Communality of manic-depressive and "mild" cyclothymic characteristics.

This study examined the assumption that similar personality and genetic attributes are associated with varying severities of cyclothymic tendency. Several mood measures were used for identifying college Ss with cyclothymic tendencies. The personality variables investigated are related to a complaint dependent, value achievement orientation. Relative incidence of blood type and blood factors D, E, MN, and Kell for cyclothymics and noncyclothymics was determined. Mood measure intercorrelations were insignificant. Correlations between mood indices derived from a daily self-rating scale and the personality variables afforded moderate support for the personality aspect of the continuity assumption. Analysis of the blood types and factors did not support the genetic aspect of the assumption. (37 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple predictors of hypnotic susceptibility.

In this article, we report two experiments in which various measures thought to be related to hypnotizability were analyzed by stepwise discriminant analysis techniques. Absorption (Tellegen, 1981, 1982; Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974) and preference for an imagic style of thinking (Isaacs, 1982) were robust predictors of hypnotizability; each variable accounted for significant variance in hypnotizability at their respective steps in two samples and correctly classified a significant proportion of low- and high-hypnotizable subjects in the discriminant analyses. The addition of two other variables in Experiment 2—a Sleep–Dream score derived from Evans's (1977) Cognitive Control of Sleep Mentation subscale and Gibson's (1985) Dream Questionnaire, and the Belief in the Supernatural subscale of the Taft (1969) Experience Questionnaire—increased the correct classification of the medium-hypnotizable subjects from chance levels to 74%. It is argued that a confirmatory and hierarchical approach is needed in future studies to explore correlates of hypnotizability more fully. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repressive adaptation in children with cancer.

The constructs of repressive adaptive style and avoidant coping (blunting) were assessed as possible explanatory factors for previously reported findings of lower self-reported depression in children with cancer. Pediatric oncology patients 7–16 years old (n?=?107) and healthy control participants (n?=?442) completed measures of depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, defensiveness, and approach and avoidant coping. Oncology patients scored significantly lower on measures of depression and trait anxiety, and higher on defensiveness. Applying the adaptive style paradigm, the oncology group showed a significant excess of repressors. Depressive symptoms differed as a function of adaptive style, with repressors demonstrating the lowest levels of self-reported depression. Children with cancer also reported greater use of blunting, but this difference was small and appeared unrelated to depression scores. Within the cancer group, repressive adaptation was unrelated to time elapsed since diagnosis. These findings are discussed with reference to the ongoing controversy regarding cancer–personality style associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repressive adaptation in children with cancer: A replication and extension.

Prior research has shown a high incidence of a repressive adaptive style in children with cancer. To explore whether repressive adaptation in this population is premorbid or reactive, adaptive style was assessed longitudinally in children with cancer at the time of diagnosis and at 6 months and 1 year after diagnosis. Comparison groups included healthy children and children with other serious but nonmalignant chronic illnesses. At diagnosis, children with cancer showed a higher incidence of a repressive adaptive style than healthy children, and the incidence of repressive adaptation remained stable over time. Children with other chronic illnesses also showed levels of repressive adaptive style comparable to the cancer group. These findings suggest a shift toward repressiveness in response to the diagnosis of cancer that is then maintained over time, and demonstrate the necessity of further examination of the health consequences of adaptive style in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood and personality-based models of substance use.

Mood and personality-based vulnerabilities have been extensively examined in patients with substance use disorders, but their relevance as models of etiology remains to be fully investigated. The present investigation examined mood and personality-based models of substance use in a nonclinical sample of young adults. Two-hundred and twelve individuals were assessed for personality and clinical characteristics and participated in computerized ambulatory monitoring of mood states and substance use over a 1-week period. Personality factors were strong predictors of substance use frequency over the previous 30 days, as well as of substance use in daily life using ambulatory monitoring. A linear increase was also observed in the intensity of novelty seeking and antisocial personality traits as a function of the social deviance of substances used. However, mood disorder history was related only to the use of illicit drugs other than cannabis, and fluctuations in mood states did not prospectively predict daily use of substances in a manner consistent with self-medication. Moreover, there was little evidence that personality characteristics moderated relations between mood states and substance use in daily life. The relevance of results for mood and personality models of substance use etiology is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Double Dissociation Between Mood States and Personality Traits in the Anterior Cingulate.

Neuroticism and extraversion are personality traits associated with negative and positive mood states, respectively, confounding trait and state factors that may affect brain responses to emotional stimuli. The authors dissociated these factors using fMRI and the emotional Stroop attention task: Anterior cingulate (AC) response to positive stimuli varied as a function of personality trait, but not mood state, whereas AC response to negative stimuli varied as a function of mood state, but not personality trait. Negative mood, but not personality trait, also increased the functional connectivity between AC and other regions. Variance in AC activation can thus be ascribed to an intersubject variable (extraversion) when responding to positive stimuli and an intrasubject variable (mood) when responding to negative stimuli. The former may explain stable differences between extraverts and introverts. The latter may provide an adaptive mechanism to expand an individual's dynamic range in response to potentially dangerous or threatening stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of genetic variability in the dopamine receptor D2 in relation to behavioral inhibition and impulsivity/sensation seeking: An exploratory study with d-amphetamine in healthy participants.

The dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) appears to be involved in impulsive behaviors, and particularly in behavioral inhibition. We sought to determine whether inhibition and impulsivity were related to genetic polymorphisms in the DRD2 gene (DRD2) in healthy volunteers (N = 93). Participants received placebo or d-amphetamine in random order. They performed the stop task, measuring behavioral inhibition, and rated their mood states on each session. They also completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire, including an Impulsivity subscale. We investigated the association between 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes in DRD2 and stop task performance in the nondrug (i.e., placebo) session and on the personality measure of impulsivity. We secondarily evaluated the DRD2 SNPs in relation to response to d-amphetamine on stop task performance and mood ratings. Mood was not related to genotypes in either the drug free condition or in response to drug. However, 2 SNPs, rs4648317 and rs12364283, and a haplotype block consisting of those SNPs, were associated with better performance on the stop task in the drug free condition and lower scores on the Impulsivity subscale. We also found that rs12364283 was associated with effects of d-amphetamine on stop task performance: d-amphetamine decreased stop reaction time (RT) in the A/A group but increased stop RT in the combined A/G + G/G genotype. Of the SNPs we evaluated, rs12364283, which has been associated with DRD2 expression, was the most significantly associated with inhibition and impulsivity. The significant relationship between DRD2 genotype and both behavioral inhibition and impulsivity suggests a possible common genetic influence on behavioral and self-report measures of impulsivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive response to physostigmine challenge in borderline personality disorder patients

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mood and hormonal responses to cholinergic challenge with physostigmine in order to assess cholinergic system responsiveness in borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients, other non-BPD personality disorder patients, and normal controls. Thirty-four personality disorder patients, 10 of whom met criteria for BPD and 24 of whom met criteria for other, non-borderline, personality disorders, and 11 normal controls participated in a double blind, placebo controlled physostigmine challenge paradigm. The Profile of Mood States depression subscale (POMS-D) self report measure was obtained at baseline and following the physostigmine or placebo infusions. A repeated measures ANOVA of POMS-D scores in placebo and drug conditions indicated a significantly greater depressive response in the total cohort of personality disorder patients than in the normal comparison group (p < 0.05). However, the depressive response to physostigmine was significantly greater in BPD patients, but not other personality disorder patients, compared to normal controls (p < 0.05). There was a correlation between the peak placebo-corrected depressive response to physostigmine and a group of BPD traits related to affective instability but not a group of BPD traits related to impulsivity. There was no correlation in any group between mood response to physostigmine and changes in plasma cortisol, prolactin, or growth hormone, or to nausea or other side effects following physostigmine infusion. These data suggest that there is an association between BPD and acute depressive responses to physostigmine challenge, and that the cholinergic system may be involved in the regulation of affect in Axis II disorders.     

Mood and personality correlates of IQ by race and sex of subject.

Administered the WISC, Mood Adjective Check List, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Janis-Field Personality Questionnaire, and Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale to 416 Black and 416 White junior high and high school students. Results show that mood and personality were significantly related to IQ and that this effect was differentially patterned, depending on Ss' race and sex. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that for all females, externality was the strongest predictor of IQ; for all males, aggression was the strongest or 2nd strongest predictor. Blacks tended to show stronger relationships and higher mean scores on variables that correlated negatively with IQ, and weaker relationships and lower mean scores on variables that correlated positively. A factor analysis indicated that the mood scales could be combined into 3 dimensions: Emotional Upset, Defensive Overconfidence, and Task Interest. The Emotional Upset factor is conceptualized as an index of the degree of internal arousal experienced during examination. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Appraisals of controllability and coping in caregivers and HIV+ men: Testing the goodness-of-fit hypothesis.

The authors examined goodness of fit between controllability appraisals and coping in 82 HIV+ and 162 HIV– gay men experiencing the chronic stress of caregiving and 61 HIV+ gay men who were not caregiving. Multiple assessments of each individual over a 2-year period allowed replication of prior cross-sectional research examining goodness of fit, as well as the creation of intraindividual goodness-of-fit scores that were then used to examine within-person fluctuations in goodness of fit over time and goodness of fit as an individual difference variable related to adjustment. Results indicate that the importance of goodness of fit varies for different kinds of coping: The concept was supported for problem-focused coping and, to a lesser extent, for emotion-focused coping but not for meaning-focused coping. Within-subject variation in goodness of fit was related to within-subject variation in depressed mood, but between-subjects variation (individual differences) in fit was not associated with depressed mood, suggesting that goodness of fit is better understood as a transactional variable than as a personality or "coping style" variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional responses to other persons in everyday life situations.

Several times a day over a 4-wk period, 24 West German housewives recorded (a) characteristics of their momentary situation (place, activities, other persons present), (b) their mood states, and (c) their subjective explanations of those mood states. In addition to this time-sampling diary, Ss completed the 16PF twice. The type of social situations and the frequency with which they occurred to the Ss were significantly related to personality measures. Mood states, causal attributions of mood states, actualization, and satisfaction of motives were dependent on characteristics of the person and the environment. Results are discussed in terms of interaction between a person and the social situation. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fate of an uncompleted posthypnotic suggestion.

Used 50 male undergraduates to test the possibility that Ss who resist completing a posthypnotic suggestion may, at a later time, in a situation which is not seen as related to the hypnotic session, carry out the earlier suggested behavior. Such Ss were found to fall within the medium range of hypnotizability as evaluated over 3 sessions by the Stanford Scales of Hypnotizability. Ss with low hypnotizability failed to complete the posthypnotic suggestion and did not demonstrate a subsequent tendency toward the earlier suggested behavior. Ss with high hypnotizability tended to complete the posthypnotic suggestion and, in about 1/2 of the cases, demonstrated a subsequent tendency toward the earlier suggested behavior. Within the medium range of hypnotizability were found those Ss who did not complete the posthypnotic suggestion, but subsequently, in the extrahypnotic setting, behaved in accordance with the earlier suggestion. Hypnotizability as an overall characteristic was clearly related to the demonstration of this action tendency. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood states and sleepiness in college students: influences of age, sex, habitual sleep, and substance use

Survey and laboratory evidence suggests several factors affecting sleep-wake patterns of college students. These factors include social and academic demands, diminution of parental guidance, reduction of total sleep time, delayed bedtime, and increased nap episodes. In this study, we examined the problem of falling asleep in school as a correlate of negative moods in this population (N = 294). A multivariate analysis showed significant main effects of sleepiness on mood states based on the Profile of Mood States. Students who fell asleep in school reported higher negative mood states. Significant interactions were observed among sleepiness and age, sex, race, and duration of sleep. Specifically, younger men reported higher negative moods. No interactions were noted for alcohol and marijuana consumption; however, students who fell asleep in school consumed more alcoholic beverages and smoked more than those who did not. Perhaps falling asleep in school could be used as an index that characterizes students who manifest adaptive or psychological difficulty.     

Cognitive aspects of chronic depression.

Previous research on chronic depression has focused on its link with other mood disorders and Axis II personality disorders. However, there are few data examining whether the cognitive perspective applies to this condition. In this cross-sectional study, 42 outpatients with chronic depression were compared with 27 outpatients with nonchronic major depressive disorder and 24 never psychiatrically ill controls on cognitive variables thought to be related to vulnerability to depression (e.g., dysfunctional attitudes, attributional style, a ruminative response style, and maladaptive core beliefs). Both depressed groups were more elevated than a never-ill comparison group. However, chronically depressed individuals were generally more elevated on measures of cognitive variables than those with major depressive disorders even after controlling for mood state and personality disorder symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meaning of daily mood assessments.

21 30–66 yr old community residents used abbreviated forms of the Mood Adjective Checklist (MAC) to self-report their moods 4 times daily (9 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, and 7 PM) and for the entire day (10 PM) for 14 days, to investigate how Ss' daily mood score was related to moods throughout the day. The 4 momentary reports and 2 derived summary indices, average and peak mood, were compared to determine which index best approximated daily mood reports. Peak momentary mood best mimicked absolute levels of daily mood reports within Ss, whereas average momentary mood achieved the highest day-to-day correlation with daily mood. Single momentary mood reports were relatively poor predictors of daily mood. It is concluded that daily mood reports reflect mood throughout the day with reasonable accuracy when assessed by the MAC. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnotizability as a function of nonhypnotic experiences.

The relationship between various subjective experiences and susceptibility to hypnosis was studied in 2 samples of female college students, totalling 102. The subjective experiences were registered by the Experience Inventory, a questionnaire developed earlier for this purpose. Hypnotizability was determined by administering objective hypnotic scales individually. Correlations between hypnotizability and the total Experience Inventory score as 'well as a composite score of selected items were significant in both samples, but the latter failed in predicting hypnotizability better than the total score. Items of subjective experiences significantly related to hypnotizability in the total sample were analyzed in terms of the personality dimensions implied. alyzed (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abstract versus concrete goals: Personal striving level, physical illness, and psychological well-being.

Examined the relation between personal striving level and psychological and physical well-being. Level refers to the degree of generality vs specificity of one's goal strivings. In 3 studies, 188 Ss generated lists of their personal strivings, which were then rated on specificity level. High-level striving was associated with more psychological distress, particularly depression. Low-level striving was related to higher levels of physical illness. Correlations between striving level and self-reported symptoms were generally not as strong as those between level and the more objective illness indicators. High-level strivings were seen as more difficult and requiring more effort than low-level strivings. Results are interpreted in terms of control theory, goal-setting theory, and the repressive personality style. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, mood, and the evaluation of affective and neutral word pairs.

Four studies bridged the areas of personality–mood and mood–cognition relations by investigating the effects of Extraversion and Neuroticism on the evaluation of affectively pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral word pairs. Specifically measured were affectivity ratings, categorization according to affect, judgments of associative strength, and response latencies. A strong, consistent cognitive bias toward affective as opposed to neutral stimuli was found across participants. Although some biases were systematically related to personality and mood, effects of individual differences were present only under specific conditions. The results are discussed in terms of a personality–mood framework and its implications for cognitive functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Surreptitiously observed hypnotic responding in simulators and in skill-trained and untrained high hypnotizables.

Low-hypnotizable Ss (LHs) administered cognitive skill training exhibited substantially higher posttest hypnotizability than LHs administered no treatment. Next, the Ss in these 2 conditions as well as Ss who attained high hypnotizability without training and LHs instructed to fake hypnosis (i.e., simulators) were individually tested for hypnotizability twice while their responses were recorded by a hidden camera. In the individual session, Ss were first tested for hypnotizability while alone and then tested again in the presence of an experimenter. The skill-trained Ss and high-hypnotizable controls attained equivalent (high) hypnotizability scores with the experimenter both absent and present. However, when the experimenter was absent, the simulators exhibited lowered hypnotizability and apparently failed to adopt the hypnotic role. These findings contradict the hypothesis that high hypnotizability in skill-trained Ss reflects compliant responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood-congruent judgment is a general effect.

Mood congruency refers to a match in affective content between a person's mood and his or her thoughts. The mood-congruent judgment effect states in part that attributes will be judged more characteristic, and events more likely, under conditions of mood congruence. Thus, the happy person will believe good weather is more likely than bad weather (relative to such a judgment in a state of mood incongruence). Three studies showed that the effect generalizes to non-self-relevant judgments with natural mood. Study 1 (N?=?202) generalized it across a variety of specific emotions, Study 2 (N?=?1,065) generalized it across a variety of tasks, and Study 3 (N?=?524) generalized it to a nonlaboratory, statewide sample. The 3 studies redefine mood-congruent judgment more broadly and thereby inform the debate about its underlying mechanisms. The relation between mood-congruent judgment and personality is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)