It was predicted that Ss indicating they were high in A trait would report anticipating greater fears in anxiety situations and not in situations involving physical pain or danger. Ss rated 40 situations according to the degree of apprehension they thought they might feel. Of the four factors obtained, the three factors associated with failure…

Reprints from: Thomas J. Cottle, Department of Social Relations, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.

Investigates the role of sociopathic tendencies in reactions to inequitable exchanges in 273 males and females classified as high or low in sociopathy. Subjects read narratives of inequitable exchanges and assumed the role of the exploiter and the role of the victim in each. (Author/RH)

In responding constructively to boredom, steps to take include identifying its conditions and identifying situations in which it occurs. Patterns that may emerge from the identification include solitude, predictability, constraint, and a lack of responsibility for one's leisure. (CJ)

Psychoanalytic theory predicts that humor preference is a derivative of unresolved childhood conflicts. Analyzed students' (N=104) Rorschach protocols to yield measures of preoedipal fixation. Students ranked jokes from most to least funny. Results showed that the ranking of jokes was a function of the fixation measures for women only. (Author/RC)

The author explores the theory of changing basic thought processes in order to improve personal performance on the job. This entails helping people identify their existing thoughts and replacing the ones that won't support performance goals with those that will. (CT)

Studied whether intense negative affect states linked to suicidal behavior exist. Gathered Personal Feeling Scales data from high, moderate, and low serious suicide-threatening women and from a disturbed but nonsuicidal group. Results indicated that a particular configuration of intensely negative affects exist for highly serious suicidal women.…

The rhythmic patterning of man's biochemical, physiological, and psychological behavior and the temporal relationships among various functions are the province of chronobiology. Citing animal and human studies, the author documents the progress of this new science and poses complex questions that it may answer about human behavior. (Editor/SJL)

Based on available evidence, it appears reasonable to assume that the psychological and social consequences of becoming a father during adolescence are the same as those more traditionally associated with adolescent motherhood. (Author)

Finds strong correlations between sex and four subscales of the "Denver Community Health Questionnaire" in 44 outpatients at a Texas mental health complex. Shows that the women are less productive and evidence more psychological distress, while men have more legal difficulties and are more likely to use soft drugs. (RL)

A major concern to anyone involved in the alcoholism field is the basic understanding of alcoholism as a disease that Hispanics have not yet completely accepted. Hispanics have usually labeled the use of alcoholic beverages as being embedded into Hispanic culture and have viewed alcoholism as an individual weakness to be endured in silence. (NQ)

Shyness is a socially learned reaction against the unstructured, novel, spontaneous, or intimate, and is frequently unknowingly fostered by teachers and parents. (MB)

The psychometric properties of three coping inventories are examined: (1) the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (N. Endler and J. Parker, 1994); (2) the COPE (C. Carver and others, 1989); and (3) the Coping Strategies Inventory (D. Tobin and others, 1989). Three general factors were found across the three instruments. (SLD)