Causal attributions of shy students (N=36) were compared with those of a comparison group of students (N=36) in ten situations. Significant differences between the two groups emerged when explaining outcomes of situations considered to be problematic for shy individuals. Causal attributions may reflect realistic and situation-specific…

Examined the relationship between early loss of a parent due to death or divorce, and later depression and suicide. Comparison of students (N=10) who lost a parent before age eight with controls (N=10), showed early loss subjects were easily reminded of death and tended to structure death cognitively. (JAC)

Administered the Brief Symptom Inventory to married residents (N=106) of a retirement community. Three scales (Anxiety, Interpersonal Sensitivity, and Paranoid Ideation) provided maximum separation between males and females. Concludes that with marital status, education, and health controlled, male and female elderly show distinct patterns of…

Looks at the social and psychological effects on users of the introduction of online catalogs in libraries, examines several major changes in public and professional use of the catalog that result from online systems, and examines some of the unintended social effects of each of these changes. Three references are listed. (EJS)

Teachers' problems are inadequately understood, and conceptions of their behavior are inadequate. As a result, expectations of rapid change in education have been disappointed. To understand people's actions, one must understand their intentions. Personal construct theory can help with the understanding of teachers. (PP)

Discusses psychological characteristics of abused women including low self-esteem, dependency, learned helplessness, fear, and psychological neediness. Provides guidelines for career counseling with abused women. Basic elements include guidance regarding career opportunities, counseling for personal adjustment, coaching on job-seeking skills, and…

Fifth- and sixth-grade students (N=600) were assessed regarding smoking activity, parents' smoking, four dimensions of self-esteem, and attitudes toward school. Multivariate analyses showed students were more likely to begin smoking if they had parents who smoked, had low self-esteem, and disliked school and feared failure. (Author)

Divorced subjects (N=133) completed questionnaires to assess adjustment to divorce, and to obtain information about the nature of their divorce. Most subjects reported that the divorce decision had been the woman's. Women showed better adjustment than men on a divorce adjustment scale and reported fewer suicidal feelings. (Author/RC)

Presents literature relevant to initial group structure and advances a model of group development based upon personal construct theory. The proposed model illuminates the relationship between initial structure and the psychological processes underlying group development. Research questions are posited to advance empirical tests of the model. (RC)

Explores the social nature of denial and the functionality of denial in preserving relationships threatened by knowledge of terminal illness. Asserts that denial serves to forestall social withdrawal by the patient and his/her social circle, as well as promoting role enactments necessary to medical treatment. (Author)

Showed that depth of experiencing and shifts in awareness were higher following Gestalt intervention. Reported conflict resolution was also greater. Results support claims for the efficacy of Gestalt two-chair dialogue used in the context of a good working relationship in helping to resolve intrapsychic conflicts. (Author)

Developed scale for each sex to measure defensiveness about the marital relationship and to measure defensiveness about the sexual relationship of couples. Presents evidence to support that these content specific scales surpass a global defensiveness scale as a measure of defensiveness regarding couples' sexual or marital relationship. (Author)

Established differentiations among types of depression by examining the subjective experiences of depression. Results showed consistent differences among patients as a function of whether their experiences of depression focused primarily on issues of dependency and/or self-criticism or an absence of these issues. (Author)

Examined effect of emotion on recall of self-generated paired associates under conditions of immediate and delayed retention. Results showed that, with immediate retention, recall of associates to emotional stimuli was significantly lower than to neutral stimuli and, with delayed retention, associations to emotional stimuli were better recalled.…