Psychopathy is a clinical construct defined by a cluster of personality traits and behaviors, including grandiosity, egocentricity, deceptiveness, shallow emotions, lack of empathy or remorse, irresponsibility, impulsivity, and a tendency to ignore or violate social norms. The majority of empirical research on psychopathy involves forensic…

Children who were forbidden use of an attractive toy were later tempted with attractive prizes to falsify scores. Subjects who complied with the initial severe threat showed less resistence to temptation than control subjects. (JB)

Examined self-perception during late adolescence as a correlate of individual temperament. Found that positive self-perception correlated with approaching, flexible, and positive mood patterns, and with high task orientation. Different aspects of self-perception showed distinct relationships with specific temperament dimensions. Noted men's and…

Suicide proneness and self-destruction scales, together with measures of self-favorability and self-confidence, were administered to two samples (n=106 and n=213). It is suggested that women are self-destructive in passive ways, reflecting their lack of self-favorability and confidence and manifested by failure to react to everyday situations in…

Examined differences between students who perceived themselves as "successful" and "unsuccessful" problem solvers. Results revealed "successful" and "unsuccessful" problem solvers differed in number of problems acknowledged, on self-report ratings about the personal problem solving process, and on ratings made by interviewers on several cognitive…

Assessed ways attachment styles affect young adults' reactions to stressors associated with four-month combat training. Results show that, compared with secure trainees, ambivalent trainees reported more emotion-focused coping, appraised the training in more threatening terms, and considered themselves less capable of coping with the training.…

Apparently positive behaviors, such as praise, help-giving and pity, may indicate low estimation of ability to the student, and blame, relative neglect, and anger may be perceived by the recipient as high estimations of ability. These behaviors influence recipient self-perception and determine expectations, affective reactions and performance.…

The present study attempted to operationalize the constructs of empathy and egocentrism and contrast them with a cognitive explanation of the behavior of children on a task which required "S" to identify the affective state of himself and of others. Forty "Ss," aged 3-5, were presented a series of 23 stories describing an event which had occurred…

Three studies examined observers' attributions and reactions to negative emotional displays, as well as expressers' expectations about others' reactions. Analysis revealed that people attribute others' negative emotions equally to situational factors and dispositions, whereas their own emotions are attributed to the situation more than to…

A wide range of interesting observations of the past decade, which may now cast their shadow as the health communication paradigm of the forthcoming decade, can be clarified and correlated. One example of effective communication therapy was Norman Cousins's hospitalization with the crippling disease, "ankylosing spondylitis." Using large doses of…

Few investigators have attempted to lay a conceptual base for comparative studies of paranoia and depression within a single general framework. The paranoid-depressive continuum is an attempt to develop such a framework. (Author)

Differences in the self-concept of school-aged youngsters before and after interacting with preservice teachers in multicultural community-based situations and changes in their self-concept as a result of the structured teaching of self-concept activities were investigated. Tests revealed that the children possessed a more positive self-concept…

The term "conative" is used to describe constructs that span both motivational and volitional aspects of human behavior, distinguished from constructs that emphasize cognition and affection. Among the conative constructs are achievement strivings, beliefs about self-esteem and self-efficacy, interests and attitudes about learning,…

High and low self-monitors were given the task of applying for a position that was or was not a good fit with their personality. Subjects were 97 introductory psychology students who had previously taken the 18-item Self-Monitoring Scale (SMS). They took the SMS again--as if it were being used to decide whether they would be offered a very…

Investigated validity of juvenile offender treatment typology utilized within peer treatment programs of youth services agency with 60 male delinquents. Results suggest behavior typology described in peer treatment literature has basis in psychological theory and can provide information for treatment and community reintegration and program…