This study has two purposes: (1) to test the Personal Feelings Questionnaire--3 (PFQ3), a lengthened, psychometrically improved version of the PFQ2 guilt-proneness measure, for construct validity; and (2) to evaluate hypotheses regarding the relationships between shame- and guilt-proneness and nine types of psychopathological symptoms among…

In the first of two experiments designed to determine whether the use of humor would enhance audience reactions to a speaker without damaging that speaker's ethos (character and authoritativeness), 98 university students were randomly assigned to read one of four versions of the speech, "Why I Chose Psychology." The subjects read…

Past research has shown that the way one walks reflects one's personality traits and mood states. A study was conducted to examine whether the way one walks can reciprocally affect one's mood. The study tested the hypothesis that walking vigorously would cause a person to feel happier, and that a shuffling walk would cause a person to feel more…

To investigate the effects of mutual perceived understanding on the communicators, 86 undergraduate students in a speech communication course were asked to use a 382 item checklist to identify those feelings and sensations that described their own experiences of intense communication. Analysis of subjects' responses showed that 63 items were…

Only recently has the question of why being in a good mood facilitates prosocial behavior been pursued. Two experiments investigated the role of pleasurable mood in: (1) choice bets as a measure of riskiness, a variable possibly implicated in helping behaviors, and (2) allocation of funds among categories intended to vary along a prosocial…

This study evaluated the relationships between cognitive and affective taxonomic outcomes of a required college level course in personal health education. Additional purposes of the study were to: (1) devise valid assessment instruments to facilitiate measurement of cognitive achievement and affective change using the Taxonomy of Educational…

To determine if college students (n=345) attribute different meanings to specific grades (depending on the nature of the grading system used), three grading systems were compared: competitive, mastery, and growth. In addition, students were asked to rate the meaning of a specific grade ("A,""B," or "C") in the context of one of the three grading…

A program was developed for the improvement of social competence in general among professionals with the improvement of the accuracy of decoding emotions from facial expressions as the specific focus. It was integrated as a laboratory experience into traditional lectures at two German universities where studies were conducted to assess the…

Studied the relationship between depression and humor in 85 college students who took the Beck Depression Inventory and then rated 10 cartoons. Results showed no difference between mildly depressed and nondepressed subjects. However, some trends were noted on a mood scale related to immediate feelings and humor preference. (Author/JAC)

The utility of combining confirmatory factor analysis and second-order methods is illustrated in a study of responses of 487 undergraduate and graduate students to the love instrument of C. Hendrick and S. Hendrick. Second-order confirmatory methods allow the researcher to explore complex realities more thoroughly. (SLD)

Listening to an intimate self-diclosure does not always generate attraction for the revealer. One factor which may influence the relationship between disclosure and attraction is emotional empathy (i.e, an observer's reacting emotionally because he/she perceives that another is experiencing an emotion). To investigate whether emotional empathy on…

Research has sought to establish a connection between positive psychological state and physical health and longevity. It has been suggested that persons with a sense of purpose or meaning in life are better able to withstand stress, and enjoy better health. To study the link between a sense of meaning and a sense of physical well-being, 28 college…

Although fear of death is recorded in the writings of the oldest major religions, the study of death and the fear of death have only occurred for the last few decades. Death education courses have grown in number since the early 1970's. College students participated in an investigation of the effects of death education on death anxiety by…

Assigned college women with a significant level of body-image dissatisfaction to a cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) program or to a waiting-list control group. The CBT program successfully improved affective body image, weakened maladaptive body-image cognitions, and enhanced social self-esteem and feelings about physical fitness and…

Attempts to verify or identify a valid operational definition of literary response by determining its constituents through the use of a refined version of the Response Preference Measure. (HOD)