Attitude accessibility following a self-perception process

Self-perception processes have been postulated to occur only to the extent that initial attitudes are weak. The present research asked whether the outcome of such a process is a strengthening of the attitude in question. Two experiments investigated the accessibility of attitudes from memory following self-inference from behavior. Experiment 1 examined the consequence for attitude accessibility of reviewing and considering previously performed religious behaviors that were recent and primarily unmanded versus distant in time and "manded" in nature. Experiment 2 involved the performance of a new behavior that was either required or freely chosen. In each case, control subjects either did not review prior behaviors or did not perform a new behavior. In both experiments, attitude accessibility, as measured by the latency of response to attitudinal inquiries, was enhanced by the consideration or performance of unmanded behavior, but not by manded behavior. The relevance of this finding to issues regarding attitude-behavior consistency and attitudinal persistence is discussed.     

Considering the opposite: a corrective strategy for social judgment

It is proposed that several biases in social judgment result from a failure--first noted by Francis Bacon--to consider possibilities at odds with beliefs and perceptions of the moment. Individuals who are induced to consider the opposite, therefore, should display less bias in social judgment. In two separate but conceptually parallel experiments, this reasoning was applied to two domains--biased assimilation of new evidence on social issues and biased hypothesis testing of personality impressions. Subjects were induced to consider the opposite in two ways: through explicit instructions to do so and through stimulus materials that made opposite possibilities more salient. In both experiments the induction of a consider-the-opposite strategy had greater corrective effect than more demand-laden alternative instructions to be as fair and unbiased as possible. The results are viewed as consistent with previous research on perseverance, hindsight, and logical problem solving, and are thought to suggest an effective method of retraining social judgment.     

Task-related arousal of type A and type B persons: level of challenge and response specificity

To determine whether different levels of challenge had differential effects on the arousal levels of Type A and Type B persons, 30 Type A and 30 Type B male subjects worked on an intelligence test task (digits backwards recall) that was easy, moderately difficult, or extremely difficult. Arousal was measured in terms of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, pulse volume, skin resistance, and subjective arousal. Results indicated that while working on the extremely difficult task, the Type A subjects evidenced reliably higher systolic blood pressure than did the Type B subjects (p = 0.1; difference = 7.52 mm of Hg) and that there were not reliable differences between the subjects in systolic blood pressure at other levels of challenge or on other measures of arousal.     

One last response to the Rorschach test: a second chance to reveal oneself

This paper explores a technical procedure, that of asking for one more response after the patient has given response(s) to Card X of the Rorschach. This "one last response" in the context of "ending" is discussed. Endings have many meanings but the ending of the Rorschach can be more than just a relief to the weary patient and/or tester who may have been experiencing the disquieting inner workings of the patient's unconscious. The ending of the Rorschach with the additional "one last response" can be the source of valuable clinical questions and inferences applicable to treatment.     

Conceptual,methodological, and clinical issues in the assessment of anxiety disorders

Many conceptual, methodological, and clinical issues remain unresolved in the assessment of anxiety disorders. Despite the prevalence, incidence, chronicity, and severity of anxiety disorders, research efforts and funding have fallen behind with regard both to other disorders and to addressing critical issues in the field. The primary objective of this paper is to provide a scientific critique regarding a number of often ignored yet salient considerations in anxiety-disorders assessment. Critical analyses of and recommendations regarding the multidimensional nature of anxiety, comorbidity, uniformity myths, synchrony, normative comparisons, psychometric properties of measures, and treatment integrity are offered. Finally, promising areas of clinical research are presented to enhance further the current understanding of the complexities inherent in assessing anxiety disorders.Preparation of this paper was supported in part by NIMH Grant MH36299.     

Moral Development and Self-Regulation: Research and Intervention Planning

After reviewing the moral development and general developmental literature, the authors propose several practical guidelines for moral development training programs in the schools.     

Problem-Solving Training as Prevention with College Students

Problem-solving processes play an important role within remedial and human effectiveness models of development. This article discusses the use of preventive problem-solving training with college students.     

Variables related to reported learning in brief experiential groups held at professional meetings

Reports of learning from 119 participants of 18 general psychodynamic groups from the 1981 and 1982 annual meetings of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association were investigated. Two main learning factors emerged from a factor analysis of participant ratings, learning about oneself in a small group (factor one) and learning how to be an effective leader with professional skills (factor two). Participants reported moderate to considerable learning for both factors even though the stated task of the groups did not emphasize the learning of professional skills. Relationships between several classes of variables (group, leader, demographic) and reported learning were studied. Results that were consistent with several previous investigations were found. The discovery of a participant, sex-difference finding, i.e., greater reported learning by the women, generated a number of questions that may be addressed in future investigations.This article was derived from a paper presented at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association, October 27, 1983, Banff, Canada.     

Process and content in an outpatient schizophrenic group

Process and content issues were evaluated during the first six months of an outpatient schizophrenic group. Compared with groups composed of neurotic and characterological patients, the schizophrenic group scored higher in the Avoiding dimension of the Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ-S). There was more cohesion and less interpersonal conflict as time went on. Although topics related to engagement and differentiation were discussed, there was no obvious GCQ-S evidence of these first two stages of group development. However, the data supported the presence of stage 3 (individuation) during sessions 20–26. Interpersonal topics dominated the group discussions, followed by issues involving reality-testing, expression of emotions, and advice-giving.The authors wish to thank Dr. K. Roy MacKenzie for his helpful comments on a draft of this paper.