Book reviews

Nietzsche and Buddhism: a study in nihilism and ironic affinities. Robert G. Morrison, 1997, Oxford, Oxford University Press x + 250 pp., hb ISBN 0 19 823556 9, £32.50

Chong Yagyong: Korea's challenge to orthodox neo‐Confucianism. Mark Sftton, 1997, Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, >xv + 232 pp., pb ISBN 0 7914 3174 6, US$15.95

Fatalism in Ancient India. Sukumari Bhattacharji, 1995, Calcutta, Sarmistha Roy for Baulmon Prakashan xxviii + 356 pp., hb Rs250, ISBN 81 86552 02 2

The Vimalakirti Sutra (from the Chinese version by Kumarajiva). Burton Watson (Trans.), 1997, New York, Columbia University Press xii+ 168 pp., hb £18.00 ISBN 0 231 10656 4

Zhouyi, the Book of Changes‐a new translation with commentary. Richard Rutt, 1996, Richmond, Curzon Press xii + 498 pp., hb (Price not given), ISBN 0 70007 0467 1     

An MMPI typology of cocaine abusers.

Three types were found in a cluster analysis of scores on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) of 100 men voluntarily presenting for treatment of cocaine abuse. Type 1 (n = 59) had a mean MMPI profile consistent with the hypothesized grouping of persons who self-medicate with cocaine as a means of overcoming depression. The relatively normal mean MMPI profile obtained by Type 2 (n = 37) suggested little indication of significant psychopathology. Type 3's (n = 4) mean MMPI profile suggested either severe disturbance or profile invalidity. Types were found to differ in the nature of drug use, reactions to cocaine, education level, and social class, but not on the scales of the Adjective Check List.     

Sex differences in the eyes of expert personality assessors: unwarranted conclusions.

In a recent paper, Haan and Livson reported sex differences between male and female psychologists in their evaluations of adult men and adult women. Their conclusions have implication for the validity of clinical assessments and were interpreted in terms of stereotypic sex role perceptions. However, their statistical analysis was in fundamental error. When the data they employed were reanalyzed, no reliable sex differences between men and women psychologists were found, a finding in accord with a number of previous investigations of this problem.     

ROLE PERCEPTIONS IN PERU1

Perception des râles au Pérou. — Le Différentiateur de Rôle (RD) a été utilisé pour étudier comment les Péruviens (N = 161) perçoivent les rôles. Les analyses factorielles font apparaître cinq facteurs de comportement identiques pour chacune des deux formes de l'instrument qui ont été utilisées. Une analyse factorielle (two-mode factor analysis) à 6 types de sujets pour chacune des deux formes, mais il n'y a pas de différences majeures dans les structures de réponses par rapport aux facteurs de comportement. Les échantillons sont supposés provenir de la même population. Les résultats sont cohérents avec l'hypothèse selon laquelle des normes de conduite clairement définies sont liées aux différences dans le statut social des paires de rôles qui reflètent le caractère hiérarchique de la société. l'hypothèse d'une invariance interculturelle de la structure factorielle des normes de conduite est confirmée. Les AA. résument brièvement les différences essentielles qui apparaissent dans la perception des rôles chez les Américains, les Grecs et les Péruviens.     

Discrepancy in Personality Perceptions Is Related to Relationship Satisfaction: Findings from Dyadic Latent Discrepancy Analyses

The current study investigated discrepancies in self‐, partner‐, and meta‐perceptions of the Big Five traits and their associations with relationship satisfaction in intimate couples. The study was based on a subsample of the Swiss study “Co‐Development in Personality: Longitudinal Approaches to Personality Development in Dyads Across the Life Span” (CoDiP) including cross‐sectional data of 216 heterosexual couples. We adapted the Latent Congruence Model (LCM) for the study of discrepancies in personality perceptions in dyads. Beyond personality trait levels, the discrepancies between self‐ and partner‐perceptions and between partner‐ and meta‐perceptions of the Big Five traits were related to relationship satisfaction as actor and partner effects. In general, flattering and favorable partner‐perceptions in relation to self‐ and meta‐perceptions seem to positively contribute to relationship satisfaction. The present study implies that not only personality trait levels but also discrepancies between personality perceptions are important for understanding relationship satisfaction.