Larry J. Bloom

Anxiety management training for pattern A behavior.

During a 3-week period, seven subjects were treated with Anxiety Management Training (AMT) while seven subjects served as a wait-list control. Pattern A behaviors, measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), self-report of anxiety, as measured by the Spielberger state (STAI-S) and trait (STAI-T) anxiety inventories, and indices of blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides were obtained before and after treatment. Results indicate that treated subjects compared to controls showed significant reductions in the Hard-Driving component of pattern A behavior, showed lower posttest STAI-A and STAI-T scores, but failed to evidence a statistically significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure or cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The implications of these data to theoretical and practical conceptualizations of stress management are discussed.

The effectiveness of attentional diversion and situation redefinition for reducing stress due to a nonambiguous Threat

Abstract After receiving a sample shock, subjects in a Threat Condition were told that they would receive additional painful shocks while subjects in a Nonthreat Condition were not threatened with additional shocks. Subjects in an Attentional Diversion Condition were then instructed to read and think about an amusing story, subjects in a Situation Redefinition Condition were instructed to write down reasons why they should not be afraid in this situation, and subjects in a Control Condition were not given any instructions for coping with stress. (Coping Conditions were factorially crossed with Threat Conditions and 192 subjects were employed.) Physiological measures (pulse rate, finger pulse volume, skin resistance) indicated that unlike the results of previous research, attentional diversion was effective in reducing stress but situation redefinition was not. Discussion was focused on the parameters which determine whether or not a coping strategy will be effective.

Type A Behavior and Upper Respiratory Infections

The present study investigates the relationship between upper respiratory infection (URI) and Type A behavior pattern. Type A and Type B college students completed a health survey which measured both incidence of and response to URIs. Overall, results revealed a pattern indicating that Type As reported experiencing significantly more URIs than did their Type B counterparts, and that female Type As reported significantly more frequent URIs than did female type Bs. The results were discussed in terms of the Type As stressful life style increasing his/her susceptibility to viral respiratory disease. The Type As propensity to minimize or failure to attend to illness symptoms was also discussed.

Genital herpes and personality

Genital herpes, while having gained considerable attention as an important psychosexual disease, is not well understood. Precisely what factors trigger infectious reactivation is an important question that has yet to be answered. The present study investigated the relationship between recurrent genital herpes and personality. High and low recurrers were administered a demographic and disease history questionnaire and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results revealed that, compared to low recurrers, the mean MMPI profile of high recurrers showed significantly greater elevations on nine of ten scales. The degree and pattern of elevation in the high profile is consistent with increased levels of autonomic arousal and stress. These findings are interpreted as suggestive of the possible role of personality in influencing the rate of infectious recurrence in genital herpes sufferers. The implications for psychologically based treatment strategies are discussed.

Anxiety Management Training for essential hypertension in pregnancy

Anxiety Management Training (AMT) was used to treat a first-time pregnant, 35-year-old woman with suspected essential hypertension. Meaningful baseline to treatment decreases in both systolic and diastolic recordings which were maintained during follow-up suggested that AMT was being effectively used to manage hypertension. Additional evidence of AMTs effectiveness was reflected by normal uterine growth and the excellent health of the fetus at delivery. It was concluded that AMT may be used as an effective adjunct to medical management of hypertension in pregnancy.

Therapeugenic Factors in Psychotherapy: The Effects of Fee and Title on Credibility and Attraction.

Led male (N = 69) and female (N = 75) Ss to believe that they were rating the accuracy of a description of a mental health professional used to help clients choose their therapist. Ss were exposed to descriptions that were identical in content, with exception of the level of fee, high vs. low, and the title of the therapist, psychiatrist vs. clinical psychologist vs. counselor. Ss were asked to rate the individual in the description on various dimensions of credibility and attraction. The results indicate that Ss were not affected by the level of fee charged except on their willingness to seek therapy from the therapist. Ss consistently rated the psychiatrist higher than the counselor, who in turn was rated higher than the clinical psychologist. Explanations for this and the implications of these findings are discussed.

Effectiveness of Complementary Projection in Reducing Stress.

Threatened Ss in five stress groups with electric shock, while Ss in a sixth group were not threatened. In one of the stress groups Ss were encouraged to project causality for their feelings that resulted from the threat of shock to the E instead of to the shock, while Ss in the remaining stress groups were not encouraged to project causality for the threat-produced affects to the E. Physiological and self-report measures indicated that Ss who projected their anxiety and nervousness to the E were just as distressed by the veridical source of arousal as were Ss who did not project. Implications of these results for the hypothesized stress-reducing effectiveness of complementary projection were discussed.

Therapeugenic factors in psychotherapy: The use of psychological tests

In the first part of the experiment all Ss were administered a battery of psychological tests that they were told would provide an accurate description of their personality. Two weeks later, Ss were contacted and asked to participate in the second half of the experiment. Half of the Ss were led to believe that the psychological assessment indicated that they could remain calm and relaxed when exposed to a stressful situation (therapeutic suggestion), while the other half did not receive this feedback (no suggestion). Half of the Ss then were exposed to a stressful situation (threat), while the other half were not (no threat); the effectiveness of the diagnostic predictions was assessed via physiological and self-report measures of arousal. Results indicated that (a) the threat manipulation was effective in creating stress; and (b) Ss given therapeutic-suggestion feedback based on the psychological assessment were able to remain significantly more calm and relaxed in the experiment than Ss who did not receive therapeutic suggestions. Implications for the use of psychological testing and diagnostic feedback as a technique of social influence are discussed.

Attraction to therapy and therapist credibility as a function of therapy orientation

Exposed male and female Ss (N = 96) to psychoanalytic, behavioral, client-centered, or gestalt therapy, in the form of a brief written description and a 5-minute videotaped simulation. Attraction to therapy and various dimensions of therapist credibility were measured. The psychoanalytic presentation generated the greatest attraction and the greatest perceived total credibility. The gestalt presentation was next highest on these variables, followed by the behavioral and client-centered presentation. No significant effects for sex of S or sex by therapy approach interaction were reported. Explanations for and implications of these findings are discussed.