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Positive and negative symptoms and the thematic organisation of schizophrenic speech.

This study questions the prevailing view that schizophrenic delusions, hallucinations and incoherence of speech (positive symptoms) reflect loss of cognitive control and that flattening of affect and poverty of speech (negative symptoms) reflect restriction of cognitive processing. The prevailing view was examined by analysing the thematic organisation of speech produced by 18 patients describing pictures. Results showed that (a) positive and negative symptom schizophrenics did not differ in the control and restriction of thematic speech organisation; (b) speech disordered schizophrenics, positive as well as negative, showed cognitive restriction, by producing fewer inferential ideas than non-speech disordered schizophrenics. The wider implications of these results are discussed, particularly the implications of (b) for the notion of concreteness in schizophrenia.

Adult↗

Storytelling: a measure of anxiety in hospitalized children.

This study investigates the use of storytelling as a method of measuring children's anxiety during hospitalization. Sixty-seven hospitalized children were asked to create stories about pictures they were shown. The stories were categorized as negative or positive in tone and, hence, the children were categorized as anxious or not anxious. Children who told negative stories displayed significantly more negative behaviors and showed significantly higher anxiety levels and poorer adjustment to hospitalization as measured by observational methods. The most anxious children were male, black, and rural. Implications for practitioners who work with children in medical settings are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Free association and repression-sensitization.

It was predicted that Subjects' scores on Byrne's Repression-Sensitization (R-S) Scale would be related to free associative style. When administered the R-S Scale, Subjects at the high and low extremes then took part in a free association task. Repressers manifested a prevalence of "avoidant" and sensitizers a prevalence of "approach" associations. However, this was true only of male Subjects.

Aggression↗

Further studies on deprivation/enhancement patterns.

Four studies were done to explore the construct validity of a previously established sex difference in TAT fantasy patterns. The results, both with various clinical groups and with normal children, support the notion that Deprivation/Enhancement fantasy patterns are meaningfully related to sexual identity and sex role development. The correlates of extreme D/E patterns are more clear for women than for men and involve elements of the "hysterical" character and cognitive style.

Adolescent↗

The effects of marijauna on verbalization and thought processes.

The verbal output of subjects in response to 10 cards of the TAT was obtained on two occasions and under placebo, marijauna low and high conditions. The themes were independently rated on 13 variables reflecting thought processes, emotional tone, control aggression, and sexual content by two judges. Significant differential dosage differences were obtained in terms of disruption of cognitive processes, and emotional tone. Moreover, a multivariate analysis yielded a significant discrimination among the three experimental conditions.

Adult↗

Perception of hostility in the TAT as a function of defensive style.

Groups of male and female students with high, intermediate, and low scores on Byrne's Scale of Repression-Sensitization judged the amount of hostility and the darkness of 10 TAT cards, including the blank. The groups' judgments for each card were expressed in terms of the statistic E, a non-parametric index of discriminability derived on the basis of the theory of signal detection. Subjects with low scores on the scale showed significantly lower E values for hostility (p less than .05), but not for darkness, than the other two groups. It was concluded that differences in sensitivity to affective stimulation underlie the dimension of Repression-Sensitization.

Darkness↗

TAT measures of gender identity (castration anxiety) in father-absent males.

DAT stories of 28 father-absent (FA) and 103 father-present (FP) college males were coded for castration anxiety. Relying on Stoller's (1974) use of castration anxiety (CA) as an index of core male gender identity, it was predicted that FA males would have less secure gender identity and higher CA than FP males. The FP subjects were grouped into three subgroups according to ratings of the quality of father-son interaction (positive, neutral and negative). Social class, age, SAT scores and story-length did not discriminate between FAs and FPs. FAs were significantly higher in CA, but there were no significant differences between the three FP subgroups. Age at father-loss did not affect CA, although father-absence through death rather than divorce, separation or desertion was associated with higher CA. Presence of a stepfather, other significant older male, sibling sex or birth-order did not affect CA level of FAs.

Adolescent↗

Validation of a projective measure of aggression-anxiety for five-year-old boys.

The validation of a projective measure of aggression-anxiety for five-year-old boys was carried out in three stages. The initial application of scaling technique to the cards from the CAT established an objective scale of the hostile content of the projective stimuli for a population of five-year-olds. Cards of low, medium, and high hostility were then selected for the validation of a scale of aggression-anxiety, using criterion groups based on teacher ratings. The scale was revised on the basis of an item analysis and successfully cross-validated on a new set of criterion groups. The hostile content of the cards did not prove to be a significant variable in projective expressions of aggression-anxiety although a subsidiary investigation of a scale of fantasy aggression did reveal the cards to be a significant variable.

Aggression↗

Marijuana-induced primary process content in the TAT.

Seventy-two normal adult male subjects wrote TAT stories under baseline and either placebo- or marijuana-ingestion conditions. Marijuana subjects received 20 mg. doses of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. The stories were keypunched and content analyzed with the Regressive Imagery Dictionary, which yields a score for primary process content. Results indicate that marijuana, relative to placebo, caused subjects to write stories with a higher proportion of primary process content than they had included in baseline stories.

Adult↗

Patterns of practice with the TAT in juvenile forensic settings.

Psychologists in juvenile forensic psychological clinics were surveyed about usage of the TAT. A clear majority uses the TAT as part of their assessment battery, the majority using between six and ten cards. Administration and scoring methods were examined. Selection of cards was harmonious with prior research on theme productivity. Many respondents were found not to use the TAT because of time constraints, a finding discussed in terms of appropriate standards of care. Additional research needs to establish representative as well as expected standards of ethical practice for the TAT among general clinical groups, both adult and adolescent.

Adolescent↗

Origin and history of an early TAT card: picture C.

The origin and history of Picture C is reviewed, and the role that David Ricks played in preserving many original TAT materials is presented. I suggest that a process similar to that employed with Picture C may have been used in the development of the other "old standbys." The unusual directions for the use of Picture C may possibly suggest awareness by C. D. Morgan and Murray of Schwartz's earlier work with the picture-story technique.

Anecdotes as Topic↗

Age differences in dreams. I: men's dreams and thematic apperceptive fantasy.

Is there a covert, middle-age shift towards passivity and lowered ego energy? Age differences were investigated in dreams recalled from REM sleep by fifty-eight well-educated men age twenty-seven to sixty-four, and also in their TAT stories and dreams recalled from sleep at home. There was no confirmation of previous findings, although there was evidence of a slight age-related decline of aggression in dreams. These results raise the possibility that previous findings reflect cohort differences rather than age changes. Dreams and TAT stories failed to correlate sufficiently to warrant any assumption that they are interchangeable or that they tap covert processes.

Adult↗