Robert F. Bornstein

Stimulus recognition and the mere exposure effect

A meta-analysis of research on Zajoncs (1968) mere exposure effect indicated that stimuli perceived without awareness produce substantially larger exposure effects than do stimuli that are consciously perceived (Bornstein, 1989a). However, this finding has not been tested directly in the laboratory. Two experiments were conducted comparing the magnitude of the exposure effect produced by 5-ms (i.e., subliminal) stimuli and stimuli presented for longer durations (i.e., 500 ms). In both experiments, 5-ms stimuli produced significantly larger mere exposure effects than did 500-ms stimuli. These results were obtained for polygon (Experiment 1), Welsh figure (Experiment 2), and photograph stimuli (Experiments 1 and 2). Implications of these findings for theoretical models of the mere exposure effect are discussed.

The Generalizability of Subliminal Mere Exposure Effects: Influence of Stimuli Perceived Without Awareness on Social Behavior

visual symbols are frequently used as stimuli in such studies. For social and clinical psychologists, however, the primary object—or environmental stimulus—worthy of study is other people, and no studies of subliminal perception have used people as the target (i.e., subliminally exposed) stimulus and

A Comparative Meta-Analysis of Rorschach and MMPI Validity

Two previous meta-analyses concluded that average validity coefficients for the Rorschach and the MMPI have similar magnitudes (L. Atkinson, 1986; K. C. H. Parker, R. K. Hanson, & J. Hunsley, 1988), but methodological problems in both meta-analyses may have impeded acceptance of these results (H. N. Garb, C. M. Florio, & W. M. Grove, 1998). We conducted a new meta-analysis comparing criterionrelated validity evidence for the Rorschach and the MMPI. The unweighted mean validity coefficients (rs) were .30 for MMPI and .29 for Rorschach, and they were not reliably different (p = .76 under fixed-effects model, p = .89 under random-effects model). The MMPI had larger validity coefficients than the Rorschach for studies using psychiatric diagnoses and self-report measures as criterion variables, whereas the Rorschach had larger validity coefficients than the MMPI for studies using objective criterion variables.

A meta-analysis of antidepressant outcome under blinder conditions

A meta-analysis of 22 studies of antidepressant outcome assessed the level of medication effects under conditions thought to be less subject to clinician bias than those in the typical double-blind drug trial. Studies were included only if, in addition to a newer antidepressant group, they also contained both standard antidepressant and placebo control groups. Effect sizes were quite modest and approximately one half to one quarter the size of those previously reported under more transparent conditions. Effect sizes that were based on clinician outcome ratings were significantly larger than those that were based on patient ratings. Patient ratings revealed no advantage for antidepressants beyond the placebo effect. Effect sizes were unrelated to sample sex ratios, patient age, inpatient or outpatient status, dosage level, and treatment duration. Findings highlight the fragility of the antidepressant effect.

A Process Dissociation Approach to Objective-Projective Test Score Interrelationships

Even when self-report and projective measures of a given trait or motive both predict theoretically related features of behavior, scores on the 2 tests correlate modestly with each other. This article describes a process dissociation framework for personality assessment, derived from research on implicit memory and learning, which can resolve these ostensibly conflicting results. Research on interpersonal dependency is used to illustrate 3 key steps in the process dissociation approach: (a) converging behavioral predictions, (b) modest test score intercorrelations, and (c) delineation of variables that differentially affect self-report and projective test scores. Implications of the process dissociation framework for personality assessment and test development are discussed.

The complex relationship between dependency and domestic violence: Converging psychological factors and social forces.

Research indicates that economic dependency in women and emotional dependency in men independently contribute to domestic-partner abuse risk and that high levels of emotional dependency in an abused partner may reduce the likelihood that the victimized person will terminate the relationship. An analysis of psychological factors and social forces that contribute to domestic violence suggests that multimodal intervention strategies are needed to combat this complex problem.

Criterion validity of objective and projective dependency tests : A meta-analytic assessment of behavioral prediction

A meta-analysis of published studies in which scores on objective (i.e., self-report) or projective measures of interpersonal dependency were used to predict some aspect of dependency-related behavior revealed that validity coefficients for projective tests (number of comparisons = 32) were generally larger than validity coefficients for objective tests (number of comparisons = 54). The relationships of setting in which data were collected, source of behavioral ratings, and participant classification method on observed test score-behavior correlations were also assessed. Implications of these findings for use of objective and projective dependency measures in clinical, laboratory, and field settings are discussed.

Boredom as a limiting condition on the mere exposure effect

Three experiments investigating the role of boredom as a limiting condition on Zajoncs (1968) mere exposure effect are described. Results support the role of boredom as a limiting condition on the mere exposure effect and are consistent with a 2-factor learning-satiation model of the exposure effect

A meta-analysis of fluoxetine outcome in the treatment of depression.

A meta-analysis was conducted on all the double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy trials of the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac). This drug has become the antidepressant most frequently prescribed by psychiatrists and has been hailed by the media as a “wonder drug.” Results produced a relatively modest overall effect size that was no greater than effect sizes obtained by previous meta-analyses of tricyclic antidepressants. This study also examined the possibility that bias may have contaminated study outcome ratings. Because past studies suggest that the greater frequency of side effects in active drug groups unblinds study participants, we examined the relationship between study effect sizes and the percentage of patients reporting side effects. As predicted, both clinician and patient outcome ratings correlated significantly with the percentage of patients experiencing side effects. Questions are raised about the role of side effects in mediating drug outcome results.

The impending death of psychoanalysis.

Although psychoanalysis once dominated psychology, evidence now points to the waning influence of psychoanalytic theory in psychological science, psychiatric diagnosis, undergraduate instruction, and graduate training. In this article I describe 7 self-destructive behaviors exhibited by psychoanalysts that contributed to the precipitous decline of psychoanalytic theory in recent years. I then outline three strategies for retaining those features of psychoanalysis that are scientifically and clinically useful while jettisoning those that are dated and inaccurate. These strategies might enable scientific psychologists and research-minded practitioners to reinvigorate psychoanalytic theory during the 21st century.