The assertive training literature has documented the effectiveness of both behavioral and cognitive methods to increase individual's assertiveness. However, the ability for such methods to enhance the generalization of treatment effects to untrained assertive response classes and the natural environment has been poor. In addition, little notice has been paid to the durability of these changes. Although the past several years have witnessed more intensive efforts by investigators to program generalization as part of their interventions, results have continued to be disappointing. A specific generalization-enhancing treatment strategy, self-directed practice, has been utilized with much success in phobic populations. This strategy, and the theoretical orientation it reflects, has been proposed for use in assertive training. The present study sought to examine the effectiveness of this method as compared to the traditional assertive training procedures and investigate the role of self-efficacy expectations in mediating initial behavior change and its subsequent generalization.

Conceptualization psychotherapy as an interpersonal influence process emphasizes how a therapist is perceived by a client. Factors affecting a client's early impressions of a therapist could influence therapeutic interactions since first impressions are relatively stable. The study investigated effects of nonverbal behavior and gender during a simulated initial meeting between a therapist and client. Undergraduates (N = 466) viewed a male or female therapist interviewing with a new female client. Therapist gaze .(100%, 80%, 40%) and smiling (high, low) were manipulated. After subjects viewed one of 12 videotapes, they completed questionnaires rating therapist expertness, trustworthiness, attractiveness, masculinity and femininity. A comparison of the therapist with subjects' expectations of a therapist in general was obtained by pre- and post-testing utilizing a measure of client expectations. MANOVAs were performed on all ratings except expectation scores, where an ANCOVA was utilized. Main effects for therapist gender indicated the female therapist was rated as significantly more expert, attractive, trustworthy and feminine than the male (ps < .81). For ratings of masculinity, subject gender interacted with therapist gender (p < .001). Wain effects showed that high smiling was rated as more attractive and more feminine (ps < .01). Smiling and level of gaze interacted on …

Cognitive therapy for the treatment of depression has generated substantial research indicating its effectiveness and it is currently considered among the most viable conceptualizations of depression. However, it has remained controversial because its methods do not directly address emotional symptoms in depressed persons. Treatment of depressed emotions is a primary focus of hypnotic mood elevating techniques. These techniques enable depressed persons to experience positive emotions during hypnosis sessions and to re-experience them daily concurrent with performance of certain specified behaviors. This study evaluated the efficacy of a multicomponent treatment which combines the techniques of cognitive therapy and hypnotic mood elevation in the treatment of depressed persons. The three treatment conditions constructed for this investigation were cognitive therapy plus hypnotic mood elevation, cognitive therapy plus pseudo-biofeedback, and no treatment waiting list.

Theories and research in the field of disparaging humor were reviewed, and sexist humor was studied as representative of this field. The relationships of sex-role identification, self-esteem, and attitudes toward women to the judgement of humor in sexist material were investigated. The Scale of Sexist Humor, developed for this investigation, utilized a set of 50 cartoons and jokes devised to approximate overlapping standard curves on the dimensions of sexist content and humor. Subjects were 57 males and 70 female undergraduate students. Each subject performed a forced Q^-sort of the cartoons and jokes, thereby rating them on a five-point scale of funniness, then completed instruments designed to evaluate sex-role identification (the Personal Attributes Questionnaire), self-esteem (The Texas Social Behavior Inventory), and attitudes toward women (the Attitudes Toward Women Scale), A demographic information sheet was also obtained from each subject to utilize in ancillary analysis.

J. Hilgard (1970, 1972, 1974, 1979), utilizing an interview format, asserted that a personality variable, namely, an individual's capacity to become imaginatively involved in experiences outside of hypnosis, was significantly correlated with his or her hypnotic susceptibility. Tellegen and Atkinson (1974) operationalized the imaginative involvement variable in a 37-item questionnaire, the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) that correlated significantly with hypnotic susceptibility (e.g., Crawford, 1982). However, Council, Kirsch, and Hafner (1986) suggested that the relationship between the TAS and hypnotic susceptibility is a context-mediated artifact in that the two correlate only when the TAS is administered within a context clearly identified as involving hypnosis. As the interviews conducted by J. Hilgard (1970, 1972, 1974, 1979) were done within a context clearly identified as involving hypnosis, the possibility exists that the relationship between imaginative involvement and hypnotic susceptibility is also a context-mediated artifact. In a test of this possibility, 86 subjects were interviewed concerning their imaginative involvements. Forty-three subjects were interviewed within a context defined as "research investigating hypnosis" and 43 subjects were interviewed within a context defined as "research investigating imagination." Hypnotic susceptibility was assessed in sessions separate from the interviews. In the present study, an individual's hypnotic susceptibility was not …

This study investigated the relationship between the degree of involvement with video games of 72 male university students with performance on pilot screening tests of psychomotor abilities, perceptual abilities, and cognitive style, and also with several personological variables, school performance, locus of control, sociability, and social presence. Additionally, the effects of experience with a video game on the learning of perceptual and psychomotor skills was examined for different levels of previous computer game involvement. It was found that those students who began playing at earlier ages and who more recently played the most demonstrated increased psychomotor abilities, and those abilities appeared to be enhanced by video game play. Greater amounts of time per week spent with computer games were found to correlate with increased facility in learning perceptual skills on computerized instrumentation, and with relative underachievement in school. No systematic relationship was found between degree of video game involvement and measures of sociability, social presence, and field dependence-independence. The study concluded that computer games may have effects upon those individuals who play them, but the effects may not be as negative as many people believe.

The relationship of current manual preference (phenotypic handedness) and family history of handedness (genotypic handedness) to memory for imageable stimuli was studied. The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that genotypic handedness was related to lessened cerebral lateralization of Paivio's (1969) dual memory systems. The structure of memory was not at issue, but the mediation of storage and retrieval in memory has been explained with reference to verbal or imaginal processes. Verbal mediation theories and supporting data were reviewed along with imaginal theories and supporting data for these latter theories. Paivio's (1969) dual coding and processing theory was considered a conceptual bridge between the competing positions.

The problem of assessment and diagnosis of depression in the elderly begins with the definition of depression being indefinite. In this study, the theory of learned helplessness was chosen because of its value in organizing research within a learning theory framework. The Beck Depression Inventory, measures of fluid and crystallized intellectual ability, locus of control, and attribution of success and failure were chosen as variables for an exploratory factor analysis. The purpose of selecting these variables was to assess the cognitive, motivational, and affective components of learned helplessness as they affected the responses of elderly subjects to depression items. Self report measures of income, education, and health, were included to assess the relationship of these variables to depression. A somatic factor was predicted to correlate with an affective factor of depression.

This study investigated the interactions of facially deformed infants (FD) with their mothers compared to a facially nondeformed control group (FND). All mother-infant dyads were videotaped for 10 minutes during a free play period. Mothers were instructed to spend time with their baby as they normally would. The videotaped interactions of 14 FD dyads and 14 FND dyads were rated by five raters for quality of interactions, amount of vocalization, touch, and face-to-face gaze. The infants were rated on their level of attractiveness from polaroid pictures and videotapes. Mothers also completed a questionnaire which assessed their infants' temperament. Three of the studies' four hypotheses were confirmed. First, the more attractive an infant was, the better his/her interactions with the mother were judged to be. Second, FD infant dyads were rated as significantly poorer in quality of interaction than FND dyads, although FD* dyads did not spend significantly less time vocalizing, touching, or in face-to-face gaze as predicted. A significantly higher percentage of FD infants were judged as having difficult temperament relative to FND infants. Finally, as predicted it was found that infants with difficult temperaments were more likely to exhibit poorer quality interactions than infants with less difficult temperaments. These …

An attempt was made to determine empirically the structure of self-disclosure. Based on the literature, a list of statements relating to the rating of self-disclosure was assembled. This list was condensed into dimensions by two evaluators, working independently. The dimensions were then used to score transcripts of male undergraduate students' verbal self-disclosures. Factor analyses of these scores produced four factors relating to self-focus, intimacy or depth, risk taking, and amount. A tentative fifth factor, intimacy value of disclosure topic, was also found. Regression analysis of dimensions on the Doster (1971) Disclosure Rating Scale produced three tentative scales for measuring self-disclosure. The first scale utilized stepwise regression of all dimensions, the second used stepwise regression of mechanical dimensions, and the third regression used composite scales representing the factors of the orthogonal factor analysis. For each scale, only three dimensions were included in the regression equation.

This study evaluated the efficacy of hypnoticallyinduced mood elevation techniques for individuals exposed previously to an experimental learned helplessness condition. The treatment conditions in this investigation included the mood elevation with hypnotic induction group as well as a mood elevation group without the benefit of hypnotic induction. As experimental controls, a group was exposed to hypnotic relaxation and an attention-only treatment group was used. Measures of treatment success included the administration of•the Depression Adjective Checklist, backward digit span, and five—letter anagrams. In a series of factorial analysis of variance procedures no significant interaction was noted although the main effect for the presence of hypnotic induction was significant with the Depression Adjective Checklist. Post hoc analysis to examine gender differences demonstrated no significant performance discrepancy between the sexes. Limitations of the study were explored and avenues of further research discussed.

One purpose of this primarily exploratory study was to explore whether differences in beliefs about the etiology of homosexuality exist between homosexuals and nonhomosexuals. Another purpose was to investigate whether differences exist between groups in the extent to which they feel that it is appropriate to manifest homosexual behaviors in public. Finally, this study examined the question of whether a relationship exists between one's perception of the cause of homosexuality and the degree to which that person felt it was appropriate to manifest homosexual behaviors.

To determine whether or not systematic desensitization treatment would produce a significant reduction in negative affect evoked by racial discrimination, 60 Mexican-American college students who scored above average on the Terrell Racial Discrimination Index were selected and assigned randomly to one of three treatment conditions: systematic desensitization (DS), therapist contact (TC), and no-treatment control (NTC). Before undergoing treatment, subjects completed the Background Information Questionnaire (BIQ), and three measures of negative affect: the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL); the Profile of Mood States (POMS); and the Treatment Rating Scales (TRS). After concluding treatment, subjects completed the three measures of negative affect only. Results were nonsignificant with respect to two of the affect measures—the POMS and the MAACL. However, significant differentia1 treatment effects were observed for the TRS measure. Relative to the TC and NTC conditions, subjects in the DS condition evidenced significantly less anger, depression, and anxiety. No other group differences attained the level of statistical significance (p < .05). Several explanations are offered for the negative findings of the MAACL and POMS. These explanations include the possibility that the measures themselves are insensitive to treatment effects. Nevertheless, due to the significant findings of the TRS, it is concluded that …

Several theories have developed in an attempt to understand how personality characteristics impact on occupational behavior. In contemplating occupational choice some theorists have utilized a psychoanalytic approach in viewing occupational choice as an appropriate way of blending the pleasure and reality principles. Other theorists have interpreted occupational choice as a means of fulfilling certain needs. The present study focused on the interpersonal needs of Inclusion, Control and Affection. It was proposed that these interpersonal needs play an integral role in one's choice of occupation. The study focused on three vocational interest categories—Realistic, Enterprising and Conventional. The subjects were male applicants for one of the following occupations (each representative of one of the three previously mentioned vocational interest areas), project manager at a construction site, restaurant manager and accountant. The total number of subjects was 288. Specifically, the present study investigated the presence of an orientation towards persons and an orientation away from persons and the impact of this on occupational choice. The study also attempted to extract three factors representing Inclusion, Control and Affection from an array of personality scales. The results supported the presence of a towards person orientation; however, an away from person orientation was not clearly differentiated. …

This study investigates the status of biofeedback treatment and locus of control (LOC) affiliation on the reduction of tension headache. Three LOC groups designated as internals, powerful-other externals and chance externals (using Wallston and Wallston's, 1978, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale) were administered an eight week electromyogram (EMG) frontalis muscle biofeedback training program using an Autogen 1700 biofeedback unit. Subjects were 12 female and four male undergraduate students who had a history of tension headache. Results indicated no significant difference in frontalis muscle tension between the beginning and end of sessions in either a biofeedback or self-control condition for any of the LOC groups. Further, there was no significant difference among LOC groups in ability to reduce muscle tension in either the training or self-control condition. Finally, neither biofeedback training nor LOC groups were significant predictors of headache reduction. Extreme within-group variability and small sample size affected study findings and these and other implications for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between the traditional global rating scale and a new behavioral rating scale in a university-based assessment center. It was hypothesized that personality factors, as measured by the 16PF and associated with the global ratings of performance would differ from those associated with the behavioral ratings of performance. It was further hypothesized that the associated personality factors would also differ for males and females. These hypotheses were ^confirmed. Pearson correlations were computed for ratings of males, females, and all subjects combined on both global and behavioral rating scales.

A typology of marital dyads derived from Kelly's (1955) Personal Construct Psychology was used to investigate the communicative behaviors of married companions. Four groups based on Kelly's Commonality (dyadic similarity) and Sociality (dyadic understanding) corollaries were contrasted: similar-understanding, dissimilar-understanding, similar-misunderstanding, and dissimilar-misunderstanding couples. It was expected that dyadic understanding would contribute more to self-disclosure, cooperative involvement, and marital satisfaction than dyadic similarity. Furthermore, it was anticipated that couples high in understanding and low in similarity would represent optimally functioning couples, as evidenced by disclosure, satisfaction, and involvement with each other. Sixty-three married couples who had known each other at least two years completed questionnaire items assessing demographic variables, marital satisfaction (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) and self-reported communication behaviors (Partner Communication Inventory, Dyadic Disclosure Inventory). Each spouse also completed an 8 X 8 Repertory Grid and predicted the mate's responses on the Rep Grid. Subjects then participated in three different audio-taped discussion tasks (an informal conversation, a consensus decision-making task, and a role-played conflict-resolution scene) which were rated for avoidant, competitive, and cooperative responses, as well as overall self-disclosure. Although understanding facilitated disclosure in conflict situations and similarity fostered marital satisfaction, communicative behaviors generally reflected the joint influence of both similarity and …

The purpose of the present study was to objectively verify psychological and behavioral changes in a group of identifiably susceptible patients who were treated for environmental sensitivities in a highly controlled environment. The subjects were 71 Environmental Control Unit (ECU) patient volunteers and 16 nonpatient volunteers for a total of 87. The patients were divided into a short-treatment (fasting 3-4 days) group (n = 35) and a long-treatment (fasting 5-7 days) group (n = 36). A third group, consisting of the 16 nonpatients, formed a nonpatient/no-treatment control group. All subjects were administered tests for assessment of intellectual/cognitive functioning, neurological/cerebral functioning, perceptual-motor skills, mood states, and general psychopathology.

This study focused on two major areas of investigation: (1) locus of control and (2) the influence on test performance of anxiety and motivation. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of programmed instruction dealing with motivation, anxiety, and test-wiseness as a means of enhancing group intelligence test performance of externalizing children. While earlier research demonstrated the viability of this technique x^ith a heterogeneous sample, no studies have utilized any kind of instruction to facilitate the performance of externalizers on standardized tests. It was hypothesized that intelligence test performance would be enhanced by programmed instruction. Furthermore, externalizers were expected to demonstrate greater gains than internalizers, which would thereby suggest that locus of control provides a source of variance in intellectual assessment.

This study compared the relative efficacy of four imagery techniques in increasing tolerance to cold pressor pain. Relevant pleasant, relevant unpleasant, irrelevant pleasant, and irrelevant unpleasant imagery strategies were compared in a two-way factorial design. Prior research suggested that pleasantness and relevance both affect imagery potency. This study attempted to assess the relative contribution of these two variables to increases in pain tolerance. Also investigated were the roles of several hypothesized mediating variables; namely, contextual valence, self-efficacy, treatment credibility, and involvement in imagery. The subjects were 60 female undergraduates who were randomly assigned to the four imagery groups. Two-way analysis of covariance were performed on all dependent variables, using pain threshold as the covariate. Pearons r.'s were used to test correlational hypotheses.

This investigation utilized a novel, self-help, multi-element psychological program to manage chronic low back pain. A literature review indicated that this disorder was costly and prevalent, yet a large percentage of chronic low back pain patients did not respond to traditional treatment. Recent research has demonstrated that numerous psychological difficulties have been associated with this disorder, including depression and anxiety. It was hypothesized that these psychological concomitants of chronic low back pain maintain and promote further pain, as part of a vicious cycle. Self-help treatment attempted to break this tension-pain-anxiety cycle using various stress reduction, and cognitive and behavioral management strategies.

Individual differences of cognitive organization and content were investigated as they relate to adaptation to remote, recent, and immediate life stress. Outside the field of stress, prior researchers have implicated cognitive organization with adjustment and cognitive content with specific psychopathology. As for behavioral adaptation to life stress, cognitive organization was viewed as a major factor in emotional vulnerability and adjustment, and cognitive content as a major factor in the mood disturbance of depression. Behavioral adaptation was defined in terms of current emotional vulnerability, adjustment and negative changes in the immediate (last six months), recent (over six months), and remote (over one year) past.

Although the Rorschach is one of the most widely used psychological assessment techniques, its empirical support has been equivocal. One possible explanation for this lack of empirical support is the tendency for researchers to study only the assessment tool with little regard for the clinician using it. In order to examine the relationship between accurate Rorschach interpretation and attributes of the clinicians employing the technique, 46 psychology graduate students were tested in terms of cognitive flexibility. Torrance's Thinking Creatively with Pictures and Cattell's 16-Personality Factor Questionnaire were used to derive various measures of cognitive flexibility. A two-stage multiple linear regression analysis was done. The most statistically reliable result was that flexibility of thought was found to be the single best mediator of accuracy of Rorschach interpretation. Other individual findings were noted and interpreted.

Recent interest in the area of spouse abuse has resulted in many attempts to define and understand this problem. The present study reviewed the literature addressing spouse abuse, its various definitions and presumed causes. Theories regarding the cause of spouse abuse were presented in two groups: those focussing on society as the perceived cause of abuse and those on either men or women as precipitators of abuse. The purpose of the study was threefold. The first was to explore the relationship between gender and perception of spouse abuse. The second was to examine whether attitudes toward women varied as a function of perception of spouse abuse. Third, the study explored the relationship between situational variables and perceptions of spouse abuse. Finally, although not an initial purpose of the study, differences in perceptions of spouse abuse were compared among abused and nonabused groups.