The contention that traditional psychodynamic psychotherapy persists in society because it is an effective agent of social control rather than a help to people with problems is examined and refuted. (Author)

This article presents additional evidence that traditional psychodynamic psychotherapy does not fulfill its manifest function to help individuals achieve "mental health"; thus, its persistence as an ideology and clinical practice can be explained only on the basis of its latent function as a means of social control. (Author)

Members of an undergraduate course in psychology (n equals 416) were tested for moral tolerance and self acceptance before and after course completion. Sixteen students did concurrent hospital work. The volunteer experience did not significantly affect moral tolerance scores, but did result in greater self acceptance scores. (Author/CJ)

Analyzes and critiques an attempted application of cognitive dissonance and reactance concepts to a therapy analogue. An experiment by R. M. Gordon is discussed. Key prerequisites for dissonance arousal and for reactance induction were not present. Self-selection of volunteers for treatment is an unreported factor. Gordon replies to this critique.…

The effects of guilt and approachability of a female examiner upon the associative sexual responses of 48 men and 48 women were examined. It was found that low-guilt males made more sexual responses when tested by an approachable examiner than unapproachable examiner. Subjects' perceptions of the experimenters were also examined. (Author)

Examined subgroups of people in relation to specific types of drugs. Multiple drug clusters identified here yielded six basic drug clusters. Typology of drug abusers was developed by proximity cluster analysis. Set of psychosocial measures was differentially related to use of types of drugs and drug abusers. (Author/BEF)

Subjects (N=240) participated in brief encounter group experiences that varied the amount of physical contact in the structured exercises. These included no-touch, moderate-touch, and high-touch conditions. Results on the scales were consistent with behavioral data in showing the positive effects of increased physical contact. (Author)

Subjects listened to a taped therapy interview while the client asserted her situation caused her problems and were told either that the client was chronic or being seen for the first time. Experimental subjects assumed the role of either the counselor or the client. Implications are drawn for the diagnostic process. (Author)

As predicted, approval dependent" persons were more likely to rationalize or excuse the failure" by blaming various experimental factors and/or their partners, but this was always done within the limits of a generalized tendency to seek social acceptance by expressing attitudes complimentary to other persons or situations. (Author)

Addresses common pitfalls in homogeneous scale construction in clinical and social psychology. Offers suggestions about item writing, answer scale formats, data analysis procedures, and overall scale development strategy. Emphasizes effective use of factor-analytic methods to select items for scales and to determine its proper location in…

It was predicted that attributions of mental illness would be based on the extent to which self-disclosure deviates from appropriate sex role behavior for men and women with self-disclosure perceived as appropriate for women and inappropriate for men. The findings supported the hypotheses. (Author/NG)

This experiment investigated the effects of success and failure experiences on subsequent self-ratings of positive and negative social-psychological characteristics. Teacher trainees (N=60) were assigned to success, failure, or control experiences. Subjects who experienced success made significantly greater gains in positive self-assessments, and…

A social psychology of problem behavior was employed in a longitudinal study of high school youth to predict time of onset of marijuana use. Nineteen personality, perceived environment, and behavioral variables among nonusers of marijuana were shown to account for a significant amount of the variance in time of onset of use. (Author)

This study investigated objections to Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) items by black and white males and females classified as high or low trust by Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale. Low-trust subjects objected to more items than high-trust subjects. Race and sex did not influence number of items objected to. (Author)