PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF PHYSICIANS IN A FEDERAL HEALTH ORGANIZATION.

CONTRASTING HIGH (N = 156) AND LOW (N = 156) CRITERION GROUPS OF UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE PHYSICIANS WERE IDENTIFIED ON THE BASIS OF SPONTANEOUS COMMENTS ABOUT PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS APPEARING IN SUPERVISORS' EFFICIENCY REPORTS. THE 2 GROUPS WERE COMPARED ON PERSONALITY INVENTORIES AND OTHER MEASURES. SIGNIFICANT GROUP DIFFERENCES (.10 LEVEL OR BELOW) WERE FOUND ON PERSONALITY INVENTORY SCALES, AN EMPLOYMENT SELECTION INTERVIEW, SCORES DERIVED FROM A REGRESSION EQUATION FOR THE CPI FOUND TO BE PREDICTIVE OF PERFORMANCE IN MEDICAL SCHOOL, SCORED SECTIONS OF SUPERVISORY EFFICIENCY REPORTS, AND IN ATTITUDES ABOUT THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION. THE GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER ON MEASURES OF APTITUDE, ACHIEVEMENT, CREATIVITY, AND VALUES. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CONTRASTING GROUPS WERE DEVELOPED FROM THE DISCRIMINATING PERSONALITY INVENTORY SCALES. THE TYPE OF PERSONALITY CRITERION EMPLOYED CAN BE USED WITH OTHER OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS. (25 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

COMPARATIVE VALIDITY OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES OF CONSTRUCTING PERSONALITY INVENTORY SCALES.

TO EXAMINE THE DIFFERENTIAL VALIDITY OF PERSONALITY INVENTORY SCALES DEVELOPED BY DIFFERENT STRATEGIES OF SCALE CONSTRUCTION, 6 STRATEGIES WERE COMPARED: FACTOR ANALYTIC, EMPIRICAL GROUP DISCRIMINATIVE, INTUITIVE-THEORETICAL, INTUITIVE-RATIONAL, STYLISTIC-PSYCHOMETRIC, AND RANDOM. A COMMON ITEM POOL, THAT OF THE CPI, WAS USED TO CONSTRUCT SETS OF 11 SCALES BY EACH OF THE 6 STRATEGIES. THE SS WERE APPROXIMATELY 200 UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN GIRLS, FOR WHOM CPI RESPONSES AND 13 CRITERION MEASURES WERE AVAILABLE. THESE 13 CRITERIA INCLUDED AN INDEX OF SORORITY MEMBERSHIP; AN EXPERIMENTAL MEASURE OF CONFORMITY; PEER RATINGS ON THE TRAITS OF DOMINANCE, SOCIABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY, PSYCHOLOGICAL-MINDEDNESS, AND FEMININITY; A PEER RATING OF HOW WELL S WAS KNOWN; S'S AVERAGE NUMBER OF DATES PER MO.; COLLEGE GRADE POINT AVERAGE; COLLEGE ACHIEVEMENT RELATIVE TO ABILITY; COLLEGE MAJOR; AND COLLEGE DROPOUT. MULTIPLE REGRESSION PROCEDURES WERE USED IN A DOUBLE CROSS-VALIDATION DESIGN. RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE 4 PRIMARY STRATEGIES OF SCALE CONSTRUCTION DID NOT DIFFER FROM ONE ANOTHER IN OVERALL VALIDITY; ALL 4 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE VALID THAN THE STYLISTIC AND RANDOM SCALES, WHICH IN TURN DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM EACH OTHER. (2 P. REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NEED TYPE AND JOB SATISFACTION AMONG INDUSTRIAL SCIENTISTS.

NEED-FULFILLMENT THEORIES OF JOB SATISFACTION ASSUME THAT INDIVIDUALS DIFFER IN THE OUTCOMES THEY PREFER (NEED) TO OBTAIN FROM JOBS, AND THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OUTCOMES RECEIVED ON THE JOB AND SATISFACTION IS DEPENDENT UPON THESE PREFERENCES. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE PATTERN OF PREFERENCES FOR JOB OUTCOMES MODERATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREFERENCE FOR AND SATISFACTION WITH AN OUTCOME. QUESTIONNAIRES WERE EMPLOYED TO ASSESS PREFERENCE AND SATISFACTION ON 30 DIFFERENT JOB OUTCOMES WITH 113 INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH SCIENTISTS WORKING IN 1 FACILITY. PREFERENCE (NEED) RATINGS WERE SUBJECTED TO Q CLUSTER ANALYSIS. 2 "NEED" TYPES WERE IDENTIFIED. NEED TYPE MODERATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREFERENCE FOR AND SATISFACTION WITH THAT OUTCOME ONLY ON THOSE OUTCOMES MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO THE COMPANY ITSELF. IT IS PROPOSED THAT THESE 2 NEED TYPES REFLECT THE 2 TYPES OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PERSONNEL THAT DIFFER PRIMARILY IN ORIENTATION TOWARD THE COMPANY ITSELF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

ITEM AMBIGUITY AND ITEM DISCRIMINATION IN THE MMPI.

EVALUATED 2 CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF ITEM AMBIGUITY WITH RESPECT TO THE DISCRIMINATION POWER AND RESPONSE DIRECTION OF MMPI ITEMS. INTERPRETIVE AMBIGUITY RATINGS AND RESPONSE AMBIGUITY VALUES WERE OBTAINED ON THE ITEMS IN ORDER TO DIVIDE THEM INTO GROUPS BY AMBIGUITY CHARACTERISTICS. A CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS INDICATED THE PRESENCE OF A LOW POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE 2 MEASURES. THE ITEMS WERE ANALYZED WITH RESPECT TO THE NUMBER OF SCALES ON WHICH THEY ARE KEYED AND IN TERMS OF THEIR VARIABILITY IN RESPONSE DIRECTION. IT WAS EXPECTED THAT ITEMS HIGH IN INTERPRETIVE AMBIGUITY AND LOW IN RESPONSE AMBIGUITY WOULD HAVE GREATER DISCRIMINATION POWER AND WOULD BE MORE VARIABLE IN KEYED RESPONSE DIRECTION. BOTH EXPECTATIONS WERE CONFIRMED. THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN INTERPRETIVE AND RESPONSE AMBIGUITY IS USEFUL TO CONSIDER IN ITEM-ANALYSIS PROCEDURES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

DEVELOPMENT OF MODERATOR VARIABLES TO ENHANCE THE PREDICTION OF MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS.

ITEM ANALYSES WERE USED TO DEVELOP 2 MODERATOR VARIABLES WHICH, ON CROSS VALIDATION, SUCCESSFULLY IDENTIFIED MANAGERS WHO WERE OVER- AND UNDERPREDICTED BY REGRESSION EQUATIONS DEVELOPED EARLIER. THESE MODERATOR TESTS WERE USED TO IDENTIFY AND ELIMINATE FROM THE CROSS-VALIDATION SAMPLE 55 MANAGERS (25% OF THE TOTAL) CLASSED AS "UNPREDICTABLE." THE POINT-BISERIAL CORRELATION BETWEEN PREDICTED CRITERION STATUS (ABOVE OR BELOW THE CRITERION MEDIAN) AND ACTUAL CRITERION STATUS FOR THE REMAINING MANAGERS WAS .73 AS COMPARED WITH A POINT-BISERIAL CORRELATION OF ONLY .65 FOR ALL MANAGERS IN THE SAMPLE. MOREOVER, THE DEGREE OF OVERLAP ON THE ACTUAL CRITERION SCALE BETWEEN MANAGERS PREDICTED TO BE "HIGH" OR "LOW" WAS REDUCED FROM 38%-28% BY USING THE 2 MODERATOR TESTS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THESE RESULTS PROVIDE FURTHER CONFIRMING EVIDENCE OF THE USEFULNESS OF MODERATOR VARIABLES FOR ENHANCING THE MAGNITUDE OF RELATIONSHIPS IN TEST VALIDATION AND SELECTION RESEARCH. (35 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

PREDICTION OF ADULT PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN A LONGITUDINAL STUDY.

PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD WAS PREDICTED FROM PERSONALITY EVALUATIONS THROUGHOUT DEVELOPMENT IN A LONGITUDINAL SAMPLE OF 31 MEN AND 33 WOMEN. CLUSTERS OF BEHAVIORALLY DEFINED RATINGS OF OVER 30 PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS, SPANNING THE AGES OF 5-16 YR., WERE DERIVED SEPARATELY FOR EACH SEX. ADULT HEALTH WAS DEFINED BY THE CORRELATION OF A COMPOSITE Q-SORT DESCRIPTION OF EACH S (BASED ON THE ADULT ASSESSMENT MATERIAL), WITH A STANDARD Q SORT BASED ON A HYPOTHETICAL PSYCHOLOGICALLY HEALTHY ADULT. 4 DEVELOPMENTAL PERIODS WERE USED; ONLY 1 (AGES 11, 12, AND 13) HAD SIGNIFICANT MULTIPLE CORRELATIONS WITH ADULT HEALTH. THIS HELD TRUE FOR BOTH SEXES ALTHOUGH THE SPECIFIC PREDICTORS DIFFERED FOR MEN AND WOMEN. (18 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SURROUNDINGS ON OUTPATIENTS' MOOD AND PERCEPTION OF PSYCHIATRISTS.

INVESTIGATED THE EFFECT OF 2 CONTRASTING ENVIRONMENTS (A BEAUTIFUL AND AN UGLY ROOM) ON PSYCHIATRIC SS' SELF-RATED MOOD, PERCEPTION OF THE ROOM, AND RATINGS OF A PSYCHIATRIST. 1/2 THE SS COMPLETED THEIR RATINGS PRIOR TO AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PSYCHIATRIST AND 1/2 COMPLETED THEIR RATINGS AFTER THE INTERVIEW. A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE RATINGS OF THE 2 ROOMS WAS FOUND. TIME OF RATINGS WAS NOT FOUND TO BE AN IMPORTANT VARIABLE. NO SIMPLE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON EITHER SELF-RATED MOOD OR RATINGS OF THE PSYCHIATRIST WERE NOTED. RATINGS OF THE PSYCHIATRIST VARIED WITH THE PSYCHIATRIST PERSONALITY DIMENSION UNDER CONSIDERATION, AND VARIED COMPLEXLY WITH AGE AND SEX OF SS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWERS.

SAMPLE ADDRESSES WERE SELECTED ON A PROBABILITY BASIS FROM THE RECORDS OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE HOLDINGS REPORTED TO THE INTERVIEWER WERE COMPARED WITH INSTITUTION RECORDS FOR THE DAY OF THE INTERVIEW. THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH AN INTERVIEWER OBTAINED INFORMATION ABOUT THE VALIDATED ACCOUNT(S) FORMS THE BASIS FOR THE CRITERIA OF INTERVIEWER EFFECTIVENESS. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE MORE EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWERS SCORED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ON THE DOMINANCE AND INTRACEPTION TESTS AND LOWER ON THE SUCCORANCE AND CHANGE TESTS OF THE EPPS. IN ADDITION, THEY SCORED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN REFERENCE EVALUATIONS OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SCALES FOR RATING THE TASTE OF WATER.

CONSTRUCTED HEDONIC, QUALITY, ACTION TENDENCY, AND QUALITY-ACTION TENDENCY RATING SCALES, DESIGNED TO EVALUATE THE TASTE OF DOMESTIC WATER. NEAR LINEAR RELATIONS WERE FOUND BETWEEN EQUAL APPEARING AND SUCCESSIVE INTERVAL SCALE VALUES FOR THE ITEMS COMPRISING EACH SCALE. AVERAGE RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS FOR SCALES RANGED FROM .62 TO .77. MEAN SCALE RATINGS OF SODIUM SOLUTIONS DIFFERED SIGNIFICANTLY BY ANION AND BY CONCENTRATION LEVEL ON EACH SCALE. IN CONSUMER SURVEY RESEARCH, THE QUALITY RATING SCALE WAS FOUND TO CORRELATE .83 WITH PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED ATTITUDE SCALES, AND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY AND LINEARLY RELATED TO AMOUNT OF COMMON MINERAL PRESENT IN A WATER SUPPLY. USE OF THE RATING SCALES TO DEVELOP LIMITING STANDARDS FOR MINERALS, AND FOR OTHER CONSTITUENTS COMMONLY FOUND IN DOMESTIC WATER, IS DISCUSSED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

COMPARISON OF JUDGMENTAL METHODS WITH ENDORSEMENTS IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY TRAITS.

FOCUSES ON THE DEGREE TO WHICH JUDGMENT METHODS ARE FREE FROM DISSIMULATION EFFECTS AS COMPARED WITH ENDORSEMENTS. 8 STRUCTURED PERSONALITY SCALES FROM THE PERSONALITY RESEARCH FORM WERE ADMINISTERED UNDER 4 INSTRUCTIONAL SETS-ENDORSEMENT, DESIRABLE IN OTHERS, FREQUENCY OF ENDORSEMENT, AND DESIRABLE IN SELF-TO 94 COLLEGE FRATERNITY MEMBERS. THE VALIDITY OF JUDGMENTS AND ENDORSEMENTS WAS EXAMINED BY RELATING THEM TO NONINVENTORY BEHAVIORAL CRITERIA IN THE FORM OF BEHAVIOR RATINGS. ALTHOUGH JUDGMENTS WERE FREE FROM THE KINDS OF DISSIMULATION EFFECTS FOUND WITH ENDORSEMENTS, JUDGMENTS YIELDED SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER VALIDITIES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EXPECTANCY OF SUCCESS AND THE PROBABILITY LEARNING OF MIDDLE-CLASS, LOWER-CLASS, AND RETARDED CHILDREN.

TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT RETARDED AND NORMAL CHILDREN OF THE SAME MA DIFFER IN PERFORMANCE ON A PARTIALLY REINFORCED 3-CHOICE LEARNING TASK BECAUSE THEY HAVE DIFFERING EXPECTANCIES OF SUCCESS. THE PERFORMANCE OF 60 NORMAL LOWER-CLASS (LOW EXPECTANCY) AND 60 NORMAL MIDDLE-CLASS (HIGH EXPECTANCY) SS WAS COMPARED WITH THAT OF 60 NONINSTITUTIONALIZED RETARDATES. 1/3 OF THE SS IN EACH GROUP WERE ASSIGNED TO A SUCCESS, FAILURE, OR CONTROL CONDITION WHICH THEY EXPERIENCED PRIOR TO PERFORMING ON THE CRITERION TASK. 1/2 OF THE SS IN EACH GROUP WERE PENALIZED FOR MAKING ERRORS. NORMAL LOWER-CLASS SS SHOWED THE MOST MAXIMIZING (CORRECT RESPONSES) AND THE LEAST LEFT, MIDDLE, RIGHT PATTERNING OF RESPONSES, WHILE NORMAL MIDDLE-CLASS SS SHOWED THE LEAST MAXIMIZING AND MOST PATTERNING. RETARDED SS FELL BETWEEN THESE 2 GROUPS ON BOTH MEASURES. (29 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

CONJUNCTIVE AND DISJUNCTIVE CONCEPT LEARNING IN HUMANS AND SQUIRREL MONKEYS.

40 HUMANS AND 16 SQUIRREL MONKEYS LEARNED A CONJUNCTIVE AND A DISJUNCTIVE CONCEPT IN A CHOICE PROCEDURE IN WHICH A POSITIVE AND A NEGATIVE INSTANCE WERE PRESENTED ON EACH TRIAL. THERE WERE 2 RELEVANT AND 2 IRRELEVANT DIMENSIONS. HUMANS FOUND DISJUNCTIVE CONCEPTS MORE DIFFICULT; THIS TREND WAS SLIGHTLY REVERSED FOR THE MONKEYS. MONKEYS WERE MORE INFLUENCED BY THE NATURE OF THE RELEVANT DIMENSIONS THAN WERE HUMANS. VINCENT LEARNING CURVES SHOWED IMPROVEMENT PRIOR TO CRITERION IN ALL CASES, IN AGREEMENT WITH THE TRABASSO-BOWER MODEL FOR 2-CUE CONCEPT LEARNING. RESULTS ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF HYPOTHESIS TESTING AND DISCRIMINATION LEARNING MODELS OF CONCEPTUAL BEHAVIOR. (FRENCH SUMMARY) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

VEHICLE KINEMATICS AND GAP ACCEPTANCE.

ANALYZED DATA FROM TRAFFIC PHOTOGRAPHS UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS TO ISOLATE THOSE VARIABLES DETERMINING GAP ACCEPTABILITY IN A MERGING SITUATION. 28 ALTERNATIVE EXPRESSIONS WERE COMPUTED, INVOLVING POSITIONAL AND VELOCITY INFORMATION FOR LEAD, FOLLOWING, AND SUBJECT VEHICLES. REGARDING EACH OF THESE INDICES AS A CORRELATE OF GAP ACCEPTABILITY, RATIOS WERE COMPUTED BETWEEN ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION BEHAVIOR AND THE VALUE OF EACH INDEX AT THE "DECISION POINT." VALUES OF ETA RANGED FROM .187-.733. EACH OF THESE VALUES, EXCEPT THE LOWEST, WAS SIGNIFICANT. THE HIGHEST CORRELATIONS WERE OBTAINED WITH EXPRESSIONS INVOLVING TIME OR SPEED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SUBJECT AND FOLLOWING VEHICLES. IMPLICATIONS ARE PRESENTED FOR THE USE OF AN INDEX AND ITS CORRESPONDING ETA VALUES IN THE ASSESSMENT OF COMPARATIVE DEGREES OF "CONFUSION" AS A FUNCTION OF ROADWAY AND/OR TRAFFIC-CONTROL PARAMETERS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SELF-PRESENTATIONS IN RELATION TO INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL REFERENTS.

SELF-PRESENTATIONS MAY BE DISCERNED IN TERMS OF THE REFERENTS USED, AND ARE CONSIDERED TO RELATE TO MORE BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 2 CRITERION GROUPS (54 SS IN EACH) WERE DRAWN FROM A POPULATION OF 204 SS, USING THE "WHO AM I?" TECHNIQUE. THOSE USING GROUP-RELEVANT OR EXTERNALLY IDENTIFIABLE REFERENTS WERE COMPARED WITH THOSE USING INTERNAL OR IDIOSYNCRATIC REFERENTS TO PRESENT THEMSELVES ON THE MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR AND THE FIRO-B. THOSE PRESENTING THEMSELVES VIA GROUP-RELEVANT CHARACTERISTICS USED SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER WORDS TO DO SO, WERE OLDER, AND HAD MORE MARRIED MEMBERS. ON THE MYERS-BRIGGS THEY WERE FOUND TO BE LESS INTUITIVE AND MORE JUDGMENTAL IN ORIENTATION. NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND ON THE FIRO-B. (28 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

GOAL SETTING AS A MEANS OF INCREASING MOTIVATION.

ON THE BASIS OF DIFFERENCES IN PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO MAXIMAL ABILITY AND DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDE RATINGS ON AN ADDITION TASK, A LOW-MOTIVATION AND A HIGH-MOTIVATION GROUP WERE SELECTED FOR 2 RETESTS ON THE SAME TASK. THE LOW-MOTIVATION GROUP WAS GIVEN SPECIFIC GOALS TO REACH, AND THE HIGH-MOTIVATION GROUP WAS TOLD TO DO ITS BEST ON EACH TRIAL OF EACH RETEST. BY THE END OF THE 2ND RETEST, THE GROUP GIVEN SPECIFIC GOALS HAD "CAUGHT" THE DO-BEST GROUP BOTH IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AND IN TERMS OF FAVORABLE ATTITUDES TOWARD THE TASK. THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT SPECIFIC GOALS CAN BE USED TO MOTIVATE SS WHO BRING A LOW DEGREE OF MOTIVATION TO THE TASK SITUATION. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

DEATH IDEATION IN SUICIDAL PATIENTS.

IN A 3 * 2 * 2 FACTORIAL DESIGN WITH REPEATED MEASURES ON THE LAST FACTOR, A SUICIDE ATTEMPT, SUICIDE IDEATION, AND NONSUICIDAL CONTROL GROUP OF NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SS, DIVIDED INTO PSYCHOTIC AND NEUROTIC SUBGROUPS OF 15 SS EACH, VIEWED UNPLEASANT SLIDES AND DEATH SLIDES. MEASURES OF VIEWING TIME, RATED TENSION, AND RATED LIKING WERE OBTAINED. PARTIAL CONFIRMATION WAS OBTAINED FOR THE HYPOTHESIS THAT PSYCHOTIC SS WOULD SHOW LESS THREAT TO DEATH SLIDES THAN THE NEUROTICS. THE HYPOTHESIS THAT SUICIDAL SS WOULD SHOW MORE AVOIDANCE, TENSION, AND DISLIKE FOR THE DEATH SLIDES THAN THE CONTROLS WAS NOT SUPPORTED. THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE SUICIDE ATTEMPT GROUP WOULD SHOW LESS AVOIDANCE, TENSION, AND DISLIKE THAN THE SUICIDE IDEATION GROUP WAS NOT SUPPORTED. THE HYPOTHESIZED ROLES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE FROM DEATH, COGNITIVE STYLE, AND THE STIMULUS PROPERTIES OF DEATH ARE DISCUSSED. (27 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

THE K FACTOR AS A (VALIDITY) SUPPRESSOR VARIABLE IN PREDICTING SUCCESS IN SELLING.

THE MMPI WAS GIVEN TO 182 SALES REPRESENTATIVES FROM 9 COMPANIES, RANGING FROM BEVERAGE SALES TO BUSINESS FORMS. WITHIN EACH SAMPLE, SS WERE CAST INTO UPPER- AND LOWER-CRITERION GROUPS, BASED UPON SALES MANAGERS' RATINGS. THE 5 UNCORRECTED MMPI SCALES WHICH ARE NORMALLY SUBJECT TO THE K CORRECTION DIFFERENTIATED SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN THE CRITERION GROUPS IN THE EXPECTED DIRECTION. THE K SUPPRESSOR VARIABLE, WHEN APPLIED AS INSTRUCTED IN THE PUBLISHER'S MANUAL, ACTUALLY DECREASED VALIDITY. THIS EFFECT WAS CLEARLY STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT FOR 3 OF THE SCALES, APPROACHED SIGNIFICANCE FOR 1 SCALE, AND WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR THE FINAL SCALE. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

VERBAL ASSOCIATIVE STABILITY AND COMMONALITY AS A FUNCTION OF STRESS IN SCHIZOPHRENICS, NEUROTICS, AND NORMALS.

4 ASSOCIATIONS TO EACH OF 16 STIMULUS WORDS, 8 JUDGED TO BE ANXIETY WORDS AND 8 NEUTRAL WORDS, WERE OBTAINED UNDER RELAXED AND TIME-PRESSURE CONDITIONS FROM EACH OF 40 SCHIZOPHRENICS, 32 NEUROTICS, AND 27 NORMALS ON 2 SUCCESSIVE DAYS. SCHIZOPHRENICS AND NEUROTICS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS STABLE THAN NORMALS IN THEIR ASSOCIATIONS, AND SCHIZOPHRENICS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS STABLE THAN NEUROTICS IN THEIR RESPONSES TO ANXIETY WORDS. TIME PRESSURE MADE SCHIZOPHRENICS EVEN LESS STABLE AND NEUROTICS MORE STABLE. THE ASSOCIATIONS OF SCHIZOPHRENICS WERE MORE UNCOMMON THAN THOSE OF NEUROTICS OR NORMALS. ALL GROUPS GAVE MORE UNCOMMON RESPONSES WHEN RESPONDING TO ANXIETY WORDS AS COMPARED TO CONTROL WORDS. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT A PARTIAL DISORGANIZATION OF VERBAL HABITS IS AN ASPECT OF SCHIZOPHRENIC THOUGHT DISTURBANCE, AND THE RESULTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH A RESPONSE-STRENGTH CEILING INTERPRETATION OF THIS DISORGANIZATION. (19 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

DEFENSIVE BEHAVIOR IN AN INTERPERSONAL SITUATION.

SS WERE EXPOSED TO A TAPE-RECORDED VERBAL ATTACK FROM A FICTITIOUS S IN THE LAST OF A SERIES OF DISCUSSION ROUNDS. A 2ND FICTITIOUS S WAS NONATTACKING. PREVIOUSLY, SS HAD BEEN EITHER (1) ASSIGNED TO WORK WITH THE ATTACKER ON A POSTDISCUSSION PROBLEM-SOLVING TASK, (2) ASSIGNED TO WORK WITH THE NONATTACKER, OR (3) GIVEN THEIR CHOICE OF PARTNER. THE 1ST GROUP SHOWED THE LEAST DROP IN EVALUATIVE RATINGS OF THE ATTACKER. THIS FINDING SUPPORTS A FUNCTIONAL DEFENSE HYPOTHESIS WHICH PREDICTS THAT SS WITHOUT AN AVAILABLE ADAPTIVE RESPONSE WILL PERCEIVE AN ATTACKER MORE FAVORABLY THAN WILL SS WHO HAVE AN ADAPTIVE RESPONSE. NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND THAT SS CLASSIFIED AS REPRESSORS AND SENSITIZERS CONSISTENTLY DIFFERED IN THEIR RATINGS. (18 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

THERAPIST RESPONSES TO HOSTILITY AND DEPENDENCY AS A FUNCTION OF TRAINING.

THERAPIST RESPONSES TO A TYPICAL CLIENT, A HOSTILE CLIENT, AND A DEPENDENT CLIENT WERE STUDIED AS A FUNCTION OF THE SS' TRAINING. SS WERE 18 ADVANCED GRADUATE STUDENTS IN A COURSE IN THEORIES AND TECHNIQUES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING. THE COURSE INCLUDED DIDACTIC MATERIAL WITH SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE IN THE FORM OF ROLE PLAYING, STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS, AND PRACTICE COUNSELING. RESPONSES TO TAPE RECORDINGS OF THESE CLIENTS WERE OBTAINED BEFORE AND AFTER THE COURSE AND WERE SCORED FOR DIRECTIVENESS. RESULTS SHOWED SS TO BE INCREASINGLY DIRECTIVE TO THE TYPICAL, HOSTILE, AND DEPENDENT CLIENTS, RESPECTIVELY, ON BOTH ADMINISTRATIONS AND SHOWED SS TO BE LESS DIRECTIVE TO ALL 3 CLIENTS ON THE 2ND ADMINISTRATION. THE DECREASE IN DIRECTIVENESS TO THE DEPENDENT CLIENT, HOWEVER, WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT. IMPLICATIONS SUGGESTED WERE THAT DIFFERENT CLIENTS ELICIT DIFFERENT RESPONSES FROM THE SAME THERAPIST, AND THAT TRAINING MAY AFFECT RESPONSES TO HOSTILITY MORE THAN IT AFFECTS RESPONSES TO DEPENDENCY. (17 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)