Continued word association in hypothetically psychosis-prone college students.

White male undergraduates who scored deviantly high (2 standard deviations above the mean) on the Physical Anhedonia Scale, the Perceptual Aberration/Magical Ideation (Per/Mag) Scale, or the Nonconformity Scale were compared with controls on either a structured (n?=?63) or an unstructured (n?=?81) continued word-association task. This task has often been used as a measure of psychotic thought disorder. On the unstructured word-association task, Per/Mag Ss produced proportionately more unusual idiosyncratic responses, proportionately fewer common responses, fewer popular responses, and lower response commonality scores than did controls, and these differences were due to those Per/Mag Ss who had also scored at least 1 standard deviation above the mean on the Nonconformity Scale. These findings show mild cognitive slippage in these Ss. Results support the validity of the Per/Mag Scale as a measure of psychosis proneness and the validity of the Nonconformity Scale as a potentiator in the identification of psychosis proneness. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social deficits in hypothetically psychosis-prone college women.

Identified hypothetically psychosis-prone female college students (aged 17–20 yrs) by scales of Physical Anhedonia (n?=?25), Perceptual Aberration (n?=?32), and Nonconformity (n?=?26) and compared them with 27 controls on a role-playing task calling for social skill in interpersonal situations. All 3 groups of experimental Ss exceeded controls on social inappropriateness of response. The anhedonic Ss were significantly more avoidant and more odd than were controls. The perceptual aberration Ss were more odd and more hostile, and the nonconformity Ss were more hostile than were controls. Nevertheless, the experimental Ss were not inferior to controls on overall skill level. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Susceptibility to Type A backward pattern masking among hypothetically psychosis-prone college students.

Evaluated the Type A backward masking functions of individuals defined as vulnerable to psychosis by their scores on psychosis-proneness scales developed by L. J. Chapman et al (see record 1982-20120-001). An initial screening battery consisting of the MMPI and the Chapman scales was administered to 455 undergraduates. 10 Ss identified as belonging to a physical anhedonia group and 10 Ss with a perceptual aberration-magical ideation (per-mag) were compared with 10 normal control Ss on the visual masking task. Two dependent measures were evaluated: critical stimulus duration (CSD) in a no-mask condition and mean target identification as a function of varying interstimulus intervals. No differences were obtained in CSD values among groups. However, both psychosis-prone groups had significantly fewer correct identifications of target stimuli than did control Ss on the masking portion of the study. Results are discussed in terms of susceptibility to Type A backward masking as a potential marker of vulnerability to schizophrenia and in terms of the validity of the Chapman scales as measures of psychosis proneness. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handedness of hypothetically psychosis-prone subjects.

It has been reported that more schizophrenic individuals than normal subjects exhibit nonrighthandedness. A group of 7,457 college students were administered a measure of handedness as well as three psychosis-proneness scales, namely, the Perceptual Aberration-Magical Ideation Scale (Chapman, Chapman, & Raulin, 1978; Eckblad & Chapman, 1983), the Impulsive Nonconformity Scale (Chapman et al., 1984), and the Physical Anhedonia Scale (Chapman, Chapman, & Raulin, 1976). The number of subjects scoring high on the Perceptual Abberation-Magical Ideation Scale or the Impulsive Nonconformity Scale (or both) exceeded the number of control subjects on the incidence of ambilateral (mixed) handedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communication effectiveness in psychosis-prone college students.

Studied 70 college students who scored deviantly high on 1 of 3 scales that are hypothesized to measure psychosis-proneness: the Physical Anhedonia Scale, Perceptual Aberration Scale, and the Nonconformity Scale. These Ss were compared with 26 controls on a word-communication task (S. Rosenberg and B. D. Cohen, 1966). Prior evidence supports this task as a measure of schizophrenic failure to self-edit utterances to facilitate communication. The perceptually aberrant Ss, especially those who also scored above the median on nonconformity, were inferior to controls on this task, but not on a vocabulary control task. Findings suggest that these perceptually aberrant nonconforming Ss may be at higher-than-normal risk for psychosis. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive thought disorder in a hypothetically psychosis-prone population.

Proverb interpretations of subjects who scored high on the Perceptual Aberration-Magical Ideation Scale (Per-Mags) (Chapman & Chapman, 1985) were compared with those of low-scoring controls. Responses to 10 familiar and 3 unfamiliar proverbs were scored for Bizarre-idiosyncratic thinking (J. Marengo et al; see record 1987-30079-001) and literalness (C. A. Hertler et al; see record 1979-12346-001). A Group by Type of Proverb (familiar versus unfamiliar) interaction was found for bizarre-idiosyncratic scores; Per-Mags scored higher than controls on unfamiliar, but not familiar proverbs. The Group?×?Familiarity interaction for bizarre-idiosyncratic scores indicates that the Per-Mag group displayed a subclinical, positive-thought disorder that is affected by the familiarity of the proverbs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the 2-7-8 MMPI profile and the Perceptual Aberration—Magical Ideation Scale in identifying hypothetically psychosis-prone college students.

Compared college students with 2-7-8 profiles (from the D, Pt, and Sc scales, respectively) on the MMPI and students scoring high on the Perceptual Aberration–Magical Ideation (PAMIS) Scale on symptoms that are thought to indicate psychosis proneness. A modified Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia—Lifetime Version interview revealed that the PAMIS group (19 males, 22 females) and 2-7-8-group (19 males, 20 females) did not differ on the number of Ss with psychotic and psychoticlike experiences. For both sexes, however, the PAMIS group exceeded the 2-7-8 group on the number of schizotypal experiences; the male PAMIS group also surpassed the male 2-7-8 group on hypomania. The groups were similar on depression and several other disorders as defined by Research Diagnostic Criteria. Findings suggest that some of the Ss identified by both scales were at elevated risk for psychosis. However, because only 3 Ss were selected by both scales, the MMPI 2-7-8 profile and the PAMIS selected different groups from that population. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual asymmetry in psychosis-prone college students: Evidence for left-hemisphere overactivation.

The hypothesis that psychosis-prone students demonstrate a pattern of exaggerated perceptual asymmetry across both left- and right-hemisphere dichotic-listening tasks (consonant-vowel [CV] and tonal contour discrimination) was investigated. Ss who scored high on the Perceptual Aberration or Magical Ideation scale or both (n?=?20) demonstrated a significantly exaggerated right-ear advantage on a CV task in relation to normal control Ss (n?=?27) but showed a reduced left-ear advantage on a tone task. The hypothesis of exaggerated functional lateralization across hemispheres in the psychosis-prone Ss was not supported, but the results are consistent with a hypothesis of left hemisphere overactivation in this sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational interests and career indecision among psychosis-prone college students

This study investigated the relationship between scores on scales that purport to measure psychosis-proneness and scores on vocational interests, identity, and differentiation scales in a sample of 233 college students who completed the Perceptual Aberration and Magical Ideation scales, the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory, and the Career Decision Scale. The present findings are consistent with prior work indicating a sex-related association of scores on measures of psychosis-proneness and vocational interests. A positive correlation between scores on vocational indecision and measures of psychosis-proneness was also found, suggesting that both men and women who score high on psychosis-proneness find it difficult to formulate long-term career goals. Finally, there was no significant correlation between scores on measures of psychosis-proneness and Holland's Vocational Differentiation Index. Present results are discussed in light of previously reported sex differences among psychosis-prone adults and diagnosed schizophrenics. The implications of the findings for vocational counselors are also addressed.     

Prediction of college performance in older students.

Asked 543 middle-aged undergraduates (over 35 yrs old), entering or returning to a university, to take a precollege aptitude test battery (Washington Pre-College Test). Of these students, 100 women and 53 men volunteered to take the test but did not differ on any of 9 comparisons from middle-aged nonvolunteers. Compared to university freshmen, median scores for older students were above the 75th percentile for freshmen on vocabulary and spelling and below the 25th freshman percentile on quantitative tests. On the other tests, they were not significantly different from younger students of the same sex. Predicting grades in humanities, social science, natural science, and business, as well as cumulative grades and rate of progress, was best accomplished through multiple prediction using background factors in addition to test scores. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer influence on bulimic symptoms in college students.

This longitudinal study examined the influence of peer selection and socialization on bulimic symptoms in college students. Ninety-eight participants completed measures of bulimic symptoms, self-esteem, perfectionism, and impulsivity in the spring and fall of 2003. Peer influence was assessed by examining similarity among selected peers, unselected peers, and nonpeers over time. Among selected peers, bulimic symptoms demonstrated patterns of socialization, self-esteem and perfectionism demonstrated patterns of selection, and these personality traits longitudinally predicted changes in bulimic symptoms. Unselected peers demonstrated no similarity for bulimia, self-esteem, or perfectionism, but they did evidence socialization for impulsivity. The findings support an etiological model that integrates social and individual risk factors in creating environments that influence disordered eating among college students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of a metacontrast and a paracontrast procedure to assess the visual information processing of hypothetically schizotypic college students.

Compared the metacontrast and paracontrast performance of 2 groups of hypothetically schizotypic college students with that of a psychiatric control group and normal control group. There were 12 undergraduate Ss in each group. Ss were defined by 2 sets of criteria: (1) the 2-7-8 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profile and (2) the 8-9 MMPI profile. The quality of the short-term visual store (STVS) was evaluated through the use of a critical stimulus duration (CSD) procedure. Speed of information transfer from the STVS into short-term memory was assessed in the metacontrast condition. Schizotypics demonstrated impaired speed of information transfer in comparison with controls. However, as expected, no group differences in paracontrast effects were found. Ss in the 2-7-8 group (showing vulnerability to schizophrenia) evidenced a significant CSD deficit when compared with the other 3 groups. Results suggest that vulnerability to backward masking may be a trait marker of schizophrenia. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative affect and the reporting of physical symptoms among college students.

This study examined relations between negative affect and the reporting of physical symptoms for a group of college students by empirically deriving, through cluster analyses, two profiles that differed in their levels of trait anxiety, trait anger, and depressive symptoms, and then evaluating differences in symptom reporting between these two profiles. Analyses revealed that persons with an elevated profile of negative affect reported being bothered by physical complaints statistically more often than those persons with the converse profile. Additional analyses indicated that the relation between levels of negative affect and physical complaints was mediated by trait anxiety. Physical symptom reporting is discussed in the context of its being a possible correlate of neuroticism. The mediating role of anxiety and implications for counseling are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual biases in psychosis-prone individuals.

College students screened for psychosis-proneness using the Chapman scales were compared on 4 free-vision tasks that typically yield left-spatial-field biases. The tasks included 2 chimeric face tests, consisting of happy/neutral faces and male/female faces, and 2 nonface tasks, consisting of pairs of dot-filled or gradient-filled rectangles. Participants endorsing perceptual aberration items, magical ideation items, or both (n?=?98) and control participants (n?=?112) were left-biased on all tasks but gradients and were most biased on emotion faces; in contrast, i.e., social anhedonia participants (n?=?40) displayed very little or no left-field biases. For all groups, task intercorrelations were greatest between the 2 face tasks and between the 2 nonface tasks. These findings suggest patterns of atypical perceptual asymmetry in psychosis-prone individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of self-disclosure in college students.

Administered a battery of tests and a self-disclosure task to 14 male and 24 female undergraduates to determine correlates of initial level of self-disclosure. Among the results it was found that Ss with higher needs for social approval were more evasive, and that sex was significantly related to self-disclosure. Males were less open and less prone to report negative characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communication with college students.

Discusses the problems of communication with college students which are part of the alienation pattern that developed during the 1960s. Many Ss now actively distrust psychological tests and experiments; and neither these Ss nor the compliant Ss who want to give the investigator whatever he wants can be a source of objective data. To remedy this alienation requires better methods of communication. Conspicuous among the forms of "metacommunication" which undermine the communicative process are the deception of Ss and artificially controlled experiments on human affective states (e.g., frustration). Methods for restoring communication with students should include the reinstatement of interviews in test designs, awareness of the changing values of Ss and appropriate modification of assessment procedures, and the development of better theories of communication, since most communication models of the past have been too objective, ignoring intrapersonal processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of mental illness in college students on the basis of "nonpsychiatric" MMPI profiles.

34 clinicians with varying amounts of experience and 7 inexperienced graduate students made predictions of "mental illness" based on MMPI profile data alone. Included were profiles of 70 entering freshmen, some of whom had received psychiatric treatment within approximately 2 yr. following enrollment. Of the 34 "experienced" clinicians, only 4 failed to predict better than chance expectation. Their mean percentage of "hits" (63%) was statistically reliable (p     

Authoritarian ideology in Negro college students.

Likert-like opinion-attitude scales of anti-Negro and anti-white ideologies, the California E scale (anti-Negro subscale omitted), F scale, and a revision of the PEC scale were administered to Negro students in colleges with primarily Negro enrollment. Intercorrelations were moderate and positive. Mean scores indicated group tendencies to disagree with ethnocentric and anti-white ideologies but to agree with authoritarian, anti-Negro, and conservative ideologies. Concluded that Negro middle class attempts "to identify with stereotyped white middleclass values and to dissociate itself from other Negroes." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crisis and response in college students.

Assessed crises and subsequent behavioral responses in 69 male and 119 female undergraduates. It was possible to reliably sort both crises and responses into 3 distinct categories. 3 specific hypotheses relating crisis to response were then tested, with 2 supported by chi-square analyses. Frustration most often was resolved by changing goals. External pressure produced active coping behaviors. Conflict appeared to be the most difficult crisis to solve. There was no significant difference in pattern of response due to sex. Implications for crisis intervention and personality theory are noted. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detection of feigned ADHD in college students.

Significant motivations and incentives exist for young-adult students to seek a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With ADHD information readily accessible on the Internet, today's students are likely to be symptom educated prior to evaluation. This may result in false-positive diagnoses, particularly when students are motivated to convey symptoms. We evaluated the utility of ADHD symptom checklists, neurocognitive tests, and measures initially developed to detect feigned neurocognitive or psychiatric dysfunction (symptom validity tests [SVTs]). The performance of 31 undergraduates financially motivated and coached about ADHD via Internet-derived information was compared to that of 29 ADHD undergraduates following medication washout and 14 students not endorsing symptomatology. Results indicated malingerers readily produced ADHD-consistent profiles. Symptom checklists, including the ADHD Rating Scale and Conners's Adult ADHD Rating Scale–Self-Rating Form: Long, were particularly susceptible to faking. Conners's Continuous Performance Test—II findings appeared more related to motivation than condition. Promising results were seen with all cognitive SVTs (Test of Memory Malingering [TOMM], Digit Memory Test, Letter Memory Test, and Nonverbal–Medical Symptom Validity Test), particularly TOMM Trial 1 when scored using Trial 2 criteria. All SVTs demonstrated very high specificity for the ADHD condition and moderate sensitivity to faking, which translated into high positive predictive values at rising base rates of feigning. Combining 2 or more failures resulted in only modest declines in sensitivity but robust specificity. Results point to the need for a thorough evaluation of history, cognitive and emotional functioning, and the consideration of exaggerated symptomatology in the diagnosis of ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)