Objective: Our goal was to determine whether behavioral economic constructs--including impulsivity (i.e., steep discounting of delayed food and monetary rewards), the relative reinforcing value of food (RRV[subscript food]), and environmental enrichment (i.e., the presence of alternatives to unhealthy foods in the home and neighborhood…

Objective: Fear reactivity during exposure is a commonly used indicator of learning and overall therapy outcome. The objective of this study was to assess the predictive value of fear reactivity during exposure using multimodal indicators and an advanced analytical design. We also investigated the degree to which treatment condition (cognitive…

Objective: The predictive utility of hypnotizability, conceptualized as the change in suggestibility produced by a hypnotic induction, was investigated in the suggested reduction of experimental pain. Method: One hundred and seventy-three participants were assessed for nonhypnotic imaginative suggestibility. Thereafter, participants experienced…

It was concluded that scores on the Manifest Anxiety Scale reflect reactive" anxiety, the autonomic components of which are differentially elicited by ego-involving stress situations. (Author)

To meet the need for a situational measure of guilt, the Perceived Guilt Index, a self-report measure of experiential guilt, was developed. The index represents an attempt to quantify common verbal labels used to communicate the intensity of emotional relations to guilt. Construct validity studies indicated strong support for the theory underlying…

Examined relationships among clients' descriptions of external events, emotional arousal, and resolution of problematic reactions. Clients (n=12) explored problematic reactions with their therapists on 2 separate occasions. Findings highlight the role that vivid description can play in promoting clients' emotional arousal during the session and…

Recent research suggests that there may be a reduction in therapeutic response after multiple administrations of antidepressant drug (AD) therapy in patients with major depressive disorder. This study assessed the response to AD therapy and cognitive therapy (CT) of patients with a history of prior AD exposures. A sample of 240 patients with…

In this study females (N=32) and males (N=32) read two passages. One described a sexually exploitative experience for a young woman and the other described a sexually positive experience. Response by males and females varied considerably and depended on the interpersonal as well as the erotic content of the passages. (EJT)

This study examined the role of emotional catharsis in brief emotive psychotherapy and its differential effects within three time frames. The findings are seen as supporting the contention that within a specific time frame emotional catharsis can lead to certain positive outcomes in brief emotive psychotherapy. (Author)

Three dimensions of emotionality are distinguished: responsiveness, expressiveness, and orientation. Three measures of these dimensions were analyzed in a multitrait-multimethod matrix. There was substantial support for convergent and discriminant validity, and the measures were unconfounded with adjustment or social desirability. Females scored…

The personality characteristics which were found to be related to stimulus seeking seem to follow from the basic premise that the stimulus seeker has a stronger than average need to seek out and approach situations, activities, and ideas which are novel, changing, complex, surprising, or more intense. (Author)

Investigated the utility of situational assessments of trait anxiety in predicting state anxiety reactions. Results indicated that the STAI-A-Trait and the S-R GTA Evaluation measures correlated significantly higher with each other than either did with the S-R GTA Physical Danger measure. Both stresses produced significant increases in state…

Measured psychological sequelae to induced abortion among women pregnant out of wedlock, using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and questions specific to willingness to repeat abortion under similar circumstances. Analyses indicated no relation between objective and subjective indicators. Affectivity after induced abortion had…

Studied the relationship between the tendency to hold certain irrational beliefs and the likelihood of becoming emotionally aroused in various types of situations. (Author)

A film of a male or female masturbating was viewed by 96 males and 102 females. Males reported the highest level of sexual arousal to the female film and the lowest level of arousal to the male film. Females were sexually aroused by both films. (Author)