The utility of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test in the detection of alcoholics and problem drinkers

This study examined the vulnerability of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), a widely used, direct alcohol inventory, to positive dissimulation. An earlier study by developers of the MAST suggested that most alcoholics were unable to alter their scores and thereby avoid detection by the instrument. But closer examination indicated that a standard scoring procedure was not employed. This study examined the ability of alcoholics to avoid detection by the MAST when using a standard scoring procedure. As predicted, alcoholics readily manipulated their MAST scores and avoided detection when so motivated. These results are discussed, indications and contraindications for use are included, and recommendations regarding future research are made.     

Drinking practices among black and white alcoholics and alcoholics of different personality types

In order to examine the effects that race and personality type have on self-reported drinking practices, samples of 49 White and 49 Black male alcoholics were matched on age and education, and classified into two personality types according to MMPI scores. The results of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance yielded significant main effects. White alcoholics reported a greater: (a) use of alcohol for symptomatic relief of psychological distress, (b) loss of motor control and tendency to engage in destructive acts, and (c) daily consumption of beverage alcohol than Black alcoholics. Alcoholics with psychiatric-appearing MMPI profiles reported greater: (a) social benefits of alcohol use, (b) alcohol use for symptomatic relief of psychological distress, and (c) perceptual distortions associated with alcohol withdrawal than alcoholics with characterlogical-appearing MMPIs. Results were discussed in terms of need to control confounding effects of biosocial variables in cross-cultural research and implications that these effects may have on the generalizability of alcoholic personality typologies.     

A comparison of two measures of egocentrism

This study examined the relationship between two prominent measures of egocentrism, Enright's Adolescent Egocentrism Scale (AES) and Elkind's Imaginary Audience Scale (IAS), in a sample of 458 adolescents, between 10 and 15 years old. Both correlational and factor analyses indicated that the two measures assess distinctly different phenomena. As predicted, IAS scores were correlated with self-reported levels of shyness, nervousness, and social skills. These results provide partial evidence for the validity of the IAS as a measure of self-consciousness, though not necessarily egocentrism per se. The validity of the AES was not examined.     

Factors associated with maintenance and relapse following self-management training

In this study, we examined factors associated with relapse and maintenance following a self-management training course. Thirty-five community professionals participated in a 3-week (30-hr) graduate-level extension course in self-management, which included a self-modification project. Results at a 10-week follow-up showed that end-of-class self-efficacy and outcome expectancy correctly classified over 80% of those who maintained gains in their projects versus those who relapsed. The professionals in the relapsed group also reported significantly more difficulty with anticipated high-risk situations than did those in the maintenance group.     

The emotions of professional writers

In this study, 24 professional writers completed a short pencil-and-paper questionnaire on which they indicated how they felt before, at a pause, and after specific writing episodes. The intensity with which they experienced 20 emotions was assessed, as was the frequency with which these emotions were experienced when writing in general. Results indicated that the professionals experienced positive emotions significantly more often when writing in general than they experienced either negative-active or negative-passive emotions. Negative-passive emotions such as boredom, shame, and shyness were particularly rare and weak. During the actual writing process, positive emotions tended to intensify, whereas negative-passive and negative-active emotions resisted change. Sponsorship of writing had little impact on the quality of emotions experienced during the process. The professional poets, however, experienced negative-active emotions significantly more often when writing in general than did the prose writers.     

Remembering Your Parents: Reflections on the Retrospective Method

In the present paper, I critique the use of the retrospective method when it is used as a proxy for actual longitudinal data on personality development. Studies on the constructive nature of memory cast strong doubts about the meaning of retrospective data. There are good reasons, both theoretical and empirical, to distrust the accuracy of such recall concerning parenting, whether recalled by parents, children, or siblings. Instead of using the method as a shortcut to developmental data, studies examining individual differences in accuracy and distortion and the factors that moderate them may inform us of the various meanings of retrospective data.     

Self-Discrepancies as Predictors of Vulnerability to Distinct Syndromes of Chronic Emotional Distress

Two types of self-discrepancy differing in both domain and standpoint of self-guide were examined as predictors of vulnerability to chronic emotional syndromes. Study 1 assessed discrepancy between the actual/own self-state and the ideal/own self-guide and between the actual/own self-state and the ought/other self-guide in predicting syndromes of dejection and agitation as well as different types of anger. Actual/own: ideal/own discrepancy (AI) was uniquely related to dejection, frustration, and anger at self as measured 2 months later; actual/own:ought/other discrepancy (AOO) was uniquely related to agitation and to anger at others and resentment. Study 2 used structural equation modeling of the relations between AI and AOO discrepancy and social anxiety versus depression as measured weeks later. A model in which AOO was more strongly associated with social anxiety and AI was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms provided the best fit. The results support the convergent and discriminant validity of a self-discrepancy model of vulnerability to chronic emotional syndromes.