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.     

Influence of individual and group identity salience in the global self-esteem of youth

Does a content-free measure of global self-esteem tap the same self-esteem dimensions as that measured by self-evaluations on specific dimensions that are then combined into a summated scale? We address this question by using a sample of 1,528 7th, 9th, and 11th graders. Nine specific self-ratings (e.g., "I am smart" and "I am GOOD-LOOKING") were combined into a scale that used various weightings, in an attempt to maximize correlations with global self-esteem measured by two content-free scales. The correlations do not exceed .453, suggesting that measures based on summations of a large number of specific self-ratings tap a somewhat different phenomenon than content-free global scales. The most effective weighting of specific dimensions for predicting global self-esteem depended on group identity salience rather than individual identity salience--that is, group means of the importance of the separate self-evaluation dimensions were used rather than each subject's own self-rating of the importance of that dimension. This result held even when interactive models of weighting were used.     

Longitudinal consistency of adult personality: self-reported psychological characteristics across 45 years

The longitudinal consistency of personality characteristics over a period of 45 years is examined. The data are drawn from the Kelly Longitudinal Study, a panel involving an original group of 300 men and 300 women. Measures of emotional disturbance (from the Bell and Bernreuter inventories) during the 1930s and the 1950s had significant correlations in the .25-.40 range with measures of psychiatric symptoms (from the Cornell Medical Index) taken in 1979-1981. Revised inventory scales with content related to neuroticism and social introversion-extraversion had moderate longitudinal consistency across several decades of adult life and demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. This study demonstrates the utility of personality measurements in predicting significant psychological outcomes over the full interval of the normal adult lifespan.     

Attributions, beliefs about control, and adjustment to breast cancer

Attributions for cancer and beliefs about control over cancer were examined for their association with adjustment to breast cancer. Although 95% of the respondents made attributions for their cancer, no particular attribution (e.g., stress, diet) was associated with better adjustment. Analyses of attributions of responsibility for the cancer to the self, environment, another person, or chance yielded only a negative relation between adjustment and blaming another person. In contrast, both the belief that one could now control one's cancer and the belief that others (e.g. the physician) could now control the cancer were significantly associated with good adjustment. Of the different types of control, cognitive control was most strongly associated with adjustment, behavior control was less strongly associated with adjustment, and information control and retrospective control were unassociated with adjustment. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Challenge seeking and the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern

The present investigation sought to further delineate the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern and to elucidate the psychophysiological process through which this behavioral disposition is translated into heart disease. Type A and Type B male subjects engaged in tasks that required varying degrees of activity before an assessment of challenge-seeking tendencies. Type A participants sought greater degrees of challenge than did their Type B counterparts. In addition, the more active the person with Pattern A had been immediately before the challenge-seeking opportunity, the greater the degree of challenge sought. Precedent activity level did not significantly influence challenge seeking in the Type B population. The Type A subjects also had significantly faster heart rates during performance of a challenging task. Pattern A behavior may be translated into heart disease through the cumulative deleterious effects of chronic and excessive challenge-induced cardiovascular excitation.     

A comparison of MMPI profiles of heroin addicts based on multiple methods of classification

MMPI profiles of 442 male narcotic addicts in a drug treatment program were classified according to one of three methods: (a) highest 2-point code, (b) cluster analysis, and (c) concordance with common actuarial rules of profile fit. Profiles were then compared with those previously reported in the research literature. While each method resulted in slightly different perspectives, each reported modal profiles analogous to the 49'/94', 42'/24', and 48'/84' profiles. A frequency table of 33 different profiles by rates per thousand were presented as prototypal base rates for future comparison.     

Understanding and Counseling Narcissistic Clients

This article is intended to provide counselors with an overview of narcissism and its treatment. In the first section, dysfunctional narcissism is described, drawing on the diagnostic indicators presented in the DSM-III and the contemporary object relations theories of Heinz Kohut and Otto Kernberg. The second section focuses on counseling narcissistic clients.     

Attitudes toward women,personality rigidity,and idealized physique preferences in males

The idealized physique preferences of a group of 94 male college students were measured and correlated with scales measuring attitudes toward women and personality rigidity. Three hypotheses, derived from sex-role research, were tested and confirmed: (1) Males who have negative attitudes toward women would like most to have a tapering V physique. (2) Males who have a rigid personality structure have stronger preference for an idealized muscular physique than males with more flexible personalities. (3) Males have a generally greater preference for a tapering V physique than women. It was concluded, from the results of this and other studies, that body preference is related to certain aspects of sex-role attitudes.     

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.     

幼儿不同情绪状态对其智力操作的影响

本实验结果显示:1)在16至18个月的婴儿中,愉快和痛苦情绪对其问题解决的操作有不同的影响。愉快组被试比痛苦组被试的操作效果明显优越;体现在“直接抓取”、“注视”和“顺利获得”三种操作策略中。2)愉快和痛苦两种情绪的不同强度与操作效果之间的相关是不同的。愉快组显示为一种曲线相关,即过高或过低的情绪唤醒不如适中的唤醒水平使操作效果达到最优。痛苦组显示为一种直线相关,即痛苦强度越大,操作效果越差。