Mental preparation is an important component in athletic performance. Mental preparation often involves imagery of the actual execution of the physical act. Imagery may be either "external" or "internal." External imagery occurs when people view themselves performing an act from the perspective of an external observer. Internal imagery requires that the person feel those sensations that are involved while participating in a physical act. The assumption that internal imagery will be more likely to improve athletic performance was tested using intermediate league bowlers for a period of ten weeks.

The purpose of this study was first to determine whether or not paradoxical communication could be designed to contain therapeutic levels of the core therapeutic conditions, and, second, to determine how paradoxical counselor communication compared to nondirective communication on the social influence dimensions of attractiveness, expertness, and trustworthiness. For the first phase, four judges rated audiotapes on the level of the core therapeutic conditions on one of four counseling conditions (paradox high or low on core conditions, and nondirective high or low on core conditions). For the second phase, 133 undergraduate college students were asked to listen to the four counseling conditions on audiotapes and to rate the counselor on the social influence dimensions

Cotherapy has been advocated as an effective treatment mode, especially with groups, couples, and families. The relationship between the cotherapists has been identified as an important determinant in the success of this method. This relationship has been compared to the marital relationship between spouses, and the marriages of therapists have been viewed as offering advantages for cotherapy. Since not all therapists who are married to each other work as cotherapists, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not spouse cotherapists differ from other therapists who are also married to each other but who do not work together on a regular basis as cotherapists. The five dimensions measured for all subject couples include frequency of differing theoretical orientation, similarity of self-reported behavior in therapy, compatibility of needs for inclusion, compatibility of needs for control, and compatibility of needs for affection. Subjects for this study were 6 5 married couples in which both spouses were psychotherapists. The couples were divided into two groups according to whether or not they worked together as cotherapists on a regular basis. The group of spouse cotherapists included 29 couples who reported regular cotherapy together. The group of therapist couples included 37 couples who …

A group of 44 high-orgasm-consistency and 34 low-orgasmconsistency women were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, a Sexual Behavior Questionnaire, and the Fall Back Task. Excitatory and inhibitory controlling attitudes as manifested in hypnotic susceptibility, reported control of thinking and movement during coitus, causal attributions, and attitude toward alcoholic beverages were related to orgasm consistency. Women experiencing expectancy disconfirmation for coital outcomes attributed outcomes to unstable factors, supporting the application of Weiner's achievement model to the domain of coital orgasm. High and low consistency women showed different patterns of causal attribution for coital outcomes. High consistency women's attributions fit their reported sexual experiences, while low consistency women's attributions suggested the presence of self-esteem enhancing cognitive distortions.

One hundred women aged 20 to 50 were asked to compare their sexual experience before diagnosis and following treatment for benign and malignant cervical disease. The subjects were divided into five groups: three groups had definite cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), (Class II or III). Two groups were treated with cryotherapy, and one with hysterectomy. One group had a provisional diagnosis of CIN I, but received no treatment. Subjects in the last group had microinvasive cervical carcinoma and were also treated with hysterectomy. All subjects had ovarian function; all were sexually active at the time of treatment. They were interviewed at least six months post-cryotherapy and 15 months post-hysterectomy. All subjects completed a variant version of the Derogatis Sexual Function Inventory (DSFI).

The present study was an attempt to further investigate what factors contributed to whether married individuals defined their relationship as traditional or nontraditional. The project, moreover, explored what variables affected marital adjustment levels. The variables whose effects were assessed regarding whether married individuals defined their relationship as traditional or nontraditional included self-actualization and presence or absence of children. The factors examined thought to affect marital adjustment levels were self-actualization, subjective definition of the relationship as traditional or nontraditional, and presence or absence of children.

This study investigated older persons' perception of the negative impact of ill health, retirement, and widowhood in relation to the mobilization of relevant coping mechanisms. In addition, the relationship of coping mechanisms and dissatisfaction with current gender-role identity to seeking counseling was studied. A distributed questionnaire package provided demographic data as well as information pertaining to satisfaction in various areas of life, impact of live events, and coping style. Subjects were 54 males and 67 females aged 50 to 92. Safeguards were taken to ensure complete confidentiality and anonymity of response. Stepwise multiple regression (listwise deletion of data), multivariate and univariate analysis of variance and bivariate correlational analyses of the data were performed, suggesting that perception of negative impact of the events measured (ill health, widowhood, retirement) was related a) to employing numerous useful coping strategies, b) to low dyadic satisfaction, and c) to low life satisfaction. Analyses also suggested that variables which distinguished those in the sample who sought counseling were a) identity discrepancy (wherein Ideal exceeded Real) on the Masculine and Androgynous dimensions, b) employing fewer Coping with Health strategies, and c) employing more Coping with Retirement strategies. These variables also distinguished males who sought counseling, but only …

A test of free recall visual memory and learning was developed for the present study. The purpose of the study was to determine the utility of the Visual Selective Reminding Test and the Verbal Selective Reminding Test for differentiating among groups of patients having memory impairments with organic etiologies. It was hypothesized that neurologically impaired patients would perform differently on the Visual and Verbal Selective Reminding Tests, the difference depending on the location of the underlying brain damage. Forty right handed male patients at a Veterans Administration hospital served as subjects. The patients were grouped according to the location of their brain damage; left hemisphere, right hemisphere, diffuse damage, and no brain damage. There were 10 patients in each group. Each patient was given the verbal and the visual memory tests in counterbalanced order and the Shipley estimate of intelligence.

This study examined psychoanalytic, physiological, and social learning models of depression in terms of etiology and symptomatology. Emphasis was placed on social learning theories of depression. First, Beck's cognitive approach stated that the root of depression was a negative cognitive set. Depressive episodes might be externally precipitated, but it was the individual's perception and appraisal of the event that rendered it depression inducing. Secondly, Seligman's learned helplessness model explained reactive depression in terms of a belief in one's own helplessness. Specifically, Seligman stated belief in the uncontrollability of outcomes resulted in depression, irrespective of the correspondence of such beliefs to objective circumstances. Additionally, depression resulted from noncontingent aversive stimulation and noncontingent positive reinforcement. Thirdly, Lewinsohn's model was based on these assumptions: a low rate of response-contingent positive reinforcement which acted as an eliciting stimulus for depressive behaviors. This low rate of response-contingent positive reinforcement constituted an explanation for the low rate of behaviors observed in the depressive. Total amount of response—contingent positive reinforcement is a function of a number of events reinforcing for the individual, availability of reinforcement in the environment, and social skills of the individual that are necessary to elicit reinforcement.

An analogue study examines the acquisition and generalization of problem identification and remedial plan skills following client-centered, school case consultation. Nine trained consultants interacted with 35 undergraduate female consultees in one of three intervention conditions. Conditions involved the consultants either viewing the same problem as consultees, not viewing the problem, or attention control. Consultees viewed ten minute video tapes of a problem student in a classroom, then provided written problem descriptions and remedial plans. They then received twenty minutes of consultation or control, and again wrote descriptions of the problem and remedial plans. The same procedure was repeated two day later. One week later, subjects viewed another video tape of a problem student, provided written problem descriptions and remedial plans, but received no interventions.

Reframing, a therapy technique which allows the therapist to restate a situation or problem so that it is perceived in a new way, has received considerable attention recently because of its purported positive effects on the therapeutic process. The increase in the use of reframing has taken place despite an absence of empirical confirmation of its effectiveness. Proponents of reframing comment on its usefulness early in the therapeutic process as a means for helping clients to more positively view their symptomatic behavior, to experience some affective relief, to shift toward an increased sense of control regarding their symptoms, and to view their counselor and their expectations for counseling more positively. The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effects of reframing and selfcontrol responses on the subjects' expressed degree of loneliness, depression, and perceived control of loneliness. In addition, effects of these interventions on the subjects' ratings of the interviewers and the subjects' expectations regarding counseling were explored.

Hypnotic susceptibility, often regarded as a relatively stable individual characteristic, has been found to be related to the personality dimension of absorption. To test the hypothesis that this relationship is a function of the nature of the sensory response to stimulus events and the development of cognitive models pursuant to the processing of that information, a group of hospitalized, chronic pain patients were assessed on the following dimensions: absorption, clinical hypnotic responsiveness, cognitive resistance to interference, and visual automatization.

The study examined the impact of maternal employment and family life cycle stage on the psychological well-being o£ middle socioeconomic status women. One hundred twenty eight mothers of children at the stages of birth to 6 years, 7 to 12 years and 13 to 17 years, completed a self-report questionnaire. To test the hypothesis of the study, a 3 X 3 (employment X family life cycle stage) analysis of covariance was conducted with age, income, time employed and psychological resources as covariates. Results indicated that middle socioeconomic status mothers employed full-time experienced significantly higher levels of role overload, occupational strain, spouse support and job commitment. A post hoc exploratory analysis using conflict level between commitment to work and parenting, yielded data which indicated that individuals with a large discrepancy between commitment to one role versus the other, experienced the greatest degree of difficulty. Results were evaluated in the light of selective characteristics of the sample. Recommendations for future research included the use of projective assessment to reduce the effect of defensive response styles. A life span approach using the concept of perceived conflict between roles was advanced, instead of the age specific developmental construct of family life cycle stage.

Cognitive-attentional test anxiety theory posits that test-anxious individuals direct attention internally, thus interfering with task-relevant information processing. Nevertheless, working-memory deficits are often obscured by compensatory exertion of increased effort by anxious subjects on cognitive tasks. Failure to identify anxietyspecific performance decrements has led some authors to replace the test anxiety construct with one emphasizing skill deficiencies. This investigation examined whether information-processing deficits are inherent sequelae of test anxiety or merely reflect lowered exam-taking ability in test-anxious persons.

This study investigated predictor variables of the Counselor Rating Form dimensions of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness using the predicted variable of therapy outcome, measured by Goal Attainment Scaling and postcounseling scores on the Counselor Rating Form. One hundred-fifteen mental health center outpatients agreed to participate. Forty subjects (25 females and 15 males) met all criteria and were labeled "completors." An additional 30 subjects, labeled "dropouts," enrolled but did not meet criteria. These subjects' data were considered in a separate analysis for prediction of treatment continuation. All subjects rated their own need for therapy before their initial interview. After the initial and final interviews, both the subject and the counselor completed the Counselor Rating Form, rating their perceptions of the counselor1s behavior during that session. The Goal Attainment Scaling was used to generate both pre- and postcounseling outcome scores on each subject's individual, personalized goals.

The assumption that EMG biofeedback cultivates an antistress response was tested under stress conditions while investigating the comparative efficacy of low versus high arousal treatment strategies. Biofeedback-assisted, cue-controlled relaxation training was used as the low arousal treatment strategy for half of the 20 normal subjects used in the study. The other half received a high arousal treatment strategy which used the same training in combination with an avoidance conditioning procedure. In this procedure mild electric shock was used as contingent aversive stimulation designed to reinforce relaxation responses. Both groups received four in-lab training sessions with a 4-day interim of home practice of cuecontrolled relaxation prior to the last in-lab training session. Pretraining assessment consisted of four 10-minute periods of alternating no-stress and stress conditions. Mild electric shock and loud tones were used as stressors. Posttraining assessment was identical to pre training except subjects employed self-directed, cue-controlled relaxation rather than self-directed relaxation based on instructions without training. Frontal EMG, subjective mental and muscle tension ratings, and behavioral observations of relaxation behavior served as dependent measures during pre- and posttraining assessment. EMG readings were used during in-lab training and the two subjective rating scales were used during home practice.

This study was to explore the relationship between race of interviewer, cultural mistrust level and type of problem upon black students' ratings of an initial interview. It was hypothesized that the combination of interviewer's race, mistrust level and the type of problem discussed would significantly influence students' ratings of the interviewer. Initially, 12 4 black students were administered the Cultural Mistrust Inventory (CMI). Based upon CMI scores, participants were divided into groups of high and low cultural mistrust. Next, half of these participants were interviewed by one of five white interviewers and the remainder were interviewed by one of five black interviewers. Within each of these groups, half of the participants were asked to discuss problems with their racial identity and the others were asked to discuss their vocational aspirations. After the session, each subject rated the interviewer on the Counselor Evaluation Inventory, Counselor Rating Form and Counselor Effectiveness Rating Scale.

This study utilized Strong's (1963) theory of counseling as a social influence process to investigate the effect of therapist's training, experience, and similarity on hearingimpaired subjects' perceptions of the therapist's expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and their willingness to see the therapist. Increasing levels of therapists' training and work experience was hypothesized to increase subjects' perception of expertness and their willingness to see the therapist. Increasing levels of therapists' similarity to the client was hypothesized to increase subjects' perceptions of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and their willingness to see the therapist. Subjects' ratings of the therapist were hypothesized to change when therapists with different levels of similarity were seen in different orders of presentation.