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Biomedical subjects

P R Kilmann

Publications and source records attributed to P R Kilmann.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Locus of control and perceived adjustment to life events.

Investigated the relationship between locus of control orientation and perceived adjustment to critical life events. The Locus of Control scale and a modification of the Life Events scale were group administered to undergraduate students. No significant difference was found between internal and external scorers in the number of life events experienced during the 2-year assessment period. As predicted, external scorers reported a significantly more difficult adjustment to life events than internal scorers. The results suggest that it may be important for educators and mental health professionals to promote an internal locus of control orientation as a preventive and remedial approach to adjustment problems.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Effects of group systematic desensitization on female orgasmic dysfunction.

This study investigated the impact of group systematic desensitization (SD) on varied aspects of sexual functioning in primary and secondary nonorgasmic women. After serving as their own controls, 22 women (eight primary, 14 secondary) received 15 sessions of group SD using four common hierarchies of sexual scenes. The measures were administered to each subject and her regular sex partner at each of the testing periods. Significant positive treatment effects were found on measures of general and specific sexual adjustment and in extracoital orgasmic frequency. Treatment also enhanced sexual communication among subjects and their partners, increased the females' acceptance of their mates as being satisfactory sexual partners, and increased the females' self-acceptance as sexual beings. All but one of the treatment effects (degree of pleasure experienced during extracoital stimulation) were maintained at the 6-week follow-up. Secondary subjects reported significantly greater pleasure from coital and extracoital stimulation and significantly increased frequency of orgasm in response to extracoital stimulation than primary subjects. Primary and secondary subjects did not differ in their evaluation of the experiment. The need for controlled comparative treatment investigations is stressed.

Adult↗

Effects of a marriage enrichment program: an outcome study.

This study investigated the impact of a marriage enrichment program. Fourteen couples were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups or to a no-treatment control group. One experimental group received fair-fight training for 3 weeks followed by a sexual enhancement format for 3 additional weeks. The second experimental groups received the opposite treatment sequence. The same counselor team used the same exercises in both groups. The sequence of treatment did not differentially affect outcome. The immediate and longer term treatment effects that were found generally favored the treatment groups over the no-treatment control group on spouses' separate reports of marital and personal functioning. Using larger and more homogeneous samples, future studies should examine the relationship of individual partner changes to couple changes, conduct a follow-up evaluation of at least 3 months, and obtain behavioral assessments of couples' interactions before and after treatment.

Aggression↗

The treatment of primary and secondary orgasmic dysfunction: a methodological review of the literature since 1970.

This paper reviews the studies since 1970 which examined the treatment outcome of primary and secondary nonorgsmic women. The studies were evaluated within the following sections: subjects, therapists, time format, treatment, and outcome criteria. Many methodological deficiencies were found, most notably the lack of specificity regarding subject characteristics, a reliance on women's self-reports of outcome without obtaining partner validation, the failure to assess the influence of the woman's partner on her orgasmic responsivity, the failure to control for expectancy factors, and the use of different criteria for treatment success. The problems in the literature suggest that it is premature to place any confidence in the identification of the treatment format which is most successful for a defined population of women who experience a specific form of primary or secondary orgasmic dysfunction. The data tentatively suggest that (1) secondary nonorgasmic women would show greater gains than primary nonorgasmic women in treatments emphasizing sexual and nonsexual communication techniques, (2) primary nonorgasmic women would show greater gains than secondary nonorgasmic women in desensitization and sexual technique training procedures, (3) desensitization may be the appropriate treatment for women whose sexual anxiety contributes to secondary orgasmic dysfunction. These hypotheses should be examined in controlled research.

Desensitization, Immunologic↗

The impact of a marriage enrichment program on relationship factors.

This study represented a continuing effort to assess the effects of a marriage enrichment program previously used by Kilmann, Moreault, and Robinson. Eleven couples who responded to newspaper and radio announcements received fair-fight training followed by sexual enhancement. Six couples recruited in the same manner received no treatment but responded to the measures at the same time intervals as the experimental couples. In comparison with the control couples the experimental couples reported a significant increase in marital adjustment and significantly greater actualized relationship. From a videotaped problem-solving task the experimental couples were rated as exhibiting significantly more positive communication patterns than the control couples. The findings offer support for the marriage enrichment program, although larger samples are needed to determine which treatment components are most beneficial for defined couples.

Adult↗

The differential impact of self-monitoring on smoking behavior: an exploratory study.

This study investigated the impact of self-monitoring on smoking patterns of internal and external smokers. Eighty-nine Ss charted their smoking behavior (number of cigarettes per day) on a daily basis for 4 consecutive weeks, after which personality measures were administered. Self-monitoring produced wide changes in reported cigarette consumption, although this procedure did not change significantly smoking behavior for the entire sample. Ss were divided arbitrarily into three categories: Ss who increased 20 cigarettes or more, Ss who decreased 20 cigarettes or more, and Ss who increased or decreased up to 19 cigarettes. Negative affect traits, locus of control, and self-concept variables did not differentiate increasers, decreasers, or maintainers. Ss who increased consumption reported greater reinforcement value from solitary related as opposed to socially oriented functions than the decreasers and the maintainers. Future studies should explore the meaningfulness of an intervention designed to improve the smoker's social interactions.

Adult↗

Effects of a marathon group on self-actualization and attitudes toward women.

This study investigated the impact of a 16-hour marathon session on levels of self-actualization and attitudes toward women both 1 day and 5 weeks after the group experience. Female undergraduates were assigned randomly to one of two marathon groups or to a no-treatment control group. Ss in both marathon groups experienced a significant shift toward increased independence or self-supportedness on both posttests. However, a differential group effect was found from separate comparisons of each marathon group with the control group reflected significantly shifts in attitudes toward women; Ss in one marathon group reflected significantly greater agreement with profeminist attitudes on the first posttest and experienced an even greater shift in that direction on the second posttest, while Ss in the other marathon group did not differ significantly from the control Ss on either posttest.

Attitude↗

The effect of structured and unstructured leader roles on internal and external group participants.

This study assessed the impact of structured and unstructured leader roles on measures of outcome for Ss who differed on the pretest dimension "locus of control." On the basis of their pretest locus of control scores, Ss were assigned to a structured or an unstructured marathon group. The treatment in the two 16-hour -arathons consisted of a defined series of exercises; the only difference between the two groups was the degree of leader control over member participation. As predicted, internal Ss in the unstructured group rated the leader and the group more psoitively than did external Ss, while the reverse responsivity occured in the structured group. Significant Locus of Control X Treatment interactions indicated that internal and external Ss reflected differential shifts in general anxiety, general depression, and locus of control as a function of treatment. The relationship between changes in self-actualization and locus of control and changes in conflict-handling styles and negative affects differed as a function of locus of control and treatment condition. The overall results coupled with prior findings tentatively support the appropriateness of an unstructured leader role for internal scores and a structured leader role for external scorers.

Adolescent↗

The impact of differential shifts in leader structure on the outcome of internal and external group participants.

This study investigated the interaction between locus of control and high and low degrees of structure of leader role as related to outcome. On the basis of their pretreatment locus of control score, college students were assigned randomly to one of five groups: a group that began unstructured and shifted to a structured format at the midpoint of the group, a group that began structured and shifted to an unstructured format at the midpoint, a group that was structured throughout, group that was unstructured throughout, and a no-treatment control group. Treatment in the 23-hour marathon groups consisted of the same sequence of planned group exercises; the leader varied his structure in accordance with the experimental design. The results indicated that an initial highly structured leader role followed by a relatively unstructured leader role presented at the midpoint of treatment fostered the greatest gains in self-actualization in both internal and external Ss.

Adolescent↗

Prediction of locus of control orientation from the Thematic Apperception Test.

This study attempted to predict locus of control orientation from responses to the Thematic Apperception Test. Forty male and 40 female undergraduates who scored at the extremes on the Rotter Locus of Control Scale responded to TAT cards. By use of Dies' rating procedure; two judges predicted Ss' locus of control orientation with 70% accuracy. Because an external orientation was predicted with much greater efficiency than an internal orientation, it was suggested that the TAT cards may elicit more external than internal responses.

Female↗