Application of the consensus Rorschach to couples

The consensus method of administering the Rorschach is described and the literature reviewed. The consensus method is viewed as an adaptation of the Rorschach as a form of behavioral assessment, especially as regards couple interaction. Materials on two couples are presented as illustrations.     

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.     

Social and emotional loneliness: an examination of Weiss's typology of loneliness

This study examined Weiss' conceptualization of social and emotional loneliness. Using data from an extensive survey of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Iowa, we measured social and emotional loneliness, students' affective and behavioral reactions to loneliness, students' social relationships, and their judgments of the degree to which their relationships supply the six social provisions described by Weiss. As expected, we found differences in the subjective experiences of social and emotional loneliness, although both forms of loneliness were also characterized by a common core of experiences. The results generally supported Weiss's ideas concerning the determinants of social and emotional loneliness. Predictions concerning the affective and behavioral consequences associated with each type of loneliness, however, were only partly supported, although the two forms of loneliness were associated with different affective reactions and coping behaviors. The implications of these findings for Weiss's typology of loneliness are discussed.     

Identifying schizophrenia by means of scale 8 Sc of the MMPI

A sample of 38 schizophrenic inpatients was found to achieve significantly higher mean scores on Scale 8 of the MMPI relative to 38 schizophrenia-spectrum and 38 control patients regardless of whether K- or non-K-corrected scores were used. However, when patients were individually classified by means of a cutting score (greater than or equal to 70), only K-corrected scores accurately discriminated between schizophrenic and control patients at a statistically significant level.     

Issues in diagnosing anxiety disorders

Research progress in the anxiety disorders is predicated on a useful classification system. In this paper, we review the reliability and validity data for theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed. (DSM-III) anxiety disorders and discuss the salient issues associated with both the conceptualization of anxiety disorders and the diagnostic criteria offered in the DSM-III. It is concluded that the diagnostic reliability for these disorders is, overall, satisfactory. A dearth of validity data, however, hinders progress in both the diagnosis and the treatment of the anxiety disorders. Nevertheless, the DSM-III work group has proposed several changes in the diagnostic criteria for the anxiety disorders. We find some of these proposed changes helpful in that they clarify current diagnostic criteria; changes in diagnostic criteria that alter the basic classification schema, however, seem to be premature.Preparation of this paper was supported in part by MIMH Research Grant 1368.On sabbatical leave from Indiana State University.     

Assertion Training with Korean College Students: Effects on Self-Expression and Anxiety

This study examined the effects of assertiveness training on the self-expression skills of Korean college students. Results indicated a gain in such skills for males. Implications and recommendations are discussed.     

Peer Attributions and Action Plans for Underachievement: Implications for Peer Counseling

Students playing the role of peer counselors blamed failing students for their poor performances by attributing them to internal, controllable factors.     

Sex stereotype impacts on competence ratings by children

Female and male children, 67 and 114 months of age, provided ratings of perceived relative competence of male and female stimulus persons who were depicted as engaging in sex-stereotyped professions. Ratings for each of eight occupations were made by allocating 10 plastic chips between the two stimulus persons. After the last trial, children also were asked to recall the occupation last paired with a particular stimulus person. Children at each of three age levels rated as more competent the individual whose sex was consistent with the stereotype for the occupational group presented; the degree of differentiation increased with age. Recall was influenced by the consistency of the stimulus person/occupation pairing with the sex stereotype, but was not related to ratings of competence.A research grant from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Foundation provided partial support for this research. The authors would like to thank Dr. R. Bruce Irons, principal, and the many teachers at Irwin Open Elementary School who cooperated on this project; William G. Graziano for bringing the chip allocation task to our attention; and Helene A. Hilger for helpful comments.