Previous research on the concept of perceived control has assumed that beliefs about control reflect a generalized personality trait and that people desire as much personal control as possible. To investigate whether perceptions of and needs for control vary across different life domains, and whether the discrepancy between perceived and desired…

While alcoholism is no longer regarded as a unitary disorder, conventional measures of congition and personality have yet to be shown capable of consistently predicting clinical outcomes. To investigate cognitive dysfunction and locus of control as predictors of post treatment outcome in a large sample of alcoholics, 106 alcoholics (74 men, 32…

In order to assess the intensity, direction, and type of self-blame and other blame in relationship to adjustment, a clinical sample of 31 women who had been sexually abused as children completed a questionnaire about their sexual abuse history, a self-blame scale that measured self- and other blame both retrospectively and currently, and three…

Self-destructiveness can be viewed in two ways: as performing an act which one knows cognitively is not conducive to one's welfare but nonetheless leads to some pleasurable affect (e.g., overeating, smoking); or not performing an act one knows one should perform but which has some negative affective consequences (e.g., dental checkups, saving…

The effects of the actor-observer relationship (friendship or stranger) were tested to determine the attribution of responsibility for success or failure in a prisoner's dilemma game (PDG). Male subjects (N=80) participated, four subjects per experimental session. Two subjects competed in a non-zero sum, mixed-motive PDG while being observed by…

The Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale (MMCS) is a goal-specific scale developed to assess locus of control in the areas of achievement and affiliation. The relationship between the MMCS and feelings of depression, hopelessness, and perceived stress was examined to validate the MMCS and determine if specific expectancies take…

Little is known about the Type B behavior pattern which is allegedly antithetical to the coronary-prone Type A pattern. The purpose of this study was to develop a descriptive profile of individuals in middle adulthood who exhibit the Type B pattern. Cognitive/attitudinal characteristics, stress reactivity, and health status were examined in 98…

Although considerable data exist linking individual lifestyle variables to health outcomes, little is known about how the elderly differ from younger adults with respect to both their health seeking behavior and their beliefs about health. A national survey contrasted 155 persons aged 65 years of age or older with 1100 younger adults in order to…

Research has shown a generally positive correlation between a person's propensity for illness and certain psychological variables. To investigate the relationship between an individual's age, sex, and degree of subscription to each of Albert Ellis' 10 irrational beliefs and their frequency and type of illness, 122 adults completed the Irrational…

Male and female adults revise their perceptions of control three times in their lives, between the ages of 20 and 65. To investigate the relationship between experienced control in terms of loci of control (internal, external), situations (opposite sex, same sex), and direction (from or over the environment), and the developmental stages of men…

Selective subject attrition from longitudinal study panels can bias estimates of developmental change. Particularly in studies of older adults, sampling effects can adversely affect attempts to estimate true ontogenetic change. Selective attrition effects were examined in 636 Pennsylvania adults (138 males, 498 females), aged 58-91, who were…

Although widowhood is a disruptive and inevitable phenomenon for many older people, few studies have explored either adjustment to widowhood or the impact of widowhood on the lives of elderly people. Recently widowed persons (N=51), ranging in age from 49 to 83 years old, were interviewed to examine their relatively immediate psychosocial…

Intrinsic motivation and self-reinforcement can be used identically to explain behavioral persistence in the absence of external reward. Yet the relationship between these concepts has not been adequately explored. Since intrinsic motivation appears to be dependent on an interesting task and self-reinforcement independent of task, it was…

Because the factors which influence parent functioning have not been extensively researched, a study was conducted to determine the relationships among marital adjustment, child temperament, locus of control, and parent satisfaction. Participants included 93 volunteer couples who had at least one child at home. Parents averaged 35 years old and…

It is well known that many smokers who quit during cessation programs relapse soon after leaving treatment. To investigate the relationship of health locus of control, social support, nonsmoking areas, and objecting to another person's smoking to relapse and long-term maintenance of nonsmoking, male (N=70) and female (N=149) subjects participated…