ABSTRACT: To paraphrase the opening lines of Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, this talk has nothing and everything to do with Kamin’s book with the same title. I consider the ways in which research on intelligence leads to conclusions based on ideology and science–the world as it is and as we would like it to be.

3. Jackson^, A. Furnham*, L. Forde+, T. Cotter+

ABSTRACT: Two studies are reported using the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP) which measures the three Eysenckian super-factors (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism), as well as 21 primary trait scales. In the first study, factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of 811 adults who had completed the EPP. Results were comparable with those of Costa and McCrae (1995), with the Neuroticism primary factors being most closely inter-correlated and the Psychoticism factors least so. In the second study, 263 adults completed the EPP and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and 811 subjects completed the EPP and the Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ). When the overlap of the EPP with the MBTI and LSQ is compared with the overlap of the NEO-PI with the MBTI and LSQ (derived from Furnham, 1996a; Furnham, 1996b) it appears that the EPP has greater similarity with the LSQ but the NEO-PI has the greater similarity with the MBTI. This difference seems best explained in terms of the descriptive (inductive) origin of the NEO-PI and the theoretical (deductive) origin of the EPP. Studies on the psychometric similarity of questionnaires throw light on their theoretical origin as well as their psychometric properties.

ABSTRACT: For two years the development of a German equivalent to the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP; Eysenck & Wilson, 1991) has been in progress (EPP-D, Eysenck, Wilson, & Jackson, 1998). In the course of this development thorough investigations into the construct validity were conducted using a sample of 1764 subjects (cf. Moosbrugger, Fischbach & Schermelleh-Engel, 1998). To a large extent these investigations confirmed Eysenck’s hierarchical model of personality with its basic dimensions: Extraversion, Emotionality, and Adventure/Caution. However, as opposed to the English original, only five of the seven traits of the dimensions Extraversion and Emotionality could be allocated, whereas for the dimension Adventure/Caution only three of the seven could be assigned. The limitations of validity observed are discussed with reference to the Big Five theory (Costa & McCrae, 1995) particularly as concerns the dimension Adventure/Caution. It is shown that those three traits which were allocated to Eysenck’s dimension Adventure/Caution in the German version correspond to those traits of the English version, that showed negative correlations with aspects of the Big Five factor "Conscientiousness" in an analysis by Costa & McCrae (1995). These two traits that could be measured reliably in our analysis but were independent of Eysenck’s dimension Adventure/Caution showed negative correlations to aspects of the Big Five factor "Openness". A further two traits which could not fulfil the goodness of fit criteria correlated negatively with aspects of the Big Five factor "Agreeableness". The investigations into EPP’s reliability and validity on the basis of the German version EPP-D strongly suggest that Eysenck’s dimensions Extraversion and Emotionality correspond to a large extent to the factors Extraversion and Emotionality of the Big Five theory. In accordance to Costa & McCrae’s (1995) results the dimension Adventure/Caution seems to be a conglomeration of the Big Five factors "Conscientiousness", "Agreeableness", and "Openness". In the German version by Bullheller & Hacker (1998) the dimension Adventure/Caution measures primarily aspects of the Big Five factor "Conscientiousness", but also aspects of the factor "Openness".

18. M. Babgy & J. D.A. Parker

ABSTRACT: Recognition of the limitations associated with the categorical approach to personality psychopathology, as reflected most predominantly by the Axis II, DSM-IV personality disorders, has led to the development of a number of dimensional models of personality psychopathology. Clark (1990) and Livesley et al. (1989, 1991), for example, have developed structural models derived from mulitvariate analyses of the prototypical clinical features used to diagnose personality disorders. In this study we examine another, more recent model of personality psychopathology-the Psychopathology Five (PSY- 5; Harkness, McNulty, & Ben-Porath, 1995). The PSY-5 was developed in a similar fashion to the Clark and Livesley models but has not been as extensively validated. To this end, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine if the latent structure underlying the items composing the PSY-5 dimensional scales-Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism, Positive Emotionality/Introversion, Aggressiveness, and Disconstraint–were representative of the theoretical model which informed their construction. Results from the CFA revealed a good fit between the hypothesized five factor model and the obtained latent factor structure in both clinical (n=394) and nonclinical (n=355) samples. Correlations between the PSY-5 scales and a set of MMPI-II (DSM-IV) personality disorder scales provided additional evidence of convergent and discriminant validity.

10. Santacreu, O. Garcia, P. Chun Shih, & R. Colom

ABSTRACT: Is it possible to study personality following the "intelligence way"? While it is possible to have a reliable picture of the cognitive ability of a given subject studying the performance in a variety of problems, it remains to be seen if the same can be done within the personality domain. We have developed a computerized battery of "personality" objective tests. The tests are designed so that the subject could perform the task according to his/her own way. Thus, the tests are "open" enough so that the subject can choose different courses of action. None of the tests has "face validity". The computerized battery includes seven personality tests: Persistence, Risk taking (2 tests), Tolerance to frustration, Sensitivity to the absence of control, Violation of norms, and Conscientiousness. We have tested 823 adult subjects (Mean age=27.76, SD=3.86) with the computerized battery and with a battery of personality printed standardized tests. We also had a criterion measure based on the level of performance in a training course for air traffic controllers (ATCs) for approximately 120 subjects. The results suggest that the new tests add information to the regression equations not considered by the conventional printed personality tests.

10. Brebner

ABSTRACT: Introvert and extravert subjects undertook two versions of a psychological refractory period task involving responding as rapidly as possible to two rapidly successive stimuli. In one task the period between the offset of the first stimulus and the onset of the second was held constant. In the other version that period varied with the interstimulus interval. As expected, extraverts were faster than introverts, but in this study there was no evidence that extraverts had a shorter psychological refractory period. Various measures of emotionality were completed by all subjects in the expectation that high emotionality might be associated with slower responding. Only Empathy from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, and a Satisfaction with aspects of life scale correlated significantly with the speed of responding, and only when responding to the first stimulus.

6. De Fruyt & I. Mervielde

ABSTRACT: The construction and cross-validation of the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC) will be described and data will be reported from a Flemish twin study in which the HiPIC was used to describe individual differences among children aged 6 to 12. The HiPIC is a 144-item inventory assessing 5 broad personality domains and 18 more specific personality facets. The facets are empirically constructed and closely cover individual differences denoted in parental free descriptions of childhood personality. 284 parents of mono-(MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins aged 6 to 12 provided independent ratings of their twins using the HiPIC. The fit of different models to represent the trait variance, including models to examine contrast effects, were investigated, showing substantial additive genetic effects and a relatively small contribution of the shared environment. The results are in line with previous behavioral genetic studies with children using temperament inventories and extend the findings obtained for adults using hierarchical conceptualizations of the Five-Factor Model to children.

20. Bates

ABSTRACT: Reports a significant relationship between Emotional Intelligence measures (IQ e) and Inspection Time for canonical emotions (IT e) in a sample of 91 subjects. A speed-of-processing theory is presented which explains the unifying relationship of speed in both this new emotional domain as well as in more traditional domains of cognition. The findings are incompatible with theories which argue against processing speed explanations of ability, and also with theories which deprecate the role of general or "g" ability in intelligence. While IT and WAIS-based IQ correlated as expected, and the new IT e measure correlated with the TMMS measure of IQ e, IQ e and conventional IQ were independent. A rationale for the low correlation between general ability in these two domains is presented which implies that at least one additional speed-based class of intelligence should be found in the future. Measures sensitive to this predicted new domain of general ability are discussed.

ABSTRACT: We studied the heritability of speed of information processing in two widely used elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs): Sternberg’s memory scanning and Posner’s letter matching task. Participants were 169 MZ and 131 DZ twin pairs from the German Observational Study on Adult Twins (GOSAT) who also completed two psychometric intelligence tests (Advanced Progressive Matrices and Leistungs-Pruf-System). As expected, reaction times were negatively correlated with psychometric intelligence. Moreover, heritability estimates were substantial for both, psychometric intelligence and reaction times in ECTs, but were not higher for latter. Bivariate genetic analyses yielded substantial genetic correlations between mental speed and intelligence. Multivariate analyses in terms of a common factor model indicated that the genetic variance of ECTs was to a much larger extent of a specific nature than genetic variance of psychometric intelligence. We fitted a reduced common factor model comprising a latent "g" variable that was determined mainly by additive genetic effects.

1. C. Neubauer*, G. Sange*, & G. Pfurtscheller+

ABSTRACT: This study examined the relationship between psychometric intelligence (determined by Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices) and spatial patterns of cortical activation during the performance of a computerized reaction time task, the so-called Letter Matching task. For this task 21 undergraduates were presented with items composed of two stimuli, which are either physically the same (e.g. ‘BB’), semantically the same (e.g. ‘Bb’), or physically and semantically different (e.g. ‘Ba’). In one condition the participants had to judge the Physical Identity (PI) of two stimuli; in the other condition (Name-Identity, NI), they had to judge the semantic identity of the two stimuli. The time needed for judging the PI should reflect only the process of visual discrimination while the NI condition can be interpreted as more complex than the PI condition. During this task the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. In the EEG, the event-related desynchronization (ERD) was quantified, i.e. a correlate of cortical activation. In the NI condition more intelligent participants displayed less overall and a spatially more focussed cortical activation, i.e. they activated only those cortical areas that are required for task performance whereas the less intelligent participants showed a rather diffuse involvement of the whole cortex and consequently more overall activation (no significant differences were observed for the less complex PI task). These and other findings support the ‘neural efficiency’ hypothesis of human psychometric intelligence.

ABSTRACT: Few measures of cognitive function have been translated into practical clinical tools. Recent research suggests that Alzheimer’s Disease and other serious dementia may begin their course as much as 30 years before clinical indications become obvious. Early detection may benefit from cognitive testing sensitive to early, subtle changes in reaction time and other measures of performance. Similarly, sensitive cognitive testing may be useful in demonstrating the effects of new drugs designed to treat dementia and/or boost cognitive performance. Current clinical measures generally have not been successful at either early detection of impairment or at assessing drug efficacy in slowing or reversing impairment. A new battery of cognitive tests has been designed to assess subtle changes in cognitive functioning over time. Measures include short-term memory under different loads and reaction times to simple and complex stimuli. Each test is short and user-friendly. The battery will be demonstrated and clinical trial data will be presented.

ABSTRACT: Carroll (1993) recently proposed that an independent Imagery factor may be discriminable from other first-order spatial factors in the domain of visual perception. The main aim of this study was to investigate the nature of visual imagery form an individual differences perspective and to examine the relationship between visual imagery and spatial abilities. The theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence provided the framework for this study. A total of 213 subjects participated in this study. The batter of tests comprised a number of imagery measures: psychometric measures of two broad ability factors and six second-order spatial factors, five visual imagery questionnaires, seven experimental tasks, and two creative imagery task measures. Statistical analyses aimed to establish the status of the hypothetical Imagery factor within the structure of intelligence. To this end, separate exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic solutions are reported. The data provided support for the notion that visual imagery is a multi-faceted concept, with three independent Imagery factors emerging in exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analytic structure results indicated that the visual imagery variables possessed a definite structure within the spatial ability domain. The paper reports on the criterion-related validity of the self-report imagery measures. A noteworthy finding is that the relationship between self-report imagery ability and spatial ability is partly dependent on the type of stimuli included for imagining. Results indicated that male and female groups have similar factor structures of imagery and spatial abilities. The implications of these findings and those from an additional investigation being completed are discussed.

ABSTRACT: The nature of the general factor of intelligence, or g, is explained. The paper begins by observing that the notion of a general factor of intelligence seems to be inconsistent with present neuroscientific findings, where specific connections are argued to be critical for intellectual abilities and the brain is argued to develop these connections in response to environmental stimuli. However, it is then noted that if people differed in this ability to adapt their neural circuits to the environment, then people highly developed in one intellectual ability would be expected to be highly developed in other, different intellectual abilities as well. Simulations are then used to confirm that such a pattern would be shown and that these processes would produce a correlational structure similar to that observed for intellectual abilities. Such a model is also shown to account for other findings in the field which are at present unexplained. A critical period for intellectual development is then emphasized.

10. Phillipe Rushton

ABSTRACT: Untimed Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) were administered to 309 17-to-23 year-old students at two leading South African Universities (173 Africans, 136 Whites; 205 women, 104 men). African students solved an average of 44 out of the 60 problems whereas White students solved an average of 54 of the problems (p <0.001). By the standards of the 1993 U.S. normative sample, the African university students scored at the 14^th percentile with an IQ equivalent of 84 and the White university students scored at the 61^st percentile with an IQ equivalent of 105. A small sex difference favoring males was found in both the African and the White samples. These results confirm earlier reports of these race and sex differences.

14. Segal

Intellectual resemblance of same-age unrelated siblings: new findings
ABSTRACT: A study of same-age unrelated siblings (UST-SA) has been ongoing at California State University, Fullerton, since 1983. An early report from this project, based on 21 pairs, indicated an IQ correlation of .17, a verbal IQ correlation of -0.1 and a performance IQ correlation of .29. Additional data have now been collected for 84 pairs, who range in age from 4-54 years. New analyses will be reported for the larger sample, e.g., IQ correlations for the full sample, IQ correlations for adopted-adopted vs. adopted-biological pairs, and correlations between intellectual resemblance and pair characteristics such as mean age, age difference, sex (same/different), rearing status (one vs. both adopted) and school placement (same/different classes). Implications of the findings for theories of intellectual development and for the rearing and educating of children and adolescents will be discussed. Future plans for this ongoing study will be described.

3. Cooper & K. Naumann

ABSTRACT: There is a considerable literature examining the correlation between various cognitive abilities and schizotypy. That which examines correlations between face-processing, affect-processing, and schizotypy is of particular importance, given the theoretical and empirical links between schizotypy, schizophrenia and autism. Poreh, Whitman, Weber & Ross (1994) found that high schizotypy students show an impaired ability to recognize emotion in briefly-presented faces, but that this could be explained by generalized difficulties if processing faces, perhaps indicating attentional/vigilance deficits. This work raises two questions, namely whether deficit in emotion-recognition is an artefact of the tachistoscopic recognition paradigm used, and whether it is possible to explain such deficits via a model that examines attentional/vigilance deficits in processing stimuli that are simpler than faces. We report an experiment designed to test both these hypotheses. Emotion-recognition in low-and high-schizotypy individuals was measured by the method used by Poreh et al., and two variables were used as covariates: ability to recognize famous individuals and ability to recognize geometric shapes. The implications of this work for the relation between schizotypy, schizophrenia and autism are discussed.

Working memory is one of the key steps in conscious thinking that briefly maintains selected current events and integrates them with past experience and may account for a significant part of the variance in intellectual functioning. This study investigates to what extent the variance in event-related potential (ERP) measures of working memory are influenced by genetic factors. 250 identical and non-identical twin pairs (aged 16 years) participated. These are part of a large ongoing study using cognitive and physiological measures to study the genetic influences on cognition. ERP slow wave (SW) amplitudes were recorded from 15 sites during a delayed response working memory task in which participants touched the remembered position of a target on a computer screen after a short delay (1 or 4sec) period. These memory trials were compared to sensory (control) trials in which the target remained present throughout the delay and response periods. SW amplitude during the delay is larger in amplitude for memory than sensory trials representing the activation of working memory that is in addition to the response preparation required for both sensory and memory trials. Structural equation modelling procedures, using Mx were used to estimate genetic and environmental influences on individual differences. Visual inspection suggests that the ERP waveforms are more similar in MZ than DZ pairs. Preliminary analyses of individual variance in SW measures of working memory show the MZ correlation is approximately twice that of the DZs and that individual differences in working memory indexed by SW amplitude are genetically influenced.

18. F. Krueger

ABSTRACT: Mental disorders have typically been regarded as independent, separate, dichotomous entities. Nevertheless, the model patient seeking clinical services meets criteria for multiple, "separate" disorders- a phenomenon typically labeled "comorbidity". Our research supports an empirically validated and parsimonious resolution to the comorbidity problem for common mental disorders. This research addresses the comorbidity problem by taking an individual-differences perspective. Rather than conceiving of common mental disorders as multiple, discrete, dichotomous entities, these disorders are conceived of as extreme points on a smaller set of continua that span a range

of human emotional and behavioural functioning, from well-adjusted to severely disturbed. Specifically, two broad, psychologically meaningful dimensions are capable of accounting for the correlations observed among multiple common and putatively separate mental disorders. The first dimension, internalization, denotes a tendency to turn distress inward by withdrawing from the world; the second, externalization, denotes a tendency to turn distress outward against the world. If this two continua underlie multiple common mental disorders, these disorders should show strong patterns of covariance. That is, people who meet criteria for a number of disorders are at one end of a continuum, and those who meet criteria for few are at the other end. These continua themselves, rather than their varied manifestations, are profitable foci for future research.

7. E. Barnes, R. P. Murray, & R. A. Anderson

ABSTRACT: The Winnipeg Health and Drinking Survey is a large general population longitudinal study that was designed to allow an examination of the relationships between personality and alcohol use and abuse at 3 different phases in the life span (18-34, 35-49, 50-65). Followed over a seven year period, at the seven year follow-up, a total of 796 of the original 1,257 respondents were re-interviewed. Structural equation modeling techniques were employed to examine the association between latent personality factors at wave one and alcohol use and abuse at wave three. In the first stage of this analysis, an overall model was developed for the combined sample. In the second stage of the data analysis, multiple group models were run to test the assumption that the patterns of prediction would be the same in different groups. In the overall analysis two latent personality factors played a strong role in predicting alcohol use and abuse with the Stimulus Reducer latent factor predicting consumption and a Pychoticism latent factor predicting alcohol problems. Results of the multiple group model analysis suggest that the models needed to be changed in the different age groups to adequately fit the data. In general, the changes were required because personality seemed to have a stronger role in predicting alcohol use and problems in the younger age groups than for the older sample.

4. Saklofske & P. J. Greenspoon

ABSTRACT: This study explored the significance of temperament and personality, amongst other variables, within a dual-factor system of conceptualizing mental health. The two factors were psychopathology (PTH), and subjective well-being (SWB). Research has shown that PTH and SWB are not simply opposite poles of a single continuum, however, the constructs have yet to be meaningfully integrated. Subjects were children classified as: low PTH-high SWB (group 1), high PTH-low SWB (group 2), and low PTH-low SWB (group 3), the last group challenging the unidimensional perspective. A series of discriminant function analyses were performed. All groups were classified significantly above chance. Neuroticism was especially important in discriminating Groups 1 and 3 from Group 2. Generally, Groups 1 and 3 showed remarkable similarity on all temperament and personality variables, with Group 2 scoring in the less adaptive direction. Results and implications for mental illness prevention/intervention are discussed.

14. Gillespie*, K. M. Kirk*, C. A. Heath+, N. G. Martin*, I. Hickie^

ABSTRACT: Measures of anxiety, depression, phobic anxiety, somatic distress and sleep difficulty were administered in a self-report questionnaire format to a community-based sample of 3468 Australian twins ages between 18 to 28 years. Factor analysis with oblique rotation produced four interpretable factors: depression; phobic anxiety with panic features; somatic distress; and sleep disturbance. Results lend support to the emerging consensus that somatic distress, although correlated, is distinct from the psychological constructs of anxiety and depression.

14. Endler & N. Kocovski

ABSTRACT: State and trait anxiety theory and assessment are reviewed. The dimensional (psychological) conceptualization of both state and trait anxiety and the typological (psychiatric) conceptualization of anxiety are compared. According to the dimensional model, anxiety disorders represent one end of a continuum of anxiety, whereas according to the typological model, anxiety disorders represent a qualitative difference. Empirical research and theory are reviewed for both conceptualizations in the area of anxiety, and additionally, the areas of depression and personality disorders are drawn upon. Overall, most evidence supports a dimension view of both state and trait anxiety. The multidimensional interaction model of anxiety, stress and coping is reviewed and supporting empirical research is presented. Within this discussion, the state-trait distinction is reviewed, as well as the multidimensionality of both state and trait anxiety. There are two facets of state anxiety (cognitive-worry and autonomic emotional) and at least four facets of trait anxiety (social-evaluation, physical danger, ambiguous, and daily routines). The person ( trait anxiety) and the situation are important in determining levels of state anxiety. The facet of trait anxiety and the stressful situation must be congruent in order to evoke increases in state anxiety. Misconceptions regarding the multidimensionality of trait anxiety are discussed. Theoretical and practical implications are presented.

Stimulus analysis and response organization in a CNV paradigm: effects of extraversion
ABSTRACT: In the extraversion model by Brebner & Cooper (1974) behavioural differences between extroverts and introverts are explained by differences in excitatory and inhibitory processes connected to the demands of stimulus analysis and response organization in a specific situation. Excitation and inhibition in this model are defined as behavioural tendencies to increase or decrease the actual behavior. The aim of our research project is to find components in the ERP which might reflect these tendencies on the electro-cortical level. Referring to the different aspects of the extraversion model, the biphasic Contingent Negative Variation is examined which is known to be functionally related to processes of stimulus analysis (initial CNV) and response organization (terminal CNV). In the present experiment, aspects of stimulus analysis were varied. Extroverts, ambiverts, and introverts went through four different experimental tasks in a classical S1-S2- paradigm while EEG was recorded. The tasks varied in number of stimulus dimensions which had to be analyzed. Six seconds after the stimulus a simple choice reaction had to be performed. According to the model extroverts were expected to show increasing S-inhibition with increasing task difficulty leading to lower amplitudes in the initial CNV. Introverts were expected to react with increasing S-excitation leading to higher CNV amplitudes. Statistical analysis reveal no interaction of task and extraversion on the initial CNV. However, in later time ranges a higher interaction with neuroticism shows that introvert and extroverts react differently to the increasing task demands depending on their emotional stability.

A range of studies have suggested associations between various alleles of the D4 dopamine receptor gene and conditions such as alcohol or opioid

dependency, pathological gambling, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Conflicting results have also been published regarding a possible association with the personality trait of novelty seeking. In this study, genotypes were determined for the D4 dopamine receptor exon III polymorphism for 784 subjects registered with the Australian NHMRC Twin Registry for whom information on alcohol and tobacco use and scores on a range of personality scales had been previously obtained. Results of joint linkage and association analysis between polymorphic variations of the D4 dopamine receptor gene and alcohol consumption, smoking behavior and personality will be presented.

16. Netter, A. Rogausch, A. Doerr, J. Hennig, & S. Rohrmann

ABSTRACT: Drug seeking behavior in animals has been shown to be dependent on release of mesolimbic dopamine. A higher rate of cocaine or amphetamine self administration was particularly observed in rats genetically defined as high responders to novel stimuli. These show behavioural similarities to human high novelty seekers. Depletion of corticocosterone reduces this behavior in high responding animals. Therefore an experiment was run to test if peripheral and central blockade of cortisol would change craving for cigarettes in deprived smokers differing in novelty seeking (NS). Method: 60 male smokers were deprived from smoking for 3.5 hours. 20 of them had received 1.5 mg dexamethasone (central coritsol blocker), 20 received 1 g of metyrapone (peripheral blocker) and 20 placebo. Each group was subdivided according to their scores on the Cloninger Novelty Seeking Scale. Craving was assessed by three tests each applied prior to and after deprivation and after smoking two standard cigarettes. Results revealed that metyrapone, but not dexamethasone reduced craving for smoking in the total group and that this was less pronounced in high NS. Smoking, however, reduced craving more in high NS and was more enjoyed by them than low NS irrespective of cortisol suppression. A modification of the cortisol-dopamine drug seeking theory is proposed.

Numerous recent studies have considered the possibility of an association between low or lowered cholesterol levels and depression, suicide, anger and hostility, with conflicting results. In this study, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides were measured in 720 MZ and 648 DZ Australian adult twin pairs aged who had previously completed questionnaires and interviews which included measures of depression and suicidality. The relationship between cholesterol levels, history of depression and depressive symptoms in this community-based sample will be explored.

FRIDAY JULY 9:

ABSTRACT: A measure of pre-alcoholic personality was previously developed by isolating 23 personality items, out of a large 299 item personality battery, that were linked with both a family history of alcoholism and a current diagnosis of alcoholism in a randomly selected general population sample of 1257 survey respondents. This measure showed an internal consistency of .76 and a two-year test-retest reliability of .82. The measure was validated in a clinical sample of substance abusers, and was found to correlate not only with alcohol abuse but also with other drug abuse. A refinement of the measure resulted in a 21-item instrument called the Addiction Prone Personality (APP) Scale. In the present study, 7-year follow-up data from the general population sample is used to further examine the psychometric properties of the APP and test the long-term predictive validity of the instrument. Results show a 7-year test-retest reliability of .74, and an alpha of .73. Correlations between the APP and 3 popular personality systems showed that it correlated with high Psychoticism and high Neuroticism in Eysenck’s system; high Novelty-Seeking, low Self-Directedness, and low Cooperativeness in Cloninger’s system; and high Neuroticism, low Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness in Costa & McCrae’s system. Mean scores on the APP decrease slightly over time; especially in the youngest age group. The APP was also found to be a significant predictor of the development of new alcoholism over the 7-year follow-up period, even after for controlling for possible confounding variables in a regression analysis.

19. Kleitman, L. Stankov, & R. D. Roberts

ABSTRACT: People tend to exhibit overconfidence in the course of assessing their own performance on general knowledge tasks. This study examines the effect of cognitive strategies on calibration (the correspondence between peoples’ beliefs about the accuracy of their performance and their actual performance). A new general knowledge test was designed to allow the assessment of three strategies–Reasoning, Guessing and Knowing the answer to the test item. In addition, we employed the Self-Perception Profile for College Students (Neeman and Harter, 1986) and new Cognitive Abilities Profile Measures to assess peoples’ beliefs about their thinking strategies. The general knowledge test showed no overconfidence. Regression analyses revealed that the type of strategy people report as being used to answer a question is the most important predictor of the general level of confidence. However, different self-perception and ability profiles make further contribution to the prediction. The three strategies of Reasoning, Guessing and Knowing produced different calibration curves, with Knowing showing strong underconfidence, and Guessing and Reasoning showing reasonably high calibration.

ABSTRACT: In two experiments subjects were confronted with adverse conditions with the intent of inducing bad mood. In study A, 60 subjects were asked to explain either philanthropic or misanthropic sayings/proverbs in a serious or playful manner. In study B, 50 subjects were asked to pose an affectively neutral facial expression or a negative one and were provided with a sudden visual feedback of their pose. Mood state was assessed before and after the interventions with the state-related items in the State-Trait-Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI; Ruch et al., 1996, 1997); facial behavior was videotaped and analyzed using the Facial Action Coding System. Subjects were split into groups of highs and lows in trait cheerfulness (or cheerful composure). In both experiments, mood level of individuals high in cheerful composure remained stable under adverse conditions, while low scorers showed significantly decreased state cheerfulness and increased state bad mood (particularly ill-humor). In order to examine whether these results might be mediated by differences in appraisals of stressful experiences, in study C the coping styles of individuals high and low on trait cheerfulness were studied. A sample of 176 adults answered the Stress Coping Inventory (SVF; Janke & Erdmann, 1997), an instrument assessing 20 means of coping, and the trait part of the STCI. These results confirm that trait cheerful individuals primarily use coping strategies classified as positive (in particular minimization, distraction, relaxation, and positive self-instructions). The results open up the possibility that trait cheerfulness might moderate the effects of stress.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this research was to assess the interactive influences of personality factors (extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and Psychoticism (P) ), family control (parental inductiveness, punitiveness, and love withdrawal), and delinquent companionship on males’ self-reported delinquency. Respondents were two groups of 13 year olds (N=110 and N=89). Multiple regression analysis showed that P, love withdrawal and companionship were significant predictors of delinquency for both groups. Further analyses using structural equation modeling yielded similar models for both groups, showing the interactive effects of the independent factors. The results are discussed with reference to Eysenck’s P factor as well as social identity theory.

ABSTRACT: Although there is extensive research on the role of personality factors in depression, there have been few comprehensive attempts to examine the role of personality factors in adjusting to the transition to parenthood. Currently, we are conducting a program of research on the role of personality factors in postpartum adjustment in new mothers and fathers. The present study examined perfectionism, coping styles, and psychological distress in first-time parents. A sample of 150 women in the final month of pregnancy and their partners completed a battery of personality questionnaires and adjustment measures. Participants completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory, a measure of concern over parenting mistakes, and various coping instruments, including the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations and a measure of ruminative response orientation. Depression and anxiety were also assessed during the pregnancy period and at three months postpartum. Preliminary analyses conducted on the data indicate that psychological distress during the postpartum period is associated positively with socially prescribed perfectionism, perfectionism cognitions, concern over parenting mistakes, emotion-oriented coping, and a ruminative response orientation. Perfectionism and coping factors were found to be important predictors of postpartum distress for both new mothers and new fathers. Overall, our initial results suggest that individuals who experience pressure to be perfect are at-risk for psychological distress when making the transition to parenthood, and this is exacerbated by the presence of maladaptive coping styles. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings will be discussed.

ABSTRACT: Concerns have been expressed over the optimism-pessimism (O-P) construct, particularly with regard to whether optimism and pessimism are in fact partially independent rather than a single bi-polar dimension. A number of psychometric shortcomings have been uncovered in the most widely used O-P instrument, the Life Orientation Test (LOT-Scheier & Carver, 1985), and it has also been argued that O-P masks broader constructs such as neuroticism and positive and negative affect (Smith, Pope, Rhodewalt & Poulton, 1989). The present paper reports on the construction of a new scale for measuring O-P, the Positive and Negative Expectancy Scale (PNES). A ‘scenario’ approach was used to generate an uncontaminated item pool, and factor analysis yielded three rather than two partially independent factors labeled negative affect/pessimism, positive affect/optimism, and fighting spirit. Experimental studies showed that subjects high on fighting spirit had significantly lower diastolic blood pressure and state anxiety than low scorers during exposure to a laboratory stressor, but fighting spirit and feedback on task performance had an interactive effect on blood pressure levels. These findings were extended by a follow-up study which showed that negative affect/pessimism was the best predictor of deteriorating health status during a period of adaptation. Current research focuses on the role of PNES in determining task persistence in different feedback conditions, and on the effects of fighting spirit in particular on adaptation to renal dialysis treatment.