The relationship of self-disclosure to personality,adjustment and self-actualization

This study tested the hypothesis that a high level of self-disclosure is indicative of psychological adjustment and self-actualization. The self-disclosure scale. Social Avoidance and Distress, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Alienation and Repression-Sensitization scales were administered to 60 Ss. The results for all scales indicated that a high level of disclosure was associated with adjustment as measured by these scales. A second group of 94 Ss completed the self-disclosure scale and the Personal Orientation Inventory, a measure of self-actualization. The results indicated that high disclosers compared to low disclosers had achieved a higher level of self-actualization. That is, there were significant correlations between self-disclosure and measures of self-actualization such as Time Competence, Internal Support, Existentiality, Self-Acceptance and Capacity for Intimate Contact.     

Prediction of self-disclosure from objective personality assessment techniques

Prior theory and research have suggested that self-disclosure may have a curvilinear relationship with psychological disturbance. The present study investigated the hypothesis using the CPI, MMPI, and Bipolar Psychological Inventory and employing Ss (N = 28) from a correctional institution. Analyses involved correlational, multiple regression and discriminant analysis techniques. The results offer partial support for the hypothesis and add substantially to the external validity of prior research.     

Target personality characteristics and self-disclosure: An exploratory study

This study investigated the influence of target personality characteristics on self-disclosure. Using the Bem Q-Sort Technique, the subjects (71 male and 73 female undergraduate students) described the personality of the person to whom they disclose the most and the personality of the person to whom they disclose the least, as well as their own personality. Factor analysis revealed that there were several personality types to whom people disclose the most and the least. The various types are described and discussed. Results supported the hypothesis that both males and females prefer disclosing to individuals who are perceived as similar to themselves in personality. This finding has important implications for the therapeutic relationship with regard to matching therapist and client.     

The relation of person's motives for self-disclosure and the congruency of personality judgment by discloser and recipient

This study examined the relationship of a person's motives for self-disclosure and degree of self-disclosure to the congruency of personality judgment by the discloser and recipient. The subjects used were 76 pairs of close friends, members in each pair being of the same sex. Personality judgments of disclosers were executed by the disclosers themselves as well as the recipients; and disclosers were also asked to fill out (SMI) and (JSDQ). Results demonstrated that (JSDQ) had no relation to the congruency of personality judgments, but the motives had. In particular, persons who were apt to disclose based on mostly the emotional motive had the minimum congruencies on their personality judgment by disclosers and recipients.     

The effect of physician self-disclosure on patient self-disclosure and patient perceptions of the physician

ObjectivesPhysician self-disclosure is typically seen as patient-centered communication because it creates rapport and is seen as an expression of empathy. Given that many physician behaviors affect patients differently depending on whether they are shown by a female or male physician, we set out to test whether physician self-disclosure affects patients’ intentions to self-disclose and patients’ perceptions of their physicians depending on physicians’ gender.MethodTwo hundred and forty-four participants were recruited and randomly assigned to read one of 4 vignettes as if they were the patient in the dialogue (analogue patient design). They were then asked to report how they would react to the physician and how they perceived the him or her.ResultsPhysicians who self-disclosed were perceived as more empathic than physicians who did not, regardless of physician and patient gender. Physician self-disclosure had an effect on the behavioral intentions of the analogue patients, and this was moderated by physician gender. Analogue patients indicated to be more willing to self-disclose to female than to male physicians who self-disclosed.ConclusionIt is important to consider physician gender when training physicians in patient-centered communication because the same behavior can have different effects on patients depending on whether it originates from a female or a male physician.Practical implicationsPhysicians can use self-disclosure to express empathy. When female physicians do so, they might obtain more personal information from patients, which can positively affect diagnosis and treatment.     

The influence of verbal encoding on the memory of visual information

The previous research which investigated the effect of verbal encoding on the memory of visual information has yielded contradictory results: facilitation and inhibition of performance by verbal encoding. However, it has not been elucidated why and how these conflicting results were brought about. The main purpose of this study is to show that verbal encoding not only facilitates but also impairs performance by taking task demand and characteristics of visual representations into account. Another purpose is to investigate how verbal encoding would influence the memory of color information, which is irrelevant for the memory task. In Experiment 1, the results showed that verbal encoding could have two opposite effects in the same task. In Experiment 2, the results showed that the effect of verbal encoding on the memory of color would differ from that on the memory of the shapes of pictures.     

Factor analysis of verbal and nonverbal clinical memory tests

This study represents an attempt to evaluate the construct validity of various verbal and nonverbal clinical memory tests. Marker variables for verbal, visual-perceptual-motor and attention-concentration abilities were employed in order to demonstrate the relative independence of these abilities from the memory measures. Subjects were 119 individuals (aged 16-74) from a combined sample of brain damaged and non-neurologic medical controls. Principal components analyses with orthogonal varimax rotations produced four factors in both Immediate and Delayed analyses: nonverbal memory and visual-perceptual-motor skills, verbal learning and memory, general verbal abilities, and attention-concentration. The inclusion of additional nonverbal memory measures helped to create a modality specific nonverbal factor but did not produce a pure nonverbal memory factor. The Wechsler Memory Quotient had modest loadings on three of the four factors.     

Effects of reinforcement,proximity, and orientation on verbal behavior of female schizophrenics

Evaluated effects of reinforcement, proximity, and orientation on verbal behavior of female schizophrenics. Sixty-four inpatient state hospital volunteers (36 schizophrenics and 33 hospitalized controls) either were reinforced verbally or nonreinforced for construction of appropriate sentences. Also, participants were exposed to near or far proximity as well as direct or indirect orientation. Results indicated that schizophrenics performed best in the indirect orientation condition. While no differential group effects were seen across diagnosis, participants on the average responded more effectively when reinforced. These findings are contradictory to those reported in earlier studies of verbal conditioning in schizophrenics. Discussed were the detrimental effects of attentional demands on verbal conditioning in schizophrenics and the effectiveness of verbal reinforcement across hospitalized patients.     

Intercorrelation of clinical tests of verbal memory.

The Wechsler Memory Scale, Buschke Selective Reminding Test, and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test were administered to 25 patients with known or suspected cerebral dysfunction. Intercorrelation of subscales revealed generally modest relationships among measures, indicating that there may be considerable variability in an individual's performance across the three tasks. This finding has significant clinical and research implications.     

The many faces of self-disclosure

The contributions of eight authors to this issue of In Session are discussed, with emphasis on who discloses what to whom, in what ways, and for what reasons. The primary conclusions concern the varieties of self-disclosure, the motives for self-disclosure, the appropriate outcome variable in studying self-disclosure, the value of evidence, the importance of the context, and the crucial role of the relationship. Self-disclosure, properly used, can be a significant contributor to successful psychotherapy.     

Comparison of verbal reinforcement with information feedback in analogue psychotherapy

Thirty Ss were assigned randomly to one of two experimental analogue psychotherapy groups and a control group. In the experimental psychotherapy groups two different psychotherapy techniques were used for eight sessions. The two psychotherapy techniques employed were one-word verbal reinforcement (VR) and lengthy verbal information feedback (IF). Three therapists each demonstrated significant differences (p < .001) in their verbal interactions with the Ss when they used the two different psychotherapy techniques. The results indicated that both treatment techniques were significantly effective (p < .05) in improving self-ratings of self-concept. However, the two psychotherapy techniques were differentially effective in improving social skills as measured by behavioral ratings.     

The influence of emotions on inhibitory functioning in borderline personality disorder

BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by an emotionally unstable and impulsive cognitive and behavioral style. Inhibitory dysfunction has been hypothesized as playing a crucial role in BPD psychopathology. This study aimed to systematically investigate differential inhibitory functions in patients with BPD as compared to healthy controls, and to investigate their expected impairment in the context of aversive emotions by comparing performances in neuropsychological tasks that present both neutral and emotional material. METHOD: Unmedicated female patients with BPD (n=28) were compared with age-matched healthy female controls (n=30) in the following tasks: the emotional Stroop test (inhibition of interference), directed forgetting (intentional, resource-dependent inhibition), and an emotional variant of the negative priming task (automatic, resource-independent inhibition). RESULTS: In comparison with the controls, the BPD patients showed reduced inhibition of negative material in the directed forgetting task and in the negative priming task. No effect was found in the emotional Stroop test. Significant correlations with current affect as well as trait anxiety and anger (but not impulsiveness) were found in the BPD group specifically for negative stimuli, while no such correlations were found in the control group. In addition to inhibitory deficiencies, BPD patients had difficulties remembering positive words in the directed forgetting task. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that individuals with BPD have difficulties in actively suppressing irrelevant information when it is of an aversive nature. Inhibitory dysfunction appears to be closely related to state and trait variables of unstable affect, but not to self-reported impulsiveness.     

The effects of verbal and nonverbal contingent reinforcement upon the intelligence test performance of black adults

This study examined the effects of contingent verbal and nonverbal reinforcement upon the intelligence test performance of black adults. Thirty-six Ss (half male and half female) were pretested on the Quick Test and then administered the complete WAIS under one of three treatment conditions: verbal reinforcement, nonverbal reinforcement or no reinforcement (control condition). Verbal reinforcement was administered as statements of “good” or “fine” by the E, while nonverbal reinforcement took the form of a nod of the head or a statement of “Mmhm.” The primary analysis of the data indicated no significant differences between the treatment conditions.