This research has shown that assessment of social behavior beyond differentiation of extremely poorly functioning individuals from normals is possible. (Author)

This article presents two investigations of the motivational inversion hypothesis derived from the motivation-hygiene theory. The major hypothesis of this article is that the higher the degree of mental disorder, the higher the degree of motivational inversion. (Author/EK)

Patients were interviewed to determine if phenomena observed in psychodynamic psychotherapies had occurred in their behavior therapies as well. Results indicated that the prevalence of behavior modification techniques was not significantly related to outcome, whereas patients' personal feelings about their therapists were. Also, the important…

Results of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory data were correlated to see if they were related to demographic and behavioral data. Analysis was done for male and female subjects. A significant number of reliable correlates were identified. (Author/EK)

Assessed the performance of hypertensive patients in increasingly demanding interpersonal interactions. Twelve extended role-played scenes were employed. Results indicated that the hypertensive patients responded less assertively than the nonpatient comparison group. However, the performance of the normotensive patient group was similar to that of…

Changes in attachment organization and reflective function (RF) were assessed as putative mechanisms of change in 1 of 3 year-long psychotherapy treatments for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Ninety patients reliably diagnosed with BPD were randomized to transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), dialectical behavior…

Examined the degree to which depression predicted pain and pain behavior. The Beck Depression Inventory was administered to 207 low back pain patients. Depression and physical findings were the most important predictors of pain and pain behavior. Depression proved significant even after controlling for important demographic and medical status…

MMPI values were used to find the relationship of field dependency to personality traits and styles of pathological adjustment in psychiatric outpatients. The investigation had separate analyses for the patient's sex and found it an important variable in predicting the relationship between test score and dependency and adjustment. (ED)

Compared the reinforcement expectancies of adult alcoholics with beliefs of men and women in alcohol treatment programs, hospitalized medical patients, and college students through the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ). Results indicated the previously defined AEQ beliefs apply to the alcoholic population and these populations significantly…

The present study explored a method of altering the reinforcing properties of the verbal event good in chronic, process, nonparanoid schizophrenics. When good was repeatedly paired with the termination of censure in the reaction time task, it became an effective reinforcer on a subsequent verbal conditioning task. (Author)

Reviews behavioral and psychological concepts currently applied to the assessment and treatment of chronic pain syndromes, including operant conditioning and psychophysiologic concepts such as the stress-pain hypothesis, the pain-muscle spasm-pain cycle, and the neuromuscular pain model. Discusses relaxation and biofeedback training and concepts…

Compared child outpatients with diagnoses for both conduct disorder (CD) and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD/H) with children with CD but no ADD/H. Children with both CD and ADD/H exhibited more physical aggression and a greater variety and severity of antisocial behaviors despite their younger age at time of referral than did…

Skilled patients spoke, looked, smiled and gestured more than unskilled patients. They also showed more behavior variability in response to situational changes. Unskilled patients were deficient in component behaviors and in monitoring and other process skills. Deficiencies in speech contributed to impressions of social incompetence. (Author/BEF)