Personal efficacy, external locus of control, and perceived contingency of parental reinforcement among depressed, paranoid, and normal subjects.

Hypothesized that different combinations of personal efficacy and outcome expectancies (i.e., locus of control) would characterize the thought structures of normal Ss and of psychiatric patients suffering from distinctly different disorders. 26 normal (mean age 30.1 yrs), 15 depressed, and 22 paranoid Ss (mean age of patients 34.5 yrs) completed scales that measured beliefs in personal efficacy, beliefs that outcomes are controlled either by chance or by powerful others, and perceived contingency of parental reinforcement. Findings show that normals judged themselves to be more efficacious than did psychiatric Ss, depressives expected outcomes to be controlled by chance, and paranoids expected outcomes to be under the control of powerful others. Among the normals, outcome expectancies were strongly associated with personal efficacy, but among the patients, these beliefs were unrelated. Depressives and paranoids equally reported more noncontingent parental reinforcement than did normals. Perceived contingency of parental reinforcement was predictive of outcome expectancies but not of personal efficacy. Data suggest that low personal efficacy may be a distinguishing characteristic of all psychiatric patients, whereas outcome expectancies may determine the specific nature of the psychiatric disorder. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapy for metastatic melanoma: effective combination of dacarbazine, carmustine, cisplatin and tamoxifen

Violence in the workplace is sometimes a manifestation of an untreated psychiatric disorder. Paranoid personality disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, and delusional (paranoid) disorder are three psychiatric syndromes in which paranoid ideation is a prominent feature. While the vast majority of people with these conditions are not violent, paranoid workers can exhibit violent behavior as a reaction to beliefs that co-workers or supervisors are threatening or persecuting them. Three cases are described to illustrate the clinical presentation of these disorders and their management in an occupational setting.     

Self-reported sources of stress among psychotherapists.

264 therapists from a state in the midwestern US were surveyed to (1) confirm and clarify sources of stress for psychotherapists that originate in client sessions and the professional role and (2) explore certain irrational beliefs that therapists may hold and that may contribute to their own stress. Ss were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed background information and therapist beliefs and that contained a 36-item therapist stress scale. Irrational beliefs (e.g., that one should operate at peak efficiency and competence with all clients at all times) are examined. Suicidal ideation, aggression/hostility, premature terminating, agitated anxiety, and apathy/depression were held to be the most stressful client behaviors, while crying, absence of gratitude, and negative community stereotypes were the least stressful. Group differences in stress are described, and implications for training programs and for more refined research endeavors are discussed. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Same–different judgments in paranoid and schizophrenic patients: A laterality study.

12 normal, 12 paranoid, and 12 nonparanoid schizophrenic Ss were presented with arrays of stimuli to the left, right, or both hemispheres and told to say whether all the stimuli in the array were the same or different. Results fail to confirm the hypothesis that there is a dysfunction of hemispheric operation in paranoid or nonparanoid schizophrenia. There was, however, some evidence that paranoid patients scanned more than did nonparanoid or control Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptions of prose coherence: Individual differences in epistemological standards.

Examined the relationship between beliefs about the nature of knowledge and conceptions of prose coherence by administering self-reports to 89 undergraduates. Four conceptions of coherence were identified. Two of these conceptions (informativeness and grouping) were categorized as immature because they did not provide a basis for evaluating the quality of the relationships among the various parts of a term paper. The 2 remaining conceptions (sequencing and unity) were categorized as mature because they did provide such a basis. Results show that Ss classified as having relativistic (context-oriented) beliefs about the nature of knowledge were more likely to report mature coherence conceptions than were Ss classified as having dualistic (fact-oriented) beliefs. In addition, Ss who reported mature coherence conceptions produced essays that were judged by 2 writing instructors to be more coherent than the essays of Ss who reported immature conceptions. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

étude des composantes dépressives chez des adolescents à tendances suicidaires.

Studied symptoms of depression in adolescents with suicidal tendencies. Ss were 2,850 secondary school students (aged 12–18 yrs). Ss completed a questionnaire assessing sociodemographic variables, symptoms of depression, and suicidality. Results from the following subsamples were compared: (1) 105 Ss with suicidal ideation; (2) 206 Ss with suicidal ideation who had contemplated specific means of suicide; (3) 94 Ss who had attempted suicide; (4) 62 Ss with depression but without suicidal ideation; and (5) 336 age-, gender-, and grade-matched comparison Ss without suicidal ideation. The Dysphoria Scale by L. S. Radloff (1977) was used. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size estimation, perceptual recognition, and cardiac rate response in acute paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics.

Studied perceptual response styles of 8 paranoid and 8 nonparanoid schizophrenics in a VA hospital using size estimation and perceptual recognition tasks. Eight alcoholic patients were used as controls. Only acute, actively psychotic, unmedicated schizophrenics were included. Heart rate responses were monitored during the performance of the tasks. Psychological task performance and concomitant physiological responses were analyzed and integrated. The size estimation results replicate earlier findings. During the perceptual recognition task, the paranoid Ss showed a unique "jump to conclusions" response strategy. Early responding and response rigidity was not found to be specific to paranoid schizophrenics. All schizophrenic Ss showed more large-magnitude heart rate response during both tasks. The relationship between perceptual responses and physiological responses differed among the groups. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitivity of paranoid patients to nonverbal cues.

To test the hypothesis of a special sensitivity on the part of paranoid patients to nonverbal cues, 2 videotapes were prepared for viewing by 24 hospitalized paranoid patients and 24 normal Ss. Half of each group saw a videotape of genuine stimuli, and half saw a videotape of simulated stimuli. The stimuli consisted of 40 6-sec shots of the same 4 persons on each tape. The faces of the persons were shown as they watched 2 lights serving as signals. For the genuine tape, electric shock was administered to the stimulus person at the cessation of a red light, but none after a white light; for the simulated tape, stimulus Ss posed their expectation. Viewing Ss judged whether, at each presentation, the stimulus person on the videotape expected or did not expect to receive an electric shock. Paranoid Ss demonstrated significantly higher accuracy than normals for genuine stimuli, while normal Ss were significantly more accurate than patients for simulated stimuli. Normal Ss were more accurate for simulated stimuli than they were for genuine stimuli, while patients were not. Data support the hypothesis. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The utility of theories in intuitive statistics: The robustness of theory-based judgments.

Research on human judgment demonstrates that people's theories often bias their evaluation of evidence and suggests that people might be more accurate if they were unbiased by prior beliefs. In 2 studies using the covariation estimation problem and the t-test problem, judgments made by Ss who had potentially biasing prior information about data were compared to those made by Ss who were not biased by prior information. 265 undergraduates served as Ss in Study 1; 201 undergraduates were Ss in Study 2. The quality of the data was varied to present Ss with data that were either well-behaved or contaminated with outliers. In both studies, Ss' judgments approximated robust statistical measures rather than the conventional measures typically used as normative criteria. The usual biasing effects of prior beliefs were found, along with an advantage for Ss who had prior theories—even incorrect ones—over Ss who were completely "objective." Potentially biasing beliefs both enhanced Ss' sensitivity to the bulk of the data and reduced the influence atypical scores had on their estimates. Evidence is provided that this robustness results from the fact that prior theories make judgment problems more meaningful. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenic memory-search performance involving nonverbal stimulus properties.

Investigated schizophrenic memory-search performance by conducting a memory-search choice-reaction-time (CRT) task involving nonverbal stimulus properties (real-life sizes of items). Procedures were designed to diminish ambiguities concerning previous evidence of possible schizophrenic impairment in scanning and comparison operations involving memory-held items. Ss (aged 18–60 yrs) were 20 paranoid and 20 nonparanoid schizophrenics, 20 psychiatric controls, and 20 normal Ss. Results indicate that scanning and comparison operations proceeded at comparable rates among the schizophrenics and controls. On the other hand, rates of encoding the presented stimulation for a given trial (the trial's probe item) into a task-facilitative format proceeded at a slower rate among the paranoid Ss in particular. Discussion focuses on specific memory-search CRT paradigmatic conditions in which intact speed of memorial item comparisons tended to be most evident among these patients. Results resemble earlier observations of the present 2nd author (see record 1978-31872-001) on memory-search CRT performance among paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics when probe stimulation has remained in view throughout each trial. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalization of dissonance reduction: Decreasing prejudice through induced compliance.

Three studies involving a total of 318 White college students demonstrated that induced compliance can change socially significant attitudes and that the change generalizes to broader beliefs. Ss wrote an essay endorsing a pro-Black policy that was costly to Whites. In Exps 1 and 2, attitudes and general beliefs about Blacks became more favorable in both high- and low-choice conditions, provided publicity of the essay was high. Overall, choice and publicity had additive effects on attitude change. Some high-choice Ss wrote only semipositive (semicompliant) essays and did not change their essay attitudes. Yet their beliefs about Blacks still became more favorable. In Exp 3, racial ambivalence, but not prior attitude, predicted essay compliance. Ambivalent Ss were more likely to comply than were less ambivalent Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child abuse and unrealistic expectations: Further validation of the Parent Opinion Questionnaire.

Compared the unrealistic expectations of 16 child abusing mothers with 14 mothers whose partners perpetrated the abuse in a 2nd validation study of the Parent Opinion Questionnaire (POQ). This comparison provided a more stringent test of the POQ's validity in that it controlled for nonspecific factors associated with being in a family identified for child maltreatment. Significantly greater unrealistic expectations of child behavior were found for abusing Ss than for control Ss. Analysis showed that the POQ correctly classified 83% of the Ss. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Embedded figures performance of schizophrenics as a function of chronicity, premorbid adjustment, diagnosis and medication.

Presents data on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) performance of 487 schizophrenics and other hospitalized patients divided in terms of chronicity, premorbid adjustment, diagnosis, and medication. Results indicate that chronicity was related to EFT performance, with chronic Ss generally more field dependent than acute Ss. Some schizophrenics, however, were relatively field dependent when entering the hospital and did not change with extensive hospitalization. Medication interacted with premorbid adjustment and diagnosis, with the medicated poor paranoid performing in a field-independent manner while the nonmedicated poor paranoid was quite field dependent. The effects of institutionalization are discussed. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenia and the scanning cognitive control: A reevaluation.

In recent studies it has been inferred from performance on perceptual tasks, that paranoid schizophrenics showed extensive scanning and nonparanoid schizophrenics showed minimal scanning. Eye movements during free-search and size-judgment tasks were recorded for 14 paranoid and 14 nonparanoid schizophrenics, 14 psychotic depressives, and 14 control Ss. Medicated Ss showed lower eyemovement rate and fixation rate than nonmedicated Ss and controls, but there were no significant differences due to schizophrenia. There was a significant interaction between patient type and medication for size-judgment means, but all such differences were reduced to nonsignificance by training. Even after training, Ss showed greater variability in size judgments than controls. Results failed to support the notion of extensive or minimal scanning behavior of schizophrenics. Errors by the psychotic patients in making size judgments were not correlated with scanning behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term retention in acute and chronic paranoid schizophrenics.

Administered 4 short-term memory tasks to 10 acute and 10 chronic paranoid schizophrenics (age ranges 17-45 and 21-58, respectively) and 10 18-54 yr old nonprofessional hospital staff members. Each task involved the recall of a different type of material varying in meaningfulness from letter trigrams to real word triads. Recall of the material always followed 15 sec of distracting activity designed to prevent rehearsal. Acute paranoid Ss tended to overinclude intralist and extralist responses especially when the more meaningful material was used, while the chronic Ss tended to omit many more responses (p     

Irrational beliefs and reactions to failure.

Predicted that 30 undergraduates with a strong tendency to endorse irrational beliefs, as measured by the Irrational Beliefs Test, would be more emotionally upset following a failure experience than would 30 Ss with little tendency to endorse irrational beliefs. Emotional upset was measured by the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (Anxiety) and Depression Adjective Check Lists and by performance decrements on digit-symbol coding and anagrams tasks. Results conform to the predicted relationship between irrational beliefs and emotional upset. High irrational Ss did not report more anxiety or depression than low irrational Ss, nor did the high irrational Ss show performance decrements following failure. Evidence concerning the validity of the Irrational Beliefs Test is reviewed. (French summary) (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blood pressure estimation and beliefs among normotensives and hypertensives.

14 medicated hypertensive, 15 nonmedicated mild hypertensive, 39 normotensive, and 13 hypotensive adults participated in a 1–2 hr laboratory experiment that assessed each S's symptoms, moods, and estimates of systolic blood pressure (SBP) relative to actual SBP levels. Several self-reports and autonomic measures were collected during and after each of 22 tasks. Within-S correlations indicated that all Ss could estimate SBP at levels greater than chance. Further, 68% of the Ss evidenced at least 1 significant symptom–SBP correlation. Although medicated hypertensives believed they could estimate their BP more accurately than other groups, they were actually no more accurate than the other Ss. They also evidenced far fewer empirically derived symptom–SBP and emotion–SBP correlations than any other group. Overall, blood pressure (BP) beliefs were largely inaccurate. If these erroneous beliefs can be eliminated, Ss may be able to estimate BP fluctuations more accurately. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)