Self- and spouse ratings of anger and hostility as predictors of coronary heart disease.

Self- and spouse ratings of anger and hostility were examined as predictors of coronary heart disease (CHD) in 185 cardiac patients. Patients completed the Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI) and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability (MCSD) Scale; the MAI (rewritten to 3rd person) was completed by Ss' spouses or by a peer. Thallium scans were used to measure CHD status. Results show that patient-rated MAI scores were inversely correlated with MCSD. There were no gender differences for patient-rated MAI scores, but spouse ratings showed gender effects for Anger-Arousal and Hostile Outlook: Women rated their husbands higher than men rated their wives. Patients with positive thallium scans were no different from those without CHD on patient-rated MAI scores; however, spouse ratings indicated that those with CHD had higher Hostile Outlook and Anger-In scores. After accounting for the effects of traditional CHD risk factors, only spouse-rated hostility contributed significant incremental variance to the prediction of CHD status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic and gender subgroup differences in assessment center ratings: A meta-analysis.

Assessment centers are widely believed to have relatively small standardized subgroup differences (d). However, no meta-analytic review to date has examined ds for assessment centers. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of available data and found an overall Black-White d of 0.52, an overall Hispanic-White d of 0.28, and an overall male-female d of -0.19. Consistent with our expectations, results suggest that Black-White ds in assessment center data may be larger than was previously thought. Hispanic-White comparisons were smaller than were Black-White comparisons. Females, on average, scored higher than did males in assessment centers. As such, assessment centers may be associated with more adverse impact against Blacks than is portrayed in the literature, but the predictor may have less adverse impact and be more "diversity friendly" for Hispanics and females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem, manifest hostility, and expression of hostility.

In a previous study (see 34: 7173), it was shown that Ss with low self-esteem, as measured by the Self-Esteem Scale, and high manifest hostility, as measured by Siegel's (1956) Manifest Hostility scale (MH scale), were found to have a high hostility response tendency. In the present study, arousal of hostility was stimulated by criticizing college Ss performing tests, measured via TAT cards, and related to the measure of self-esteem. Ss with a high degree of hostility arousal showed high MH scale scores but not low scores on the Self-Esteem Scale. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of disability, gender, and job level on ratings of job applicants.

Objective: To examine the effects of applicant disability, gender, and job level on ratings of job applicants. Design and Participants: Full-time workers (n?=?88) and undergraduates (n?=?98) provided ratings of hypothetical job applicants who differed on the 3 factors of interest. Measures: Job applicants were evaluated on the basis of competence, overall recommendation, potency, activity, and starting salary. Results: Applicants with disabilities were generally rated significantly higher in activity and potency than the applicant without a disability. Additional analyses revealed a significant Gender X Job Level interaction for applicants with a disability. Conclusions: Consistent with D. T. Wegener and R. E. Petty's (1997) flexible correction model, the results of this study suggest that evaluations of job applicants with disabilities may depend on the amount of cognitive resources raters have available at the time the evaluations are made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of supervisor and trainee gender to in-session verbal behavior and ratings of trainee skills.

This study of 44 supervision dyads investigated the effects of supervisor and trainee gender on the verbal interactions of participants and on their perceptions of trainee skill levels. Supervisor and trainee utterances were coded as being relationship or task focused. Male supervisors paired with male trainees engaged in more task-oriented discourse than did other dyad configurations. In other analyses, gender did not affect which party exerted more effect on the structure of the interactions. Finally, no significant differences were found in how male and female trainees rated their own skill levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of gender, setting, and research productivity on intern and employment suitability ratings.

To examine possible associations between research activity and rated suitability of internship and employment, 72 counseling psychology faculty members and staff members at university counseling center intern training programs rated internship and employment suitability of applicants with differing degrees of research productivity. Three factors were studied: employment setting of raters, sex of applicant, and research productivity of applicant. Raters' perceptions of applicants' counseling performance, suitability for internship, and suitability for employment were all significantly associated with applicants' research productivity, in some instances negatively so, especially for females. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement and structural invariance of parent ratings of ADHD and ODD symptoms across gender for American and Malaysian children.

The purpose of this study was to examine the measurement (configural, metric, scalar, and residual) and structural (factor variance, factor covariance, and factor means) invariance of parent ratings of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-inattention (ADHD-IN), ADHD-hyperactivity/impulsivity (ADHD-HI), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) across boys and girls. In an American pediatric sample (N = 1,015) and a Malaysian elementary school-age sample (N = 928), there was strong support for configural, metric, scalar, residual, factor variance, and covariance invariance across gender within each sample. Both American and Malaysian boys had significantly higher scores on the ADHD-IN and ADHD-HI factor means than did girls, whereas only in the American sample did boys score significantly higher on the ODD factor than did girls. The implications of the results for the study of gender, ethnic, and cultural differences associated with ADHD and ODD are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hostility and aversion for expressing hostility in neurotics and controls.

"Freud proposed that the superego in neurotics is overly severe in its suppressive effect on socially disapproved impulses. Mowrer contended that… the superego is not severe enough. To investigate these proposals, neurotics and control Ss were required to construct and report one sentence each from a series of scrambled words… . the findings suggest that… aversion for expressing disapproved hostility is… approximately equally strong in… neurotic and control groups… . hostile tendencies are stronger in neurotics than in controls and… stronger hostility in neurotics is specifically associated with human content." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Catharsis and the relief of hostility.

A study of the effect of different cathartic techniques on the relief of hostility feelings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Potential hostility and dimensions of anger.

Examined the construct validity of Potential for Hostility ratings derived from the Structured Interview by correlating PH scores with 21 scales from 4 anger/hostility measures: the Buss-Durkee Guilt-Hostility Inventory, Multidimensional Anger Inventory (J. M. Seigel, 1985), Anger Self Report, and R. W. Novaco's (1975) anger inventory. Ss were 82 male college students (mean age 20 yrs) and 50 male faculty, staff and older students (mean age 40 yrs). Factor analyses yielded 3 components (Experience of Anger, Expression of Anger, Suspicion-Guilt). PH was correlated with the Expression of Anger factor in a 2-factor solution and was equally correlated with the Expression of Anger and Experience of Anger factors in a 3-factor solution. Implications for assessment of hostility are noted. (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)     

The expression and reduction of hostility.

The formal presentation in 1939 of the principles of the frustration-aggression hypothesis has been the impetus for a large amount of research in this area. This paper is a review of those studies reported since 1939 which are in the general theoretical framework of the frustration-aggression notion. The factors related to: the occurrence of overt aggression, the nature and object of the aggressive act, and the reduction of the instigation to aggression are examined. The adequacy of this theoretical framework is also examined. 85 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thematic hostility and guilt responses as related to self-reported hostility, guilt, and conflict.

Thematic hostility and guilt responses were investigated as a function of hostile cues and self-reported drive, guilt, and conflict over hostility. From a pool of 181 college males, extreme groups of 20 each were selected on each of the self-report measures. It was found that: (a) self-reported hostility across levels of guilt was directly related to TAT hostility on pictures of low relevance for hostility only; (b) TAT hostility across pictures was directly related to self-reported hostility when guilt was low and inversely when guilt was high; (c) TAT hostility was inversely, and TAT guilt directly, related to self-reported guilt; and (d) there was no evidence that conflict produces a simultaneous increase in drive related responses to cues of low relevance and decrease in drive related responses to cues of high relevance. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervisory ratings and attitudes.

Do supervisors tend to be biased in their ranking and rating of workers? 42 janitors were ranked and rated by 4 supervisors and rated by the division chief. The highest and lowest were compared by 10 factor scores. "Supervisors of our hospital maintenance men valued most the abilities least prevalent in the men (leadership and executive ability) and valued least the attributes most abundant in these men (social adjustment and personal charm). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal associations between hostility in adolescents' family relationships and friendships and hostility in their romantic relationships.

This study examined longitudinal predictors of hostility in adolescents' romantic relationships. The sample included 110 adolescents and their parents from 72 families. Observational measures of parents' marital hostility and parent-child hostility and self-reports of hostility in close friendships were collected when adolescents ranged from 14 to 16 years old. Three years later, when they were 17 to 19 years old, adolescents reported on the hostility in their romantic relationships. Results indicated that hostility in parents' marital relationships and in adolescents' friendships accounted for independent variance in hostility in adolescents' later romantic relationships. Results highlight the importance of both family relationships and friendships for predicting hostility in adolescents' romantic relationships over time. (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)     

Status restoration and the reduction of hostility.

"The present study reports positive results on a test of the implications of a 'threat' theory of hostility, namely, that hostility is reduced by status restoration. Essentially, the experiments deals with techniques designed to restore the status or the integrity of the S, who has been subjected to the hostile arousing conditions, without permitting expression of aggression (catharsis or communication)." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-reference versus desirability ratings and memory for traits.

Processing trait adjectives by encoding them in reference to the self usually facilitates recall for those words, compared with other types of semantic processing. On the basis of data from a between-Ss design, T. J. Ferguson et al (see record 1983-24943-001) proposed that this effect occurs because self-referent encoding is equivalent to rating traits for their desirability since both engage affective evaluations. It is argued that self-reference effects are better studied in within-Ss designs so that the context is similar for different types of processing. The present study, with 17 Ss, used a within-Ss design and revealed that memory was better after encoding traits in terms of self-reference than after rating traits in terms of desirability. Thus, in this type of task, self-reference consistently surpasses most forms of semantic processing, although a satisfactory explanation for this effect requires additional research. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race and sex as determinants of ratings by potential employers in a simulated work-sampling task.

Examined the way the sex and race of the rater and the sex and race of the ratee influence assessments of ratee performance on a simulated work-sampling task. 36 undergraduates assumed the role of a manager and rated all 8 combinations of male-female and black-white performers. Results indicate that sex-race stereotypes do influence assessments of behavior on a work-sampling task even when objective measures are defined. Findings are discussed in terms of potential methods of overcoming these biases to use more effectively the work samples for selection and promotion decisions are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)