Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The present study explores the relationship between personality and the differing modes of participation in a sociotherapy program set in an open, voluntary, long-term psychiatric hospital, in order to further our understanding of the relationship between sociotherapy and psychotherapy. Three groups of patients were defined from the recent population of the hospital: leaders, workers, and nonworkers, and clinical and psychometric data were compared across the groups. Mode of participation, as expected, was found to be unrelated to diagnosis or severity of disturbance. TAT stories were rated for power and affiliation motivation and power motivation was found to be positively correlated with leadership for female subjects, and strongly negatively correlated with leadership for males. Affiliation needs were found to be slightly negatively correlated with the adoption of a worker role. These findings were interpreted both in terms of the psychodynamics of the individual patient and in terms of the group and institutionalforces that influence individual roles. The interaction between group and institutional dynamics and individual psychodynamics in determining behavior of hospitalpatients was stressed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

ALMOND, R. The healing community: dynamics of the therapeutic milieu. New York: Aronson, 1974.

ATKINSON, J. W. , HEYNS, R. W. , & VEROFF, J. The effect of experimental arousal of the affiliation motive on thematic apperception. In J. W. Atkinson (Ed.), Motives in fantasy, action, and society. New York: Van Nostrand, 1958.

BION, W. R. Experiences in groups. New York: Basic Books, 1959.

EDELSON, M. Ego psychology, group dynamics, and the therapeutic community. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1964.

EDELSON, M. Sociotherapy and psychotherapy. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1970. (a)

EDELSON, M. The practice of sociotherapy. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1970. (b)

ERIKSON, K. T. Patient role and social uncertaintyA dilemma of the mentally ill. Psychiatry. 1957, 20, 263-274.

GROESBECK, B. L. Toward a description of personality in terms of configurations of motives. In J. W. Atkinson (Ed.), Motives in fantasy, action and society. New York: Van Nostrand, 1958.

HARDY, K. R. Determinants of conformity and attitude change. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1957, 54, 289-294.

10.

HEYNS, R. W. , VEROFF, J. , & ATKINSON, J. W. A scoring manual for the affiliation motive. In J. W. Atkinson (Ed.), Motives in fantasy, action, and society. New York: Van Nostrand, 1958.

11.

HOGARTY, G. E. , GOLDBERG, S. C. , SCHOOLER, N. R. III Adjustment of nonrelapsed patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1974, 31, 609-618.

12.

HOGARTY, G. E. , GOLDBERG, S. C. , SCHOOLER, N. R. , & ULIRIECH, R. F. , Drug Drug and sociotherapy in aftercare of schizophrenic patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1974,31, 603-608.

13.

JONES, M. The therapeutic community: A New treatment method in psychiatry. New York: Basic Books, 1953.

14.

JONES, M. The treatment of personality disorders in a therapeutic community. Psychiatry, 1957, 20, 211-220.

15.

KELLY, K. V. The healing culture: Uses of community in a psychotherapy hospital. Paper presented at the Austen Riggs Center Seminar Series, 1976.

16.

KERNBERG, O. Object relations theory and clinical psychoanalysis. New York: Aronson, 1976.

17.

LOFGREN, L. B. Organizational design and therapeutic effect. In A. Coleman and H. Bexton (Eds.), Group relations reader. Washington: A. K. Rice Institute, 1976, 185-192.

18.

MAIN, T. F. The ailment. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 1957, 30, 129-145.

19.

MAY, R. R. Paranoia and power anxiety. Journal of Personality Assessment, 1970, 34, 412-418.

20.

McCLELLAND, D. C. Power: the inner experience. New York: Irvington, 1975.

21.

REITMAN, W. R. , & ATKINSON, J. W. Some methodological problems in the use of TAT measures of human motives. In J. W. Atkinson (Ed.), Motives in fantasy, action, and society. New York: Van Nostrand, 1958.

22.

RICE, A. K. The enterprise and its environment. London: Tavistock, 1963.

23.

RICE, A. K. Individual, group and intergroup processes. Human Relations, 1969, 22, 565-584.

24.

RIOCH, M. The work of Wilfred Bion on groups. Psychiatry, 1970, 33(1), 56-66.

25.

ROSENSWEIG, S. P. , & HARFORD, T. Correlates of therapists' initial impression of patients in a psychiatric day center. Psychotherapy: research and practice, 1972, 9, 126-129.

26.

SHIPLEY, T. E. , & VEROFF, J. A projective measure of need for affiliation. In J. W. Atkinson (Ed.), Motives in fantasy, action, and society. New York: Van Nostrand, 1958.

27.

SIVADON, P. D. Techniques of sociotherapy. Psychiatry, 1957, 20, 205-210.

28.

SMITH, C. , & FELD, S. How to learn the method of content analysis for nAchievement, nAffiliation, and nPower. In J. W. Atkinson (Ed.), Motives in fantasy, action, and society. New York: Van Nostrand, 1958.

29.

TALBOT, E. , & MILLER, S. C. The struggle to create a sane society in a psychiatric hospital. Psychiatry, 1966, 29, 165-171.

30.

TALBOT, E. , MILLER, S. C. , & WHITE, R. B. Some aspects of self-conceptions and role demands in a therapeutic community. Journal of Abnormal and Social psychology, 1961, 63, 338-345.

31.

VEROFF, J. Development and validation of a projective measure of power motivation. In J. W. Atkinson (Ed.), Motives in fantasy, action, and society. New York: Van Nostrand, 1958.

32.

WINTER, D. G. The power motive. New York: Free Press, 1973.

Personality Determinants of Leadership and Participation in a Sociotherapy Program

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References