The purpose of this study is to compare the personality traits of twins with the personality traits of mutual friends, as measured by a personality rating scale. In this study an attempt will be made to answer two questions. First, how do twins compare with mutual friends on personality traits? Second, are certain traits more predominant among twins than among mutual friends?

Two studies were conducted to examine the interpersonal world of the depressive. It was hypothesized that depressed subjects would not like nondepressed targets as much as would nondepressed subjects. In addition, it was hypothesized that depressed subjects would feel worse after speaking with nondepressed targets. Finally it was hypothesized that perceived similarity would mediate these effects by covarying with mood and liking measures. To assess these hypotheses, study one had depressed and nondepressed college students speak with one another in either depressed-depressed, nondepressed-depressed, or nondepressed-nondepressed pairs. Measures of liking for the person with whom they conversed, of perceived similarity toward the person with whom they conversed, and of the subject's mood were then taken. Although the results were mixed, it was found that depressed subjects felt worse after speaking to depressed targets, though there were no differences in liking or perceived similarity between the groups. Perceived similarity did covary with most of the liking measures for the depressed and nondepressed subjects. Study two examined whether depressives had best friends who were themselves more depressed than best friends who were nondepressives. It was hypothesized that the best friends of depressives would be more depressed. Furthermore, it was expected that the best friends would also be perceived as more depressed by the subjects. These hypotheses were confirmed when depressives brought their best friends in for a study and the level of depression for these best friends was measured. In addition, the depressed subjects reported feeling worse after speaking with their friends when compared to how the nondepressed subjects reported feeling after speaking with their best friends.

No description available.

Trait and success variables--EPAQ traits--Male stimulus persons (SP's)--Romantic liking scale--Friendship liking scale.

Being in love in a close relationship is contingent upon biological, intrapsychic, social and cultural events. Understanding these processes has implications for stability and health in individuals families and society. Various dimensions of love are considered as converging on a more basic concept of vulnerability as a part of the human condition where both love and vulnerability are experiences which shape individual development growth, interdependence and survival or the lack thereof. The objective of this study is to capture the dilemmas which underlie love and vulnerability in a qualitative study. The method is a case study of a story using narrative analysis and the relation of theory to experiences revealed in the story. Analysis included observation of the major premises, setting, structure, images and voices in the story and theories included Lee's (1977) theory of love, Sternberg's (1986) triangular theory of love, attachment theory, social construction, psychobiological theory and phenomenologal theories of love. A summary finds that most theories infer vulnerability as an underlying dimension in processes of love and that vulnerability as a characteristic in human mortality may be implicated in love experiences. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Being in love in a close relationship is contingent upon biological, intrapsychic, social and cultural events. Understanding these processes has implications for stability and health in individuals families and society. Various dimensions of love are considered as converging on a more basic concept of vulnerability as a part of the human condition where both love and vulnerability are experiences which shape individual development growth, interdependence and survival or the lack thereof. The objective of this study is to capture the dilemmas which underlie love and vulnerability in a qualitative study. The method is a case study of a story using narrative analysis and the relation of theory to experiences revealed in the story. Analysis included observation of the major premises, setting, structure, images and voices in the story and theories included Lee's (1977) theory of love, Sternberg's (1986) triangular theory of love, attachment theory, social construction, psychobiological theory and phenomenologal theories of love. A summary finds that most theories infer vulnerability as an underlying dimension in processes of love and that vulnerability as a characteristic in human mortality may be implicated in love experiences. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Four core themes characterised this study: (a) adult friendship, particularly across the gender line, (b) the association between friendship and psychological well-being, (c) the role of attachment in friendship processes, and (d) the influence of the boundaries of marriage on friendship. Twenty six individuals were included in the initial research and 19 subjects participated in the main study. Theoretical principles of social cognition, constructive alternativism and attachment guided the collection and interpretation of data, which was collated, interpreted and then presented in case-study format. Self-with-other representation played a major role in data interpretation. Investigation into the structure and processes of friendship revealed it to be a complex and fragile relationship, defined both idiosyncratically and existentially, as well as by specific distinguishing features, such as trust, loyalty and intimacy . Attachment orientation and positive friendship experiences were noted as being contributory to the sense of interpersonal intimacy associated with feelings of well-being. Positive association was registered between 'secure' attachment orientation and self-ratings of well-being and happiness. Opposite-sex friendship emerged as an exclusive relational type, both similar to, and different from, samesex friendship and romantic love relationships. Its ambiguous role is evidently compounded by the latent sexuality in heterosocial relationships. Respondents reported cases of opposite-sex friendships metamorphosing into romantic love relationships and, less frequently, vice versa. Manifest in attachment and relational mental models, marital boundaries can facilitate or inhibit friendship. On both direct- and meta-perspective levels, securely-attached respondents were relatively accepting of opposite-sex friendships within a marital context. Insecurely-attached subjects tended to construe them as threatening to the marital reality. Responses to this threat varied: avoidantly-attached individuals used ego-protective mechanisms such as denial and repression, whereas · the anxious-ambivalent attachment orientation seemed more closely associated with feelings of mistrust and jealousy, expressed through anger and anxiety. Personal boundary structure plays an incisive role ln adult friendship. Thick-boundaried personalities seemed particularly conscious of preserving marital identity. They were more territorial with regard to friendships within the marital context, and more conscious of social rules pertaining thereto. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Four core themes characterised this study: (a) adult friendship, particularly across the gender line, (b) the association between friendship and psychological well-being, (c) the role of attachment in friendship processes, and (d) the influence of the boundaries of marriage on friendship. Twenty six individuals were included in the initial research and 19 subjects participated in the main study. Theoretical principles of social cognition, constructive alternativism and attachment guided the collection and interpretation of data, which was collated, interpreted and then presented in case-study format. Self-with-other representation played a major role in data interpretation. Investigation into the structure and processes of friendship revealed it to be a complex and fragile relationship, defined both idiosyncratically and existentially, as well as by specific distinguishing features, such as trust, loyalty and intimacy . Attachment orientation and positive friendship experiences were noted as being contributory to the sense of interpersonal intimacy associated with feelings of well-being. Positive association was registered between 'secure' attachment orientation and self-ratings of well-being and happiness. Opposite-sex friendship emerged as an exclusive relational type, both similar to, and different from, samesex friendship and romantic love relationships. Its ambiguous role is evidently compounded by the latent sexuality in heterosocial relationships. Respondents reported cases of opposite-sex friendships metamorphosing into romantic love relationships and, less frequently, vice versa. Manifest in attachment and relational mental models, marital boundaries can facilitate or inhibit friendship. On both direct- and meta-perspective levels, securely-attached respondents were relatively accepting of opposite-sex friendships within a marital context. Insecurely-attached subjects tended to construe them as threatening to the marital reality. Responses to this threat varied: avoidantly-attached individuals used ego-protective mechanisms such as denial and repression, whereas · the anxious-ambivalent attachment orientation seemed more closely associated with feelings of mistrust and jealousy, expressed through anger and anxiety. Personal boundary structure plays an incisive role ln adult friendship. Thick-boundaried personalities seemed particularly conscious of preserving marital identity. They were more territorial with regard to friendships within the marital context, and more conscious of social rules pertaining thereto. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)