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The aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure of a Norwegian version of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) and to investigate how sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is related to personality traits of neuroticism, extraversion, and openness and to subjective health complaints (SHC) in a sample of 167 undergraduate psychology students. The results showed that the variance in a shortened version of the HSPS was best described by three separate factors: ease of excitation (EOE), aesthetic sensitivity (AES), and low sensory threshold (LST). Furthermore, the result showed than an overall SPS factor (EOE, LST, and AES combined) was predicted positively by neuroticism and openness and negatively by extraversion. With respect to SHC, the results showed that EOE and LST were positively associated with psychological health complaints. However, the personality trait of neuroticism contributed more than the SPS factors as predictor of SHC. In conclusion, the present study supported a shortened version of the HSPS and its relation to personality factors and SHC.

The present aim was to investigate changes in self-concept and self-concept stability during children's transition from kindergarten to primary school, and the relationship between children's self-concept and their adjustment to elementary school. 346 children took part in this 2-yr. longitudinal study. The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children was used to assess children's self-concept. Children's school adjustment was assessed using the schools' academic, behavioral, and social-emotional procedures. Children's self-concept appeared relatively stable and the decline in scores appeared to be practically unimportant. Analysis showed that children's school adjustment mainly affects the academic dimension of self-concept.

Effects of interior office color and individual stimulus screening ability, i.e., instinctive perceptual filtering of irrelevant stimuli, on perceived performance and job satisfaction were examined on various outcome measures over a 4-day work week in a laboratory setting. Workers performed specific tasks and worked regular hours for 4 consecutive days in the same office. They were separated into three groups according to their ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli in the interior space. Those in the white and predominantly blue-green offices reported higher perceived job performance and satisfaction than those in the predominantly red office regardless of stimulus screening ability. Workers with high to moderate stimulus screening ability indicated greater perceived performance and job satisfaction than did workers with low stimulus screening ability. Results for color schemes are discussed in terms of preference and social expectations.

Understanding how objects are represented in early visual processing is a critical issue for models of vision. Current models can be distinguished in terms of the assumptions made about the basic features of vision and the processes involved in the combination of these basic features (Essock, 1992; Treisman, 1993; WoIfe, 1994). The analysis of the nature of object representation and the implications of the psychological stimulus for "later" processing of visual information have received considerable attention. Garner (1974) proposed a theoretical framework which described distinctions in separable and integral stimulus structure based on speeded sorting, classification, and similarity-scahg tasks. Separable stimd, e.g., circle size and angle of radial he, were described as objects which were processed in terms of independent dimensions. Converging tasks demonstrated that the dimensions of separable stimuh did not interact; adults could successfully selectively attend to dimensional components and ignore variations of irrelevant dimensions, and redundant dimensional information did not affect processing. In contrast, the dimensions of integral stimuli, e.g., hue and brightness, were processed as fused unitary objects; variations of irrelevant dimensions interfered with processing, and the addition of redundant information fachtated processing (see Garner, 1974). Callaghan. (1984; Callahan, Lasaga, Garner, 1986) adapted Garner's

Internal consistency of scores on the Matching Familiar Figures Test-20 and patterns of latencies and errors were estimated for 337 boys and 287 girls between the ages of 6 and 11 years, in the first five grades of primary school. The Matching Familiar Figures Test-20 presented moderate coefficients of internal consistency (.77) for errors and high coefficients (.94) for latencies. The correlation between latencies and errors was moderate and significant (−.50).

98 subjects rated the 8 colored cards from the Lüscher Color Test from their most to least preferred colors. Lüscher claimed subjects who select identical color combinations have similar personalities. Statements were formed from Lüscher's descriptors of personalities while ensuring that the social desirability of the statements was equal. Subjects were asked to state the extent to which their personalities matched the descriptive statements. Lüscher suggested that people who favor red and yellow are more extraverted than those who prefer blue and green, but the data did not support Lüscher's predictions. Color preference was not related to self-descriptions when social desirability was controlled. Moreover, people favoring green and blue were not more introverted than those favoring red or yellow.

Summary.-Microgenetic styles of regulation of subjects with (n = 46) and without (n = 44) psychometric evidence of personality disorders were assessed by means of the Serial Color-Word Test. The disordered group were characterized by the primary Dissociative patrern and by very low values of the initial strategy called ITa. Subjects with psychometric evidence of Histrionic (n = 21) and Obsessive-Compulsive (n = 21) Personality Disorders were then compared. Histrionic personality corresponded most often to a primary Stabilized style, with a progressive slight increase of dissociation over time (Cv type). The compulsive trait was instead associated with hgh primary cumulation (and moderately elevated dissociation), concomitantly with secondary dissociative patterns (CDr and Dv/CDv). These results seem to encourage further clinical research with the Serial Color-Word Tesr. A recent paper (Rubino, Verucci, & Fortuna, 1993) described in detail the rationale and the methodology of the Serial Color-Word Test, a microgenetic technique for the study of patterns of adaptation to conflicts (cf. Smith & Klein, 1953; Smith, Nyrnan, & Hentschel, 1970) and reported the first findings of a psychopathological research program centered on the instrument. The present study represents a second research step and investigates the regulative styles of personality disorders in general, and those of the Histrionic and the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders in particular. The latter two personality types were chosen because traditionally they have prominent positions among character pathologies. Extensive reviews of the percept-genetic data regarding hysterical and compulsive personalities are already available (Rubino, Saya, & Pezzarossa, 1992; Rubino, Sonnino, & Tonini, 1992). A thorough explanation of the classification and abbreviations relating to microgenetic regulative styles was presented by Rubino, et al. (1993). The particular sensitivity of the Serial Color-Word Test to character neuroses was suggested long ago (Smith, Nilsson, J therefore, it was expected that subjects with high scores on measures of personahty disorders would present more signs of primary and secondary dissociation and cumulation-dissociation on the Serial Color-Word Test compared with nondisordered controls. It was also hypothesized that compulsive personalities would be characterized by high ITa values (Smith & Nyrnan, 1959), while no prediction could be advanced about histrionic personalities. The recent find

128 male high school students were tested for achievement motives, future-time orientation and perceived intrinsic instrumentality, and answered several questions related to future goals or tests at different distances in time. Success-oriented individuals and individuals with high future-time orientation perceived the goals as closer, planned to initiate preparations for the goals earlier, and planned to devote more time in the preparation than failure-oriented individuals and those with low future-time orientation. Interactions of motives and future-time orientation on the perception of goal proximity and planned time of initiating goal preparations did also emerge. Motives and future-time orientation affected the dependent variables most when the goals were at some distance in time (i.e., 1 yr. and 3 mo.), and the effects were minimized for the goal relatively close in time (i.e., 1 wk.). Individuals with high instrumentality report that they would start preparations earlier, devote more time to all goal preparations, and perceive more worry for the goal closest in time than individuals with low instrumentality. In addition, interactions of motives and instrumentality and of future-time orientation and instrumentality are presented. The results are interpreted and discussed in relation to the dynamics of action theory of Atkinson and Birch and other theories of achievement motivation.

Although some attention has been given to the scale characteristics of modifying adverbs in Likert scales, the existing work has been concerned primarily with majority group members. Toward the goal of identifying valid labels for use on Likert scales with black-American respondents, 105 black-American adults scaled each of 27 adverbs (e.g., very, most) on four different adjectives (e.g., important). Four criteria for a set of ideal adverbs were identified for univalent scales. No set of four adverbs, however, met the criteria. Differences in the mean ratings of eight of the adverbs were found by sex group and across the four adjectives modified. The adverbs were not scored at the extremes of the continuum, despite our asking the respondents to rate the adverbs used to define the end points of the continuum. High variances were found across all adverbs. Further research must address the respondents' perceptual frame in the use of such scales.

A scale to assess sleep disturbance of children with developmental disabilities is reported. The scale has been used with a small sample of 14 children diagnosed as having Tourette Disorder, 36 physically handicapped children (cerebral palsy). Also, a group of 115 nonhandicapped Native American children were surveyed to assess whether the items might be appropriate for use with such children. The scale has 6 distinct factors and appears to have adequate reliability and validity.

In a sample of 273 American undergraduates, scores on a battery of personality tests did not differ by birth order in 2-child or 3-child families.

In a sample of 139 community residents, credit card ownership was associated with age, sex, income, attitudes toward credit cards and toward money, and scores on a verbal measure of prefrontal cortical dysfunction, supporting a neuroeconomic approach to economic decision-making.

A total of 107 Malay primary school girls (8–9 yr. old) completed a set of measurements on eating behavior (ChEAT, food neophobia scales, and dieting experience), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, body shape satisfaction, dietary intake, weight, and height. About 38% of the girls scored 20 and more on the ChEAT, and 46% of them reported dieting by reducing sugar and sweets (73%), skipping meals (67%), reducing fat foods (60%) and snacks (53%) as the most frequent methods practiced. In general, those girls with higher ChEAT scores tended to have lower self-esteem ( r = .39), indicating they were more unwilling to try new foods (food neophobic) ( r = .29), chose a smaller figure for desired body size ( r = −.25), and were more dissatisfied with their body size ( r = .31).

This study confirmed that scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test of 106 undergraduate art students from four universities were positively correlated .32 with grade point average, .27 with artistic ability, and .21 with how students perceived their own artistic competence in relation to peers. The 12 art students who practiced Transcendental Meditation tended to score higher on the test of field independence ( Ms = 13.7 vs 10.4, 10.5, and 12.8) than the nonmeditating students ( ns = 22, 38, and 34). Data suggest experiments may be useful.

The Group Embedded Figures Test of Oltman, Raskin, and Witkin was administered to 60 high school students (30 with learning disabiliues and 30 without learning disabilities) to measure their cognitive styles of field dependence versus field independence. The analysis showed that the students with learning disabilities scored as more field dependent than those without learning disabilities.

A comparative analysis was conducted of five different methods for scoring the Rod-and-Frame Test to examine the convergent validities of each of the five methods with performance on the Embedded Figures Test for a sample of 408 13- to 16-yr.-olds. The scoring methods included the absolute error, the algebraic error, the absolute value of the algebraic error, the frame effect, and an assessment of relative field dependence. Correlations obtained among the five methods and the Embedded Figures Test indicated different patterns for boys and girls. In general, the method which employed the absolute value of the algebraic error yielded the strongest convergent validity coefficients with scores on the Embedded Figures Test and Group Embedded Figures Test for boys (.62 and –.54, respectively), although, for girls, the absolute algebraic error and absolute error both yielded coefficients of .50 with Embedded Figures Test scores and –.46 with Group Embedded Figures Test scores.

The Children's Embedded Figures Test, the Rod and Frame Test to measure the field dependence-independence cognitive style, Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Tests to measure cognitive ability, and two cancellation tasks (Zazzo task and Bourdon task) to assess sustained attention were administered to 179 boys and 110 girls whose average age was 9.0 yr. Correlations between scores on measures of field dependence-independence and cognitive ability were moderated. Average correlations between scores on measures of field dependence-independence, cognitive ability, and measures of sustained attention was .23 for the Zazzo task and quite weak (.06) for the Bourdon task.

The role played by attribution of meaning in research involving simulation is examined. Acknowledgement of this role, lacking to date, queries the traditional use of simulation but also opens up interesting research questions.

39 subjects performed a task in which they were required to detect the presence of a resistive load during the inhalation phase of breathing. Subjects were also measured on somatization tendencies, using the SCL-90—R test. A signal-detection analysis indicated an inverse relationship between ability to detect the resistive load during breathing and somatization score. Results are discussed relative to possible ramifications for somatoform disorders.

This study examined the relationship between the Type A behavior pattern and adherence to a regular running program. Type A runners among 149 men of 25 to 39 yr. age reported significantly higher self-motivation than the Type B runners. Research should continue to examine motivational patterns associated with long-term adherence to physical exercise.

The present study investigated relationships between judges' ratings of hostility from the content of eight TAT-like stories and scores on Hostile Feelings and Hostile Actions scales of the Apperceptive Personality Test. This test was administered to 104 college student volunteers (53 women, 51 men), who received extra credit on examination scores for their participation. Each subject made up 8 stories to stimulus pictures and then filled out 8 objectively scorable questionnaires about their stories from the Apperceptive Personality Test. The stories were rated by two “blind” judges for hostile feelings and hostile activities using Fine's 1955 scoring criteria. Agreement of judges ranged from .47 to .80. Correlations of judge's ratings with Apperceptive Personality Test scores were .13 for Hostile Feelings and .41 ( df=102, p< .01) for Hostile Actions. Thus questionnaire scores for Hostile Feelings are unrelated and scores for Hostile Actions only moderately related to judges' ratings of story content.

The study investigated whether graphologists can infer extraversion from handwriting correctly. On the basis of three personality questionnaires, three persons (targets) were classified as extraverted and three as introverted. Ten graphologists independently analysed the handwriting of the targets and classified them as extraverted or introverted. Of the 60 (10 graphologists for 6 targets) classifications 58 were correct, which shows the graphologists assessed the classification of extraversion from handwriting. Graphologists agreed substantially on which characteristics of the handwriting were indicative for classification as extraversion or introversion. In each handwriting sample, however, both extraverted and introverted characteristics were present. Eventual classification may be based on the relative frequency of the two kinds of characteristics. Comparative studies like this one indicate that in research one should consider whether graphologists and psychologists share the same notion of extraversion.

liefs in Christianity (Factor I), life after deach (Factor II), extraterrestrial life (Factor III), and psychic phenomena (Factor IV), and the factors accounted for 31.8%, 14.3%, 12.5%, and 8.8% of the common variance, respectively. Neuroticism scores were not associated with any of the four factor scores, while Psychoticism scores were negatively associated with scores on Factor III (partial correlation controlling for age and sex was r = -.22). Extraversion scores were positively associated with scores on Factor 111 (r = .21). Scores on &ng's scale were associated with scores on Factor I1 (r =.20). Incidentally, Ring's scale scores were associated with Neuroticism scores (r= ,201 but not with Psychoticism, Extraversion or Lie scale scores. The present results indicate chat behefs in paranormal phenomena were not positively associated with scores on measures of psychological disturbance for this sample of adolescents. Belref in lih after deach, however, was associated with paranormal experiences in childhood.

A stimulus portraying a mother figure who is leaving a baby alone on the floor (Separation Theme) was presented tachistoscopically at increasing exposure times, according to the method of the Defense Mechanism Test, to three sex-matched groups of 31 normal subjects, 31 patients with bronchial asthma, and 31 patients with Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. The frequency of several codings was significantly higher in both clinical groups compared with normal controls. Asthma patients were characterized by reports of the child seen as a statue and of contact or fusion between mother and child. Agoraphobic patients employed different strategies, centered on the mother rather than on the child and mainly represented by the denial of mother's action, e.g., she is not leaving, she is entering. The findings support the hypothesis of a difference in defensive organization between neurotic and psychosomatic patients.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the performance of male amateur soccer players on tests of field dependence/independence and soccer-specific decision-making tests. The relationships between the participants' ( N=14) accuracy, and speed of decision, on simple and complex soccer decisionmaking tests; scores on Parts B or C of the Group Embedded Figures Test under normal conditions; scores on Parts B or C of the Group Embedded Figures Test when timed; and time taken to complete the timed condition of the Group Embedded Figures Test were examined. There were no significant correlations between performance on the soccer specific tests and the tests of field dependence/independence.

This study analyzes the Children's Embedded Figures Test by examining its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, the order of difficulty of the items, and the change of scores with age. Among the sample 337 boys and 287 girls who were between the ages of 6 and 11 years and in the first five grades of primary school scores increased significantly. The test presented moderate internal consistency (.86), and the test-retest reliability after one year was .63. The order of difficulty of the items did not coincide with the order proposed by the test's authors and varied from grade to grade, i.e., in the Tent series Item 4 and in the House series Item 5 were among the most difficult.

15 children with inflammatory bowel disease were given projective tests after initial diagnosis. Analysis of responses suggested affective constriction, abandonment anxiety, and depression. The children were of good intelligence with good object relationships and psychosexual differentiation for their ages. Severe psychopathology and bizarre slippage were absent.

The purpose of this study was to compare the scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test, a measure of field dependence, for 25 male intermediate-level snooker players with scores of 25 intermediate-level sportsmen engaged in soccer, rugby, field hockey, and tennis and to examine the relation between scores on field dependence and performance on a snooker decision-making test. All the snooker players also took a test of decision making in snooker. The snooker players scored significantly more field independent than the sports-science majors on the Group Embedded Figures Test. A Pearson correlation of 0.78 was obtained between scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test and the decision-making test. As there may be an association between scores on field dependence and decision making in snooker, further research should examine sports like lawn bowls and pool where decisions are made in a static environment.

This study investigated the potential relationship between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and level of empathetic responding. Analyses indicated that the Thinking-Feeling scale was significantly associated with ratings of empathy for 49 graduate students in counselor education. Sex and graduate grade point average were also related significantly to empathic responding. Results are discussed in terms of their significance for research.

Test-retest reliability of the Work Addiction Risk Test over 2 weeks was .83 for 151 undergraduates; coefficient α was .85.

Preschoolers (27 boys, mean age = 4.7 yr.; 24 girls, mean age = 4.6 yr.) were assessed for field dependence-independence (Preschool Embedded Figures Test), sex-role stereotyping (Sex-role Learning Inventory), and receptive verbal intelligence (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised). Relative to the girls, the boys were significantly less field-independent and significantly more sex-role stereotyped. After age and Peabody IQs were partialled out by multiple regression, same-sex typing in boys and cross-sex typing in girls were significant predictors of field independence. The regression analysis also suggested that, by 5.3 yr. of age, the boys as a group surpassed the girls on field independence. Limitations of the present research and educational implications of the over-all findings are discussed.

A study of 79 female college students examined the reliability and validity of two new size/weight-related measures of body image. The Body-size Appraisal Scale and the Overweight Preoccupation Scale were derived from existing instruments. Analyses supported the internal consistency and 2-wk. test-retest reliability of both new scales. Correlations of scores on each scale with measures of anxiety about being fat, negative body-image affect and avoidance, restrained and bulimic eating, and depression support their concurrent and construct validity. Scores on the Overweight Preoccupation Scale were also related to the extent of investment in physical appearance. Regression analyses indicated that each new scale could be predicted from several other conceptually relevant body-image attitudes, even after actual body weight was controlled.

We administered the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Hopelessness Index 18 times over a 39-wk. period to an initial sample of 76 old, frail, multiply impaired, and depressed nursing home residents participating in a longitudinal quasi-experimental study on the effects of cognitive group interventions on cognition, depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction. As no changes over time were observed on the outcome variables of geriatric depression and hopelessness, the stability of the instruments' internal consistency was examined longitudinally. For the Geriatric Depression Scale, Kuder-Richardson KR-20 coefficients ranged from .69 to .88, with a mean of .82 ( SD = .05). Coefficients for the Hopelessness Index were between .72 and .86, with a mean of .80 ( SD = .04). We conclude that both instruments give reliable measurements of geriatric depression and hopelessness in old, frail, and depressed nursing home residents.

We compared the coping strategies of 39 short-sleepers and 33 longer-sleepers to the stresses associated with the October 17, 1989 San Francisco Bay Area earthquake using their responses to the eight scales of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Over-all, the short-sleepers scored significantly higher on this questionnaire and in general, the pattern of their responses was consistent with inferences that could be drawn from a 1972 paper by Hartmann, Baekeland, and Zwilling.

To assess the relationship between complexity preference as measured by the Barron-Welsh Revised Art Scale and models of arousal and personality, 36 male substance abusers and 24 community controls were given this tool as well as a battery of personality tests. Some support was found for the notion that emotionality, as measured by the Test of Emotional Styles, was associated with preference for complexity. Relevant neurobiological models of affective expression and hemispheric asymmetry are discussed in light of these findings.

A 3-mo. follow-up was made of 64 male veterans who were discharged from a 21-day Alcohol Detoxification Treatment Program at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Lyons, NJ. Scores on the Rotter I-E and Alcohol Responsibility Scales were significantly correlated with tendencies toward a more external direction among the 13% who relapsed, significant on the I-E scale and nonsignificant on the Alcohol Responsibility Scale. When tests were compared as possible predictor variables of alcoholic relapse, the difference in favor of the I-E scale was statistically nonsignificant.

The Profile of Mood States was administered to two groups of male university students in wheelchairs. Both the 26 wheelchair athletes and the 28 wheelchair nonathletes exhibited the iceberg profile associated with positive mental health. Multivariate analysis indicated that wheelchair athletes had a significantly lower score on Depression than the wheelchair nonathletes but all scores were in the normal range.

Nigerian high school athletes (112 high and 90 low in performance) and 108 nonathletes were administered the Tennessee Self-concept Scale. Athletes scored significantly higher on all self-concept subscales except behavior, moral-ethical and family. Better athletes scored significantly higher on all aspects of self-concept: social, moral-ethical, family and behavior, as is consistent with findings from the USA and other countries.

Fairly large groups of Type A and Type B college students were asked to respond to the Hassles and Uplifts Scale. The Type A students reported significantly more hassles and uplifts than their Type B peers. These data support the view that Type A people lead more intense, event-filled lives than Type B people.

This experiment was designed to compare sensitive and insensitive children under psychological stress during performance on a motor skill. A new index for sensitivity based on the psychological and physiological data (heart rate) was introduced. The subjects were 50 Japanese children. Although experimental groups received competitive instruction and were given the mirror-drawing task, a control group did not receive such instruction. The sensitive group made fewer errors than the insensitive group and the control group. These results suggest that the combined index is a more useful measure of psychological stress than a single index.

Psychometric properties (reliability, internal consistency, factor structure, and construct validity) of the Swedish version of the Noise Sensitivity Scale were satisfactory. Support for the external validity of Weinstein's findings was described.

This study assesses the effect of trait anxiety scores on subjects' responses to volcanic eruption hazard and earthquake hazard in Lonquimay and Aihué, respectively. Lonquimay is located in the southern Chilean Andes and Alhué is located in central Chile in the Coastal Range. The former was afflicted by a volcanic eruption which commenced on Christmas Day 1988 and the latter by an earthquake on March 3, 1985. Expectations of high damage and fear from a radio hazard prediction were associated with high trait-anxiety scores in the Alhué sample while positive adjustments to extenuate the hazard effect reached significance for the Lonquimay sample.

To assess the level of concordance between two published measures of dream bizarreness, 100 randomly selected dreams from 93 college students were scored for primary process using the Auld, Goldenberg, and Weiss scale and for dream distortion using Zepelin's scale. This analysis yielded a strong relationship between these measures, indicating adequate concurrent validity for the content analysis of the construct of dream bizarreness.

Data of 30 men and 30 women in college show similar body-image perception which is associated with abnormalities of eating or psychological instability.

Mean scores of students on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A and the Creative Imagination Scale were higher if the latter preceded the former ( n = 15); in contrast, in the reverse order ( n = 20) scores on both tests were lower.

No significant association was found between scores on Bortner's measure of Type A personality and self-reported poor driving habits in a sample of 71 college students, either for the 32 men or 39 women. Findings contrast with those reported in 1986 by Perry who measured Type A personality on the Jenkins Activity Survey.

The possibility that sex differences found in previous research on field dependence may have been due partly to experimenters' expectancy was investigated. Three pairs of naive student-experimenters received different information about expected outcomes for males and females on the Rod and Frame Test and the Embedded Figures Test. There was no evidence of an experimenters' expectancy effect, but there was also no significant difference in the performance of men and women on these two tests of field dependence.

The construct validity of the Barron-Welsh Art Scale as a measure of creativity was questioned. It was hypothesized that figure preferences of creative subjects are more strongly determined by stimulus communicability than stimulus complexity. In a first study a significant negative relationship between operational measures of communicability and complexity of Barron-Welsh drawings was found. A second study of 24 undergraduate subjects showed communicability to be significantly related to peer ratings of creativity whereas complexity was not. A third study of 60 high school subjects showed that a derived score, reflecting the relative preference for drawings of low communicability and low complexity over those of high communicability and high complexity, was significantly related to staff's ratings of creativity. These results were in direct opposition to an interpretation involving complexity in previous research on the Barron-Welsh Art Scale. An alternative interpretation was discussed.