Personal constructs and predictive behavior.

"Starting with the assumption of the psychology of personal constructs that each individual develops and makes use of a set of constructs in attempting to predict and control his environment, the effects of apparent failure in prediction were studied in relation to 2 kinds of construct (constellatory and propositional) differentiated on the basis of their range of interdependency. 3 specific hypotheses were tested and each found experimental support. From these findings, it might be concluded that there is an inverse relationship between the range of inter-dependency of a construct and its susceptibility to change following predictive failure. Several possible implications of these findings are discussed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal constructs and the semantic differential.

"In accord with Kelly's (1955) emphasis on the importance of personal meaningfulness to the subject in psychological measurement, the possibility of employing personal constructs within the semantic differential technique was investigated. A direct relationship was predicted between the personal meaningfulness of scales and the degree to which the concepts rated by the scales are saturated with meaning. The prediction was supported. Furthermore, increased saturation does not appear to occur at the expense of 'distortion' in the semantic field." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HE33M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal constructs and the perception of individual differences.

Used the repertory grid method with 24 undergraduates to investigate the hypothesis that skill in inferring the personal constructs of others is related to the level of differentiation achieved by S in structuring his social environment in terms of his own construct system. It was found that if Ss characterized close personal associates in a way that was consistent with the structure of their own self-concepts, Ss were less accurate in discriminating between 2 new acquaintances in terms of the latters' own previously-elicited personal constructs. However, Ss who differentiated between themselves and close associates on the grid performed such discriminations more accurately. (French summary) (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal constructs and psychodynamic psychotherapy: A case study.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 24(1) of Psychoanalytic Psychology (see record 2007-00135-015). An error was made in the reproduction of figures 5 and 6. The corrected versions are provided with the erratum.] During a short term, psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy, a college student's salient constructs regarding her self and her object representations were elicited via the Role Construct Repertory Test. The course of this psychotherapy is traced and is examined with regard to the information provided by component analyses of these repertory grids. The aims of this article are to demonstrate the utility of an independent measure such as repertory grids for 1) additional understanding of the patient's modes of construing self and others; 2) establishing meaningful foci for a short-term treatment; 3) providing information for a more considered set of interpretive interventions regarding key conflicts; and 4) considering changes and outcome in light of the foci of the treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenia, personal constructs, and Riedel's constructs.

W. Riedel's (see record 1971-04332-001) report of an investigation of personal constructs, using schizophrenics as Ss, encourages criticism of 2 major aspects of such endeavors. Unwarranted application of the disease model as a paradigm for studying undesirable conduct produces a series of strategy errors: (a) weak explication of linkages between theory and measurements; (b) noninclusion of relevant demographic data; (c) uncritical acceptance of admission diagnosis as definition of the independent variable psychosis; (d) omission of statistics which could reveal extensive overlap of samples; (e) overlooking the effects of disguised variables (e.g., "hospitalization"); and (f) implicit use of formistic metaphysical assumptions. In addition, Riedel's use of personal construct theory draws criticism for the logical inadequacies shown as he tries to use a standard personality theory to isolate the correlates of psychosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal control over aversive stimuli and its relationship to stress.

Reviews experimental research relating types of personal control to the experience of stress. 3 main types of personal control may be distinguished: (a) behavioral (direct action on the environment), (b) cognitive (the interpretation of events), and (c) decisional (having a choice among alternative courses of action). Each type of control is related to stress in a complex fashion, sometimes increasing it, sometimes reducing it, and sometimes having no influence at all. It may be generally said that the relationship of personal control to stress is primarily a function of the meaning of the control response for the individual, i.e., the stress-inducing or stress-reducing properties of personal control depend upon the nature of the response and the context in which it is embedded and not just upon its effectiveness in preventing or mitigating the impact of a potentially harmful stimulus. (66 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal control and stress and coping processes: A theoretical analysis.

Analyzes the role of personal stress and coping processes from the perspective of a cognitively oriented theory developed by R. S. Lazarus and colleagues, beginning in 1951. Believing that an event is controllable does not always lead to a reduction in stress or to a positive outcome, and believing that an event is uncontrollable does not always lead to an increase in stress or to a negative outcome. The present author shows how 2 forms of control, generalized beliefs about control and situational appraisals of control, fit into the overall model of Lazarus and colleagues. Situational appraisals of control are explored, especially as they relate to health matters. The theoretical formulation of stress and coping is drawn on to examine 3 important issues: (a) how believing one has control in a stressful transaction can heighten threat, (b) the relationship between control and coping, and (c) pathways through which control can affect the adaptational outcomes of stressful encounters. (88 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenia, personal constructs, and Riedel's constructs: A rejoinder.

Responds to the criticisms of J. Mancuso and T. Sarbin (see PA, Vol. 48: Issue 5) that a previous study by the author contributed nothing to the construct of schizophrenia and that his methodology was inappropriate in dealing with G. Kelly's personal constructs. Emphasis is placed on the theoretical notions upon which the study was based. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal and environmental predictors of posttraumatic stress in emergency management professionals.

Among first responders and other emergency workers in the disaster ecology, an understudied group is that of emergency management professionals (EMP). These individuals share many of the same role conflicts and ambiguities as do health care workers and as a group have been part of national discussions about their role in post-Katrina recovery. Though they have frequent exposures to professional stressors, little is known about the personality traits, cultural issues, and role conflicts that might contribute to their ability to withstand posttraumatic stress symptoms or to grow from their work roles. This research explored 3 models that attempt to explain how previously identified personality traits and role issues such as trauma exposure, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among similar helpers and first responders might predict posttraumatic stress symptoms in EMPs. A sample of 197 participants was recruited using an online methodology, and data were analyzed using hierarchical regression. The results supported a model containing neuroticism and extraversion, trauma exposure frequency, burnout, and compassion satisfaction, accounting for the most variance in predicting PTSD symptoms. Neuroticism, burnout, and compassion satisfaction were found to be significant individual positive predictors, whereas ethnic identity did not significantly contribute to variance or serve as a moderator with trauma exposure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of assertive training and homosexual guidance service groups designed to improve homosexual functioning.

Proposes that clinicians should develop research-based procedures for homosexuals that are designed to facilitate homosexual functioning. Assertive training is considered as such a procedure. 27 male, 17-45 yr old Ss were randomly assigned to a behaviorally oriented assertive training group or a nondirective group run by a homosexual guidance service. Pre- and postassessment on 4 self-report measures indicated improvement in both groups but no between-group differences. Behavioral measures did not show change. It is suggested that procedures to facilitate assertiveness and confidence in homosexual functioning can be effective and should be more widely explored. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symptomatology and the use of affect constructs to influence value and behavior constructs.

This study examined participants' tendency to use affective constructs to influence nonaffective constructs (behavioral and valuative), as well as their ability to generate affective constructs. Using a modified repertory grid procedure, 131 participants compared each combination of affective, valuative, and behavioral constructs so as to make decisions about the relative influence of these constructs. Low-symptom participants did not differ from high-symptom participants in the frequency of affective constructs generated. However, when participants were asked to make decisions about personal change, low-symptom participants' affective constructs influenced their nonaffective constructs more frequently than did those of high-symptom participants. It is suggested that high-symptom participants do not necessarily have difficulty in identifying affective experiences but have difficulty in using affect to alter their constructions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors as theoretical constructs.

The essential question this paper asks is: "What is a factor?" The answer which emerges is "cast in terms of Margenau's C and P planes and Feigl's nomological net. A factor is seen as a variable, process, or determinant which accounts for covariation in a specified domain of observation. Within the standard paradigm of S-O-R, the conceptual focus of factor analysis is on O variables." Factors are seen as variables which mediate between S inputs and R outputs. "Factors, as such, do not provide the empirical and rational equations which link theoretical constructs. Factor analysis can only identify those constructs which can eventually be related by mathematical equations. All factors are operationally defined." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical and biochemical characteristics of homosexual men.

Compared the height, weight, obesity, muscularity linearity, biacromial-bi-iliac ratio, and muscle strength of 44 homosexual and 111 heterosexual men. Homosexuals had less subcutaneous fat and smaller muscle/bone development and were longer in proportion to bulk. Their shoulders were narrower in relation to pelvic width, and their muscle strength was less. Linearity and muscularity were related to childhood build and certain behaviors. Urinary metabolites and blood serum lipids were compared for smaller groups (27-28 homosexuals, 109-111 heterosexuals). The homosexuals had lower creatinine and 17-ketogenic steroid levels, lower androsterone-etiocholanolone ratio, and higher 11-keto-etiocholanolone. They also had lower triglycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol, and beta-lipoproteins. It is concluded that the data support the thesis of an unidentified common factor underlying physical and personality characteristics and homosexuality. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of cognitive models of depression: Relationships between cognitive constructs and cognitive diathesis–stress match.

The authors examined the relationship between the cognitive components of the Beckian and Hopelessness models of depression by administering measures of dysfunctional attitudes, attributional style, and life stress to a sample of 59 depressed adults. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that dysfunctional attitudes and attributional style load on separate factors as opposed to a single factor. Additional analyses revealed that depressed persons conforming to diathesis-stress criteria according to each model were largely independent of one another. Results supported the conclusion that the Beckian and Hopelessness models of depression describe distinct cognitive constructs and refer to distinct subsets of depressed persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood parental relationships of homosexual men.

Administered a 27-item questionnaire adapted from I. Bieber, et al. (see 40:2) to 43 homosexual and 142 hetersexual men in order to determine whether certain items which Bieber, et al. had reported as differentiating homosexual and hetersexual males who were in psychotherapy would also differentiate similar groups who had never sought psychotherapy. Data were based on retrospective self-reports regarding childhood fears and activities, and interparental and parent-child relationships. In the Bieber study, each S's psychoanalyst completed the questionnaire, so that their data were based on analysts' reconstructions of Ss' early lives. Results from the present study were similar to Bieber's in revealing more "negative" features in the backgrounds of the homosexuals. Results were considered neither to support nor refute the Bieber conclusions regarding the etiological importance of parental relationships in homosexuality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biphasic aspects of homosexual identity formation.

Contends that during adolesence when homosexual self-labeling first occurs, the simultaneous awareness of homoerotic desires and the social odium associated with them tends to bring about conflict and a suppression of homosexual promptings among many homosexual males. The most common developmental consequence of this inhibition is a confounding of the process of identity formation. A biphasic pattern of identity development may occur so that during the 3rd decade or later unfinished psychological tasks of primary adolescence are resumed. It is suggested that the psychodynamics and phenomenology of this 2nd phase of identity formation bear a striking resemblance to those of primary psychological adolescence. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prenatal estrogens and the development of homosexual orientation.

In psychobiological research on sexual orientation, the prenatal hormone theory has a central position. This article examines the hypothesis that prenatal estrogens contribute to the development of human sexual orientation. Several groups of women with a history of prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES), a nonsteroidal synthetic estrogen, were compared with several samples of control women in the context of a comprehensive study of the psychiatric and psychologic effects of prenatal DES. Various aspects of sexual orientation were assessed by systematic interview. Consistently across samples, more DES-exposed women than controls were rated as bisexual or homosexual (scores 2–6 on Kinsey-format scales ranging from 0 to 6). The data are compatible with the hypothesis that prenatal estrogens may play a role in the development of human sexual orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Homophobia and physical aggression toward homosexual and heterosexual individuals.

This study examined the relationship between homophobia (defined as self-reported negative affect, avoidance, and aggression toward homosexuals) and homosexual aggression. Self-identified heterosexual college men were assigned to homophobic (n?=?26) and nonhomophobic (n?=?26) groups on the basis of their scores on the Homophobia Scale (HS; L. W. Wright, H. E. Adams, & J. A. Bernat, 1999). Physical aggression was examined by having participants administer shocks to a fictitious opponent during a competitive reaction time (RT) task under the impression that the study was examining the relationship between sexually explicit material and RT. Participants were exposed to a male homosexual erotic videotape, their affective reactions were assessed, and they then competed in the RT task against either a heterosexual or a homosexual opponent. The homophobic group reported significantly more negative affect, anxiety, and anger-hostility after watching the homosexual erotic videotape than did the nonhomophobic group. Additionally, the homophobic group was significantly more aggressive toward the homosexual opponent, but the groups did not differ in aggression toward the heterosexual opponent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)