The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of induced anxiety and induced relaxation upon the performance of subjects on the Personal Orientation Inventory. More specifically the study proposed to ascertain if there were any significant differences in POI test performance among subjects exposed to induced anxiety, induced relaxation, and "normal" conditions prior to responding to the POI.The subjects for this study were enrolled in Human Development (Psychology 230) Sections A and B - at Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, during the study, Eighty-five subjects (men and women) from the original population of 124 participated in the study. The 85 subjects comprised three randomly selected groups: experimental group #1 (26 subjects) which was exposed to anxiety arousing experiences; experimental group #2 (29 subjects) which was exposed to the relaxation experiences; and group #3 (30 subjects) which was exposed to a "normal" class discussion and operated as a control group. Each of the groups was then administered the POI immediately after participating in their respective experiences. In determining the effects of induced anxiety and induced relaxation upon the performance of subjects on the POI, 14 variables (POI scale scores) were analyzed to determine if the performance of anxious or relaxed subjects varied from that of the control group. A simple one-way analysis of variance revealed a significant difference at the .05 level of confidence on the Feeling Reactivity scale. Further analysis utilizing Duncan's Multiple Range Test showed that the significant difference was between the relaxed group and the control group which was administered the POI under "normal" conditions. This difference indicated a significantly greater responsiveness to needs and feelings on the part of the relaxed group. Otherwise, no significant differences at the .05 per cent level were found, and the remaining null hypotheses were accepted.A secondary analysis of data comparing men to men and women to women on the 14 variables (POI scale scores) was also made. No significant differences were found between the homogeneous groups. The results obtained in the present study indicated that the Personal Orientation Inventory was highly resistant to the effects of mood or response set. It seemed to measure an underlying or identifiable self-structure which was not significantly influenced by induced anxiety and induced relaxation. The study therefore lends support to the use of the POI as a measure of positive mental health in a variety of settings and under a variety of testing situations where subjects present differing moods or response sets.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/175217 |
| Date | January 1970 |
| Creators | Brenden, Herbert A. |
| Contributors | Huff, Vaughn E. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | iv, 102 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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