David A. Kipper

Psychogenic infertility, neuroticism and the feminine role: A methodological inquiry

Abstract A group of 25 psychogenically infertile women and a group of 25 women who in the past were mechanically infertile but underwent corrective tuboplastic surgery, participated in a study regarding psychological difficulties associated with psychogenic infertility. They were tested on (a) the neuroticism scale of the EPI, (b) an original Objective Social Perception Inventory, and (c) the Lakin Projective Test. The results showed that the psychogenically infertile group did not differ from the control group on the neuroticism scale, but showed greater difficulties in at least three dimensions of the feminine role on the two other tests. These difficulties were pronounced on both the overt and covert levels of perception. Methodological issues pertaining to research in this area are discussed.

Effectiveness of Structured Psychodrama and Systematic Desensitization in Reducing Test Anxiety.

Thirty-six students with examination anxiety volunteered to take part in a study of the effectiveness of two kinds of treatment, the structured psychodrama method and the systematic desensitization procedure, in reducing test anxiety. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups: structured psychodrama, systematic desensitization, and a no-treatment control. All the subjects were tested before and after the treatments on two tests, the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale (STABS), which measures test anxiety, and the Neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI-N scale), which measures level of neurotic behavior. The results showed that subjects in both treatment groups significantly reduced their test-anxiety scores compared with the controls. This was also congruent with gains as tested in vivo. A comparison between the two treatments, however, showed no significant differences. Also, there were no statistical differences among the three groups on the measure of neuroticism either before or after the treatments. It is concluded that the structured psychodrama method is as effective a mode of counseling as systematic desensization in treating test anxiety.

Personality and leisure activities: an illustration with chess players

Abstract The present study investigated the relationship between personality and involvement in a leisure activity: chess playing. The participants comprised three groups of highly competitive chess players, moderately competitive chess players, and a comparison group of non-players (n = 20 each). The results showed that of the six personality characteristics under investigation all chess players differed from the comparison group in terms of unconventional thinking and orderliness. In addition, highly competitive players differed from non-players in being also significantly more suspicious. The three groups did not differ significantly on neuroticism, aggressive tendency, and hostility. Implications concerning future studies of the relationship between personality and involvement in competitive leisure activities are discussed.

THE COLLEGE SELF-EXPRESSION SCALE: ISRAELI DATA

The Hebrew translation of the College Self-expression Scale was administered to 137 females and to 47 males, all Israeli students. Data were similar to previously reported American data with respect to normative scores, lack of sex differences and positive relationship with age. Further, length of stay in Israel correlated positively with assertiveness while ethnic background did not.

Role-playing techniques: locus of control and the attraction to behavior simulation interventions

This study investigated the relationship between internal-external locus of control and preferences to enact conflict situations designed as spontaneous, mimetic-replication or a combination of these two behavior simulation (role playing) conditions. Four groups of females, high-school students (N = 10 each), indicated their portrayal preferences on a Role Playing Situation Questionnaire. Two of these, an internal and an external group, participated in a task designed to create feelings of failure (lack of success) prior to taking the questionnaire. Spontaneous portrayals were preferred by internals, and portrayals that involved mimetic-replication were favored by externals. Unsuccessful internals preferred the combined spontaneous/mimetic-replication alternative more than did the other internals. The relationship between personality and role playing, as well as the implications for clinical uses of behavior simulation conditions, is discussed.

Appeal of Rational-Emotive and Client-Centered Therapies to First-Year Psychology and Non-Psychology Students

20 first-year psychology students and 20 non-majors were asked to compare and evaluate excerpts from therapy sessions by Albert Ellis and a Rogerian therapist. Both groups favored rational-emotive over client-centered therapy on all therapeutic dimensions assessed except that the majority of the psychology students perceived the latter therapy to produce greater feelings of comfort in the therapeutic session.

Performance of Criminals and Neurotics on the Kahn Test of Symbol Arrangement

The diagnostic power of the Kahn Test of Symbol Arrangement (KTSA) in differentiating between criminals and neurotics was examined. Three groups of males—30 incarcerated criminal recidivists, 30 neurotics, and 30 trainees in a work-placement bureau—were given the KTSA and an intelligence test. The groups were equated for age and socioeconomic status. Qualitative differences between the symbol-patterns of the criminals and the neurotics were noted. The KTSA scores of the two groups differed from those of the control group but not from each other.

The Kahn Test of Symbol Arrangement and criminality.

Two groups of male Ss--33 incarcerated criminal recidivists and 33 trainees in a work placement bureau--were tested on two versions of the Kahn Test of Symbol Arrangement (KTSA). These were the original KTSA, which used the free responding technique, and a modified KTSA, which used the forced-choice responding technique. The groups were equated for average age and sociocultural status and did not differ in their intellignece scores. The results showed that the criminals scored significantly lower than their controls on the original KTSA with a symbol-pattern characterized by repetitive and concrete types of responses. The groups did not differ on the modified KTSA. The discriminative power of the free responding technique of the KTSA proved to be superior to that of the forced-choice in the area of identifying criminal recidivists.