Changes in self-ideal discrepancy in repressors and sensitizers.

Abstract

SEARCH by Rogers and his colleagues has suggested that the concepts of self and ideal-self become less discrepant as a function of brief psychotherapy and that such changes reflect improvement in adjustment (Butler & Haigh, 1954). Other investigators, such as Block and Thomas (1955) and Hatfield (1958), have found evidence of a curvilinear relationship between psychiatric adjustment or personality integration and the discrepancy between self and ideal-self. The latter investigators also demonstrated that persons with very low self-ideal discrepancies tend to use repressive and denying defenses. The purpose of this study is to attempt further specification of the variables related to self-ideal discrepancies by investigating whether people with different defenses or modes of adaptation differ in self-ideal discrepancy and change in different ways subsequent to psychotherapeutic interpersonal interaction.The mode-of-aclaptation dimension which is suggested is repression-sensitization, the terms having been applied by Gordon (1957) to a dimension suggested by Eriksen and his colleagues (Lazarus, Eriksen, & Fonda, 1951) from research in perceptual defense. Repressers are defined as those who tend to use avoidance, denial, and repression of potential threat and conflict as a primary mode of adaptation. Sensitizers are defined as those who are alerted to and perhaps overinterpret potential threat and conflict and who use intellectual and

Support for a Maladjustment Interpretation of the Anxiety-Defensiveness Dimension

“…The results of the Adjective Check List analysis strongly support previous research which has shown that repressors describe themselves more positively and sensitizers more negatively on various measures of self-description (Altrocchi, Parsons, & Dickoff, 1960;Byme, 1961;Lucky & Grigg, 1964). Moreover, the clusters of adjectives completing the four subjectively determined descriptive categories provide further evidence of a linear relationship between defensive style and maladjustment.…”

The Development of Defense Mechanisms

“…The idea of measuring repression-sensitization through MMPI items was introduced by Ullmann (1958), and measurement through combina-tion of MMPI scales (0, Pt, A, L, K, Hy denial) was introduced by Altrocchi, Parsons, and Dickoff (1960). This approach subsequently was refined by Byrne (1961).…”

Relation of the Revised Repression-Sensitization Scale to Measures of Self-Description

“…The repressive extreme involves avoidance defenses, such as denial, while the sensicizing extreme refers to approach defenses, such as intellectualization.Among many attempts co measure this dimension has been that of Altrocchi, Parsons, and Dickoff (1960) with the MMPI. Responses to each question were correlated with Total R-S score for two samples consisting of 370 undergraduates each.…”

“…Among many attempts co measure this dimension has been that of Altrocchi, Parsons, and Dickoff (1960) with the MMPI. In their repression-sensitization index, the total of the D plus Pt plus Welsh Anxiety scores was subtracted from the total of L plus K plus Hy denial scores.…”