Aggressive reactions and sources of frustration in anxiety neurotics and paranoid schizophrenics

Abstract

PROBLEMThe purpose of this investigation was to determine whether reliable differences exist in the type and direction of aggression and the sources of frustration as shown by the results of the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study, Rorschach findings, and case history material for a group of anxiety neurotic patients and a group of paranoid schizophyenic patients. Aspects of the main problem which were investigated included the following: (1) A comparison of the responses on the Rosenzweig PictureFrustration Study of the anxiety neurotic group and the paranoid schizophrenic group with those of normal persons. (2) A comparison of the time necessary to complete the Picture-Frustration Study for the anxiety neurotic group and the paranoid schizophrenic group. (3) A determination of the relationship between outward aggressive responses on the Picture-Frustration Study, and ascendance, as measured by the Allport Ascendance-Submission Study, for the anxiety neurotic and paranoid schizophrenic groups. (4) A comparison between the findings of Wechsler on the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale for the neurotic and schizophrenic clinical groups and the results obtained in this investigation. ( 5 ) A determination of whether reliable differences exist in the Rorschach scoring categories for the anxiety neurotic and paranoid schizophrenic groups. (6) A qualitative comparison of the frustrations experienced by the anxiety neurotic and paranoid schizophrenic groups as determined by psychiatric case histories. PROCEDURE Seventy two patients, thirty six anxiety neurotic and thirty six paranoid schizophrenic subjects, diagnosed by psychiatrists, constituted the research population. No patient was included who had any detectable organic involvement which could in any way influence the results. Further, only patients on whom a Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study record, an Allport Ascendance-Submission Reaction Study record, a Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence report, a Rorschach protocol, and a psychiatric case history could be obtained, were selected. Finally, only male veterans of World War 11, between the ages of 20-40 years, and capable of reading and writing English were considered. The anxiety neurotic and paranoid schizophrenic groups were then equated for age, educational achievement, I& as obtained by the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, and type of occupation.The instruments used in the collection of data for this research consisted of the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study, the Allport Ascendance-Submission Reaction Study, the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, the Rorschach test, and psychiatric case history findings.The medians and quartiles of percentages in sthe various scoring categories of the Picture-Frustration Study were calculated for the anxiety neurotic and the paranoid schizophrenic groups. Critical ratios for the anxiety neurotic and paranoid schizophrenic groups on the various scoring categories of the Picture-Frustration Study were also computed. A comparison of the time in minutes taken by th...

Psychological studies.

“…He too was concerned with the effects of failure upon subsequent performance; he was not con-cerned, however, with goal-setting as in the level of aspiration experimcnts. The author concludes, from his findings, that the schizophrenics have "lower frustration tolerance," i.e., compared with normals they showed consistently poorer performance following frustration, were more perseverative, abandoned the tasks more frequently, and tended to give more bizarre responses, Starer (383), by means of the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration test, reported greater "extra-punitive" reactions to frustration in paranoid schizophrenics, compared with anxiety neurotics.…”