VIDANN: a video annotation system

VIDANN is a computer program that allows participants to watch a video on a standard TV and to write their annotations (thought/feeling entries) on paper attached to a writing tablet. The system is designed as a Microsoft ActiveX module. It can be further adapted by the individual researcher through the use of a VBScript. All data, including the participant's handwriting, are stored in an XML database. An accompanying Wizard has been designed that enables researchers to generate VBScripts for standard configurations.

Empathic accuracy in a clinically relevant setting

This study addressed 3 questions regarding empathic accuracy in a clinically relevant setting. First, does the empathic accuracy of a perceiver improve with increased exposure to a target individual? Second, can empathic accuracy be enhanced by providing the perceiver with feedback about the target's actual thoughts and feelings? Third, are there stable individual differences in empathic accuracy that generalize across different targets? The results indicated that although absolute performance levels varied from 1 target to another, empathic accuracy generally improved with increased exposure to the target. In addition, feedback concerning the target's actual thoughts and feelings accelerated the rate at which the perceivers' empathic accuracy improved. Finally, cross-target consistency in responding (alpha = .86) revealed stable individual differences in the perceivers' empathic ability. Implications of these findings for clinical training and practice are discussed.

Empathic accuracy in the interactions of male friends versus male strangers

In unstructured interactions, male friends were found to be more accurate than male strangers in inferring each other's thoughts and feelings. Plausible reasons for this difference were that friends (a) interacted more and exchanged more information, (b) had more similar personalities and therefore more rapport with each other, and (c) had more detailed knowledge of each other's lives. Data confirmed that the friends did indeed interact more and were more similar in their sociability than the strangers; however, these differences did not account for the friends' greater empathic accuracy. Instead, this was primarily attributable to a difference in knowledge structures, namely, the friends' ability to accurately read their partners' thoughts and feelings about imagined events in another place or time.

Empathic accuracy in the interactions of male friends versus male strangers

In unstructured interactions, male friends were found to be more accurate than male strangers in inferring each other's thoughts and feelings. Plausible reasons for this difference were that friends (a) interacted more and exchanged more information, (b) had more similar personalities and therefore more rapport with each other, and (c) had more detailed knowledge of each other's lives. Data confirmed that the friends did indeed interact more and were more similar in their sociability than the strangers; however, these differences did not account for the friends' greater empathic accuracy. Instead, this was primarily attributable to a difference in knowledge structures, namely, the friends' ability to accurately read their partners' thoughts and feelings about imagined events in another place or time.

Self-motivation and adherence to therapeutic exercise

Behavioral compliance or adherence is a fundamental problem in health care, and diagnosis of dropout proneness represents a first step in adherence facilitation. A paper-and-pencil scale was developed to assess self-motivation, conceptualized as a behavioral tendency to persevere independent of situational reinforcements. Scale refinement (N = 401) yielded a logically valid and reliable measure with a high internal consistency (alpha = 0.91). Repeated measurements (1 to 5 months) indicated a high degree of scale stability (r's ranged from 0.86 to 0.92), reinforcing the conception of self-motivation as relatively enduring and trait-like. Convergent evidence for construct validity was provided by the Self-Motivation Inventory's (SMI) relationship with the Thomas--Zander Ego-Strength Scale (r = 0.63) and other more behaviorally specific attitudes (r's ranged from 0.47 to 0.58). Discriminant validity was evidenced by minimal overlap with motivational measures of social desirability, health locus of control, and achievement tendency; in each case, less than 10% of the variance in self-motivation was explained. Predictive validity was demonstrated in a variety of naturalistic settings in which perseverant behavior was easily quantified. These included habitual exercise programs for exercise training (N = 64), preventive medicine (N = 66), and acute exercise (N = 48). The diversity of these settings supported the situational invariance of self-motivation. Collectively, these findings provide considerable support for the valid and reliable assessment of self-motivation and for its distinctive utility in enhancing the prediction of perseverant behavior, specifically, adherence to therapeutic exercise.

Correlates of self-consciousness

Examined the relationship between the three subscales of the Self-Consciousness Scale and a variety of other personality dimensions, including measures of reflectivity, self-regulation, and social desirability. Data from six geographically diverse samples (total N = 1395) were presented. In general, both the construct validity and discriminant validity of the subscales were supported. First, private self-consciousness significantly correlated with the Guilford-Zimmerman Thoughtfulness Scale and the Paivio Imagery Scale. Second, all of the self-consciousness subscales were shown to be relatively independent of the social desirability response set. Third, less than 6% of the variance in each self-consciousness subscale was shared with scores on the Self-Monitoring Scale. Finally, the minimal relationships between the self-consciousness subscales and measures of emotionality and test anxiety reported by Carver and Glass (1976) were in general replicated. The low magnitude of the correlations obtained was interpreted as supporting the distinctive contribution of the Self-Consciousness Scale to personality assessment.

Objective self-awareness and individuation: an empirical link

An experiment was conducted to determine whether the phenomenal experiences associated with the states of objective and subjective self-awareness are those which typically are associated with the states of individuation and deindividuation. In order to test this hypothesis, 20 male and 20 female matched pairs of subjects completed 15 self-descriptive statements on a Who Am I questionnaire under conditions of experimentally manipulated self-awareness (high vs. low). The obtained responses were then coded on 21 dimensions of self-conception, including several suggested by Gordon (1968). Converging result from a number of different measures indicated that increased objective self-awareness led to a more individuated conception of self. More specifically, objective self-awareness appeared to increase responding on dimensions which reflect individuation but to decrease responding on dimensions which reflect deindividuation suggested that this effect held strongly for low self-monitoring subjects. The self-descriptions of high self-monitoring subjects, however, appeared to be relatively unaffected by situationally induced self-awareness.