In doubling, the double served both as an auxiliary ego for the patient and as a model from which the withdrawn patient learned effective group participation skills. Results of the study demonstrated significant increases in participation for subjects in both experimental groups using doubling. (Author)

Physically disabled adults (n=34) participated in assertiveness training (AT) program, being randomly assigned to AT or waiting-list condition. AT subjects showed significant improvements on self-reported assertiveness and role-play performance from pre- to posttest, whereas controls showed no changes. Overall results support use of AT in…

Results provide additional support for the idea that the psychotherapy process can be facilitated by structuring of the interview situation for the client. (Author)

Data from a role playing experiment are interpreted to signify that positive reinforcements for refraining from smoking might be more successful than aversive controls in changing smoking behavior. It was proposed that cutting down by eliminating undesired cigarettes might strengthen rather than weaken smoking, since its rewards are if anything,…

Results indicated that several significant main and interaction effects emerged on social interactions criteria for structured learning therapy. Interaction effects for structured learning therapy and psychotherapy suggested primarily a mutual inhibition'' of treatment effectiveness. The implications of these findings for further studies of…

The ability of 24 Veterans Administration Day Treatment Center psychiatric outpatients to vary intentionally their degree of apparent psychopathology during structured interviews was studied. Patients defined as sick presenters behaved in a significantly more pathological manner during an interview preceded by "fake sick" instructions than they…

Examined the effects of varying one test parameter, the confederates' prompt latency, on the heterosocial performance of 140 low- and high-frequency male undergraduate daters. The results indicated that these variations altered the test's content as well as the test's absolute difficulty level. (Author/RC)

Developed the Problem Inventory for Adolescent Girls (PIAG) to measure competence in social situations, and compared the performance of delinquent and nondelinquent girls on the inventory. The PIAG significantly discriminated between the groups, suggesting that delinquency is more closely related to skill deficits in interacting with adult…

Offers evidence that demand characteristics referring to changes in clients' self-concepts are the common factors in psychotherapies. Unassertive subjects (N=87) were assigned to four types of imaginary role playing. Only the demand characteristics condition increased significantly in assertiveness and self-esteem and decreased significantly in…

Compared two analogue strategies--videotaped role-play and naturalistic scenes--for assessing children's social skills to determine if they would yield different response styles. Results indicated more behaviors occurred in the role-play strategy than in the naturalistic strategy, and judges assigned higher ratings of likability in the role-play…

Examined ecological validity of role-played dating interactions. Male undergraduates participated in hetereosexual social situations, role plays simulating dating interactions and waiting-period interactions. Analyses of variance did not result in major differences between role plays and waiting periods. Relative ranking of subjects was similar in…

The effects of demand characteristics on assertive behavior of unassertive undergraduates was investigated and found to increase the amount of assertiveness. It was proposed that high and low role-playing situations be used to diagnose inadequate learning of assertion skills, as opposed to factors inhibiting assertive performance. (NG)

This article studied the relative and combined effectiveness of role playing and monetary incentives to increase the social interaction and responsiveness of chronic male psychiatric patients. Trend analyses of ward data and experimental findings consistently indicated significant positive changes at posttreatment for only those groups receiving…

Socially anxious males were assigned to a behavioral counseling group involving organized role playing and correctional feedback exercises, counseling plus group desensitization, a "microlab" emphasizing real-life interactions with females, a placebo procedure, and no treatment. Outcome criteria indicated superiority of both reeducative…