Biomedical subjects

D E Silber

Publications and source records attributed to D E Silber.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Assessing the validity of the semantic differential portion of the Apperceptive Personality Test.

This study investigated the validity of the semantic differential portion of the Apperceptive Personality Test with 225 undergraduates who completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale, actual-self and ideal-self semantic differential scales (e.g., Actual-self and ideal-self), and either the Apperceptive Personality Test or a modified version. A projected-self score was calculated using the semantic differential ratings of the hero(ine) character on the test, e.g., Projected self. A strong negative correlation indicated that, as the difference between the Ideal-self and Actual-self dereased, the difference between the Actual-self and Projected-self increased. Discriminant analyses indicated that highly guarded participants, e.g., high Social Desirability scores, showed more congruency between Ideal-self and Actual-self and less congruency between Actual-self ratings and Projected-self on the APT than did less guarded participants. When the difference scores incorporated only those semantic differential items that loaded on an Ealuative factor, the same result of discriminant analysis was found when participants who comleted the modified version were included. These findings support the validity of the test's semantic differential items and suggest that guardedness tends to promote more similarity between Actual-self and Ideal-self and less similarity between Actual-self and Projected-self.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Measures of aggression in questionnaire ratings and stories from the Apperceptive Personality Test.

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 students 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 questionnaires scores for Hostile Feelings are unrelated and scores for Hostile Actions only moderately related to judge's ratings of story content.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Word-association patterns of mental hospital patients.

The present study concerned an attempt to corroborate the classic findings of Rapaport, Gill, and Schafer in distinguishing mental hospital patients from control subjects, using a new objectively scored word-association test. 12 computer-scored objective scales were used to compare groups of 101 mental hospital inpatients (n = 75, including 37 on a prison ward) and outpatients (n = 26) and 101 control subjects matched with the patients for sex, age, racial and ethnic status, and education. A stepwise multiple discrimination analysis of the scores on the 12 scales of the test significantly distinguished the groups. Scales weighted most highly were Masochism, Antonyms, and Aggression. Subsequent t tests suggested that control subjects scored higher on Aggression, Self-reference, and Masochism scales, whereas patients scored higher on Rejections (nonresponses to stimulus words). Of these, only Self-reference and Rejections were items identified by Rapaport, et al.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

The adult personality of childhood incest victims.

This is a further report on a group of 30 incest survivors we wrote about in 1994. Here, we report on measures of personality derived from the Apperceptive Personality Test, which contains many variables similar to those on the one we reported in 1994. On both measures, incest survivors can be characterized as having more negative perceptions and self-descriptions than the comparison group.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Personality of rape survivors as a group and by relation of survivor to perpetrator.

Adult survivors of rape were compared to controls on 34 scales of the Apperceptive Personality Test and Draw-A-Person Questionnaire. They also reported on present or past weight problems, alcohol or drug problems, and psychotherapy. They differed on 12 scales and on alcohol, weight problems, and therapy. These survivors more frequently reported problems or therapy and differed on personality scales in the direction of assigning fewer positive or more negative attributes to their characters. Those raped by relatives, dates, or acquaintances were more negative than those raped by strangers on four scales, but did not differ on alcohol or weight problems or participation in psychotherapy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Personalities of women reporting incestuous abuse during childhood.

Previous studies of adult females reporting incestuous sexual abuse in childhood, using the Apperceptive Personality Test and Draw-a-Person Questionnaire, indicated abusees attributed more negative traits to their characters than did controls. No differences were found by type of abuse or relation to the abuser. In these studies abusees and controls were obtained from different sources, although matched on several characteristics. The present study compared 79 incestuous abusees to 79 matched controls all drawn from the same subject pool. Multivariate analysis of variance identified significant differences between the groups. In contrast with earlier studies questionnaire scores distinguished rape victims from those abused without rape and distinguished those abused by older relatives from those abused by peers in two additional multivariate analyses of variance.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Prediction of depression with the Apperceptive Personality Test.

This study examined the relationship between depression and the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT), a picture-story assessment device with an objective scoring system. Subjects were 206 undergraduate volunteer females who completed the APT and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Multiple regression analysis showed significant APT predictors for the BDI. Results are discussed and directions for future research are proposed.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Personality characteristics of incest survivors on the Draw-A-Person Questionnaire.

We investigated the psychological sequelae of incest through the use of the Draw-A-Person Questionnaire (DAPQ; Karp, 1990), a projective technique with an objective component. A group of adult incest survivors (n = 30) and a matched control sample (n = 30) participated in our study. Ratings of characters drawn by subjects were compared between the two groups on 10 measures hypothesized to differentiate the groups. Results suggest that incest survivors project more negative characteristics on their drawn characters than do control women. In addition, survivors treat their male and female characters differently to a greater extent than do controls. Findings indicate that the DAPQ is a valuable method to detect long-lasting repercussions that may stem from an incestuous experience. Specific differences between the groups are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Factor structure of the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT).

This study examined the factor structure of the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT), a recently developed picture-story technique with both projective and objective features. University undergraduates (513 males, 664 females) were administered the APT in individual group sessions. A principal components analysis (Varimax rotation) was performed with 18 of the standard APT variables and resulted in three similar factors for both male and female samples. The first and largest factor was a positive evaluation factor, the second a negative evaluation factor, and the third an "intensity" factor. The usefulness and meaning of the factor analysis are discussed briefly.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Prediction of MMPI clinical scores from the Apperceptive Personality Test.

Eight independent scores from a new objective/projective personality test, the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT), were validated against eight clinical scores of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). In parallel studies of 150 male and 150 female college volunteers given both tests, weighted combinations of the 8 APT measures significantly predicted MMPI raw scores in 15 of 16 analyses (Ma scores could not be predicted for men). Of 84 predicted zero-order correlations between APT and MMPI measures, 50 (60%) were confirmed, 74% for women and 45% for men; however, the vast majority of these correlations were below .30.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Recommendations for the clinical use of the Apperceptive Personality Test.

The Apperceptive Personality Test (APT) is a new technique that combines the traditional story-telling method with a questionnaire about the characters in the story, to be filled out by the person being tested. The resulting information is tabulated, and a variety of scores are generated which yield information about the person's personality. The identified clinical signposts indicated by such scores are summarized in this article, along with two illustrative protocol fragments showing how to usual interpretive method is supplemented by the information from the questionnaire.

Adult↗

PubMed1988