Research supported in part by U.S. Office of Education, OEC-4-6-061646-1909.

Learned helplessness has recently incorporated attribution theory to predict the specific occurrence/nonoccurrence of the motivational, cognitive and affective deficits characteristic of helplessness. College students (N=50) participated in a study to investigate the effects of a personal-universal helplessness manipulation on subsequent task…

The "speech anxiety peak experience" is the time during the speech event when the most anxiety is felt. A study tested the hypothesis that speakers would report higher communication anxiety levels at the beginning of the speech event rather than at the middle or end of the presentation. A Communication Apprehension Graph (CAG) was developed to…

A promising avenue for characterizing individuals lies in an examination of the antecedents of recorded behaviors. Autobiographical information from college students was used as an alternative to traditional personality methodology to demonstrate the scientific utility of biodata. The traits selected for investigation were positive and negative…

Brinkmanship behaviors are challenges to authority expressed in such a mannner that expected negative sanctions are typically avoided. They are usually extemporaneous, involve satire or sarcasm, and take place in front of an audience. This study investigated 43 principals' and 137 teachers' perceptions of teacher brinkmanship behaviors and sought…

This student guide for a program focusing on the psychological preparation of prospective parents for parenthood is designed around a magazine format to allow maximum flexibility to different groups using the materials. The guide is divided into seven sections: (1) an overview of the theme and contents; (2) a summary of the major learnings of the…

The document reviews literature on the effects of culture shock and suggests reasons that anthropological writings seldom deal with the subject. Definitions of culture shock begin with the writings of anthropologist Kalvero Oberg, who first introduced the term in the mid 1950s. Oberg wrote that culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that…

Awareness and acknowledgement of stress-related overeating and loss of control tendencies may facilitate subsequent weight loss efforts, provided that alternative stress-coping resources are available to aid adjustment to major life changes. College students with weight concerns, particularly those susceptible to "mood" eating and binge…

Agoraphobia is the most pervasive and serious phobic response seen by clinicians, accounting for approximately 50 to 60% of all phobic problems. The symptoms of agoraphobia, a condition in which an individual fears entering public areas, include fears of leaving home, fainting, entering open and closed spaces, shopping, entering social situations,…

This study focuses on the communication patterns (that is, talking of individual experiences and knowledge of other's experiences) of Holocaust related issues in the families of survivors and investigates the consequences of these patterns as reflected in the descendants' knowledge about the Holocaust and their attitudes toward its survivors. A…

Data reported are part of a larger study investigating the antecedents of abuse and, more generally, parent-child interaction. Various personality and attitudinal variables were assessed prenatally and 3 months after the birth of the first child of 267 high-risk mothers. Four consistent factors emerged, two relating to personality variables, one…

EDUCATIONAL SUBJECT-MATTER PREFERENCES, INTERESTS, AND MOTIVATIONS OF STUDENTS WERE INVESTIGATED AS THEY RELATE TO INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC SUCCESS. AN INTENSIVE STUDY WAS FIRST MADE OF THE ATTITUDES AND REASONING ACTIVITIES OF INDIVIDUALS AT VARYING LEVELS WITHIN THE BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, AREA, USING--(1) WRITTEN AND ORAL PROTOCOLS, (2) OBSERVATIONS,…

THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATED THE FACTORS OF "DIVERGENT PRODUCTIVE THINKING" WHICH CONTRIBUTE MOST TO CREATIVE BEHAVIOR. TWO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS WERE INVOLVED. ONE WAS RELATIVELY LARGE, IN A MODERATE-INCOME AREA. THE OTHER WAS SMALLER, AND WAS SITUATED IN A PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY. IN THE SMALLER SCHOOL SOME 220 STUDENTS WERE TESTED IN TWO…

THE FREQUENCY OF MALADJUSTMENT AMONG TEACHERS IS SUCH THAT IN 12 YEARS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION THE CHANCES ARE 7 TO 1 THAT A CHILD WILL HAVE AT LEAST TWO MALADJUSTED TEACHERS. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT WHILE TEACHING IS NOT ONE OF THE DIRECT CAUSES OF THE MALADJUSTMENT, THE FACTORS INVOLVED DO INCLUDE PERSONAL PROBLEMS, COMMUNITY PRESSURES, AND…

An exploratory study concerned with the measurement of perseveration, or persistence, as a personality variable was based on the work of G.V. Hamilton, an early investigator in the field. Persistently maladaptive behavior was hypothesized to be a chief characteristic of neurosis. An experimental problem-solving situation was designed to…