Associative interference in the paired-associate learning of remitted and nonremitted schizophrenics.

This experiment replicates a previous study which showed that recently hospitalized schizophrenics and normals did not differ in susceptibility to associative interference. 80 long-term schizophrenics were divided into remitted and nonremitted groups according to current mental status. The nonremitted Ss tended to exhibit more associative interference than either the remitted Ss or the normals in the previous study (.05     

Microgenetic analysis of word associations in schizophrenic and brain-damaged patients.

Associations to the Kent-Rosanoff list of words were categorized as being "mature" or "immature" following the schema outlined by previous research (see 33: 8338). In that research, some support was found for the hypothesis that schizophrenics respond in a more "immature" manner than normals. The present study repeats the former one, adding a second group for comparison (a group of organics) in addition to the control group of normals. The results did not support the former study. Organics were found to be perseverative in "meaningful" responses to the word stimuli, but not to repeat irrelevant ones. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4JQ64M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimuli related to stress, neuroticism, excitation, and anxiety response patterns: Illustrating a new multivariate experimental design.

The present study serves both as a vehicle for the demonstration of a new research design which combines analysis of variance and factor analytic techniques, as well as to experimentally demonstrate that an affect assumed to be characteristic of a stimulus, e.g., anxiety, may be distinguished from the affect as experienced by a person. Moreover, anxiety is seen as a multivariate, not univariate, complex. The present findings are related to previous research by Cattell and his associates as well as what meaning this bears on other research, e.g., the Taylor Anxiety Scale. 23 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Item and response characteristics in attitude and personality measurement: A reaction to L. G. Rorer's "The great response-style myth."

However defined, response style is not a myth. Responses to personality items are the result of, among other things, (1) item content; (2) social desirability of this content; (3) form in which this content is stated, the proportion of each form of statement in an inventory; (4) the desire to dissimulate with respect to the content; and (5) response style. Responses to form of statement—reversed items—conform perfectly to 1 definition of response bias. The differences in correlational and other characteristics of sets of reversed items are a major cause for the confounding and confusion in the interpretation of studies of social desirability and acquiescence. The great need is for external validation studies in relation to the factors that influence personality-item responses. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)