Integration of Test Results with Clinical Observations A Diagnostic Case Study

In this study, we aimed to investigate the application of an externally rated measure of interpersonal representations (Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale [SCORS]; Westen, 1995) to dream narratives. A total of 80 student participants enrolled at a private university in the New York City metropolitan area completed a Dream Log and affect adjective checklist (Wellman, 2002) based on a recalled dream at both 1 month and 3 months following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Using the dreams provided in this study we examined the interrater reliability of SCORS ratings, the relationship of SCORS variables to an independently rated measure of dream distortion, and the relationship of SCORS variables to participants' own ratings of dream affect. Results indicated that dreams were reliably rated using the SCORS, 3 cognitive SCORS variables were significantly related to dream distortion, and affective SCORS variables were meaningfully related to participants' own ratings of affect in their dreams. Findings from this study provide support for the application of SCORS ratings to dream narratives. We discuss implications for further research and clinical application.     

An Introductory Lecture on Personality Assessment

The role of personality assessment is minimized in many introductory psychology presentations for a variety of reasons. Personality assessment is an area of great breadth and is understandably formidable to those whose training has been outside this area of specialization.

The following lecture was designed to digest at least some parts of the area of personality assessment in as non-technical language as possible for use of instructors introducing its basic concepts.     

Evaluating the Invariance of the Factor Structure of the EPQ–R–N Among Adolescents

We examined the factor structure of the Neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ–R–N; S. B. G. Eysenck, Eysenck & Barrett, 1985) and its factor invariance across sex and racial/ethnic groups in a sample of 1,979 adolescents. Using confirmatory factor analyses, we compared a hierarchical model to previous models of the EPQ–R–N and to single-factor and 3-factor structures. The hierarchical factor structure in which a general factor coexists with 3 group factors (depression, social concerns, and worry) was superior to alternative models. The general factor accounted for more than 60% of the variance in EPQ–R–N total scores and was invariant across sex and ethnicity. The 3 group factors varied across ethnicity and sex. We discuss the implications of these findings for conceptualization and assessment of neuroticism using the EPQ–R–N.     

The Assessment of Alexithymia in Medical Settings: Implications for Understanding and Treating Health Problems

The construct of alexithymia encompasses the characteristics of difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, externally oriented thinking, and a limited imaginal capacity. These characteristics are thought to reflect deficits in the cognitive processing and regulation of emotions and to contribute to the onset or maintenance of several medical and psychiatric disorders. In this article, we review recent methods for assessing alexithymia and examine how assessing alexithymia can inform clinical practice. Alexithymia is associated with heightened physiological arousal, the tendency to notice and report physical symptoms, and unhealthy compulsive behaviors. Alexithymic patients may respond poorly to psychological treatments, although perhaps not to cognitive-behavioral techniques, and it is unclear whether alexithymia can be improved through treatment. Interpretive problems regarding alexithymia include its overlap with other traits, whether it is secondary to illness or trauma, the possibility of subtypes, and low correlations among multiple measures. Nonetheless, we encourage the assessment of alexithymia in applied settings.     

The Susceptibility of the EPPS to Faking in Simulated and Actual Employment Situations

To investigate the fakability of the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) 60 Ss were given the scale under standard (anonymous) instructions; a month later, a third of them were given the scale under ‘simulated’ instructions, a third under instructions to make a ‘good impression’ and a third under ‘actual employment’ conditions. Since the pattern of scores differed significantly between the standard instructions and each of the latter instructions it was concluded that the EPPS is very easily faked and hence should be used with caution outside the research setting.     

Temporal Organization and the Initial Reproductive Tendency

Assessment of approach and avoidance aspects of affiliation motivation was reviewed. Ss were 60 white male university students. Split-half reliabilities were .71 and .60. Convergent and divergent aspects of validity were investigated in terms of self-report measures. Scales that correlated significantly with Affiliative Tendency converged meaningfully in terms of both contents and intercorrelations; those with nonsignificant correlations could also have been expected to diverge. For Sensitivity to Rejection, convergent and divergent patterns appeared but were less clear. The two scores were summed to obtain a Dependency score, which showed meaningful correlations, too. Affiliative Tendency increased with increasing ordinal position.     

Interview anxiety across the sexes: Support for the sex-linked anxiety coping theory

The sex-linked anxiety coping theory states that females’ anxiety levels may be less detrimental to their selection test performance because they have more available coping resources and engage in more constructive coping strategies prior to and during selection tests. This research project sought to investigate whether gender moderates the link between interview anxiety and interview performance. Co-op students (N = 125) participated in a mock interview as part of a course requirement. The results indicated that gender moderated the relation between self-rated interview anxiety and interview performance. Males were no more anxious than were females, but experienced significantly greater impairments to performance in the job interview as a result of interview anxiety. Of interest, interviewer-rated interview anxiety did not interact with gender to predict interview performance, which supports preliminary research evidence that perceptions and the experience of interview anxiety are not necessarily congruent.     

A social identity approach to explaining children's aggressive intentions

This study explored the effects of group norms, intra-group position, and age on the direct and indirect aggressive intentions of 247 children (aged 5.50 to 11.83 years). Participants were assigned to a team, with team norms (aggression vs. helping) and the child's position within the team (prototypical vs. peripheral–prototypical vs. peripheral) manipulated. Results showed that children in the aggressive norm condition reported greater aggressive intentions than those in the helping norm condition, although, when age was considered, this effect remained evident for younger, but not older, children. Similarly, intra-group position influenced the aggressive intentions of younger children only. For these children, when group norms supported aggression, prototypical members and peripheral members who anticipated a future prototypical position reported greater aggressive intentions than peripheral members who were given no information about their future position. The implications of these findings for understanding childhood aggression, and for intervention, are discussed.