Motives and social evaluation: Actor-observer differences in the delineation of motives for a beneficial act

Adequate social evaluation of an intentional act depends on a specification of the actor's motives, that is, the consequences he or she anticipated when performing the purposeful behavior. Prior work in experimental social psychology has often underestimated the important social functions served by motive statements, including how they influence and regulate social conduct, permit adequate social analysis of purposeful behavior, and project desired identities. Two experiments examined actor-observer differences in the delineation of motives for the positive act of helping another person. In both studies, it was found that actors attributed their behavior largely to positive motives (e.g., to help the other) and minimized nonpositive ones (e.g., to make a favorable impression), while observers' attributions showed little or no differentiation as a function of the valence of the motives. Actors' self-enhancing attributions were somewhat more pronounced when the consequences were large, and occurred under private as well as public assessment conditions. Also, a reversal of the “typical” actor-observer effect was found in that actors attributed more personal than situational responsibility, while observers did the opposite. This pattern occurred under private assessment conditions and was even more pronounced when the actors' interpretations would be public. The results suggest the presence of motivational biases in the interpretation of social events, and are difficult to explain through recourse to the standard “logical” information processing alternatives.     

Biochemical correlates of personality traits in normals: An exploratory study

This study attempted to identify biochemical systems associated with the personality dimensions of Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N), Psychoticism (P), Sensation Seeking (SS) and Impulsivity (Imp). The subjects were 43 normal volunteers who volunteered to take a battery of psychological tests and allow investigators to obtain samples of blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for biochemical assessment.Substantial positive correlations were found between CSF norepinephrine (NE), MHPG (the principal metabolite of NE), DBH (an enzyme involved in the production of NE) and plasma MHPG and DBH; all of these are regarded, in some part, as putative indicators of central noradrenergic activity. After partialling out the influences of age, height and weight, a number of significant relationships were found between psychological traits and biochemical variables. Extraversion correlated positively and introversion and neuroticism correlated negatively with CSF Ca. Neuroticism also correlated negatively with plasma MHPG. Ego Strength (inversely related to Neurotic Introversion), P and Disinhibitory SS correlated negatively with CSF cort. General SS correlated negatively with CSF NE and plasma DBH, and these correlations were significant in both males and females, as well as in the total group. The results are consistent with some biological models of personality, but suggest the need for modification in others.     

The ego-ideal,the leader and analytic group psychotherapy

The theoretical position of this paper is that the essential character of the ego-ideal, a part of superego functioning, is unconcious and functions automatically. Precursors to superego development and egoideal formation begin at early pre-oedipal levels, and derivations in adult behavior contain primitive aspects. Ego-ideal is perfectionistic and impossible to obey; therefore, projection of this phenomena as well as its activity leads to disappointment, anger, anxiety, depression and despair. Pseudomoral injunctions frequently rationalize and disguise early primitive aspects of unconscious superego development and egoideal formation. These points are illustrated and interpreted by clinical material. The therapeutic action of the group and its leader, through the complexity of transference and projection, to help modify this critical, selfdefeating aspect of adult functioning is described.