Content area
Abstract
Two groups of subjects were administered subscales from two personality inventories and exposed to either a fixed-ratio or proportional behavior sampling condition to measure traits of ego-strength, depression and anxiety. Behavioral measurements based on frequency and duration were obtained from subjects under a frustrating situation represented by scheduled constraints on their instrumental and contingent performance and instances of restriction. The hypotheses were: (a) subjects high in ego-strength would show stable behavior patterns of responding and spend less time in restriction; (b) subjects who scored high in depression would display delayed response patterns; (c) subjects who scored high in anxiety would display disruptive response patterns; and (d) subjects who scored high in depression or anxiety would spend more time overall in a restrictive condition. Experiment 1 (E1) consisted of 42 subjects administered subscales of the MMPI and 16PF and exposed to a fixed-ratio schedule. Experiment 2 was identical to E1 except that a proportional schedule was used. The data from both experiments were analyzed separately by a multitrait-multimethod matrix to validate the behavioral representations of the three traits. Significance was found in terms of trait reliability for the three traits across the three methods in both experiments. The hypothesized relationships between operant performance and trait definitions were not supported by convergent and discriminant validity. However, the results suggest behavior can be a useful representation of trait constructs when those constructs are independent of one another and have different meaning for the subject. The research findings were discussed in terms of subject selection, methods used and trait definitions.
