GSR conditioning, anxiety, and extraversion.

"Hypotheses by Eysenck and Spence relating GSR conditioning to extraversion and anxiety, respectively, were examined… [Ss] scoring on the extremes of anxiety and extraversion were selected… . Using a conditioned response amplitude measure,… a significant positive relationship was found between anxiety and conditioning. No significant relationship was found between extraversion and conditioning… . The results give clear support to Spence's theory while failing to support that of Eysenck." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4CG27B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and anxiety differences in eyelid conditioning.

Data concerning the relationship between eyelid conditioning performance and 2 S variables, Ss' sex, and scores on the MA scale, are examined. In studies employing standard procedures, high-anxiety Ss were superior to low-anxiety Ss in 23 of 27 comparisons, and females superior to males in 18 of 19 comparisons. In contrast, the direction of the differences was split approximately equally between high- and low-anxiety Ss and between males and females in studies in which conditioning was presented within the context of masking probability-learning task. (31 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of manifest anxiety to stimulus generalization.

This study examined the relationship between anxiety and stimulus generalization in psychiatric patients. The results suggested that "there is no relationship between MAS [Manifest Anxiety Scale] and stimulus generalization in psychiatric Ss. Moreover, situational factors do not seem important in limiting the generality of such an interpretation. Since the relationships between anxiety and learning phenomena are generally well recognized, these negative results presumably reflect the inadequacy of the Taylor scale as a relevant index of anxiety levels in psychiatric subjects." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some relationships between manifest anxiety, authoritarian tendencies, and modes of reaction to frustration.

The relationship between authoritarianism and mental health was studied; authoritarianism was measured by the F scale, anxiety by the Taylor Scale, and reactions to frustration by the Child-Waterhouse scale. All intercorrelations of the scales were low but statistically significant. Correlations of authoritarianism and anxiety with each other, and each with intra- and extrapunitive tendencies were in the positive direction, and both correlated negatively with constructive resolutions of frustrating situations. 15 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroticism, extraversion, and the perception of the vertical.

The experiment is described for 47 male Ss tested on their ability to judge a luminous rod held vertical while they were tilted sidewise in a chair within a dark room. "No difference was found between those scoring high or low on neuroticism, but those scoring high on extraversion were significantly less accurate than were those scoring low." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of manifest anxiety and IQ on discrimination.

20 Ss were selected from a population of 400 high school students who had been given the Otis IQ test and the Taylor Scale of Manifest Anxiety so that five of them fell into each of the following groups: (a) high IQ, high anxiety, (b) high IQ low anxiety, (c) low IQ, low anxiety, and (d) low IQ, high anxiety. The Ss were asked to rate 10 attitudinal concepts on each of 10 scales. The results were tabulated to determine the frequency with which each S used each step in the scale. It was found that intelligence, as measured by the Otis IQ test, does significantly relate to scale discrimination. High IQ Ss made more use of the whole scale. High and low anxiety Ss make equally fine discriminations along a graduated series. However, IQ and anxiety do appear to interact with regard to discrimination. In general, the effect of increased anxiety on high IQ Ss is to make them less discriminating. The reverse effect is found for low IQ Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediated generalization and the incubation effect as a function of manifest anxiety.

"Two groups of 45 Ss each were chosen on the basis of extreme scores on the MAS [Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale]. A conditioned PGR was first established by repeated pairings of a critical word (CS) with a raucous buzzer. Tests of mediated generalization were made following training, using as generalization stimuli, words to which the CS was associated as determined by free associations of a standardization group. In order to investigate the incubation effect the Ss were divided following training into three subgroups differing in the length of the rest interval between conclusion of training and the institution of extinction trials (immediate extinction, 10-min. interval, and 24-hr. interval). The results indicated heightened responsivity towards words associated with the CS, thus indicating that mediated generalization had taken place. It was also found that extreme MAS scores were directly related to the magnitude of mediated generalization responsivity." Level of manifest anxiety was found to be directly related to conditioning responsivity as well as to resistance to extinction. 20 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

UCS intensity and performance in eyelid conditioning.

Studies of the effects of UCS intensity on performance in human eyelid conditioning are reviewed, particularly with respect to a recent claim that this variable determines the proportion of Ss who condition and not the performance level of individual Ss. The evidence reviewed clearly indicates that UCS intensity does affect the level of performance in Ss who condition. The function involved appears to be negatively accelerated and to approach an asymptote within a relatively small range of intensity values. These effects of UCS intensity are interpreted as reflecting both motivational and associative factors. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual rigidity and closure as functions of anxiety.

Ss chosen from an introductory class in psychology were given the Grice Revision of the Taylor Scale of Manifest Anxiety. High and low scorers were evenly divided as to sex and assigned to threatening or non-threatening instruction groups. Perceptual tasks were then administered. The results indicated that threat induced anxiety modified perceptual processes significantly in the case of tachistoscopic closure, rigidity, and stability. These three functions involve maintaining constancy of a previously established percept in the face of incompatible cues from the environment. Manifest anxiety was related only to the stability test. (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)     

Relationship of a measure of self-actualization to neuroticism and extraversion.

To examine the relationships between personality constructs of "neuroticism" and "self-actualization," the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a measure of self-actualization, and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), a measure of neuroticism-stability and extraversion-introversion were each administered to a sample of 136 undergraduate college students. Ss were selected on the basis of scores on the neuroticism dimension to form a "high" neurotic group and a "low" neurotic group, and mean scores were obtained for each group on each of the POI scales. All mean differences were significant at or beyond the .05 level. Thus, even though developed from somewhat differing theoretical considerations, the present instruments appear to be tapping a common core of mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential relations of depression and social anxiety symptoms to the facets of extraversion/positive emotionality.

Previous research has shown that both depression and social anxiety—2 facets of internalizing psychopathology—are characterized by low levels of extraversion/positive emotionality (E/PE). However, little is known about the relations of the facets of E/PE with the symptoms of depression and social anxiety. This study utilized multiple measures of each facet of E/PE, as well as depression and social anxiety symptoms. Self-report data were collected from large samples of college students and psychiatric outpatients. Separate factor analyses in each sample revealed a 4-factor structure of E/PE consisting of Sociability, Positive Emotionality, Ascendance, and Fun-Seeking. Structural equation modeling revealed that, after controlling for the higher order internalizing factor and the overlap among the E/PE facets, social anxiety was broadly related to all 4 facets of E/PE, whereas depression was strongly related to only low positive emotionality. Implications for hierarchical models of personality and psychopathology, assessment and treatment, and etiological models are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety (drive) level and performance in eyelid conditioning.

Studies from the Iowa laboratory and elsewhere that have involved a comparison of the eyelid conditioning performance of Ss scoring at the extremes of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety (MA) scale are reviewed. In 21 of 25 independent comparisons, differences between groups were in favor of the high anxiety (HA) Ss, with the majority being statistically significant. Although these data provide substantial confirmation of the implication of the drive interpretation of MA scale that HA Ss should exhibit a higher level of performance than LA Ss, an attempt was made to ascertain what factors might be responsible for failure of the difference to occur in some studies. The major factors appeared to be small numbers of Ss and the presence of "voluntary form" responders in the samples. Significant differences appear to be related to the degree of experimental naiveté of the Ss and the extent to which the experimental situation is designed to arouse some degree of apprehensiveness. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size estimation of pictures associated with success and failure as a function of manifest anxiety.

"An experiment was performed to test the hypothesis that the size of a picture associated with failure would be overestimated relative to that of a picture associated with success and control pictures primarily by Ss with high scores on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale… . The results showed that, in accordance with the hypothesis, high MAS Ss significantly overestimated the size of the failure picture… but the low MAS group showed an insignificant trend in the opposite direction. In addition, it was shown that the 'psychological' anxiety items of the Taylor scale related significantly to the success-failure difference in size estimation, but the 'somatic' items did not." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2HK57Z. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in children's verbal behavior as a function of social approval and manifest anxiety.

"This study investigated the operant conditioning of a class of verbal behavior as a function of manifest anxiety and of two types of social approval in grade school children. Anxiety levels were inferred from the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Social reinforcers consisted of a 'head nod' and the verbalization 'good.' Acquisition of a verbal conditioned response was obtained in both reinforcement groups with the verbal reinforcer being significantly better than physical movement. Anxiety effects were not demonstrable." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the effects of introversion-extraversion and anxiety of conditoning.

This study investigates the effects of Eysenck's introversion-extraversion theory and Spence-Taylor's concept of anxiety on the eyeblink conditioned response by varying these factors independently. 56 patients were subjected to conditions of high and low anxiety. Group I (anxious group) were about to undergo major surgery; Group II (nonanxious group) were patients who had successfully recovered. These patients were divided into high introverts and high extraverts, yielding 4 groups (anxious introverts anxious extraverts, nonanxious introverts, nonanxious extraverts). The anxious groups showed greater conditioning than the nonanxious groups and no significant differences were found between the high and low introvert groups, supporting the hypothesis that total drive is, in part, a function of internal anxiety. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Manifest" anxiety, neurotic anxiety, and the rate of conditioning.

"The validity of the Taylor Scale of Manifest Anxiety was examined with a view to reconciling the contradictory results of the studies of the relation between anxiety and the rate of conditioning… . The results indicated that different scores on the scale do not represent different degrees of manifest anxiety, though the scores within a limited range (19 to 33) are more likely to be associated with a clinical diagnosis of "anxious" than are scores above and below this range." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introversion, neuroticism, and conditioning.

73 university students were tested with 50 acquisition and 20 extinction trials in a finger withdrawal procedure using a strong electric shock as the unconditioned stimulus and a tone as the conditioned stimulus. The GSR was conditioned to the tone simultaneously. While there were high correlations between acquisition and extinction scores for each conditioning procedure, there were no significant correlations between the 2—a result inconsistent with the presence of a strong general factor of conditionability, and possibly related to the fact that one type of conditioning depends merely on "contiguity," whereas "drive reduction" is important for the other. None of the conditioning indices were significantly correlated with introversion, neuroticism, or manifest anxiety as assessed by various questionnaires, or with an independent psychiatric rating of anxiety based on an interview. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some relationships between GSR conditioning and judgments of anxiety.

"The aim of the present study was to investigate… the relationship between GSR conditioning and various clinical judgments of anxiety in a sample of psychiatric patients conditioned under presumably optimal procedures… . anxiety groups ranked on the basis of admission psychological data… were found to be significantly different in conditionability." This was not so with Ss ranked via the Taylor MA scale, and "anxiety groups revealed no significant differences in extinction." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manifest anxiety and prestimulus conductance levels.

"This study investigated the functional relationship between conductance levels and an index of manifest anxiety. A curvilinear relationship was found and discussed in relation to the use of conductance level as an index of emotionality." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)