completed the Grief Pattern Inventory (GPI) together with the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist (HGRC), the Integration of Stressful Life Events Scale (ISLES), and the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Alpha coefficients of the GPI’s intuitive and instrumental subscales were improved by eliminating low-performing items and empirically reassigning items from the GPI dissonant subscale. The two modified scales showed a near zero intercorrelation indicating they were independent constructs in this sample, a conclusion further verified by factor analysis. Both styles correlated with distress measures from the HGRC and correlated negatively with adaptation indicators from the ISLES, though the findings were stronger for intuitive grievers. MBTI findings revealed that intuitive grievers endorsed significantly more “feeling” in how processing occurs while grievers who preferred sensing/thinking functions more often identified with the instrumental grief pattern. Implications of these findings for scholars and clinicians are discussed.

Cromwell's Being Human: Human Being (2010) covers a broad array of theoretical and practical arenas that can impact how we all—but psychologists in particular—conceptualize the nature and function of human mentation. In this article, I will abstract an overarching theme from the book that explains how (and even why) humans evolve as storytellers—first to serve intrapersonal goals, but eventually to social ends (which themselves reflect back onto intrapersonal purposes). The tale begins with each person's own private invention of time, space, and self via the constructed linkage between separate stimuli, and continues through the concoction and communication of complex theoretical frameworks. Each step of this journey involves the human being constructing a bridge between events; in other words, composing a story. Finally, the theme of “human being as storyteller” will be applied reflexively to Cromwell's decision to and action of authoring Being Human: Human Being.

Although conceptualizations of human emotions in personal construct psychology have differed, most have agreed that emotion is a fundamental aspect of human experience. However, notwithstanding their fundamental nature, personal attitudes and beliefs about emotion take form against the larger background of culture and its associated values, stereotypes, and ideals. In Western culture, individual constructions of emotion are likely to be housed in frameworks that resemble the structure of Western beliefs and attitudes. This article examines the relations between Western constructions of identity and the core processes of emotion—particularly, how conflict between these can generate fear of emotion. To this end, principles of personal construct psychology will be used to describe how emotion may come to be construed as being incompatible with the self, a state that we refer to as emotion-threat. The implications of this construct will then be elaborated in regard to psychological health and treatment.

Despite high levels of exposure to stress, questions remain regarding how social interactions and beliefs about emotion interact to influence posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in firefighters. United States urban firefighters (N = 225) completed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, the Unsupportive Social Interactions Inventory, the Affective Control Scale, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Each independent variable predicted PTSD beyond variance accounted for by demographic variables. Additionally, fear of emotion emerged as the strongest individual predictor of PTSD and a moderator of the relation between social interactions and PTSD symptoms. These findings emphasize the importance of beliefs about emotion both in how these beliefs might influence the expression of PTSD symptoms, and in how the social networks of trauma survivors might buffer distress.

Cluster analysis was performed on a diverse group of 69 non-clinical grievers whose loved ones died between 12–40 months prior to the study. Based on psychometric measures of both bereavement distress and growth, three distinct clusters emerged: High Grief (high distress—low growth; n = 16); High Growth (low distress—high growth; n = 32); and Low Impact (low distress—low growth; n = 21). Discriminant function analyses showed that the High Grief cluster differed robustly from the other two groups on several measures of grief adaptation and coping; the differences between the High Growth and Low Impact clusters were less pronounced. High Grief participants sought grief counseling significantly more often whereas the Low Impact grievers preferred medicinal help for symptoms if they sought any professional assistance at all. When High Growth participants sought counseling, they seemed to focus on growth-oriented dimensions rather than mere symptom relief. Of the 11 participants who sought grief counseling for their loss, 10 (91%) found the experience to be helpful. Findings are discussed in the context of meta-analytic studies of the effectiveness of grief counseling.

Palgi and Ben-Ezra (2010) describe an intriguing approach to the treatment of acute stress responses in persons whose memory for a recent traumatic event has not yet consolidated -- an approach they call "Back to the Future" therapy (BFT). The present article examines BFT on several dimensions: theoretical fidelity, applicability, and potential for empirical investigation. BFT shows considerable promise as a treatment for a subset of persons who experience a traumatic stressor. The greatest challenges now for users of BFT include both identifying persons most likely to benefit from BFT, and systematically evaluating the effectiveness of the approach.