Effects on Sociometric Status of Institutional Pressure to Adjust Among Retarded Children*DENTLER, ROBERT A.; MACKLER, BERNARD
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00409.xpmid: N/A
This paper reports findings from a study of the social effects of pressures to adjust to a new group environment, as these were felt by newly arrived boys in a state hospital and training centre for mentally retarded children. Previous research reveals a correlation between cottage status and mental ability, and status and conformity to institutional norms. This study examined processes underlying these relations. For 29 retardates, mean age 9.6 years, mean I.Q. 56, group status initially correlated highly and positively with mental ability, social initiative as measured by observed frequency of attempted contacts with peers, and restriction of conduct as measured by frequency of aide discipline. In the second month of cottage life, following severe restriction by aides, these relationships changed: the abler, hence more frequently restricted boys, experienced a decline in status. Thus the effect of the institution is to control social relations by restricting activity and so modify group structure as to make relative ability, social or mental, a liability. Initially, the function of institutionalization is to conserve individual disabilities.
A Note on the Interpretation of the Guess Who Test in the Study of Sociometric Choice BehaviourPRITCHATT, DERRICK
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00410.xpmid: N/A
A previous finding of a high correlation between Guess Who and Sociometric Tests was confirmed, but this correlation obscures the fact that individual choices on these tests were not consistent. This was partly due to the fact that many of the characteristics of the Guess Who seemed to have little real significance to the children. However, even when they were allowed to give their own characteristics of a good friend, they still rarely attributed them to their own sociometric choices. It is argued that Guess Who characteristics can tell us very little about the reasons for sociometric choice.
A Control for Social Desirability in a Semantic DifferentialKrieger, Margery H.
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00411.xpmid: N/A
A control for social desirability was introduced into a semantic differential appropriate for describing person concepts. The modified instrument consisted of 18 scales balanced for SD and four unbalanced evaluative scales as marker items. Two subject groups, 52 psychiatric patients and 40 non‐patients, described a doctor, a patient and myself. Data from each group yielded six orthogonal factors, with evaluative factors loaded primarily on the four unbalanced scales. Comparisons of factor structure by group and by concept showed much less factorial correspondence between these English‐speaking groups, and a higher degree of subject‐concept‐scale interaction, than is usually found with the semantic differential. Control for SD seems to make the scales more sensitive to subject and situational differences.
Attitude Changes Associated with Training in Human RelationsSMITH, PETER B.
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00412.xpmid: N/A
Members of training groups in human relations change their attitudes toward social behaviour in a way that members of other groups do not. Those trained showed a convergence toward median scores on scales measuring their attitudes toward power and close personal relationships. These attitudes were found to be related to perceptions of their actual behaviour by other group members. Perceptions of the behaviour of those scoring median on the attitude scales were generally consonant with current descriptions of 'effective' behaviour.
The Effect of Attitudinal Factors on the Relationship Between Conditioning and PersonalityAL‐ISSA, IHSAN
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00413.xpmid: N/A
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of attitudinal factors on the relationship between eye‐blink conditioning and personality measures of extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety. The subject's attitudes were experimentally manipulated by (1) varying the instructions; (2) introducing a reaction time task. Under these conditions, an attempt was made to test the prediction made by Eysenck that eye‐blink conditioning is negatively correlated with extraversion as measured by the Maudsley Personality Inventory. Another prediction tested concerns the Spence‐Hull hypothesis that there is positive correlation between eye‐blink conditioning and personality tests of neuroticism and anxiety. Results show that the relationship between eye‐blink conditioning and personality measures is inconsistent and varies with experimental conditions. This inconsistency was due in part to the new scoring method employed in the present study. Results are discussed within the framework of previous studies relating conditioning to personality measures.
Intelligence and Childhood Psychiatric DisorderRUTTER, MICHAEL
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00414.xpmid: N/A
The literature on the relation between intelligence and psychiatric disorders of childhood is reviewed, and an analysis is given of the distribution of I.Q.s of children first attending the Maudsley Hospital Children's Department in 1955. The distribution of I.Q.s differed significantly from that of the general population, but the differences are believed to be artifacts of referral policy. Verbal performance discrepancies were no larger than those found in the general population. Abnormality of intelligence does not seem to be a factor of major importance in child psychiatric disorders, but is worthy of attention for other reasons.
The Reliability of the Pressure AlgometerMERSKEY, H.; SPEAR, F. G.
doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1964.tb00415.xpmid: N/A
The pressure algometer is a simple clinical instrument which has been used to measure the response to pressure pain in normal subjects. The point at which subjects first said they felt pain was called the Verbal Report of Pain (VRP). The point at which they said the pressure 'hurt a lot' was called the Pain Reaction Point (PRP). Both points were significantly lower in women than in men, but there was no significant difference between white male medical students, Afro‐Asian male medical students and white male student teachers. The method was shown to have a moderate degree of consistency and reliability when used independently by two observers. The VRP and PRP were highly correlated with each other, suggesting that both were a measure of the same tendency.