Agnes N. O'Connell

Effects of Personal and Situational Factors on Attitudes toward Suicide.

This study investigated whether attitudes on suicide would be affected by the individuals personal characteristics and the nature of the situation. It was hypothesized that suicide would be judged more or less “justifiable” depending on characteristics of the crisis confronting the suicidal individual as well as perception of the individuals general utility to society as a whole. Eighty undergraduates responded to sixteen fictional suicide case histories with judgments on a series of twelve items indicating their perception of the “justifiability” of the suicidal act in each case. Results showed that the personal characteristics of the suicidal individual made little difference, but that the nature of the crisis confronting the suicidal individual affected judgments of justifiability. Specifically, respondents tended to regard physical deterioration and pain as more justifiable motives for suicide than the less acceptable motives of mental deterioration or pain. Implications of the data for theories on suicide are discussed.

The Relationships among Sex-Role Orientation, Cognitive Complexity, and Tolerance for Ambiguity.

Two hundred and four female and eighty-seven male college students completed the Schroder and Streufert measure of cognitive complexity, Budners Intolerance for Ambiguity Scale, and Bems Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). It was hypothesized that subjects classified as androgynous and as cross-sexed would be more cognitively complex and more tolerant of ambiguity than sex-typed or undifferentiated subjects; and cognitive complexity and intolerance for ambiguity would be negatively correlated. The data indicated that male and female androgynous and cross-sexed subjects were more tolerant of ambiguity than sex-typed subjects and cognitively more complex than undifferentiated subjects. Cross-sexed subjects were more cognitively complex than sex-typed subjects. Cognitive complexity and intolerance for ambiguity were negatively correlated. The BSRI had differential power to predict cognitive complexity depending upon sex of subject.

Women's Heritage in Psychology: Past and Present

The American Psychological Associations Centennial provides a unique opportunity to celebrate, preserve, and interpret womens heritage in the origins and development of psychology. This special issue documents womens contributions to, and the impact of feminist critiques on, the discipline of psychology and its organizations. The articles in this special issue demonstrate how psychological theories and practice, research methods, and interpretation of data are embedded in social, political, and historical contexts. Moreover, they document how feminist critiques have challenged traditional assumptions about knowledge and served as a catalyst for the transformation of psychological theories, methods, and practice—a transformation that has just begun. Womens history is indispensable and essential to the emancipation of women. – Gerda Lerner (1986)

Fear of Success and Causal Attributions of Success and Failure in High School and College Students

Summary College males and females (N = 87) exhibited more Fear of Success (FOS) imagery to both gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate stimulus cues than high school males and females (N = 88). No overall sex differences in incidence of FOS were observed. The gender-inappropriate male cue (Tom in nursing school) elicited more FOS than the gender-inappropriate female cue (Diane as law student) from college, but not from high school subjects. Subjects did not exhibit significantly more FOS to the gender-inappropriate female cue than to the gender-appropriate cue (Diane in nursing school). The presence of FOS to same-sex cues significantly affected attributions of success and failure on an anagrams task for college and high school males and females. The differences in attributions between males and females with FOS are interpreted in terms of maintaining self-concepts consistent with cultural prescriptions.

Effects of Manipulated Status on Performance, Goal Setting, Achievement Motivation, Anxiety, and Fear of Success

Summary One hundred twenty college students were tested under same- and mixed-sex competition conditions to determine the effects of manipulated status on reaction time performance, goal setting, achievement motivation, achievement anxiety, and fear of success. In same-sex competition, males and females randomly assigned to high status improved in reaction time performance, while Ss randomly assigned to low status suffered a decrement. Contrary to expectations, in mixed-sex competition (fear of success arousal condition) Ss in both high and low statuses improved in performance. Feedback was not necessary for these effects but may be necessary for goal setting that is commensurate with ability. Criterion performance was significantly correlated with both personal and group goals (with performance exceeding goals). Group goals were significantly higher than, and correlated with, personal goals. Males had significantly faster reaction times and set higher goals than females. Status did not significantly affe...

Karen Horney: Theorist in Psychoanalysis and Feminine Psychology

Karen Horney is unique and unparalleled in personality theory. She has the distinction of being the only woman whose theory is detailed in personality textbooks. Horney is known as a neo-Freudian for her revision of Freudian thought; a social psychological theorist for her emphasis on cultural and social influences; a humanist for her holistic view and emphasis on self-realization; and a feminist for her development of a feminine psychology. She was a founder of the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis and founder and dean of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, a training institute. She was a teacher who could simplify the most difficult concepts; a therapist with deep human involvement; Editor of the American Journal of Psychoanalysis; a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association; a regular contributor to scientific sessions; and a prolific writer. She was personally and professionally a “well-rounded balance of an abundance of striving and creative possibility.”

The decision to return to college: Role concepts, personality, attitudes, and significant others

In two studies, personality, role concepts, and attitudes distinguished wives and mothers who decided to resume college from those who did not. College women and women about to resume college had more self-actualizing, achievement-oriented, and dominant personalities (California Psychological Inventory); broader, more personalized role concepts; more liberal attitudes; better educated husbands; and fewer children than housewives. Measurements before college return and during the second year at college indicated that college exposure did not significantly affect these variables. The single exception was that after college exposure, women no longer saw society as supporting their efforts to actualize their potentials.