PROBLEM Extensive work has been done to relate personality factors to physiological and physio-chemical measurements in efforts to determine (1) interactions between the two for more precise diagnostic and /or etiological information, and (2) likely causal relationships. The purpose of this study is to delineate areas of personal activity or achievement which might be reflective of high physiological energy. One rationale for this is that performance in these areas might then be enhanced by artificially raising or lowering energy levels in an effort to make the person more meaningfully productive."Energy level" will be operationally defined as the measured amount of blood protein bound iodine (PBI), expressive of the rate of thyroid activity. Previously, the basal metabolism rate (BMR) was the accepted measuring device. However, the former measure is now presumed to be the more accurate. Duncan(6) reports that the "hit" rate for the PBI test in assessing hyperthyroidism is 88% in comparison to 60% for the BMR, the PBI thus yielding fewer false negatives.Previous studies(7' *, 11) in this general area have shown negative, inverse, or inconsistent relationships between BMR and academic skills, acting out behavior, and performance speed on psychological tests. One(") of the prior studies, in attempting to explain the more rapid speed on a timed test demonstrated by low BMR subjects, described this as a reaction formation of these normally lethargic patients against their lethargy.Board, Wadeson and Persky@) found that the PBI test was generally higher in depressives than in non-depressives, but this difference was not significant statistically, a finding contrary to expectation. A4 more optimistic note was struck by D~n g i e r '~] who used radioactive iodine uptake and blood count to determine amount of thyroid activity on the basis of personality categories derived from the results of projective tests. D a l l e~'~) found he could use a sleeping basal metabolism rate to predict adequately amounts of tension in psychiatric patients. Stern (12) found a significant increase on all objective test tasks, including motor persistence, following an increase in thyroid activity. Whitaker(4) found that small doses of thyroid hormone enhanced conditioning, while larger doses were detrimental, suggesting an optimal operating level for subjects.B r~d y '~) classified 125 patients of varying diagnoses into high and low tension states on an armchair rating basis, finding small but significant differences between the group means on iodine serum levels. A study by M~C u r d y (~) of 30 college women found that BMR correlated positively and significantly with psychology grades, point-hour ratio, and age, but not with scores on the Otis Self-Administering test of mental ability. Gaskill and Fritz(') found no relationship between B M R and ACE scores in 614 freshmen a t Iowa State. METHOD This study as it was finally conceived consisted of correlating PBI rates with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) personality ...
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