HOSTILITY IN NEUROTICS AND NORMALS.

"A test was made of the experimental hypothesis that under conditions favoring the expression of repressed impulses, neurotics will show more hostility than normals… The neurotic group showed significantly more hostile [scrambled sentence] completions than the nonneurotic group. This outcome is predicted by the psychoanalytic theory of neurosis." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in gradients of stimulus generalization as a function of psychiatric disorder.

On the basis of the "Dollard and Miller… principle that 'increasing the strength of the drive raises the entire gradient of generalization… ' [and that]… such emotional states as fear, anxiety, and guilt can acquire the properties of a drive… . The present research investigates the hypotheses that there are differences in the shape of the SG gradients among psychotic, neurotic, and control Ss… . The results indicate that (a) the psychotics showed more generalization than the nonpsychotics; (b) the neurotics showed less… than the psychotics, but did not differ from the controls; and (c) the brain-damaged Ss showed more generalization than the nonpsychotics, but they did not differ from the psychotics." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repeated frustrations and expectations in hostility arousal.

"Two experiments were devised to test predictions developed on the basis of an earlier investigation… . (wherein) it was found that the partner's act had its greatest effect on S's final attitude toward him when it was inconsistent with the partner's earlier behavior… . The… experiment reported here… obtained essentially similar results… (suggesting) that unexpected frustrations produce a stronger aggressive reaction than anticipated frustrations because, as a result of the hypothesized contrast effect, the former probably are evaluated as being more severe." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of two types of xenophilic orientation.

"A sample of 422 college students at Boston University responded to scales measuring tendencies toward xenophilia, authoritarianism, hostility toward typical Americans, willingness to stereotype, and interest in travelling abroad… . High scorers on the Xenophile Scale can be distinguished from low scorers on the above dimensions. High xenophiles seem to be more willing to stereotype, express hostility toward typical Americans, and express a stronger desire to travel than low xenophiles. Predictions were made concerning two varieties of high xenophiles, high scorers and low scorers on the California F scale. It was found that the low authoritarians were more attracted to things foreign than the highs along several dimensions. Furthermore among low scorers on the Xenophile scale, clear distinctions were found among the high and low F scale scorers. The highs were more willing to stereotype than were the lows." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactions to unfavorable personal evaluations as a function of the evaluator's perceived adjustment.

"Pairs of Ss listened to two… persons… evaluate the personality of one member of the pair. One of the stimulus persons made derogatory remarks about the 'involved' member, the other was… noncommittal… . In one experimental condition the derogator was pre-identified as… maladjusted, the nonderogator as well-adjusted. In another condition the identifications were reversed." The hypothesis was supported that the combined information, maladjustment and derogation, summate for the bystander to produce a negative impression, but that for the involved S there is a tendency to cancel out hostility that would be arounsed by the derogation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The annihilating power of absoluteness: Superego analysis in the severe neuroses, especially in character perversion.

Many find the concept of a superego not relevant anymore. Yet, there is much evidence for the cardinal relevance of what is meant with this theoretical construct. This is particularly true for the treatment of severely disturbed patients--especially those with severe forms of character perversion and addictions. The archaic superego serves in its absoluteness as primitive affect regulation. The more we assume a stance of authority, the more we tend to get enmeshed in very important regressive transference-countertransference enactments of these superego figures, functions, and affects. The working alliance breaks apart because the regression can merely be experienced, not reflected upon. This is particularly true for cases of character perversion, especially those of a severe sadomasochistic nature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Public relations—for what?

There is "increasing evidence of hostility to psychology that has appeared in the last few years. This hostility has cropped up often enough now so that it cannot be ignored." Some of this hostility has come from medical groups, some from labor unions, some from people in the commercial field, some from "our humanistic colleagues." Courses of the aroused hostility are discussed. The author is "not convinced that a little knowledge of psychology spread widely will alter very much the important forces influencing social change… . Psychology as an institution, as exemplified by our state and national associations, ought to confine itself to public relations at the level of the policy makers, and not try to become a large-scale educational enterprise." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective correlates of emotional responsivity and stimulation seeking in psychopaths, normals, and acting-out neurotics.

Data from 20 psychopaths, 20 acting-out neurotics, and 20 normal control prisoners on Zuckerman's Sensation-Seeking Scale and Izard's Differential Mood Scale (DMS) suggest that psychopaths are pathological stimulation seekers and view themselves as experiencing less overall affect in their daily lives than normals or neurotics. Momentary affective differences were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct and vicarious reduction of hostility.

"Fifty Ss participated in a simulated interaction in which each was verbally attacked by a standard tape recording. Under three experimental conditions Ss (a) sat in silence after the attack, (b) heard a third person denounce the attacker, (c) were permitted to communicate back to the attacker themselves… . Results demonstrated… more residual hostility for low self-esteem Ss who were not allowed to reply to the aggressor… and very little actual aggression shown by any of the Ss who were allowed to communicate back to the aggressor after the attack." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the matter of juries, democracy, science, truth, senators, and bugs.

An investigation by the Internal Security Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee of a research inquiry at the University of Chicago involving the recording of jury deliberations is reported in detail. "In this instance freedom of enquiry… clashed… with the value society holds at least as dear as freedom of inquiry—the right to privacy." The incident illustrated "… some of the current hostility to social scientists." "It is vastly important, both for democracy and for behavioral science, that ways be found whereby our behavior and our institutions can be studied with greatest profit and least harm to the sanctities we live by." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome effects of eclectic interpersonal-learning-based group psychotherapy with college student neurotics.

A focused 5-yr research program used a large number of clients (45), groups (10), and co-therapists (20) to assess group psychotherapy outcome in a homogeneous diagnostic population (severely disturbed college student neurotics) and therapist–treatment modality (eclectic, interpersonal learning based, with insight and behavior change goals). Analysis of self-report data (Group Therapy Evaluation Form and Illinois Personal Rating Form) for control and therapy periods and terminal behavior ratings yielded consistent, converging evidence of significant positive change in personality characteristics of self-esteem variables; anxiety; motivation and self-discipline; and activity, interest, and outgoing behavior levels in the 1st part (mean?=?10.3 sessions) of treatment. In contrast, poor interpersonal functioning and related feelings of distrustfulness, hostility, unassertiveness, and excessive status-achievement needs resisted change, but they did change by the end of treatment (mean?=?20.5 sessions). Such longer term therapy is suggested as critical to allow these clients to go beyond newly and more easily acquired changes, such as self-esteem, to an integration and extension of these changes via significant interpersonal risk-taking behaviors to resolve long-term patterns of distrust, hostility, and avoidance. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The expression and inhibition of hostility in imaginative and overt behavior.

"Half of a group of 40 white male college students, representing the extreme scores on the Segal Manifest Hostility Scale, were placed in a situation designed to arouse strong hostility, and half in a low arousal situation. Ss were then permitted to express hostility in fantasy (using TAT pictures selected for differences in cue properties relevant to hostility) and in overt behavior, in a situation in which Ss could actually hurt another person… . The results of this experiment were consistent with a goal gradient model in which high and low expressors were assumed to differ in strength of approach motivation (proximity to the goal)." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introversion, neuroticism, rigidity, and dogmatism.

There are two problems concerning the often hypothesized relationship between neuroticism and behavioral rigidity. First, are there personality dimensions other than neuroticism which affect the relationship? Eysenck (1947) hypothesized that introverted neurotics are rigid, but that extroverted neurotics are not. Second, Rokeach (1960) offered a distinction between rigidity and dogmatism, in which rigidity can be defined as the inability to produce novel or changed responses while dogmatism can be defined as an inability to utilize novel responses which have been produced. Which of these two types of inflexibility characterizes neurotics? To explore for answers for these two questions, a 2 × 2 experimental design was set up. Two conclusions follow from this study. The first is that it is inappropriate to speak loosely of the "rigidity" or "inflexibility" of neurotic behavior, as it was shown that neurotics are not different from non-neurotics in their ability to produce novel responses, but only in their ability to utilize such responses. Secondly, not all neurotics manifest this inability; it is shown by introverted neurotics only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderators of the link between marital hostility and change in spouses’ depressive symptoms.

This study examined the moderating roles of marital warmth and recent life events in the association between observed marital hostility and changes in spouses’ depressive symptoms over 3 years. Using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), structural equation models (N = 416 couples) suggested that husbands’ marital hostility was significantly related to increases in wives’ depressive symptoms. Moderator analyses showed that husbands’ warmth and wives’ warmth moderate the association between marital hostility and change in wives’ depressive symptoms. The association between husbands’ hostility and increases in wives’ depressive symptoms was stronger under conditions of lower levels of husbands’ warmth than under conditions of higher levels of husbands’ warmth. This same pattern was found for wives’ warmth. Regarding life events, the association between wives’ hostility and increases in husbands’ depressive symptoms was stronger for couples with more recent life events than for couples with fewer recent life events. Practical and empirical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antisemitism, judgmental processes, and displacement of hostility.

"The present study was designed to test a theoretical argument used to explain the different results in various investigations of the scapegoat theory of prejudice… . it is suggested that the index of hostility displacement employed by Berkowitz… [see 34: 2746] was more affected by judgmental processes than the indices of fantasy aggression used by… other investigators, and that highly prejudiced people make different kinds of judgments under stress than do people lower in prejudice." 2 groups of high and low feelings of anti-Semitism were placed in stressful and non-stressful, non-ego-involving situations. The results tend to support the hypotheses. Difference in capacity for perceptual discrimination was seen as affecting results rather than conceptual rigidity. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD10B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The achievement motive, goal setting, and probability preferences.

"This study deals with the effect of individual differences in strength of achievement motive on… goal setting… [and] preferences for imaginary bets equated for expected monetary value but differing in probability of winning… . Measures of n Achievement were obtained by content analysis of responses to the French Test of Insight. Persons with high n Achievement scores were assumed to have relatively stronger motives to approach success and those with low n Achievement scores relatively stronger motives to avoid failure… . The results are consistent with the theory concerning motivational determinants of risk taking behavior and constitute evidence of the… effects of individual differences in… achievement motive… in games of chance as well as… skill." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth hormone and cortisol responses to psychological stress: comparison of normal and neurotic subjects

The mirror drawing test (MDT) was performed to induce acute psychological stress in 9 normal controls and 10 neurotic subjects. Plasma growth hormone (GH) and cortisol were determined serially before, during, and after the test. In controls the MDT caused no significant change in plasma GH level, while in neurotics plasma GH increased progressively following the test. The increase of cortisol also tended to be greater in neurotics as a group, but there was considerable overlap in individual responses. The maximum increments of GH in neurotics correlated inversely with those of cortisol. The results indicate: 1) effective psychological coping mechanisms operate in normal man to keep the hormonal response minimum. 2) GH response is a more adequate indicator than cortisol response to psychological stress in neurotics. 3) GH and cortisol may have different psychological correlates in neurotics.     

Psychoneurosis and suggestibility.

"The main aim was to investigate the relationship between neuroticism and suggestibility, using a test which did not involve static ataxia. Hull's horizontal arm movement test was used, and confirming previous findings, neurotics moved more with suggestion than normals. Some movement occurred without suggestion (the neurotics tending to move more than the normals). There was no evidence of a difference in suggestability between the groups when they were matched for arm movement without suggestion, although such movement was slight. It is therefore impossible to conclude with certainty that neurotics respond more to suggestion." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulation seeking in antisocial preadolescent children.

Determined whether antisocial preadolescent male children display more stimulation seeking than normals or neurotics in a situation intentionally designed to be boring. Ss were asked to view a monotonous sequence of photographic slides. They were allowed to control the rate of slide presentation, and viewing time was taken as an inverse measure of stimulation seeking. Results support the prediction that antisocial children would exceed normals and that normals would exceed neurotics in stimulation seeking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual accuracy in schizophrenia, depression, and neurosis, and effects of amytal.

"Three perceptual tests were given to four groups of hospitalized patients: chronic schizophrenics, early schizophrenics, depressives, and neurotics. The tests, Hands, Street Gestalt, and Rorschach, were administered first without then with intravenous sodium amytal and amphetamine sulphate. Without drugs, on the Hands test, the groups did not differ in accuracy. On Gestalt Completion, the CS and Dp groups gave fewer correct responses than the ES and Nt groups… . Beck's finding of lowered F + % in schizophrenia was confirmed. With drugs, on the Hands test, all groups were less accurate. On Gestalt Completion, all groups were more accurate and gave fewer rejections and unique responses. There was no change in Rorschach F + %." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)