Intimacy Motivation and Subjective Mental Health in a Nationwide Sample

Over 1,200 adults in a representative nationwide sample were administered the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and an unstructured interview which produced 25 measures of subjective mental health and ultimately six factor scores: unhappiness, lack of gratification, strain, feelings of vulnerability, lack of self-confidence, and uncertainty. The TATs were scored for intimacy motivation (McAdams, 1980)--a recurrent preference or readiness for experiences of warm, close, and communicative interaction with others. Controlling for age, education, and their interaction, high intimacy motivation in women was associated with greater happiness and gratification, whereas in men it was associated with lack of strain and lack of uncertainty. Women high in intimacy motivation who were living alone reported lower levels of gratification and more uncertainty in their lives than other women. Intimacy motivation also declined significantly over the life span for women, but not for men. Finally, demographic effects on intimacy motivation were examined. Controlling for age, education, and their interaction, professional men (e.g., doctors, lawyers, and teachers) scored higher on intimacy motivation than did men in other occupational categories, while among women the occupational groups with highest intimacy motivation were service workers and craftspersons.     

The Jewish patient in a non-Jewish hospital

The healing of the sick is a jewish religious precept. The present paper discusses the special needs of a hospitalized Jewish patient, describes a Jewish Patient's Bill of Rights, and suggests that the needs of Jewish patients, such as kosher food and religious services in a hospital environment, be provided wherever possible.     

Why do men have higher expectancy than women?

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that sex differences in expected academic achievement could be explained by corresponding differences in perceived intellectual ability, and to explore the relationship between perceived ability and the sex role related traits of instrumentality and expressiveness. Results showed sex differences both in expectancy and perceived ability. When perceived ability was controlled, sex no longer related to expectancy. A small correlation was found between expectancy and a measure of instrumentality. The latter variable correlated substantially with perceived ability. A measure of expressiveness was unrelated both to expectancy and perceived ability. Path analysis gave results consistent with the hypotheses that men have higher perceived ability than women because men think of themselves as more instrumental than women do, and that instrumentality determines expectancy indirectly through its relationship to perceived ability.     

Family members' perceptions of live observation/supervision: An exploratory study

This ex post facto survey examined 75 client family members' perceptions of live observation/supervision of family therapy at a university clinic. The results seem to reflect the subjects' general satisfaction with the process, although this general satisfaction did not significantly predict outcome on either family or therapist goal attainment scores. Family members whose therapists were female reported greater satisfaction with the process than those with male theapists, although no differences by therapist gender were found on either therapist or family goal attainment scale scores. Open-ended responses suggested that some family members were aware of the purposes of certain strategic team interventions. Implications of findings for the practice and research of live supervision and/or observation are discussed.The authors would like to acknowledge the aid of Judith Myers Avis, Marcia Brown Standridge, Cleveland Shields, Linda Stone Fish, and Joseph Wetchler in various aspects of this research project.     

Northrop on Russian Communism

Studies in East European Thought - The purpose of this study is to examine F. S. C. Northrop's approach to Russian Communism via his analysis of (1) the fundamental types of all possible...     

Reviews

Studies in East European Thought -     

Applications of the theory of meaningfulness to psychology

The theory of meaningfulness of statements using numerical scales is summarized. Applications of this theory are surveyed. These deal with average performance, importance ratings, statistical tests, indices of consumer confidence, psychophysical scaling, block modeling of social structure, structural modeling in decision making, and the analysis of order and matching experiments.     

BARROW AND TIPLER'S ANTHROPIC COSMOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE

Abstract. John D. Barrow and Frank J. Tipler's recently published Anthropic Cosmological Principle is an encyclopedic defense of melioristic evolutionary cosmology. They review the history of the idea from ancient times to the present, and defend both a "weak" version, and two "strong" versions of the anthropic principle. I argue the weak version of the anthropic principle is true and important, but that neither of the two strong versions are well grounded in fact. Their "final" anthropic principle is a revision of Teilhard de Chardin's evolutionary cosmology. They rectify Teilhard's factual errors but commit even more serious psychological and religious errors of their own.