Although research has linked the central nervous system with changes in immunoresponsivity, research on the possible role of the central nervous system in altering reticuloendothelial activity is lacking. This study investigated the possible relationship between hypothalamic structures and changes in responsivity of the reticuloendothelial system. Eight male albino rats received bilateral electrode implants in the ventromedial area of the hypothalamus and, following brain stimulation, reticuloendothelial activity was assessed 3, 6, 12, 24, and 96 hours after stimulation. Brain stimulation decreased phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system. These findings may increase our understanding of a possible neural mechanism underlying relationships between stress and resistance to disease states.

Behavioral and cognitive skills training for increasing assertive behavior in college students were compared to an equally credible expectancy-control. One significant multivariate function successfully discriminated between the behavioral and control groups, and between the cognitive and control groups. This function was interpreted as showing enhanced behavioral/cognitive construction competencies in the behavioral and cognitive groups. A second function, though not significant, suggested that the cognitive training resulted in more aggressive behavior.

In order to aid in the understanding of the personality components that contribute to the symptoms of depression, the learning process of persons labeled as depressed was examined. Twenty female subjects who were either receiving or being evaluated for psychotherapy participated in this study. Based on MMPI and DACL scores, 10 depressed and 10 nondepressed subjects were placed in avoidance learning situations. An active avoidance situation required making the correct button press to avoid a sounding buzzer; the absence of the button-pressing response constituted a passive avoidance situation, There was no significant difference between the two groups in learning across avoidance conditions, Depressives were found 'to be less persistent in responding than were nondepressives. Results were explained as supporting a learned helplessness model of depression.

The behavior role-playing task (BRPT) has become a popular method of assessing assertive behavior. However, current research suggests that situational factors can affect the outcome of such assessments, independently of the subject's level of assertiveness. The present study investigated the effects of one such factor: the type of prompt delivered during the BRPT. It was hypothesized that subjects would respond more assertively to provocatively prompted scenes than to neutral scenes. Twenty nursing students were exposed to BRPTs involving both provocative and neutral role-player prompts. The results revealed that while provocative BRPTs generated significantly greater amounts of self-reported anger and anxiety than did the neutral BRPTs, there were no significant differences in response latency, duration, or assertive content between the two conditions.