154 Ss were asked to describe severe crises in their lives and subsequent responses. Three a priori hypotheses were then tested by a three-way chi-square analysis. Frustration accounted for more than the predicted 50% of severest crises. Response flexibility rather than the predicted consistency was found, which has implications for personality theory. There was no evidence of consistency in a series of crises. Frustration appears to sensitize people to perceive subsequent crises similarly when, in fact, they may be different. The data suggest that psychotherapy should focus on new perceptions rather than new responses.
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