Prevalence and severity of anxiety, depression and Type A behaviors in angina pectoris

The role of psychological factors in coronary heart disease was examined by administering the Bech Rating Scale (BRS) of mood disorders and the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) for Type A behavior patterns (TABP) to a consecutive sample of angina patients ( N = 94), to a consecutive sample of noncardiac patients ( N = 47), and to a random sample of adults from the general population ( N = 217). Anxiety and depression were both more frequent and more severe in angina patients than in noncardiac patients or in the general population. There was a tendency for certain components of TABP (i. e. speed, impatience, hard-driving and competitive disposition) to be elevated in angina patients, but a similar trend was noted in noncardiac patients. Although no consistent relations were observed between negative emotions and TABP scores in angina patients, their anxiety and depression scores were reliably related to their use of nitroglycerin. The findings concur with previous studies concerning the presence of anxiety and depression in patients with angina pectoris and indicate that such negative emotions are not closely related to Type A personality traits.     

The convergent validity of four indices of cognitive complexity in person perception A multi-index multimethod and factor analytical approach

Abstract.— An application of the Campbell and Fiske multimethod-multitrait analysis and factor analysis was used to study the convergent validity of the following indices of cognitive complexity: Bieri's Index, Vannoy's Interaction Variance Measure, Number of Factors, and First Factor Percentage. In the analysis the individual constructs elicited by Reptest were contrasted with two sets of provided constructs, namely Semantic Differential and Personality Differential scales. The subjects were 36 psychology students. The results indicated that the convergent validity of the indices over construct type was low and that the construct type had an effect upon the intercorrelations of different indices of cognitive complexity.     

Generalization of ratings based on projective tests

Abstract.— A multivariable-multimethod analysis was performed on six professional clinical psychologists' ratings of 38 patients for the three variables, Intelligence, Ability to Establish Contact and Control of Affect and Impulses. The judges based their ratings of the patients performance on each of the three tests Rorschach, TAT, and Sentence Completion separately as well as on all tests together. The stability coefficients and the consensus among judges was rather high but decreased when the depth of interpretation of the response variable increased. The ratings showed both convergent and discriminant validity but the generality of the ratings was generally low. The results support the opinions held among clinicians, that tests give different kinds of information about individuals and that clinicians, to some extent, use the information from each test as a subvariable which is integrated into a more global variable.     

Structural representations of person perception A comparison between own and provided constructs

Abstract.— The dimensions of perceiving other people were compared from two types of data, one representing a person's individual constructs and indexed by two different rating methods (Reptest technique and Similarity Ratings), the other constructs provided by the experimenter, also measured by two methods (Semantic Differential and Personality Differential). Thirty-one female psychology students, rated fifteen role figures by using the four methods. Indices of factorial and cluster similarity of roles showed that the different rating methods yielded highly similar role structures. Each congruent factor and cluster could also be characterized by identical trait properties, but there were also important differences between the methods. Especially family roles formed factors and clusters that were not similar in the four sets of data. The results are discussed within the context of Kelly's personal construct theory.     

Effects of extraneous stimulation on visual afterimage serials produced by young schizophrenics

Smith, G. J. W. & Ruuth, E. Effects of extraneous stimulation on visual afterimage serials produced by young schizophrenics. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 34–38.- Two groups of young schizophrenics, 20 in each, produced afterimages (Als) of a schematic face in 20 consecutive trials. In one group an acoustic signal was administered at the 8th, 12th and 16th trials. The signal effect in a previous experiment implied that the ongoing adaptive trend was disrupted by a return to the trend characterizing the before-signal portion of the sequence. This result was cross-validated, with particular emphasis put on the regressive characteristics shown by schizophrenics. However, the present schizophrenic subjects seemed to be more resistant to the contraction and eventual mechanization of their adaptive processes being the usual consequence of iteration.     

The Impact of World Views on Professional Life-styling

A world view expresses the presuppositions a person makes about his or her world. These basic presuppositions center on the nature of ultimate reality, of the universe, of mankind, the meaning of death, the basis of ethics, and the meaning of human history. The four perspectives of theism, deism, agnosticism, and atheism summarize views regarding these six issues. Then the influence of each of the four perspectives on certain counseling issues that are seen as the warp and woof of a counselor's value system are analyzed. These special counseling issues are the counselor-client relationship, motives for counseling, counseling goals, the method of dealing with special problems, and the choice of counseling strategies. One implication of this analysis is that counselors-in-training should study all the perspectives and also formulate for themselves a personal counseling approach that reflects thinking on both the six world issues and the special counseling issues. The second implication of the analysis is that the authentic counselor can work with others in a climate of respect for world views that differ from his or hers. The counselor does not threaten their beliefs—even when helping them to explore, clarify, and develop personal values. Jeffry Tindall reviews the philosophical approach that Smith proposes and urges that the emphasis of counselors be focused in the philosophical area of axiology.     

Age and brief separation: Note on children's distress reactions

26 children, one to three years old, were briefly separated from their parents in a strange situation in order to investigate the relation of age to children's crying and manipulation behavior. A significant negative correaltion was found between age and crying ( r =÷0.51), while no relation was observed between age and manipulation. The results support Bowlby's (1973) view that the peak of separation distress occurs during the child's second year of life.     

Standardized Tests Used in Correctional Institutions

This study provides data from 11 adult correctional institutions on the percentage of residents who took standardized tests — educational, intelligence, vocational, and psychological tests — over a one-year period. The Gray-Votaw-Rogers and the General Educational Development tests were the most often administered educational tests. Many more residents were given educational or academic achievement tests than intelligence tests. The two measures of personality most common to all institutions in the study were the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank. Five of the 11 institutions gave no vocational tests other than the General Aptitude Test Battery. Many individual differences in institutions are noted.