Correlates of empathy in psychotherapy: A replication.

Replicated findings regarding the relationship between therapist personal characteristics and therapist empathy levels during psychotherapy. It is concluded that: (1) there is a moderate inverse relationship between therapist MMPI disturbance levels and degree of therapist empathy in interviews, (2) there is no correlation between indexes of therapists' intellectual ability or academic achievement and their empathy scores and (3) there is some reason to doubt that Truax Empathy scores are related to patient outcome in non-client-centered therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Success and preference: A replication and extension.

Results of 2 experiments with a total of 180 undergraduates indicate that preferences for less preferred tasks may be increased as a result of high success ratios in dealing with those tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passive avoidance in psychopathic offenders: A replication and extension.

A passive avoidance task was administered to 97 Caucasian and 110 African American offenders to (a) replicate prior research demonstrating poor passive avoidance in psychopathic individuals (Ps) with low anxiety, (b) compare the effects of anxiety, neuroticism, and fear in identifying subgroups of Ps and controls who differ in passive avoidance, and (c) reevaluate the generalizability of this finding to African American offenders. Replicating past research with Caucasian offenders, low-anxious Ps committed significantly more passive avoidance efforts than low-anxious controls. Although this difference was also found in Ps and controls with low neuroticism scores, the comparison involving low-fear offenders failed to reach significance. As in past research, comparable comparisons involving African American offenders were not statistically significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Who is the client: A replication and extension.

T. J. Kramer et al (see record 1993-15569-001) investigated the reasoning used by consultants to determine who their clients are in complex multiclient situations. The present study sought to increase the return rate by shortening and focusing the questionnaire and to determine the impact of demographic variables. Three vignettes were included in a mailed questionnaire that asked 576 consultants who they thought was the most and the 2nd-most important client. Although the return rate (21%) was not substantially increased, the top 3 reasons for determining who the client is were the same in both studies, and the variation within and between vignettes was similar. A new finding in the present study was differences as a function of specialty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy and relapse in smoking cessation: A replication and extension.

In an effort to replicate and extend findings by M. M. Condiotte and E. Lichtenstein (see record 1982-01877-001), the relationship of a measure of self-efficacy—the Confidence Questionnaire—to posttreatment smoking status was assessed. Ss were 74 smokers (mean age 37 yrs). End-of-treatment self-efficacy scores were significantly correlated with follow-up smoking status at 3-mo and 6-mo follow-up, but not at 1 yr. When only Ss who were abstinent at termination were considered, self-efficacy still correlated significantly with 3-mo follow-up but not with 6-mo or 1-yr smoking status. Smoking during treatment was associated with lower end-of-treatment efficacy scores. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative perceptions of counselor behavior: A replication and extension.

Investigated comparative perceptions of counselor behavior. 40 counseling interviews were rated by 40 16–50 yr old participating clients, 9 counselors (professional staff members), and 5 observers (staff psychologists) along social influence and client-centered dimensions at a Midwestern community mental health center. The Counselor Rating Form (CRF) and Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory ere used to yield measures of these dimensions. Results support the hypothesis that clients would rate their counselors highest on each variable relative to counselor self-ratings and observers' ratings of counselors. Correlational analyses revealed a high degree of relationship among the social influence and client-centered dimensions for client and observer ratings. There was greater agreement between clients and observers than between clients and counselors or counselors and observers on 4 dimensions. Data suggest the existence of a common factor of perceived counselor behavior. The utility of the social influence constructs as measured by the CRF was supported, and this area of study appears to have direct relevance to research in applied professional settings. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex bias and managerial evaluations: A replication and extension.

248 male supervisors rated 290 male and 272 female store managers, and 35 female supervisors rated 37 male and 38 female store managers; all Ss were with the same organization. Results show that female store managers were rated higher than male store managers by their supervisors. It is concluded that unfair treatment of women, to the extent that it does exist, does not seem to be a major factor in assessing managerial job performance. (7 ref) (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)     

Afro-American preferences for counselor characteristics: A replication and extension.

This study replicates and extends the Atkinson, Furlong, and Poston (1986) investigation that examined Black subjects' preferences for salient similar and dissimilar counselor characteristics within a disconfirmatory hypothesis-testing strategy framework. Using a markedly different Black college student sample and replicating the paired-comparison technique of Atkinson et al. (1986), the present study found a generally high rank-order correlation (p?=?.91) between the two respective samples on preferences for counselor characteristics. Despite the global rank-order stability across samples, a number of important rank differentials are noted and discussed. We caution against generalizing the results of cross-cultural studies to geographically displaced samples and highlight suggestions for cross-cultural research using the paired-comparison technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compulsivity as a moderator variable: A replication and extension.

Replicated and extended earlier studies which found that 2 indirect measures of compulsivity (the Strong Accountant scale and a ratio score of reading speed to vocabulary) moderated the correlations of other Strong interest scales with grade-point average (GPA) for male engineering freshmen—the correlations were higher for the less compulsive students. In the present study, the 2 compulsivity variables did not moderate the correlations of the Strong scales with freshman-year GPA for liberal arts students of either sex, although they did for men in the engineering program. The compulsivity variables were not significantly correlated, they did not moderate the same interest scales, and their joint use did not enhance the moderator effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and conflict structure in marital interaction: A replication and extension.

29 married couples engaged in 2 videotaped discussions: 1 in which the husband requested a change in the wife and 1 in which the wife requested a change in the husband. Conflict behavior was assessed by self-report and observer ratings. Neither conflict structure (who requested the change) nor gender was associated with the positivity or negativity of spouses' behavior. During discussions of husbands' issues, wives and husbands did not differ in demand/withdraw behavior, whereas when discussing wives' issues, wives were more demanding and husbands were more withdrawing. Husband-demand/wife-withdraw interaction predicted an increase in wives' satisfaction 1 yr later, whereas wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction predicted a decline in wives' satisfaction 1 yr later. These results replicate and extend those of an earlier study (A. Christensen and C. L. Heavey; see record 1991-01045-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multivariate study of the patient-therapist system: A replication and extension.

Replicates and extends the work of R. H. Moos and S. R. Clemes (see record 1967-07395-001) and F. van der Veen (see record 1965-08090-001). Each of 6 patients saw each of 4 therapists twice. The variables total activity, feeling words, action words, reinforcements each was scored separately for patient and therapist for each interview. Patient problem expression and therapist accurate empathy were rated for each interview. Consistent differences between patients accounted for substantially more variance than consistent differences between therapists on all variables. Patient * Therapist * Session interactions generally accounted for large proportions of the total variance. Results indicate that the therapist behaviors studied were not the result of a trait, of a given tendency to be empathic, or of a consistently applied therapeutic technique, but rather were very substantially situationally or patient determined. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behaviorally anchored bias: A replication and extension of Murphy and Constans.

A recent study by K. R. Murphy and J. I. Constans (see record 1988-06380-001) found that behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) containing observed but unrepresentative behaviors biased ratings in the direction of those behaviors. This study extends the work of Murphy and Constans by adding a retention interval (immediate rating vs 1-week delay) as an independent variable. The principal finding of Murphy and Constans, that BARS induced a novel form of rating bias, was replicated. This bias was found in both the immediate and delayed rating conditions. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The therapist's therapist: A replication and extension 20 years later.

How do mental health professionals choose their own psychotherapists? This study replicates and extends a 1987 national survey of psychotherapists regarding the selection criteria and sociodemographic characteristics of their personal therapists; 608 psychologists, counselors, and social workers participated. Therapists' therapists tended to be middle aged and White (94%) but equally female and male. Their most frequent theoretical orientations were integrative, eclectic, cognitive, and psychodynamic (but rarely behavioral or systemic). Psychology was their most prevalent profession, followed by social work, counseling, and psychiatry. Topping the list of therapist selection criteria were competence, warmth, experience, openness, and reputation. The prototypical positive features of personal treatment that therapists repeated with their own patients all concerned cultivation of the therapeutic relationship. The 2007 results are tentatively compared with those obtained in 1987, thus chronicling the evolution of therapists' therapists over the years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social desirability in children: An extension and replication.

Administered a children's social desirability scale (CSD) to 1008 children 7-14 yr. old. Ss' camp counselors also rated each S on friendliness, leadership, social awareness, and seeking adult and peer approval. Results supported the V.C. Crandall, V. G. Crandall, and K. Katkovsky (see 39:3) finding with respect to age and sex. Age 11 was noted to be critical because the CSD score appears to stabilize at that age which suggests that adult approval motivations correlate in Ss as young as 11. Contrary to predictions CSD was not related to the counselor's perception of Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of psychotherapists' activity: A replication and extension of earlier findings.

Attempted to replicate the 5 dimensions of therapists' activity (personal distance, activity, flexibility, therapist distance, and preference for goal-limited therapy) found by M. S. Wallach and H. H. Strupp (see record 1964-02091-001). Questionnaire responses (the Therapeutic Attitudes, Skills, and Techniques Scale) from 136 therapists were factor analyzed. Significant differences were found on 5 subscales (constructed to represent each of the 5 factors), due to characteristics of the therapist, including sex, having had personal psychotherapy, involvement in research, frequency of patient visits, and length of time spent working with a typical patient. Although there were some changes in endorsement of "preferred theoretical orientation" which reflected advances in the field in the intervening 16 yrs, findings indicate that the dimensions of therapist activity identified in the original study represent enduring issues a therapist of any persuasion must confront. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The pre-engagement cohabitation effect: A replication and extension of previous findings.

Using a random telephone survey of men and women married within the past 10 years (N = 1,050), the current study replicated previous findings regarding the timing of engagement and the premarital cohabitation effect (see Kline et al., 2004). Those who cohabited before engagement (43.1%) reported lower marital satisfaction, dedication, and confidence as well as more negative communication and greater potential for divorce than those who cohabited only after engagement (16.4%) or not at all until marriage (40.5%). These differences were generally small, but could not be accounted for by length of marriage or by variables often associated with selection into cohabitation (i.e., age, income, education, and religiousness). Similar results were found in a subsample of individuals who cohabited only with the current spouse. There were no significant differences between those who cohabited after engagement and not at all before marriage, supporting a pre-engagement, but not a premarital cohabitation effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions and disability acceptance following traumatic injury: A replication and extension.

(This reprinted article originally appeared in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1977, Vol 35 [5], 351–363. The following abstract of the original article appeared in PA, Vol 62:3939.) Examined the relation between victims' attributions of causality for their accidents and their ability to cope with severe misfortune. A total of 29 individuals who had been paralyzed in serious accidents between the ages of 16 and 35 yrs were intensively interviewed. Individuals were selected who had been injured either 1–4 or 8–22 mo prior to the interview. Both quantitative and open-ended questions were used to elicit attributions of blame and causality by Ss; coping scores were obtained from a social worker and a nurse familiar with each case. Findings suggest that blaming another and feeling that one could have avoided the accident were successful predictors of poor coping; self-blame was a successful predictor of good coping. The question "Why me?" was posed by all Ss, and 28 of the 29 Ss offered to explain why the accident had happened to them. Their responses seemed to illustrate their need for meaning in explaining the selective incidence of the accident. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral development and politics a decade later: A replication and extension.

Previous investigations performed during the age of student protest indicated a curvilinear relationship between moral development and political ideology and behavior, with both higher and lower levels of moral reasoning associated with leftist inclinations. The present research determined if the linkage between moral reasoning level and political choice could be extended to former students negotiating their middle adulthood during a period of political quiescence. Consistent with the expectations of N. Haan et al (1968), data obtained from 76 persons who had been students at the University of California at Berkeley in 1964 suggest a linear relationship between moral judgment and leftist politics, with premoral reasoners no longer overrepresented among either liberal or politically active Ss. Previous investigators' substantive and directional interpretations of the relationship between moral maturity and political preference are weighed against recent challenges to the purportedly primary, structural, and value-free basis of the L. Kohlberg (1969) model of moral development. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)