Date of Award

1986

Publication Type

Doctoral Thesis

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Psychology

Keywords

Psychology, Clinical.

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Mental health professionals need objective measures to assess their clients' disposition to aggress. Minuchin's (1950) measures of expressive aggression and defense against aggression on the TAT predicted neuropsychiatric inpatients' aggressive behavior. Recent work with the nonverbal, projective Picture-Preference Test (PPT; Auld & Kline, 1984; Kline, Auld, & Cooper, 1983) suggests that several of its scales--and the Eysencks' Psychoticism (P) scale--are also measures of a person's tendencies to aggress (Antisocial Tendencies, Maladjustment, Primary Process Thinking) or to inhibit aggression (Impulse Control). The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the PPT scales, Eysencks' P scale, and Minuchin's TAT measures. Sex differences were also explored. A group consisting of 48 male and 63 female undergraduates responded to the scales and wrote stories to six pictures--pictures which best elicited aggressive themes in a pilot study. In addition to counting the frequency of Minuchin's TAT measures, the investigator developed scales to measure aggressive TAT content (Aggression Scale) and defensive TAT content (Inhibition of Aggression Scale). Interjudge reliabilities on these scales were good. As hypothesized, the Antisocial Tendencies, P, and Maladjustment scales significantly correlated with Minuchin's measure of expressive aggression, indicating that these scales are useful measures of aggression. The Impulse Control scale did not relate to Minuchin's measure of defense against aggression, as had been expected. As hypothesized, aggressive TAT content differed between the sexes. The stories of the men contained a greater amount of physical and antisocial, nonphysical aggression unmodified by the defenses. The stories of the women had a greater amount of inwardly directed aggression.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1986 .G833. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: B, page: 2166. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1986.

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