This investigation tested the hypothesis that the probabilistic structure underlying psychotherapy interviews is Markovian. The "goodness of fit" of a first-order Markov chain model to actual therapy interviews was assessed using a x squared test of homogeneity, and by generating by Monte Carlo methods empirical sampling distributions of…

The contention of this study is that persons perceive and interpret the behavior sequences of others differently as a function of the relative degree of their own experience and feeling of personal causation. Subjects were 96 paid female graduate students, representing the two extreme groups on the Rotter's Internal External Scale (I-E). All I's…

A sample of 769 students (male and female, black and white), enrolled in natural science, mathematics, business, and remedial reading classes at an urban community college were studied to explore the relationship (1) between racially militant beliefs of black (and white) college students and beliefs they hold about the control of their environment…

Schoolmen across the country are finding that not only teachers and students but taxpayers show signs of recognizing that carpet as a school floor covering may offer more function than frill in assessment of the product; however, many architects and schoolmen are withholding final judgment because not enough carpeted schools have been around long…

Patterns of psychoactive drug usage of students at a heterogeneous university were surveyed in 1968, and the Class of 1972 was twice resurveyed. Changes included increases in use of all drugs within the Class of 1972 and between juniors of 1968 and 1970 for popular drugs other than alcohol. Later starting students were somewhat less likely to be…

Communicative anxiety, its corresponding avoidance behavior, and the relationship of the two to communication performance in the small group are investigated. Various definitions of anxiety are discussed. Objectives of the study are to increase knowledge in the area of anxiety reduction, avoidance behavior and communication performance by (1)…

Data is brought to bear on the social influence hypothesis, according to which the behavior of one bystander influences other bystanders by providing information leading to a definition of the situation. The study placed a subject in an emergency situation in which one of 3 confederates served as a model: (1) male peer; (2) female peer; or (3)…

A 2x2 factorial experiment was conducted to determine the effects of 2 interventions designed to reduce face-saving in a situation which normally produces such behavior. Face-saving, defined as sacrificing tangible (monetary) rewards to avoid public embarrassment, was measured by the length of time subjects publicly performed an embarrassing task.…

Since many acts of aggression in society are more than simply an aggressor-victim encounter, the role played by third person instigated aggression also needs examination. The purpose of this study was to develop a laboratory procedure to systematically investigate instigation. In a competitive reaction time task, high and low Machiavellian Males…

Fixation and regression were considered complementary by Freud. You tend to regress to a point of fixation. They are both opposed to progression. In the general area, Anna Freud has written (The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence. London: Hogarth and the Psycho-Analytic Institute, 1937), Sears has evaluated (Survey of Objective Studies of…

Denial was a mechanism that Sigmund Freud worked with in his clinical practice and in his formulation of personality. He considered denial, e.g., in his papers on Repression (1915) and on Fetishism (1927) in Collected Papers, Volumes IV and V respectively (London: Hogarth and The Institute of Psycho-Analysis, 1925 and 1950 respectively). It would…

Interviews with 321 university students were used to determine relationships between admitted marijuana use and theft and perceptions of the severity and certainty of punishment. Use of marijuana and theft activity were expected to be least frequent among those who: (1) perceive the harshest penalties for marijuana possession and petty larceny;…

Cooperative and competitive interaction (interpersonal relationship) between pairs of retarded and nonretarded children of ages 6 to 7 and 11 to 12 were assessed in a situation involving a marble pull apparatus in which competitive interaction was nonadaptive in terms of reward attainment. The retarded group was significantly more cooperative than…

INSTRUMENTAL INFORMATION-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AMONG ADULTS WAS STUDIED TO DETERMINE "WHAT KINDS OF PEOPLE SEEK WHAT KINDS OF INFORMATION THROUGH WHAT CHANNELS." INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH 1,869 ADULTS WHO WERE ASKED ABOUT (1) THEIR USE OF ADULT EDUCATION, MASS MEDIA, AND INTERPERSONAL INFORMATION SOURCES, AND (2) THEIR METHODS OF…

The present study examines the reactions to injustice between individuals as a function of the race and sex of the subject. Two contrasting hypotheses derived from research on altruism and personality differences indicate that white females/black males and white males/black females differ in their response to inequity. The study supports the…