Some personality correlates of concept change through role playing.

Ss were required to write their opinions on alcohol before and after being read a piece favoring a conservative policy towards the sale of alcohol. Ss were differentially informed that the piece was a speech from a person of high social status (minister) or low status (anonymous). Half the Ss were asked to write their opinion as if they favored the sale of alcohol. The degree to which the source of the information, role playing, and degree of authoritarian aspect of S's personality affected the ultimate opinion was studied. Role playing was most effective in changing opinions held by authoritarian Ss, as was the source of the communication. Authoritarian Ss were distinguished by their capacity to remember data less accurately. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD25H. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of picture preferences.

Preference for certain structural dimensions of pictures (color, degree of abstract representation, human-non-human content) was related to personality factors (as measured by 3 inventories). Ss were VA psychiatric patients and college students. Of the 189 intercorrelations of variables for the 224 Ss, 22 were statistically significant; these are presented and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological test and organismic correlates of interview interaction patterns.

Certain behavioral variables which characterize an individual's interview interaction pattern can be assessed by the Interaction Chronograph method. It was found that individuals who speak in short utterances are less intelligent and more stereotyped in their psychological test productions. Initiative during the silence period of the interview is hypothesized to be related to self-assurance. The individual with a high "patient's dominance" score tends toward stereotypy and rigidity. It was also found that female patients are relatively less submissive than male patients. 16 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental investigations of the genesis of visual space perception.

The methodology and findings of 3 categories of experimental studies are reviewed and evaluated: (a) studies of organisms that have been deprived of visual stimulation until the time of testing, (b) studies of newborn organisms that are tested soon after birth, and (c) studies in which E controls the visual stimulation to which O is exposed from birth to the time of testing. The evidence provided by these experiments suggests that conclusions about the genetic basis of space perception will differ depending on the stimulus correlates under consideration.—(47 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual and group correlates of attitudes toward work-related changes.

Questionnaire and personnel file data were obtained from 278 workers. "Employees may perceive change as a source of threat to social aspects of their job, as indicated both by the less favorable attitudes of females and by the negative correlation between group cohesiveness and Group Change scores. Situational factors, manifested in supervisory attitudes and group cohesiveness, appear to be important conditioners of change attitudes in the work group. Individual differences in attitudes toward change may reflect differences in the capacity to adjust to change conditions. Finally, readiness for change may be related to a complex of needs including variety, status, and self-expression at work." From Psyc Abstracts 36:05:5LH38T. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological correlates of decision making in patients with bulimia nervosa.

In addition to the core psychopathology of bulimia nervosa (BN), patients with BN often show impulsive behavior that has been related to decision making deficits in other patient groups, such as individuals with anorexia nervosa and pathological gamblers. However, it remains unclear whether BN patients also show difficulties in decision making. In this study, 14 patients with BN and 14 healthy comparison subjects, matched for age, gender, education, body mass index, and intelligence, were examined with the Game of Dice Task (M. Brand, E. Fujiwara, et al., 2005), a gambling task that has fixed winning probabilities and explicit rules for gains and losses, as well as with a neuropsychological test battery and personality questionnaires. On the task, the patients with BN chose the disadvantageous alternatives more frequently than did the comparison subjects. Performance on the Game of Dice Task was related to executive functioning but not to other neuropsychological functions, personality, or disease-specific variables in the BN group. Thus, in patients with BN, decision making abnormalities and executive reductions can be demonstrated and might be neuropsychological correlates of the patients' dysfunctional everyday-life decision making behavior. Neurocognitive functions should be considered in the treatment of BN. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smoking behavior in offspring of heart disease patients: A response to cognitive dissonance.

Offspring of heart disease patients, with their variety of health concerns, were compared to a control group with respect to cigarette smoking behavior. Contrary to common-sense expectations, a significantly greater proportion of both male and female offspring were current smokers, and smoked to a greater degree (heavy) than control Ss. The MMPI, however, did not discriminate between Ss on the basis of smoking behavior. In accordance with previous research, it was theorized that the differences observed could be attributed to the higher state of cognitive dissonance associated with cigarette smoking in the offspring group. The fact that a relationship existed between quitting and age, for male and female offspring, suggests that more research is required to study the effects of extreme states of cognitive dissonance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Planning for the future: A life management strategy for increasing control and life satisfaction in adulthood.

The study examined the social, personality, and cognitive correlates of self-reported future planning and the relationship of future planning to perceived control and life satisfaction. Using 2 probability samples of adults ages 25–74 (n1?=?2,971, n2?=?300) findings suggest, for Study 1, that education, income, social support, predictability, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience were positively related to future planning, whereas Neuroticism and Agreeableness were negatively related. Men were more future oriented; as age increased, future planning decreased. Study 2 replicated the findings with the exception of age, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. For both studies, results supported a model in which the effects of future planning on life satisfaction were mediated by sense of control. A Planning?×?Age interaction for Study 1 indicated that although self-reported future planning decreased with age, the positive effects of future-oriented planning strategies on life satisfaction were most pronounced for the older adults, and this relationship was also mediated by control beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of Functional Disability in Patients With Postural Tachycardia Syndrome: Preliminary Cross-Sectional Findings.

The study investigated correlates of functional disability in 94 patients (89.4% women, 10.6% men; mean age=34.2 years) with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a clinical syndrome of orthostatic intolerance characterized by significant functional limitations. Path analysis supported a model in which, controlling for demographic and disease variables, catastrophic cognitions were directly related to the latent variable functional disability, whereas somatic vigilance, anxiety sensitivity, and neuroticism were indirectly associated with functional disability through their relationship with catastrophic cognitions. Results suggest that modifiable psychological factors play a role in the functional limitations experienced by patients with POTS. Longitudinal research is necessary to confirm these relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)