Journal of Consulting Psychology

Meer, Bernard; Amon, Albert H.

doi: 10.1037/h0048777pmid: 13934423

The Photos Preference Test (PPT) consists of 100 facial photographs, standardized for like and dislike. This study attempted to determine whether deviant responses to the photographs were related to psychological disturbance. 490 newly admitted patients to a state hospital were tested on admission and retested 4 months later or before then if discharged sooner. 369 "normal" controls were given the PPT. The results showed: (a) patients give more deviant responses than controls (p < .01); (b) schizophrenics give more deviant responses than nonschizophrenics (p < .0001); (c) patients giving less deviant responses on admission are discharged sooner than patients giving more deviant responses (< .01); and (d) female patients show a decrease in deviant responses as they improve (p < .01), while males do not (25 ref.)

Karp, Stephen A.

doi: 10.1037/h0040037pmid: 13962578

Witkin and his colleagues have suggested that field dependence involves ability to overcome the effects of embedding contexts. The present study evaluates this hypothesis in relation to an alternative one, that field dependence involves ability to resist distraction. 150 male college students were given a battery of 18 tests including tests of field dependence, WAIS subtests, Adapative Flexibility measures, and measures of ability to resist distraction. A factor analysis was carried out on the matrix of intercorrelations between these variables. The results tend to support the Witkin hypothesis; the field dependence and other embeddedness tests load and define different factors than the distraction tests. The two kinds of factors do, however, tend to be moderately correlated. (22 ref.)

Korman, Maurice; Blumberg, Stanley

doi: 10.1037/h0046770pmid: 14034801

This study: (a) compared 40 Ss with cerebral damage with 40 matched nondamaged Ss on 4 commonly used psychometric instruments, as well as W-B Vocabulary and MMPI L Scale; and (b) investigated the relationship between these tests and 4 dimensions (laterality, severity, progressiveness, and diffuseness). Using artificial base rates, the rank order for "accuracy" was: Memory for Designs Test (MFD), Spiral Aftereffect Test (SAET), Trail Making Test (TMT), Bender Gestalt, Vocabulary, L. Combining the 3 "best" tests increased accuracy slightly. Some variables were significantly associated with laterally (TMT, A minus B; MFD); severity (SAET); progressiveness (L; TMT, A minus B; age); diffuseness (age). (25 ref.)

Feifel, Herman; Eells, Janet

doi: 10.1037/h0046645pmid: 13944712

This study analyzed the perceptions of both patients and their psychotherapists at the close of psychotherapy as to changes taking place the ideas about what was helpful and not helpful. The participants consisted of 63 outpatients and 28 psychotherapists. Data were secured by administering an open-end questionnaire. Major findings and conclusions were: (a) therapists stressed changes in symptomatic relief and improvement in social relationships, whereas patients focused on self-understanding and self-confidence; (b) patients underlined the opportunity to talk over problems and the "human" characteristics of the psychotherapist as helpful, and therapists highlighted therapeutic technique and support to the patient as most beneficial; (c) expectancy and conceptual disparities about therapy between patient and therapist should be minded to maximize treatment benefits. (15 ref.)

Centers, Louise; Centers, Richard

doi: 10.1037/h0046384pmid: 14019640

As a test of the hypothesis that malformation in the body of the child constitutes a threat to the bodily integrity of the parent, and will result in bodycathexis responses differing from those of parents of normal children, two forms of the Body-Cathexis Scale were administered to samples of parents of both malformed and normal children. Support for the hypothesis was discovered in that there was a substantial correlation between responses to their children's bodies and responses to their own bodies on the part of parents of the malformed children, while little or no correlation existed in this respect for the parents of normal children. Parents of malformed children also expressed more dissatisfaction with their children's upper extremities.

Zuckerman, Marvin; Nurnberger, John I.; Gardiner, Sprague H.; Vandiveer, James M.; Barrett, Beatrice H.; Den Breeijen, Arie

doi: 10.1037/h0043316pmid: 14004038

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that somatic complaints during pregnancy and difficulties in childbirth are related to anxiety and conflicts involving attitudes and feelings toward others. The Ss, 52 primiparous women, were given a series of tests and structured interviews. Significant positive relationships were found between somatic complaints during pregnancy and manifest anxiety, marital conflict, and indirect indicators of conflict in the interview, i.e., history of menstrual symptoms, birth, and baby dreams. 49 of the Ss' delivery room records were rated for duration of labor and amount of analgesic required. Only one significant relationship was found: anxiety, as measured by the Affect Adjective Check List given during pregnancy, was directly related to amount of analgesic required.

Pishkin, Vladimir; Hershiser, David

doi: 10.1037/h0047843pmid: 13943801

The hypothesis was that white sound would reduce stress reaction. The 4 groups were 20 normals-white sound (N-WS), 20 normals-no white sound (N-NoWS), 20 schizophrenics-white sound (S-WS) and 20 schizophrenics-no white sound (S-NoWS). GSR conditioning and respiration rates were measured for 20 trials, with a light as a CS and an electric shock as a UCS. The significant findings were (a) S-WS had highest respiration, (b) changes in GSR conductance were greatest in N-WS, (c) basal GSR increased only in N-WS, (d) schizophrenics groups failed to condition. The conclusions were: (a) WS is a noxious stimulus (70 db.); (b) 2 groups responded with distinguishable physiological patterns; (c) fear and anger constructs were inferred for schizophrenics and normal groups, respectively; (d) lower oxygensaturation in schizophrenics was inferred in explanation of findings. (25 ref.)

Deering, Gayle

doi: 10.1037/h0048450pmid: 14026387

The study investigated the effects of affectively toned and neutral adjectives on the incidental memory functioning of matched groups of 40 schizophrenic and normal female Ss. The adjectives which had been matched for familiarity and rated by judges were presented in a word association test in which the number of different associations, association recall, and stimulus word recognition scores were measured. Conclusions are: (a) schizophrenic Ss gave a larger number of different associations to affective words than normal Ss (.01 level); (b) there was no evidence that schizophrenic Ss, in comparison with normal Ss, recalled relatively more associations to neutral words than to affective words; (c) there was no evidence that schizophrenic Ss recognized stimulus words as well as normals.

Gough, Harrison G.; Domino, George

doi: 10.1037/h0047780pmid: 13949543

The D 48 (or "Dominoes") test of intellectual ability is widely used in Europe, but is almost unknown in the United States. Because of its high loading on g, its ease of administration, and its potentiality as an instrument for use in cross-cultural comparisons, the test would appear to be an important candidate for study by American psychologists. In an initial study of 86 California school children it was found that D 48 item difficulties and mean scores were highly similar to data previously available in Europe. The test also showed satisfactory predictive validity (coefficients of +.58 and +.45) for scholastic achievement in the 5th and 6th grades. The results uphold the validity of the D 48, and warrant the hope that other researchers will undertake evaluations of the test.

Schaie, K. Warner

doi: 10.1037/h0043336pmid: 13976648

It is hypothesized that the concurrent validity of questionnaires can be increased by the use of item weights obtained by expert scaling instead of using the conventional unit weights. Items from 11 scales of the High School Personality Quiz (HSPQ) were rewritten in a form permitting application of the constant sum method to the judgment of item weights. The scales were rated by 30 psychologists and ratio constructed for each factor scale. The HSPQ records of 43 delinquent girls were correlated with behavior ratings on 42 traits from Cattell's "normal trait sphere" as judged by the Ss' cottage parents. Validity coefficients are given for the HSPQ unit weight scores and for scores weighted by expert-derived ratio weights. Results show low magnitude increments in validity. Effects of scaling on the problem of agreement among questionnaire and rating data were also evaluated with similar results.