The purpose of this study was to examine language organization in the brain by using a series of three tasks concurrent with event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate both hemispheric differences and interhemispheric reactions. Overall, the findings from this study support a relative rather than absolute hemispheric specialization for language processing. Despite an overall RVF (LH) advantage, both hemispheres were capable of performing the tasks and benefited from semantic priming.

The relationship of coronary-prone behavior, hostility, and defense style to atherosclerosis was examined. Subjects were 1,271 patients who underwent coronary angiography at Duke University Medical Center between 1974 and 1980. Type A behavior was assessed using both the Structured Interview and Jenkins Activity Survey. The Cook and Medley Hostility scale and Byrne's Repression-Sensitization scale, both subscales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, were employed to measure hostility and defense style. The results revealed no significant association between the disease end-points CADSEV, history of myocardial infarction, and history of angina pectoris and either the Structured Interview Type A, hostility, or repression-sensitization, Jenkins Activity Survey defined Type B's, however, were found to more frequently complain of angina. It was suggested future research employ longitudinal or process designs to focus on adaptive functioning from a transactional and developmental perspective which may serve to promote coronary resistance.

This study proposed that the perceived quality of the custodial grandparent/grandchild relationship in step families will not be interrupted by the parental separation and remarriage and that the determinants of the quality of this relationship would be similar to that associated with the grandchild/grandparent relationship in intact families. The research by Shoire and Hayslip (1988) who studied grandparenting indicates that four variables are significant in this perceived relationship (in order of magnitude): kinship position (maternal versus paternal), grand parenting style, parent/grandparent bond, and influence the grandparent has on the grandchild. There same four variables were proposed to predict the perceived quality of the custodial grandparent/grandchild relationship in step families. Grandparenting style, as defined bu Shore and Hayslip (1988), is comprises of three variables, parentlike behaviors provided, services provided, and visitation patterns. To have a continuous rather than nominal value for grandparenting style and to determine which aspect of grandparenting style is most important, these three variables, parentlike behaviors, services, and visitation were used in place of grandparenting style. Therefore, this study proposed that the following variables would predict perceived quality of the custodial grandparent/grandchild relationship: kinship position,parentlike behaviors provided, services provided, visitation patterns, parent/grandparent bond, and influence the grandparent has …

A limited amount of research exists that addresses low self-esteem, poor self-concept, and distorted self-image in children with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The most urgent task is to test assumptions regarding self-perception and to assess the dimensions of self-concept influenced by this disorder. The Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985) was used in the present study to assess those dimensions. Participants included 34 boys with ADHD, 27 boys with LD, and 33 boys without any diagnosed psychological or learning problems. Results were analyzed using Pearson's product-moment correlation, analyses of variance (ANOVA), and analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) and did not support the hypotheses.

The present study is a comparison of music and non-music students with respect to their response patterns on the Brief Symptom Inventory as well as several demographic questions. The sample consisted of 148 non-music students and 141 music students at three levels: (1) freshmen/sophomore; (2) juniors/seniors; and (3) graduate students. Music students consisted of volunteers from several different music classes and non-music students were volunteers from non-music classes. There were no significant differences found among or between groups for the BSI subscales. However, music students were significantly less likely to have gone to counseling in the past and to seek professional counseling for future problems. Recommendations for psycho-educational interventions with musicians are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.

Relationships of negative psychological conditions with general status of cell-mediated and humoral immune systems were investigated. A unique approach was utilized in that indexes representing multiple aspects of each branch of the immune system were employed to better indicate general immunological status. Differences in emotion-immune interactions between males and females were demonstrated. Results indicated a positive relationship between Trait Anger and Cell-Mediated Immunological Index. Particular criticisms of previous psychoneuroimmunological research were met by addressing sex differences and differences in various conditions of anger and depression, as well as through assessment of cumulative effects of negative emotions on immune system status. Directions for future research in eddressing similar issues are suggested. In general, results provide support for validity of mindbody interactionism and imply the need for revision of standard medical and psychological treatment.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the differences between dependent personality characteristics and clinical symptomology as measured by the MCMI-II, in three major psychiatric syndromes in inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. Results show differences in profile in all groups. Treatment setting differences show higher scores on alcohol and drug dependence and major depression for inpatients. The affective group exhibited higher scores on dependent personality, dysthymic and major depression, confirming previous research on depressive disorders and dependent personality.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate a human being's basic responses to being touched by another human being in a nonreactive context and the effects of an illogical rationale on system disorganization. Two hypothesis were put forth: 1 - that persons in similar circumstances who are not touched, and 2 - that persons who are touched for a reason that makes sense will display less psychological and physiological variability than persons who are touched for a reason that makes less sense or, perhaps, is even considered "illofical." Forehead touch was chose. Positive and negative affect scales were utilized to measure psychological reactivity while skin temperature and heart rate were employed to measure psychological reactivity. These hypotheses were not supported in the present study since the expected group by phase interactions were not obtained. Instead, main effects for phase were found, especially for heart rate scores. Many concerns about the nature of the sample and the manipulation itself are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate post-burn adjustment in light of the self-esteem of child burn survivors. The study attempted to assess the viability of using a single, explicit self-report measure of self-esteem (Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale) as an index of post-burn adjustment. It appears that pediatric burn patients do not suffer a compromised self-concept secondary to the burn injury and, rather, are successful in incorporating their post-burn state, physically and psychologically, into a positive self-concept. It is suggested that evaluation of overall self-esteem incorporate a comprehensive picture of post-burn adjustment, based upon psychological and physiological parameters. Further research is justified and suggestions for future examinations are presented.

This study was designed to explore the cognitive-perceptual roots of attrition from substance abuse treatment. Previous research on interpersonal issues among substance abusers and attachment theory suggested areas for investigation: the perception of early parental care, current interpersonal functioning, and perception of the substance abuse treatment program.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not self-monitoring of stressors and physiological response to stressors enhances the effectiveness of a stress management technique, specifically relaxation training. The primary hypothesis which stated that the RSMS group would experience a greater reduction in depression (on the Beck Depression Inventory), and enhancement in self-efficacy (on the General Self-efficacy Scale) than all other groups, was not supported.

The rationale for this study was based on the application of the cycle of domestic violence theory to elder abuse. It examined the effect of history of experienced childhood violence on tolerance, behavioral intentions, and past behaviors of elder abuse toward general and specific elderly targets. The effectiveness of educational interventions for altering tolerance and behavioral intentions of elder abuse was examined. Two hundred and twenty-five undergraduates were assessed for aging knowledge, general aging attitudes, aging anxiety, elder abuse attitudes, and elder abuse intentions and past behaviors. Participants were assigned to a High or Low Experienced Violence group and participated in an educational group or control group. Posttest and one-month followup measures were obtained. No differences were found at pretest between High and Low Violence. Level of Violence did not impact intervention efficacy. Elder abuse education altered attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of elder abuse at posttest significantly more than did aging education or control groups (p < .001), but these effects were no longer significant at followup. Elder abuse attitudes had higher relationships with elder abuse intentions and reported past behaviors than did global aging attitudes or aging anxiety (p < .05). General elderly targets yielded more tolerance, intentions, and …

This study explores the possibility that attentional deficits are an early clinical symptom of Alzheimer's disease. The three goals are to demonstrate that individuals with Alzheimer's disease are impaired on tasks of attentional processing, to compare the sensitivity of currently used measures of attention to attentional dysfunction, and to compare the behavioral response styles (errors of commission) of Alzheimer's disease subjects and non-impaired subjects. The subjects were 22 males and 46 females with a mean age of 70.76 years. Thirty-six had the presumptive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; 18 were identified as mildly impaired and 18 as moderately impaired on the Cognitive Capacity Screening Examination. The remaining 32 subjects comprised the non-impaired control group. Five measures of attention were administered to all participants: the Digit Span Subtest of the WAIS-R, the Seashore Rhythm Test of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery, the Vigilance and Distractibility tasks of the Gordon Diagnostic System, and the Concentration/Interference task. The results show a significant difference in attentional processing between normal (non-impaired) subjects and subjects diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. All measures of attention used in this study, except the Concentration/Interference task, differentiated normal subjects from moderately impaired Alzheimer's disease subjects. The Digit Span Subtest and the Seashore Rhythm …

This investigation evaluated the efficacy of relaxation training and cognitive therapy separately and in combination in enhancing the coping skills of patients during epidural steroid injections. Subjects consisted of 80 back pain patients. They were randomly assigned to four groups to receive either relaxation training, cognitive therapy, relaxation and cognitive therapy, or attention control treatment. All subjects were provided preparatory information describing the procedure for the epidural injection and typical physical sensations experienced by patients undergoing the procedure. Relaxation training consisted of Jacobsonian progressive relaxation instructions which were modelled by the trainer. Cognitive therapy consisted of instructions and a work sheet designed to assist subjects in designing positive (rational) self statements concerning the injection procedure. Attention control procedures involved instructions and written exercises of equal duration to the relaxation and cognitive treatments but containing no instructions for the control of anxiety and pain. The three experimental groups exhibited significantly fewer "ae1f-distress" verbalizations during the injection. On other dependent measures, namely, the remaining catagories of pain verbalizations, gross body movements, heart rate, and independent ratings of anxiety there were no significant differences among experimental and control groups. Results are discussed in terms of spontaneous use of coping skills, habituation, individual differences …

The present study was undertaken (1) to compare the connotative meanings criminals attach to a sampling of concepts with those meanings attached by noncriminals, and (2) to examine the possible relationship between moral development and criminal behavior. One hundred thirty four male subjects completed the Wide Range Achievement Test- Revised (Reading Section); a personal data sheet; the Ammons Quick Test-Form I; the Criminal Semantic Inventory; the Test for Criminal Cognitions; and the Sociomoral Reflection Questionnaire. Subjects were divided into four groups (Noncriminals, Against Person Group, Against Property Group, and Against Statute Group) on the basis of history of criminal conviction. A one-way MANOVA was conducted on each of the 16 concepts under investigation. Significant differences were found for five concepts. In addition, criminals were found to differ significantly from noncriminals on level of moral development.

Twenty-four psychiatric staff, 24 clinically depressed inpatients, and 24 nondepresssed schizophrenic patients at a state psychiatric facility completed five tasks under either reward or punishment conditions. Each task consisted of 30 trials of pressing or not pressing a button to make a light appear. Monetary reinforcement was contingent on light onset for the final ten trials of each task. Cash incentives for judgment of control accuracy were added for Tasks 3, 4, and 5. Cognitive functioning was evaluated on each task by measuring expectancy, judgment of control, evaluation of performance, and attribution. Mood and self- esteem were measured before and after the procedure. No significant differences were observed across mood groups for expectancy of control or judgment of control accuracy. Subject groups also did not differ in the attributions they made or in how successful they judged their performances to be. They set realistic, attainable criteria for success which were consistent with relevant conditional probabilities. Subjects in reward gave themselves more credit for task performance than subjects in punishment gave themselves blame for comparable performances. Punishment subjects demonstrated more stable, external attributions than those in reward. Across tasks, subjects overestimated when actual control was low and underestimated when actual control …

The present longitudinal study examined the effects and interactions of several variables thought to affect adjustment to conjugal bereavement. Questionnaires were administered to 147 conjugally bereaved subjects and to 46 persons bereaved of close relatives other than spouse. Independent variables included experienced competence (self-esteem, locus of control, coping self-efficacy, and prior coping strategies), impact of loss (anticipation and preventabillty of loss, centrality of relationship and life change), and perceived resources. All of the independent variables were found to be important predictors of adjustment in conjugal bereavement. However, hypothesized interactions among variables were generally not found. Experimental variables were better predictors of adjustment in conjugal bereavement than were demographic variables. Contrary to prediction, widowed subjects tended to become more lonely and showed increased bereavement adjustment difficulties over a six month period of time. However, post hoc analysis suggested that levels of adjustment do not decline over the long term in widowhood. The present study supports a view of widowhood as a multidimensional event, characterized by seemingly contradictory feelings, experiences, and behaviors.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate cognitive functioning in a group of 30 chronic pain patients (CPG) as compared to a group of 39 acute pain patients (APG). In order to assess cognitive performance, certain subtests were selected from the McCarron-Dial System (MDS) of Neuropsychological Evaluation. Specifically, a measure of haptic discrimination was used along with the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test. As such, completion of these subtests required a cortically mediated, central nervous system processing of sensory information. This particular method of assessment was chosen because it provided a nonverbal measure of higher-order cognitive performance. Additionally, the haptic measure provided separate scores for right and left hemispheric functioning. Data analysis revealed significantly poorer Bender performance among CPG members (t(69) = -5.09, E - •0004, two tailed). Further data analysis revealed that the CPG performed significantly poorer on certain of the haptic discrimination subtests. Specifically, both texture and configuration scores for the right hemisphere were significantly lower among CPG members (texture, p = -042 and configuration, p = .002). Subsequent analyses were conducted to determine predictive relationships between important variables. These data are discussed in terms of their clinical significance and importance for future research.

Double standard effects in inferences about quality of parenting and adult sexual outcomes for children were investigated under five conditions of single-parent sexual behavior. The sample comprised six hundred married parents from three major metropolitan areas in Texas. Subjects were administered a scenario about a hypothetical single parent family. The scenario varied with respect to parent gender, child gender, and type of parental sexual activity (e.g., abstinence, limited affairs away from home, involvement with a live-in lover, frequent partners spending the night, and a control condition containing no sexual message). Subjects were asked to rate a parent from the scenario on quality of parenting and predict the adult sexual behavior of the child. Hypothesized double standard effects did not emerge. A double standard in judgments about sexually active single parents and parenting did appear. Main effects were found for child gender and sexual lifestyle of the parent (e.g., parents with boys rated less favorably than parents with girls; promiscuous fathers were rated lower than promiscuous mothers). Several interaction effects among parent gender, child gender, and sexual lifestyle condition were also found (e.g., promiscuous parents were rated lower as parents and seen as negatively influencing the child's sexual development). Recommendations for …

Personality patterns of sexually abused female adolescent runaways are compared to personality patterns of physically abused female adolescent runaways. Eighty-six female adolescents from 13 to 17 years of age completed a self report inventory to determine personality traits. To test the hypotheses of the study, a multivariate analysis of variance was conducted, followed with univariate tests to find differences on separate dependent measures. Results indicated that on the Jesness Inventory there may be a common personality pattern associated with abuse. Univariate tests yielded data which indicated that although there may be a general personality pattern for abused adolescents, there were significant differences between the physically and sexually abused adolescents on some personality variables. Results were evaluated taking into account the selective sample from which the population was drawn. Recommendations for future research included the use of projectives, a more comprehensive personality inventory, and selected demographics.

This investigation was an attempt to replicate and expand previous research which suggested that laterality of electromyographic biofeedback input had a significant effect in lowering frontalis muscle activity. In 1984 Ginn and Harrell conducted a study in which they reported that subjects receiving left ear only audio biofeedback had significantly greater reductions in frontalis muscle activity than those receiving right ear only or both ear feedback. This study was limited to one biofeedback session and subjects were selected based on demonstration of right hand/ear dominance. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the left ear effect reported by Ginn and Harrell could be replicated. Furthermore, the current investigation sought to extend the previous finding to left handed subjects and explore the stability of the effect, if found, by adding a second biofeedback session. Subjects were 96 students recruited from undergraduate psychology classes. They were screened for handedness by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory which resulted in identification of 48 right handers and 48 left handers. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four groups consisting of left ear feedback, right ear feedback, both ears feedback, and controls. This resulted in eight conditions. Analysis of variance of microvolt changes …

The purpose of the present study was to provide validation for Levinson's theory about pets and human personality development. Levinson (1978) proposed that the personality development of individuals who have pets to which they are attached differs from that of those who do not have pets and that pets play an important role in facilitating the development of certain adaptive personality traits. In the present study, specific areas that were addressed included differences in certain personality characteristics between life-long pet owners who were strongly attached to their pets, life-long pet owners who were less strongly attached to their pets, and people who had owned pets for only a limited period of time in their lives. One hundred undergraduates completed the Pet Attitude Scale, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Personality Research Form - Form E, the Hogan Empathy Scale, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation - Behavior (FIRO-B), and the IPAT Anxiety Scale Questionnaire. No significant differences were found between the three pet owner groups in levels of affiliation with other people, impulse control, nurturance, succorance, capacity for empathy, and anxiety levels. In addition, no significant differences were found between the three pet owner groups in interpersonal behavior characteristics or self-esteem. …

Eighty-seven single custodial fathers were surveyed to test the validity of previously developed typologies and/or construct a more empirically valid framework with implications for adjustment to the role. Mendes1 (1975) aggressive seekers, conciliatory seekers, conciliatory assenters, and aggressive assenters were compared to O'Brien's (1980) hostile seekers, conciliatory negotiators, and passive acceptors. In addition to demographic variables, relationship to ex-wife and child, and reasons for becoming single and obtaining custody, several personality variables were included along with measures of adjustment. One year follow-up measures of adjustment were collected to evaluate implications of typologies in adjustment. Two nearly equal groups were established in a Q type factor analysis of continuous data. Factor loadings of individual cases suggest a continuum of the two types of single fathers, rather than two distinct groups. Group differences were evaluated in a series of MANOVA and Chisquare analyses. Analysis included six factor scores from a supplemental R factor analysis of selected variables. Type I fathers are characterized as older, more passive, selfreflective, and aloof in interpersonal relationships. They are somewhat less oriented toward a relationship with their children and had felt satisfied with their wives* care of them. Alternatively, Type II fathers are younger, active, assured (not …

A number of clinicians have reported that narcissists show grandiosity in self-concept, and rage after receiving disconfirming feedback. This is the first empirical study to test these claims. Subjects with differing levels of narcissism and self-esteem were compared on distortion in self-perception and emotional reaction to negative feedback. Ninety-six college students predicted their levels of intelligence, attractiveness, and interpersonal understanding (empathy) as compared to their peers. Objective measures of these characteristics were obtained, and subjects' predictions, with their actual scores held constant, provided measures of reality distortion in selfperception. Subjects were given feedback comparing their predictions to objective measures at the end of the experiment, and reaction to feedback was assessed by comparing subjects' pre- and post-feedback scores on the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist-Revised (Zuckerman & Lubin, 1985). Narcissists were expected to react to negative feedback with greater hostility than nonnarcissists. Narcissists evidenced significant distortion in perceptions of their own intelligence, attractiveness, and interpersonal understanding. This finding provided empirical evidence supporting the clinical phenomenon of grandiosity. Narcissists did not react with greater hostility after negative feedback, but as compared to nonnarcissists, they did react with less depression following negative feedback. This supported Kernberg's (1980) assertion that narcissists do not react …