The fleeting gleam of praise: cognitive processes underlying behavioral reactions to self-relevant feedback

We propose that a preference for favorable social feedback (i.e., self-enhancement) requires only that feedback be characterized as favorable or unfavorable but that a preference for self-confirming feedback (i.e., self-verification) is based on a more elaborate set of cognitive operations that requires both the characterization of feedback and a subsequent comparison of that feedback to a representation of self stored in memory. Study 1 set the stage for testing this hypothesis by showing that depriving people of processing resources interfered with their tendency to access their self-conceptions. In Studies 2 and 3, participants who were deprived of resources preferred the favorable, self-enhancing evaluator, whereas control participants displayed a preference for the self-verifying evaluator, even if that evaluator was relatively unfavorable.     

Alexithymia among empirically derived subgroups of chronic back pain patients

A seeded cluster analysis procedure was applied to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles of 102 male and 63 female back-pain patients. For both men and women, the resulting subgroups were found to correspond closely to similar subgroups obtained in several previous investigations. New data on the psychometric properties of the MMPI Alexithymia scale (Kleiger & Kinsman, 1980) are presented. Significant differences in alexithymia among empirically derived MMPI subgroups were found in the male sample only.     

The effect of inquiry on the Exner Comprehensive System

The effect of inquiry on the Comprehensive System was tested by scoring 130 protocols of patients and normals with and without inquiry. The absence of inquiry significantly reduced the means for Developmental Quality-vague (DQv), Form Quality-unusual (FQu), the sum of color responses (SumC), the sum of shading responses (Sum Shading), and the weighted thought disorder measure (W Sum6 SP SC), but significantly increased pure form (F). The effect for W Sum6 SP SC was strongest for schizophrenic protocols. Liberalized scoring rules were established in an attempt to restore the interpretative validity of the scoring categories distorted by the lack of inquiry. The new rules significantly improved the accuracy of color and shading categories, but did not improve the special scores measure of thought disorder.     

Differentiation of death-row murderers and life-sentence murderers by antisociality and intelligence measures

Prior studies of dangerousness have confirmed that the combination of high antisociality and low IQ is associated with male criminal violence and that the same combination can discriminate within a group of violent male criminals by level of severity. My study continued the validation of this two-component measure by showing that men convicted of murder and given the death sentence for their more heinous crimes were more dangerous than murderers who received life sentences. Men who had been extended the death penalty, who selected female victims, and whose murders were judged to have been especially cruel received extraordinarily high dangerousness scores relative to all other murderers. The assumption that high antisociality and low IQ would lead to serious violence because of the criminal's inability to deal with complications that arise in confronting the victim received some support. The murders of more dangerous men followed stronger victim resistance than the murders committed by less dangerous men.     

A comparison of two multidimensional health locus of control instruments

This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity of the multidimensional health locus of control (MHLC) instruments developed by K.A. Wallston, B.S. Wallston, and DeVellis (1978) and Lau (Lau, 1982; Lau & Ware, 1981). Both measures were administered to a sample of Veterans Administration (VA) medical outpatients (N = 181). Only minimal evidence of convergence was found between corresponding scales of the two MHLC instruments. Low convergent validity appears attributable to the poor internal consistency reliability of the Lau-Ware subscales. Moreover, results of factor analysis largely supported the a priori factor structure of the K.A. Wallston et al. (1978) MHLC instrument but failed to support the factor structure of the Lau-Ware instrument. Health locus of control (HLC) dimensions that emerged from simultaneous factor analysis of both instruments were most consistent with a three-dimensional typology (i.e., Personal Control, Professional Control, and Chance) rather than the four-dimensional typology proposed by Lau (Lau, 1982; Lau & Ware, 1981). Implications for HLC conceptualization and measurement are discussed.     

The susceptibility of the Rorschach to malingering: a critical review

Empirical studies of malingering on the Rorschach are reviewed. Results from these studies are to this point inconsistent and inconclusive. Although several indices are related to malingering in individual studies, no specific malingering pattern has been found that replicates across studies. A methodological problem specific to this literature is discussed and future research designs are recommended.     

The assessment of subjective well-being and its relationship to the stress process

Research into relationships between stressors and adaptational outcomes has often represented well-being as the relative lack of pathological signs. However, such assessments do not discriminate between not being ill and experiencing degrees of subjective well-being (i.e., from feeling "OK" to feeling "Great!"). This article suggests that subjective well-being be more narrowly defined to refer strictly to positive indicators of health status. In this study, psychometric properties of a new instrument, the Well-Being Scale-36, were examined. Relationships between subjective well-being and components of the stress process were explored. The results indicated that well-being and various forms of pathology should be conceptualized as distinct but related entities.     

Learned resourcefulness, drinking, and smoking in young adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between learned resourcefulness and two common addictive behaviors, namely, drinking and smoking. Male and female college students (N = 175) completed the Self-Control Schedule (SCS), the Quantity-Frequency-Variability questionnaire, and a smoking history form. Learned resourcefulness was related to self-reported patterns of alcohol consumption; specifically, heavy drinking subjects were lower in learned resourcefulness than were light and moderate drinkers who, in turn, were lower in learned resourcefulness than were infrequent drinkers and abstainers. Learned resourcefulness was only modestly related to smoking, with students who had never smoked evidencing somewhat higher learned resourcefulness than ex-smokers and current smokers. Overall, these data provide correlational support for the notion that learned resourcefulness may protect young adults against substance abuse.     

A Rorschach investigation of narcissism and hysteria in antisocial personality

We investigated Rorschach responses associated with narcissism and hysteria in a group of antisocial personality disordered offenders. The Rorschach protocols of 42 subjects who met the criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) for antisocial personality disorder were analyzed using Exner's (1986) criteria for pairs, reflections, and personal responses, and Gacono's (1988) criteria for the impressionistic response. Severe, or primary psychopaths (n = 21), scoring greater than or equal to 30 on the Hare (1980) Psychopathy Checklist (PCL), were compared to moderate, or secondary pscyhopaths (n = 21), scoring less than 30 on the PCL. The mean number of pair and impressionistic responses did not significantly differ for the two antisocial groups. The highly psychopathic group, however, did exhibit a significantly greater mean number of reflection and personal responses. We discuss pair and reflection responses and their relationship to narcissism in psychopathic disturbance. We recommend interpreting the personal response within the context of the psychopathic character and view personal responses as expressions of narcissism and omnipotence in highly psychopathic subjects. We also hypothesize that the impressionistic responses are indicative of primitive dissociative processes and hysteria in psychopathic subjects, and that their presence provides construct validity for the work of Guze (1976) and others who suggested an underlying histrionic dimension to psychopathy.     

An empirical study of object relations and defensive operations in antisocial personality disorder

This study assessed the object relations, defensive operations, and level of psychopathy and narcissism in a group of antisocial personality disordered offenders. The Rorschach protocols of 33 subjects who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R], American Psychiatric Association, 1987) criteria for antisocial personality disorder were analyzed utilizing Kwawer's (1980) criteria for borderline object relations categories (borderline phenomena), the Lerner and Lerner (1980) Defense Scale, and a number of experimental criteria including Cooper and Arnow's (1986) defense criteria. Level of narcissism was assessed utilizing Exner's (1973) Self-Focus Sentence Completion Test. Hare's Psychopathy Checklist was used as an independent variable to determine a subject's level of psychopathy. Those subjects scoring 30 or more on the psychopathy checklist were compared to subjects scoring less than 30. The level of narcissism or proportion of defenses did not differ significantly between the severe psychopaths (greater than or equal to 30) and the moderate psychopaths (less than 30). The severe psychopaths produced a significantly greater number of borderline object relations. I conclude that antisocial individuals tend to be highly egocentric, and that narcissism is one component of psychopathy. Severe psychopaths, as a group, tend to be more borderline in their functioning than those exhibiting moderate levels of psychopathic disturbance. I also conclude that individuals who are incarcerated for felony offenses and also meet the DSM-III-R criteria for antisocial personality disorder exhibit degrees of borderline personality organization.