THE TEMPORALITY OF ALCOHOUCS

Thesis for the Degree of M. A.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
TOM BATCHELDER
1977

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23 10586 6754

 

 

ABSTRACT

THE TEMPORALITY 0F ALCOHOLICS

By

Tom Batchelder

This study compared a sample of alcoholics with a sample of

nonalcoholics on measures of a number of aspects of temporality, the

manner of relating to time. In general it was predicted, on the

basis of a developmental, motivational theory of alcoholism, that

the alcoholics would manifest a temporality very different from that

of nonalcoholics. Nine specific hypotheses were proposed:

I.

II.

III.

IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

Alcoholics are more oriented toward "timeless“. un-
changing states than nonalcoholics.

Alcoholics are less oriented toward the future than
nonalcoholics.

Alcoholics are more oriented toward the present than
nonalcoholics.

Alcoholics project a more passive future than non-
alcoholics.

Alcoholics see the present in a more passive way than
nonalcoholics.

Alcoholics are more oriented toward the past than non-
alcoholics.

Alcoholics integrate the past, present, and future to
a lesser degree than nonalcoholics.

Alcoholics conceptualize shorter spans of time than
nonalcoholics.

 

IX.

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the medical
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and marital

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five TAT car
rived from t
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C

Tom Batchelder
IX. Alcoholics' conceptions of spans of time are less finely
subdivided into discrete events than nonalcoholics'.

The alcoholic sample consisted of 15 male inpatients hospi-
talized with a primary diagnosis of alcoholism at the Ann Arbor VA
Hospital. The comparison group consisted of 15 male inpatients from
the medical wards of the same hospital. In addition to medical re-
cords. a questionnaire concerning significant familial. legal,
medical, and employment problems associated with drinking was used
to differentiate the two groups. Controls for length of hospitali-
zation, age, educational level, intellectual level, employment status,
and marital status were employed.

Each subject was asked to write out a story to each of
five TAT cards. Scores relevant to each of the hypotheses were de-
rived from the stories. Although the interrater reliabilities for
Hypotheses IV, VII, and IX were only 0.584, 0.755, and 0.684 re-
spectively, the other scores were much more reliable, and the
specially designed rating procedure was judged to be generally
successful.

The results supported only Hypotheses I and II; alcoholics
were found to be more oriented toward "timeless" states, and less
oriented toward the future than nonalcoholics. Although these re-
sults may reflect the effects rather than, as suggested by our theory,
the underlying dynamics of alcoholism, it was suggested that, in
either theoretical interpretation, the findings imply important

practical problems for the alcoholics.

Tom Batchelder

0f the seven hypotheses not supported by the data, one
should be singled out here for special attention. In three previous
inVestigations alcoholic subjects were found to conceptualize signifi-
cantly shorter spans of time than nonalcoholics. It was suggested
that the failure to replicate these results reflected the more ela-
borate controls in the present investigation, and that, therefore,
the previously accepted conclusions regarding the time perspectives
of alcoholics are unwarranted.

In general, it may be concluded that alcoholism does have
a significant influence on temporality, but not in nearly as many
ways as would be predicted from a consideration of alcoholics'
dynamics. This study does not, however, bear directly on the
validity of the various dynamic theories of alcoholism. Other as-
pects of temporality related more directly to these theories might
still prove to differentiate alcoholics from nonalcoholics; in the
discussion of the results, suggestions are made along this line.
It was further suggested that at least some of the results of this

study might be different among alcoholics of a different age group.

THE TEMPORALITY OF ALCOHOLICS

By

Ruin" 403*
Tom Batchelder

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
Department of Psychology

1977

To Anne Winston, in appreciation for all the
work, sacrifice, understanding, warmth, and

love she has put into this thesis.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Albert 1. Rabin, the chairman of my committee, has
helped me in an unusually broad range of ways. His articles
stimulated my initial interest in temporality before I had even
met him. He has been able and always willing to make helpful
comments on a diversity of points that were troubling me, ranging
from some of the most basic concepts to the most mundane stylistic
points. His gentle pressure encouraged me to complete this work
without stirring up any of my "anal" stubbornness.

These points, important as they are, only begin to suggest
Dr. Rabin's influence on me and on this thesis. Insofar as this
work fulfills my ambition to cast a diversity of insights, includ-
ing phenomenological and pOetic, into an empirical framework, it
has been nurtured and inspired by my growing appreciation of Dr.
Rabin's character as a psychologist. He is a broadly cultured
intellectual, with a respectful interest in the diversity of view-
points that have been applied to the study of man, and yet he is
also a very "down-to-earth" person, for whom the actual lives of
individual people seem always to take precedence over the elegant
and intellectually profound conceptualizations which he can generate.
Dr. Rabin is, of course, a highly respected psychologist, but what

I want to acknowledge here is that his influence is much deeper and

iii

more personal than what might routinely be expected from such a
leader: for me, he has served not only as a standard, an inspira-
tion, and a very helpful advisor for my intellectual work, but also
as a model of how a psychologist can integrate his work into a
thoroughly decent and humane character structure.

Thanks also to the other members of my committee. Dr.
Joel Aronoff took the time to read the proposal, and later drafts
very carefully, and his informed and intensive questioning helped
me learn much more than I would otherwise have learned from this
thesis. Not only did I gain from him numerous specific ideas and
suggestions, but, more importantly, his intense approach helped me
to take more seriously and find much more interesting what, at times,
threatened to become a tedious exercise, a mere requirement.

Dr. Bertram Karon has the rare combination of profound
clinical knowledge, and statistical expertise. Both of these helped
me produce this thesis: his course on the TAT gave me a strong in-
terest in the instrument, and his incisive comments helped resolve
many of my perplexities concerning statistics and research design.

So many people at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital helped me in
doing this research that I cannot possibly name them all. Doctors
and nurses were consistently cooperative in taking time from their
extremely busy schedules to help me procure subjects. Dr. Phillip

Kroll deserves special thanks in this regard. Larry Obrist was also

iv

 

very hel
facilita
men who

They agr
that the.
mind worl
intrusive
assaultec
PFObany
b95t toke
the EXplg

thTS "119i

very helpful. For these professionals, cooperation was perhaps
facilitated by their previous acquaintance with research. For the
men who served as subjects, however, no such explanation is plausible.
They agreed to participate merely on the necessarily vague promise
that they might help us "to learn a little more about how the human
mind works." They continued to participate even after the somewhat
intrusive questions about their drinking, after their self-esteem was
assaulted by the very difficult vocabulary test, and through the
probably threatening and mysterious projective test. Perhaps the
best token of appreciation for their work is to print and remember
the explanation many of them offered for their participation: "If

this might help other people, I'll be glad to do it."

 

If YOU woul

your should

must get dr

If you would not feel the horrid weight of Time, that breaks
your shoulders, bending you toward earth, relentlessly you

must get drunk.

C. Baudelaire, l97l, p. 28

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF TABLES ...................... ix
INTRODUCTION ................. ' ...... l
TEMPORALITY ....................... 3
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Development of Normal Temporality ........... 6
Development of Abnormal Temporality .......... ll
Temporality in Psychopathology ............ 13
ALCOHOLISM ........................ 17
Introduction ..................... l7
Psychological Factors: Oral Dependency ........ 20
Psychological Factors: Sexual Identity ........ 25
Psychological Factors: Aggression .......... 28
Integrative Summary: The Negative Identity ...... 29
TEMPORALITY IN ALCOHOLISM ................ 33
Development ...................... 33
Alcoholic Temporality ................. 35
STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES ................. 40
SUBJECTS AND INSTRUMENTS: PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS . . 43
Subjects: Who is an Alcoholic? ............ 43
Instruments ...................... 45
PROCEDURE ................ . ....... 46
Subjects ....................... 46
Instrument .......... . ........... 49
Scoring ....................... 50
Scoring Procedure and Interrater Reliability ..... 55
RESULTS ........................ 58

Page

DISCUSSION ........................ 64
"Timeless" States ................... 64
Future Orientation .................. 66
Present Orientation .................. 69
Passive Future .................... 70
Passive Present .................... 71
Past Orientation ................... 7l
Temporal Integration ................. 73
Spans of Time ..................... 74
Subdivision of Spans of Time ............. 75
Implications for Future Research ........... 77

SUMMARY ........................ 80

REFERENCES ........................ 83

APPENDICES
A. Scoring Manual .................. 89
B. Consent Forms ................... 103

viii

Table

l.

A Comparison
a Measure

States ......................

A Comparison
a Measure

A Comparison
a Measure

A Comparison
a Measure
Futures

A Comparison
a Measure
Presents

A Comparison
a Measure

A Comparison
a Measure

A Comparison
a Measure
of Time

A Comparison
a Measure

Time .......................

LIST OF TABLES

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of Orientation Toward "Timeless"

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of Future Orientation

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on

of Present Orientation ........

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of the Passivity of Their Projected

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of the Passivity of Their Projected

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of Past Orientation

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of Temporal Integration

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of Length of Conceptualized Spans

of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on
of the Subdivision of Spans of

ix

Page

58

59

59

60

60

61

62

63

63

INTRODUCTION

Numerous empirical researchers, clinical observers, and
theorists have suggested that temporality, the manner of relating
to time, is significantly affected by diverse forms of psychopathol-
ogy. As our epigraph implies, there may be an important relation—
ship between time and the intoxication produced by alcohol, and,
thus, an important relationship between temporality and alcoholism.
In fact, there are intriguing suggestions in the clinical literature
that various aspects of temporality might be significantly different
in the alcoholic. There are also a few, not very well controlled
empirical studies supporting some of these suggestions. The present
study was designed to examine, in a more controlled way, a broad
range of possible aspects of alcoholic temporality.

The line from Baudelaire relates intoxication and time in
terms of motivation: a purpose, a gggl_in "getting drunk," it is
suggested, might be to escape the "horrid weight of Time." We will
pursue this lead by examining the literature on the motivational
dynamics of alcoholism to see what implications there may be for
temporality. Modern dynamic theories of alcoholism, as of other
conditions, are distinguished by their developmental focus. Adult
dynamics, this perspective suggests, do not suddenly appear in adult-
hood, but rather reflect the particular experiences accumulated

through the history of the individual. Thus, part of our search for

l

testable h

review of

in later 5
first revi

ality.

testable hypotheses concerning alcoholic temporality will involve a
review of the developmental experiences of the alcoholic.

To broaden our understanding of temporality and to aid us
in later searching for aspects of alcoholic temporality, we will
first review some of the considerable body of literature on tempor-

ality.

TEMPORALITY

Introduction

Human temporality, man's multifaceted relation to time, is
an increasingly significant, broad, and viable area of psychological
research. The study of the perception of time has a long history in
psychology, but in recent years considerable attention has also been
focused on more molar aspects of temporal experience, especially in
relation to psychopathology. The clinical literature has long con-
tained intriguing observations of such aspects of temporality as:
the relative importance and different functions (healthy and patho-
logical) of past, present, and future: the symbolic meaning of
time; the "flow" of time (it may seem to accelerate, slow down, or
even stop); the retreat from normal time into timeless states; and,
the different attitudes assumed toward time. Experimental research
attempting to document and explore these broader aspects of tempor-
ality has proliferated in recent years.

Before reviewing some of this literature, we should address
an important preliminary question: what are we to understand as the
place of temporality in the personality? For the existentialists,
“temporality becomes a basic coordinate upon which the greatest

emphasis is laid" (Ellenberger, l958, p. lOl). In Sartre (l966)

and Heideg
being; the
future is

and as dif
philosophy
temporalit
symptoms 0
(I958) hav.

l
Portance 01
0f importer
Man. Eller
practice te
tion, 5986c

d“ration.

COnception

Past, prese

H
aCtT Ons to 1

A“Port, for

COIIEd fOr a

said, "dTStil

and Heidegger (l962) man is depicted as most basically a temporal
being; the relation between past, present, and, most importantly,
future is seen as the foundational structure of human existence,
and as differentiating man from other beings. Applying this
philosophy to psychiatry, Minkowski (T970) claimed that disturbed
temporality is the basic "generating disorder" behind the various
symptoms of psychopathology. Straus (l966) and von Gebsattel
(l958) have attempted similar analyses.

Viewed historically, this idea of the preeminent im-
portance of temporality might be seen as a reaction to the omission
of important facets of temporality from the prevailing views of
man. Ellenberger (l958, p. lOl) noted that in common clinical
practice temporality was considered only in terms of disorienta-
tion, speed of mental operations, and, sometimes, perception of
duration. Such broader aspects of temporality as the person's
conception of his future, or his degree of integration of his
past, present, and future were not much considered by clinicians

or theorists.

Nithin mainstream psychology too, however, there were re-
actions to this omission. In his l958 critique of psychology,
Allport, for example, criticized "the prevalent tendency to explain
all mental states exclusively in terms of past occurrences," and he
called for a broader consideration of temporality, and especially
for a greater focus on the future. Man's future orientation, he

said, “distinguishes the human being from the animal, the adult

from the cl

the sick"

but there '
he makes 1".
portant as
aspects, oi
trast to tt

temporal 1' t3,

N
compatible
the Persona
functiomng

V
Suggests an
tialists:
deVelopmem
ObSEY‘Ved Va
of More Coy
accumulated
Hm “View
the develop
causes 0f t

bi‘lEfiy ske

DSyChopatho

from the child, and in many cases the healthy personality from
the sick" (l958, p. 5l).

Allport here sounds very similar to the existentialists,
but there is an important difference. Later in his book (pp. 54-56),
he makes it very clear that the temporal factors he discussed, im-
portant as they are, are simply aspects, among a number of other
aspects, of one of a number of structures of the psyche. In con-
trast to the existentialists, Allport stresses the importance of

temporality without portraying it as the central core of personality.

Much of the literature we'll review in this section is
compatible with Allport's conception of the place of temporality in
the personality. Temporality emerges as one important aspect of ego
functioning, and is only rarely depicted as the crux of personality.

Viewing temporality as an aspect of ego functioning
suggests an important topic which was not considered by the existen-
tialists: the developmental history of temporality. With a
developmental theory, we might be able to account for some of the
observed variations in adult temporality, and to predict the presence
of more covert variations. Much theory and research has, in fact,
accumulated concerning the development of normal temporality, and we
will review some of it in this section. Then we will review some of
the developmental experiences which have been suggested as possible
causes of the variations in adult temporality. Finally, we will
briefly sketch some of the work that has been done on temporality in

psychopathology.

Development

I
tails. the
the indivic
time is not
but rather
individual
interaction
alities, an
0f temporal

T,
gradual PY‘OE
increasing]:
Fraisse’ 19'
sense of ti]
with the ex;
ing and Pul.
Yates (T938
a "test linpo
rhythm. Th4
aSpect of 1:1
by, 8.9.. Re
DPOCesS 0f I
avond Of 1
Simultaneous

Development of Normal Temporality

Despite persisting questions concerning some of the de-
tails, the general notion that temporality develops gradually as
the individual matures has been amply documented. Furthermore,
time is not, as Kant maintained, "an a priori form of sensibility,"
but rather is learned in the process of interaction between the I
individual and his environment. From their respective patterns of
interaction, different individuals may learn different tempor-
alities, and, thus, the potential is present for pathological forms
of temporality.

The normal development of temporality seems to be a
gradual progression from the narrow egocentricity of infancy to an
increasingly broad and articulated view of time (Lewin, l935;
Fraisse, l963). According to some observers, a very rudimentary
sense of time develops in the first months of life in connection
with the experienced rhythms of biological processes such as breath-
ing and pulse (Oberndorf, l94l, p. 142; Fenichel, l945, p. 282).
Yates (1938) suggests that the periodicity of hunger and feeding is
a most important factor in this early appreciation of temporal
rhythm. The next stage of development may be seen as one important
aspect of the shift, described by Freud (e.g., 1946) and elaborated
by, e.g., Rapaport (l95l), from the primary process to the secondary
process of mental functioning. The young infant lives primarily in
a world of the present: need and satisfaction occur relatively

simultaneously, and when they do not, there is recourse via the

primary
of dela.
lating i
increase
young or
creasing
thinking
tion bec
with the

0f tempo

Continue
l'fl child-
were Use:
Months),
Seasons .
Mlschel .
a Presen'

Harn‘ik (‘
that this

THE doe:

time On 1

primary process to imagined satisfaction. Frustration in the form
of delay of gratification soon increases, however, beyond the regu-
lating capacity of the wish-fulfilling apparatus. The resulting
increases of need tension could be catastrophic experiences for the
young organism, but normally this calamity is prevented by the in-
creasing capacity of secondary-process thinking. Secondary-process
thinking can sustain the child through periods of delayed gratifica-
tion because it allows him to foresee a fptppngratification. Thus,
with the beginning maturation of this capacity, an important element
of temporality, the sense of a future, begins to develop.

This broadening of the temporal horizons will normally
continue as the child matures. Ames (1946) found such a progression
in children's use of temporal words. Words signifying the present
were used first (24 months), then words indicating the future (30
months), and by six years these children could use the names of the
seasons appropriately. Similarly, studies by Melikan (1959) and
Mischel and Metzner (1962) suggest that a child's capacity to delay
a present gratification for the sake of a greater future reward in-
creases as the child grows older (to 12 years in these studies).

Some writers attach a special importance to the anal period.
Harnik (cited in Fenichel, 1945, p. 282) and Dooley (1941) maintain
that this is the crucial stage in the development of temporality.
Time does become important in a number of ways during toilet train-
ing: frequency of defecation, postponement of defecation, length of

time on the toilet--in all of these time is an important factor.

Other theoris
developments,
role. Thus,
of the perioc
ning of the c
The
advance in te
The advances
a much greate
p. 72). but t
gives a great
is the Produc
(194]) traces
the Pirental
p. 258) simj]
toward the po
early Childho
This increase

EVEI", re] at]. V

future

Other theorists, however, noting the importance of earlier and later
developments, assign the anal period a special, but not preeminent
role. Thus, Fenichel (1945, p. 282) suggests that the significance
of the period for the development of temporality lies in the begin-
ning of the capacity to use reality-mastering schedules.

The resolution of the Oedipal complex marks an important
advance in temporality, especially in regard to the imagined future.
The advances in linguistic ability that have occurred by then allow
a much greater symbolic control over time (Cottle & Klineberg, 1974,
p. 72), but there is also a new institution in the psyche which
gives a greater impetus to the future orientation. This new factor
is the product of the Oedipal complex, the superego. Oberndorf
(1941) traces the genesis of future-oriented, purposive striving to
the parental identifications forming the superego. Erikson (1963,

p. 258) similarly states that the Oedipal stage "sets the direction
toward the possible and the tangible which permits the dreams of
early childhood to be attached to the goals of an active adult life."
This increased sense of the future will remain largely fantasy, how-
ever, relatively unconstrained by reality considerations, until the
cognitive advances of adolescence (Cottle & Klineberg, 1974, p. 72).
Still, there has been an advance in the realistic sense of the
future, for Stone and Church (1968, p. 325) report that, in their
play patterns, children of this age can, for the first time, "engage ‘
in planned projects extending over many days."

In their review of the literature, Wallace and Rabin (1960),

suggest that the adult conception of time does not appear until the

thirteenth or

advanced cogn

 

and this deve
1y, although
it was either
situations, 0
sent actualit
of formal ope
as (in our cu
Previously se
Furthermo re ,
into his futu
his Present a
is no longer
Mflllment,
ating 10"9-ra
establishes t
99°‘1d9ntity.
and in the her
future, the s!
gressive com;-
the _TOng “an
in the antic“
Klin
of this adoieS

ti
onal relevan

thirteenth or fourteenth year. By this age the developing person has
advanced cognitively to formal operations (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958),
and this development allows an advance in his temporality. Previous-
ly, although the sense of the future was progressively developing,
it was either still bound to the concrete possibilities of present
situations, or it reflected fantasies relatively unrelated to pre-
sent actualities. Now, with the abstractive abilities of the stage
of formal operations the adolescent is able to conceptualize time
as (in our culture) an abstract continuum, overarching all the
previously separate concrete projects and memories (Piaget, 1969).
Furthermore, the cognitive advances allow the adolescent to project
into his future the realistic possibilities he can generate from
his present and past experience (Cottle & Klineberg, 1974). Thought
is no longer confined to current situations and imaginative wish
fulfillment, but can now also serve the developmental task of gener-
ating long-range plans for future identity. Thus, early adolescence
establishes the foundation in temporality for the achievement of
ego-identity. In the new sense of time as an integrated life span,
and in the new capacity to generate realistic images of the personal
future, the stage is set for the development of a sense of a "pro-
gressive continuity between that which [one] has come to be during
the long years of childhood and that which [one] promises to become
in the anticipated future" (Erikson, 1964, p. 91).

Klineberg (1967) reports an interesting experimental study
of this adolescent stage of the development of temporality. (Addi-

tional relevant research is cited in Cottle and Klineberg (1974)).

10

He found that adolescents (ages 13-16) did, in fact, have more real-
istic conceptions of their future than did children (ages 10-12).
Moreover, he found that, while children who were relatively involved
in the present tended to be less oriented toward the future, adoles—
cents tended, as predicted, to integrate their present and future

to a greater degree; i.e., adolescents who were involved in the
present were also oriented toward distant future events and vice
versa. Finally, whereas unhappy children tended to project pleasant
wish-fulfillments into the future, unhappy adolescents, because of
their increased temporal integration, tend to.avoid thinking of the
future, which for them would realistically reflect their present
unhappiness.

The normal developmental progression through adolescence
culminates in a sense of identity which integrates past, present,
and future, and which is sensed as a movement toward future goals
via present actions. Thus, Fraisse states that the "normal atti-
tude of man is oriented toward the future" (1963, p. 198). This
"normal" attitude, however, must also ground the future realistically
in the past and present, for, otherwise, the future remains that of
childhood, relatively unconstrained by reality considerations.

Given this grounding, however, most writers agree that the normal
development does produce a future-oriented temporality. Even with-
in the general bounds of psychological health greater degrees of
adjustment may be related to increasing development of the sense
of the future. Epley and Ricks (1963), for instance, found that,

in a group of "healthy, superior adults," those with longer future

11

time perspectives: had better grades; were less anxious; and were

more empathic and more involved with other people.

Development of Abnormal Temporality

The very length of time required for the normal develop-
ment would seem to allow numerous problems to arise, and, judging
from the literature on temporality in psychopathology, there must,
indeed, be a wide variety of possible malignant influences. Before
we review some of the literature on psychopathology, we will list
some of the factors that have been suggested as causes of disturbed
temporality. A prefatory caution first, however: in contrast to
the general theory of development, there is, thus far, not much
experimental evidence supporting (or refuting) the clinically de-
rived theories of the development of individual differences in
temporality. In his major review, Doob (1971, p. 218) said in this
connection that we do not "know in detail exactly how early experience
becomes internalized so that it later affects temporal behavior; we
are convinced only that in some way it does."

There are a number of suggestions of possible pathological
developments originating in the oral period. Yates (1938) says that
"where there is a gross disharmony between the child's time and the
mother's time in relation to early need satisfaction, a degree of
aggression is aroused which influences all subsequent time relation-
ships" (p. 354). When even this aggression is not effective in procur-
ing satisfaction, she suggests that withdrawal into timeless psychosis

may result.

12

In order for the secondary-process ability to anticipate
future satisfaction to develop, Hartocollis (1974, p. 250) suggests
that the infant must have developed an adequate sense of object con-
stancy. Lack of such a sense might, therefore, handicap the develop-
ment of the future perspective. One of the few empirical studies
in this area seems to support this hypothesis. Goldfarb (1945)
found that children who, during the first three years of life, were
in institutions where they could not maintain consistent close rela-
tionships with adults almost uniformly manifested shortened time
perspectives and lack of planning abilities during adolescence.

The opposite extreme of parenting behavior during the oral
period may also be prejudicial to the development of temporality.
Drawing from Bergler and R6heim's (1946) suggestion that a too ready
gratification of the infant's needs might obviate the need for him
to develop a sense of the future, Zern (1970) hypothesized a nega-
tive relation between early patterns of indulgence, and structuring
of time in adolescence. He found that highly indulged infants did,
in fact, have a less structured sense of time in adolescence than
did less consistently, punctually, and liberally indulged infants.
As we suggested earlier, it seems that some frustration is necessary
to push the infant into developing his sense of the future.

A number of writers have interpreted adult attitudes toward
time schedules and clock time as reflective of developments during
the anal period (e.g., Dooley, 1941). Fenichel (1945, p. 282)

suggests that tardiness, for example, may in some cases be motivated

13

by the desire to reexperience the pleasure derived from retaining
feces. Aspects of the Oedipal resolution may likewise be expressed
in disturbed adult temporality. Oberndorf (1941) traces a patient's
inability to act in the present to a feminine superego which approved

only future planning and ruminations on the past.

Temporality in Psychopathology_ .

Although many observers (e.g., Israeli, 1936) suggest that
there are distinct disturbances of temporality characteristic of
specific forms of psychopathology, Doob's (1971) review counsels a
more cautious approach. Doob stresses the prevalence of individual
differences, both within diagnostic categories and between clinical
observers. Still, he does acknowledge that clinicians do find some
form of temporal abnormality in many psychopathologies. We will re-
view a few of the areas in which there do seem to be consistent,
significant disturbances.

Depression. Straus (1966) maintains that in depressive
states personal time slows to such a degree that the normal movement
into the future may seem to be blocked. Dubois (1954), somewhat
similarly, says the depressive finds no reason to act in the present
because of a blocked future and a dismal past. Dilling and Rabin
(1967) provide some empirical support for these clinical observations.
They found that the extension of the depressive's future time per-
spectives was shorter than that of either schizophrenics or psycho-
logically normal, hospitalized patients. The research also found

that the depressives were significantly less future oriented than

14

the normal control group, as measured by the direction of temporal
orientation of stories told in response to TAT cards.

Psychopathy. Buss (1966) suggests that one of the basic
characteristics of the psychopath is an inability to bind time: "he
has no sense of time, especially of the future; he senses only the
here and now“ (p. 435). Hare (1970) likewise suggests, on the
basis of a review of the physiological and learning experiments,
that "neither rewards nor punishments exist for the psychopath when
they are too far in the future" (p. 35). .Friel and Aboritz (1968)
found that in telling stories about TAT cards psychopathic prisoners
tended to use fewer verbs in the past tense and more in the present
tense than did non-psychopathic prisoners. In contrast to what would
seem a logical implication of Hare's statement, the experiment did
not find that the psychopaths used significantly fewer verbs in the
future tenses. The investigators attribute this latter finding to
the overarching depressive effects of prison life on both groups.

Compulsiveness. A number of writers have noted that com-
pulsive individuals often manifest distinctive forms of temporality.
Fenichel (1945) says that "neurotic disturbances in the practical
use of time and time systems" are especially characteristic of com-
pulsives (p. 283). They may, for instance, be "stingy or prodigal or
both alternately" with their time; "they may be punctual or unpunctual;
they may sometimes be accurate to the fraction of a minute, and at
other times grossly unreliable“ (p. 282).

Dooley (1941) has catalogued a number of the defensive

functions of an obsessive preoccupation with objective, "clock time".

15

Sometimes such a preoccupation "breaks reality down into small,
manageable units" "as a defense against the too massive impact of
the external world,‘I but in most cases it reflects a "fear of being
submerged into the unconscious." More specifically, losing track
of time means a "loss of the world of objects." and a consequent
eruption of overwhelming instinctual forces (p. 20).

Anxiety. While temporality and anxiety are intimately
related in many accounts, the relationship is evidently a complex
one. Since anxiety presumably refers to future events, we might
expect that anxiety would correlate positively with future orienta-
tion. Lipman (1957), in fact, found such a positive relationship
between manifest anxiety and future orientation among a group of
college students. Siegman (cited in Cottle & Klineberg, 1974,

p. 28) found a positive correlation between manifest anxiety and
projected time span in story-completions. He interpreted this
finding as support for his assumption that "the more one's psycho-
logical life space extends into the future, the greater the un-
certainty, and therefore, the greater the anxiety."

Sullivan (1953, p. 44) on the other hand, suggests that
anxiety constricts the temporal perspective, and "can almost be
said to cut off foresight." Similarly, Arieti (1947) noted that,
although anxiety is dependent on anticipation, many anxious people
seem less concerned with the future than with the past. He suggested
that the highly anxious person is still unconsciously concerned with
his future, but consciously focuses on the present and the past as

a defense against this anxious concern.

16

Ruiz and Krauss (1968) report what may be a crucial find-
ing in this connection. They tested 64 newly admitted mental
patients for manifest anxiety and temporal orientation as measured
by the verb tenses used in completing a set of sentence stems. The
results showed a curvilinear relationship between anxiety level and
present plus future tense usage: the low anxiety group was least
present and future oriented; the moderate anxiety group used the
most verbs in present and future tenses; and the high anxiety group
reverted to a lower usage of present and future tenses.

It seems then that both of the suggested relations be-
tween anxiety and temporal orientation may hold. Up to a certain
level, increasing anxiety may indicate an increasing degree of
orientation toward the future. Excessive anxiety may, however, as
Sullivan and Arieti suggest, force a retreat of focus from the future
to the comparatively safer past.

Schizophrenia. Research suggests that schizophrenia
affects a number of aspects of temporality (see, especially, Dill-
ing and Rabin, 1967). In relation to the present investigation, per-
haps the most pertinent finding is that reactive schizophrenics
evaluate timeless words, such as "eternity," more positively on
semantic differential scales than either nonpsychiatric patients or
process schizophrenics (Brand, 1975). Brand interprets this finding

as reflective of the reactive's desire to escape from reality.

ALCOHOLISM

Introduction

 

Alcoholism is quite a major problem, both in terms of the
individual lives affected, and in terms of its nationwide and world-
wide prevalence. If there can be any readers skeptical of the first
claim, they should be converted by Mahoney's (1975) heart-rending
account of her husband's alcoholism and its effect on her and her
children. In addition to its huge psychological, social, and
economic costs, alcoholism contributes to many physical illnesses.
"In untreated alcoholics, the life span is shortened by 12 years and
the suicide rate is 58 times that of the normal population" (Fox,
1967, p. 329).

Estimates of prevalence depend, of course, on the parti-
cular definition of alcoholism and the sampling procedure used, but
even a conservative approach suggests that there were about 4.5
million alcoholics in the United States in 1960 (Keller, 1962).
Employing the broader concept of "problem drinkers," but sampling
only adults living in households, Cahalan (1970) found that 9% of his
nationwide sample had significant problems related to their drinking.
Mahoney's book demonstrates, furthermore, that prevalence estimates
do not, by themselves, give a complete reflection of the total magni-

tude of the problem. Consideration of the families, friends,

17

18

employers, and so on of the alcoholics would raise the estimated
number of sufferers considerably.

The prevalence figures suggest one of the major problems
involved in research on alcoholism. Alcoholics obviously must come
in many different forms, and so definitions and research samples
may, with some justification, vary greatly. Furthermore, a num-
ber of studies (reviewed by Walgren & Barry, 1970) have shown that
alcoholism typically progresses through a number of different stages.
Research findings obtained from samples of alcoholics at one stage
might be different from those obtained at a different stage. An-
other related problem is that there is a continual controversy con-
cerning the basic nature of alcoholism. Some authorities (e.g.,
Jellinek, 1960) maintain that it is a disease. Another respected
authority (Button, 1956, p. 458) says it is ''not a disease," but
rather "a concommitant of a psychophysiological condition, occasion-
ally only an apparently arbitrary concommitant." Furthermore,
sociological factors are so important that one expert can state
that the "nature of alcoholism shows marked differences throughout
the world" (Jellinek, 1962, p. 383).

We will consider some of these complexities in a later
section when we propose our own operational definition. At this
point we need merely point out that, while this complicated picture
may, indeed, mean that "there is no single personality configuration
in alcoholism“ (Chafetz, 1967, p. 1018), there may still be important
consistencies among many alcoholics. The latter possibility, in

fact, seems to be confirmed by the literature. Despite the

19

complexities of definition, of stages of development, of intertwin-
ing sociological, physiological, and psychological factors, a fairly
consistent and plausible theory of the psychology of alcoholism
emerges from the literature.

This is not the most prevalent view of the literature,
however. A first reading of the voluminous research and theory
suggests a cacophony of dischordant theories and contradictory
facts. Studying different types and stages of alcoholism, using
different research tools, and interpreting their results from di-
verse theoretical perspectives, writers have produced what seem to
be widely divergent theories. Recognition of the role of these
differing perspectives resolves the apparent dischord into a rela-
tively harmonious, though multifaceted theory.

Most of these different theories can be seen as variations
on three basic themes. Most deal with conflicts over dependency,
aggression or sexual identity. Such conflicts have, of course, been
implicated in the development of other forms of psychopathology as
well, and criticism has often focused on this lack of specificity
(e.g., Mowrer, 1959). In his comprehensive presentation of psycho-
logical factors, Button (1956, p. 672) explicitly warns that the
"same constellation of factors might very well result, in another
person, in nonalcoholic behaviors" In a major review article, Blum
(1966) also concedes this point, but goes on to argue that it is not
a significant failing. She says that alcoholism may be one of those
diseases which can best be explained by "clusters of pathogenic

factors whose operations are specified only in terms of probability

20

statements" (p. 286). F. Alexander (1963) also notes that, while
the psychodynamics of alcoholism are "well established," they are
not sufficient to account for the actual appearance of the disease.
He suggests that alcoholism can only be explained by an interaction
of the psychodynamics with sociological and physiological factors.
Thus, again, the lack of specificity is not a strong criticism as
long as the described psychodynamics are not presented as necessary

and sufficient causal factors.

Psychological Factors: Oral Dependency

From Freud's early clinical observations (cited in
Chafetz & Demone, 1962, p. 39) to the large-scale, well controlled
research projects of recent years (e.g., W. & J. McCord, 1960) de-
pendency stands out as the most salient and influential of the
psychological factors in alcoholism. Drinking can provide a special
gratification for the very dependent personality. In Levy's (1958,
p. 653) words: "from outside himself, comes pleasure . . . and now
he can give up willing and striving. Things will happen tp_him for
which he bears no responsibility. He reaffirms his wavering faith

. that there is a force in the world to provide succor."

The passive gratification from alcohol is not the only
manifestation of inordinate dependency in alcoholics. Rather, de-
pendency is a prominent general characteristic influencing many
aspects of his functioning. Kessel and Walton (1969) report that the
alcoholic tends to rely excessively on others, especially in crisis

situations. In their families alcoholics tend to take a passive,

21

dependent role (W. & J McCord, 1960). The McCords also found that
their alcoholic subjects exhibited more dependent behaviors such as
"overt seeking for comfort, care, and direct guidance" than did
nonalcoholics. Perry, gflpng. (1970) found that alcoholic subjects
scored significantly higher than normals on a scale of the MMPI
constructed to measure dependency as a characteristic mode of
functioning. Even perception seems to be affected by this de-
pendency. Witkin, gt_gl, (1959) report that alcoholics are signi-
ficantly more dependent on external, contextual cues in their per-
ceptual judgments than normals.

Psychoanalytic theorists have explained this dependency
of alcoholics as the result of a fixation at or a regression to
the oral stage of infancy. Knight (1937) identified, in a sample
of 70 alcoholics, a specific family constellation which led to a
fixation at the oral stage. The mother in these families was found
to be overly indulgent of the child, while the father provided a
highly erratic pattern of alternating gratification and denial.
Subsequent writers have described other family constellations, but
the majority find some special stress during the oral stage: either
excessive indulgence, excessive deprivation, or erratic alternation
between the two (Blum, 1966; Chafetz & Demone, 1962).

This oral fixation is manifested in the adult by the
strong and extensive influence on his personality of the characteris-
tics of the oral stage. Fenichel (1945) summarizes this influence.
The chief concern of the orally dominated person is the acquiring

of those rewards associated with the oral stage: the simultaneous

 

erotic gra'
from SUCkTI
alcoholic,
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22

erotic gratification and sense of security and self-esteem derived
from sucking milk at the mother's breast. The orally dominated
alcoholic, thus, seeks a passive and dependent role: he seeks to
receive his necessary supplies and satisfactions from an outside
source. The infant needed these supplies for his very existence,
and this imperious quality of the need is seen, too, in the oral
personality. The possibility of not receiving his "narcissistic
supplies" represents such a basic threat that delay or frustration
arouse unusual anxiety and aggression. Thus, we see the origin of
the oft-mentioned impatience (e.g., Bergler, 1939) and impulsivity
(e.g., Jones, 1965) of the alcoholic; like the infant, the alcoholic
needs his gratifications immediately.

Alcohol is uniquely satisfying to the oral dependent
person for a number of reasons. Menninger (1938, p. 181) suggests
that it supplies "oral love,“ "symbolically, in the form of a precious
liquor taken by mouth," and "actually, in the form of conviviality
and sentimentality which accompany social drinking," Rado (1926)
suggests that in its combination of psychological and physiological
affects, alcohol may reproduce what he calls the "alimentary orgasm"
obtained by the infant in sucking milk. Also, of course, there is
the passive mode of acquiring these satisfactions we described
earlier.

In recent years more experimental evidence has accumulated
for this clinically derived theory. Machover and Puzzo (1959), us-
ing projective and psychometric tests, found that alcoholics mani-

fested a high degree of oral dependency. Similarly, Bertrand and

Masling (1
more oral

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23

Masling (1969) found that alcoholic subjects gave significantly
more oral dependent Rorschach responses than a group of control
subjects matched for age, IO, education, and diagnosis. In a
cross-cultural study of 139 societies, Bacon gt_pl, (1965) report
that those societies which were relatively indulgent of dependency
needs had lower rates of drinking and inebriety.

The psychodynamic theory of alcoholism, with its stress
on a dependency rooted in a basic oral character structure, seems
plausible and well documented, as we have presented it thus far.
Both simple observation and other trends in the literature suggest
that the picture is not this simple, however, Popular opinion
hardly sees the "hard drinker" as the passive, dependent character
we have portrayed him to be. Rather, such phrases as “he can really
hold his liquor." "he can drink anyone under the table,“ "can beat

any man in the houses' and "feel ten feet tall" suggest that we
see the heavy drinker as an especially powerful, rugged, and strong
man.

Some research too seems to suggest exactly the opposite
of our oral dependency theory. Kline's (1972) review suggests that
one aspect of the McCords' (1960) study casts the "strongest doubt
on the psychoanalytic theory of drinking" (p. 294). The McCords
used thumb sucking (after infancy), excessive smoking at an early
age, eating orgies, and playing with the mouth as indicators of oral
tendencies. They found that boys with oral tendencies so defined

were not more likely than other boys to become alcoholics.

McClelland et a1. (1972) point out that the McCords also found

that t
and a

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24

that prealcoholic boys were significantly more active, assertive,
and aggressive than other boys. In a separate major longitudinal
study, Jones (1968) essentially replicated this latter finding.

In these studies there seems to be solid evidence against
the oral dependency theory, and more in line with the popular image
of the drinker. Along these same lines, McClelland §t_pl, (1972)
have recently produced a large book detailing an alternative to the
oral dependency theory. These writers suggest, on the basis of
projective tests, experiments, and cross-cultural studies that
heavy drinkers are characterized more by increased needs to assert
personal power motives or display masculine potency than by in-
creased dependency needs. Their studies do, indeed, reveal that
people tend to drink more when they have increased needs for power.
Of all the original researches reported in the book, however, only
two relate specifically to alcoholism. One of these uses college
"problem drinkers" as subjects on the assumption that many of them
will become alcoholics. The major factor in the self-descriptions
of these problem drinkers differentiating them from other college
students involved items reflecting "assertive antisocial behavior."
This finding is consistent with the findings of the McCords and of
Jones, reported above, that prealcoholics are actually more assertive
than others of their age.

The only study in McClelland's book using actual alcoholics
as subjects suggests a means of resolving the apparent contradiction

between the oral dependency and personal power theories. Using a

25

detailed projective questionnaire, Maccoby found that the "personal
power" needs of a group of Mexican alcoholics were actually a
"fragile facade" covering an underlying, and more deeply rooted
and influential passive-receptive character structure. Just as
the Mexican machismo hides the basic oral dependent character in
these alcoholics, so do the various indications of increased aggres-
siveness we have reviewed most likely serve as a reaction formation
to strong oral dependent needs in prealcoholics.

Although the McCords found greater aggressiveness in
their prealcoholic subjects than in their controls, they concluded
that heightened dependency needs are the "major force“ in the
genesis of alcoholism. In the studies we have reviewed, the
aggressive characteristics consistently appear in prealcoholics,
while oral, dependent, and passive characteristics consistently
appear with the development of actual alcoholism. As the McCords
suggest, unless we assume that they spontaneously appear in adult-
hood, we are forced to assume the heightened dependency needs under-

lie the youthful independence and assertiveness.

Psychologjcal Factors: Sexual Identity

This overdeveloped masculinity may reflect another problem
too. According to Fenichel (1945, p. 379), "the unconscious impulses
in alcoholics are not only oral but also homosexual in nature;" In
many of the psychoanalytic accounts, latent homosexuality plays an

important role. Abraham (1927), for example, suggests that the

26

frustrating mother turns the alcoholic away from heterosexual
interests, which he replaces with his passion for alcohol. Accord-
ing to Chafetz and Demone (1962, p. 40), Freud interpreted mascu-
line barroom comradery as a disguised expression of homosexuality.

In more recent literature attention has shifted from
specifically homoerotic factors to broader problems of sexual
identity. Kline (1972) reviews seven studies on homosexuality
and alcoholism, and only one of them gives even weak support to
the notion that alcoholics have greater homosexual interests than
other subjects. In 1956 in reviewing his results from psychologi-
cal testing of 87 alcoholics, Button took the important step of
identifying the sexual problem of alcoholics as one of sexual
identity rather than of homoerotic impulses. His subjects mani-
fested a strong feminine identification and a "failure at male-
ness" rather than a homosexual object choice.

In a sample of 55 male skid-row alcoholics, Perry §t_gl,
(1970) identified a number of family factors that might force an
inadequate masculine identification. In these families the father
was often absent, and the mother was often the dominant authority
figure. Even when both parents were present, the prealcoholics
usually felt closest to their mothers, and none of the prealcoholics
felt that they were their fathers' favorite children. Such families
would seem likely to hinder successful masculine identification,
but, unfortunately, this study is inconclusive because it lacked a

control group and because of the retrospective nature of the data.

Essential
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27

Essentially similar conclusions were reached, however, in the
McCords' well controlled, longitudinal study. The McCords (1960)
suggest that, in contrast to normals, the prealcoholic boy is not
given a clear perception of, or an adequate motivation for assum-
ing a masculine role. As support, they cite highly significant
findings of overt paternal rejeCtion of the prealcoholic, "paternal
escapist reactions to crisis," "absence of high parental demands
for the child," and so on.

It seems likely that the prealcoholic's sexual identity
conflict is temporarily resolved by the development of the hyper-
masculine facade we described above. Alcohol may initially be use-
ful in maintaining this facade. As the McClelland gt_§l, (1972)
report demonstrates, drinking can be used to increase feelings and
fantasies of power and masculine potency. In this culture, more-
over, the heavy drinker can see himself as a "man's man" and as
"one of the boys," (Levy, 1958, p. 656). Also, insofar as
alcohol loosens inhibitions, it may allow the developing alcoholic
a temporarily greater degree of assertiveness and masculine
potency. Finally, it is interesting to note that under the guise
of all these "masculine" functions drinking may also be providing
significant gratification for the feminine side of his sexual identity.
The passive, receptive mode of obtaining the pleasures of intoxica-
tion may be satisfying to the feminine component of the alcoholic's

identity, as well as to the oral dependent needs.

Psychologi

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28

Psychological Factors: Aggression

Extreme conflicts over aggression have often been noted in
the literature on alcoholism. On a descriptive level the alcoholic's
behavior often seems self-punitive or even self-destructive. Levy
(1965, p. 655) lists some of these aspects: 1) "there is the simple
hangover"; 2) "there is the binge with its miserable days and weeks
of resulting sickness"; 3) "there are the lost jobs, the promising
careers ruined, the marriages broken"; and, 4) "there is the actual
drinking oneself to death, or to the psychic death of severe mental
deterioration." On a deeper level there are dynamics which could,
indeed, lead the alcoholic to direct much aggression toward himself.
In discussing their dependency needs, we pointed out that, like in-
fants, alcoholics may react with extreme anger to the frustration
of these needs. This inevitable frustration raises special problems
for the alcoholic, for, if he expresses his aggression toward the
frustrating object, he is in danger of losing that object and,
thereby, the source of his so much-needed supplies. According to -
Fenichel (1945, p. 369), this is the "main conflict" of alcoholics
and other impulse neurotics. The alcoholic finds a pathological
solution to this conflict by turning his aggression inward toward
himself in self-destructive drinking. Thus, Chafetz and Demone (1962,
p. 24) quote an alcoholic patient as saying, "It is more socially
acceptable to get stinking drunk than to murder someone."

The choice of words in this quotation is instructive.

"Stinking drunk": in his method of punishing himself the alcoholic

29

can also discharge some of his aggression toward others. Direct
acting out of aggression is sometimes facilitated by the disinhibit-
ing effects of alcohol. Barroom fights and drunken boorishness are
clear manifestations of this function. More important, however, is
the fact that drunkenness can be “stinking," or aggressive, in it-
self. Menninger (1938) has described the two-fold release of
aggression (toward self and toward others) in alcoholism. He shows
that the self-destruction of alcoholism may serve as a rebuke to
others, a thwarting of their expectations. These “others" may be
the parents, the parental substitutes such as the wife, or, more
generally, the introjected parental figures (Gerard, 1959, p. 301).
By destroying himself, whether in the temporary incapacity of a
single period of intoxication, or in the long-term l'alcoholic
career,“ the alcoholic discharges his aggression not only internally
against himself, but also externally against those who frustrated

him but who would be disappointed by his fall.

Integrative Summary: The Negative Identity

Alcoholism, like other forms of psychopathology, is over-
determined. By drinking, the alcoholic achieves through a single
means many of the satisfactions he seeks. From an external source
he can relatively passively receive a liquid substance that may, in
symbolic and physiological ways, provide rewards similar to those pro-
vided by mother's milk. Also, in his drinking the alcoholic may be

propping up his masculine self-image, while, more covertly, obtaining

30

a needed passive, feminine satisfaction. Finally, drinking may
help him to discharge his aggression both against others and self-
destructively against himself.

The various motivational factors may function in another
way, too, in addition to this relatively simple additive relation.
Rosenman (1955) has marshalled impressive clinical evidence to
support his theory that alcoholics are significantly influenced by
what he calls a negative ego image. In relation to our discussion,
this image represents an integration at a higher level of psychical
organization of the various dynamics we outlined. As Rosenman
describes this concept, it seems quite similar to Erikson's con-
ception of the negative ego identity. In adolescence, says Erikson
(1968, p. 174), some people develop an "identity perversely based
on all those identifications and roles which at critical stages of
development had been presented to them as most undesirable or
dangerous and yet also as most real." The dependent,feminine, and
aggressive factors underlying the hypermasculine facade of the pre-
alcoholic might well have this quality of being both "most undesir-
able“ and "most real". The alcoholic role might, then, have this
dual quality both because of these dynamics, and because, as Button
(1956a, p. 672) suggested, in the prealcoholic‘s family there is a
"specific aura given to alcohol, as well as to other symbols of 'sin‘,
of 'forbidden fruit', rendering them unduly attractive." In the
adolescent search for a solid foundation for identity, the strong

("real") dependent, feminine, and aggressive needs might coalesce

31

around alcohol to form an, as yet covert, but powerful, negative
identity, or ego image.

Rosenman (1955, p. 459) stresses the cognitive underpin-
nings of the alcoholic: "with one fixated at an oral incorporative
stage we may expect the cleaving of percepts of self and significant
other into dissociated representations possessing little accord with
reality.” "Rather than contributing their separate definitions to
a single integrated self-picture, each self-percept selects from
the full store of data available that which will confirm its in-
dividual assumptions." One such self-percept would be that of the
self as hypermasculine. Not muted by any realistic awareness of
the other side of his personality, this ego image is a facade which
is difficult to maintain for long.

The development from prealcoholism to alcoholism reflects
the growing commitment to the negative ego identity as the person
gradually discovers that his inner means (i.e., inadequate independ-
ence, masculine identification, assertion, etc.) are insufficient
to actualize his grandiose positive identity. As the facade
crumbles, the negative identity becomes the more attractive option,
not only because of the strength of the component motivations, but
also because of its increasingly greater power gpp_identity. Thus,
Erikson (1968, p. 176) says that a negative identity is chosen when
"it is easier for the patient to derive a sense of identity out of
a total identification with that which he is least supposed to be

than to struggle for a feeling of reality in acceptable roles which

32

are unattainable with his inner means," Drawing on his extensive
clinical work with alcoholics, Levy (1958, p. 656) provides further
support for the importance of this identity-providing function of
alcoholism.

Rosenman (1955) found that the negative ego image or
identity could have many other motivating functions in addition
to providing the sense of an identity. Some alcoholics, for ex-
ample, are tempted to act out their negative image (e.g., going
on a binge) to prove to themselves that they are not actually
governed by the overwhelming needs they fearfully perceive. We
might note that Alcoholics Anonymous undercuts this dynamic by re-
quiring that its members acknowledge that they are “powerless over
alcohol." Bateson (1972), in fact, explains the success of A.A.
as being in large part due to this outmaneuvering of the dynamics

of the negative identity.

TEMPORALITY IN ALCOHOLISM

Development

From our reviews of alcoholism and of temporality, we
would expect that disturbances of temporality would be an important
aspect of the development of alcoholism. In our epigraph, Baude-
laire (1971, p. 28) characterizes "relentlessly" pursued drunkenness
as a specific antidote to the "horrid weight of Time,'l Later in
the same prose poem, "On Drunkenness," he suggests that if one
"would not be the martyred slave of Time," he should "get drunk
and never stop;" From a psychoanalytic perspective (and as theory,
not advice!) Bonaparte (1940, p. 436) has made a quite similar point
about time and alcohol. Intoxication, she says, allows "an escape
from the restraints imposed upon us by the limitations of space and
time, the latter especially;" Among the various stages of the de-
velopment of temporality, the most likely origin of Baudelaire's
malevolent Time, and of Bonaparte's "restraints," would seem to be
in the oral period with its potential for traumatically frustrating
delays of gratification. We found that the alcoholic is significantly
fixated at this stage, and so, insofar as intoxication is, in fact,
an antidote to the "horrid weight" of this form of time, we may have
here an important clue to the nature of alcoholic temporality. The

alcoholic may be seeking in his drinking an escape from what, for him,

33

34

is the "horrid weight" imposed by delays of gratification. Bergler
(1939, p. 29) has made a similar suggestion in saying that "alcohol
gives the possibility of the supposed realization of these hopes"
of the alcoholic to gain immediate gratifications.

The alcoholic's oral fixation can, as we saw, be traced
to either excessive, or highly erratic gratification, or to ex-
cessive frustration. Zern (1970), we found, has shown that exces-
sive indulgence limits the development of the sense of the future,
and we would expect the other two patterns of child rearing to have
the same effect. Too erratic or frustrating patterns would not allow
the infant to develop secure expectations of future gratifications.

Temporality should also be affected by the later stages of
the development of alcoholism. The constricted sense of the future
and the preference for more immediate rewards would be reinforced
by the lack of a strong masculine identification, since, as we saw,
this identification is normally the critical factor in the extension
of the future perspective into imagined adulthood. In adolescence
the developing split between the masculine facade and the negative
ego identity might hinder the normal acquisition of the sense of the
life span as an integration of past, present, and future identity.
The positive ego image might project a wish-fulfilling future, but
the present would most often reflect spurts of activity seeking more
immediate gratifications, and so the normal integration of future
ends and present means would be impeded.

Due partially to the lack of normal temporal capabilities,

the facade is increasingly difficult to maintain and there is a

35

gradual emergence to the forefront of the passive, oral needs of
the negative identity. "To attain a position corresponding to the
narcissistic self-percept is so difficult that the patient quickly
despairs of being able to do anything at all'I (Rosenman, 1956,

p. 460). Temporality at this point should be a meaningful com-

posite of the dynamics we have outlined.

Alcoholic Temporality

Most generally, we should find in alcoholics, as Bona-
parte's (1940) article implies, a strong orientation toward rela-
tively timeless states of being; that is, a desire to escape from
structured time. Conversely there should be a relative lack of
the normal orientation including the integration of past, present,
and future dimensions, and the overall movement toward future goals
via present actions. Drawing from clinical data, van Kaam (1971)
has described what he terms the “fundamental structure" of alcohol-
ism in very similar terms. The non-satiated alcoholic, he says,
is "overwhelmed. . . [by] daily life that as past, present, and
future is linked to progress, task, project and responsibility"

(p. 244). When satiated, on the other hand, the alcoholic "has

lost his concern for past and future, for the limits of his life-
time, for progress and project." "He lives, as it were, in an eter-
nal present“ (p. 243). It is interesting to note here that the work
of the alcoholic poet, Dylan Thomas, reflects just such an orienta-
tion. In the words of one critic, "Thomas eliminates the passage of

time, conceiving of history as an unmoving, eternal moment" (Korg,

36

1965, p. 34). Further support for this general description is
provided by one of the latest anthropological theories of drink-
ing. MacAndrew and Edgerton (1969) argue from a wealth of data
that the cultural meaning of drunkenness is that it is a semi-
sanctioned “time out" from the projects and responsibilities of
the normal, everyday world.

This general temporality can be broken down into more
specific elements. First, we would expect that alcoholics would
project a shorter future temporal perspective than normals. A
number of experimental investigations support this suggestion.
Sattler and Pflugarth (1970) found that hospitalized alcoholics,
in comparison to hospital aides, had significantly shorter future
time perspectives on a story-completion task. Smart (1968) and
R005 and Albers (1965) had similar results.

In addition to a shorter projection into the future,
alcoholics should be less oriented toward the future. Cheek and
Laucius (1972), using a semantic differential and a questionnaire,
found that alcoholics were more past oriented than normal subjects
and other drug users. Although their report is not completely
clear on this point, they also seem to indicate that their alcoholic
subjects were less future oriented than their normal subjects.
Cappon and Tyndel (1967) had very different results, however. Us-
ing sentence completion techniques, they found no differences between
alcoholics and normals on temporal orientation. While we might
attempt to explain this contrasting finding as an artifact of their

methodology or subject pools, there may also be a clue here to a

37

more exact statement of our theory. Buhler (1947), inferring from
Rorschach protocols, suggested that, while alcoholics had a rela-
tive lack of future goals, they also had a high ambition. Cheek
and Laucius (1972) report that alcoholics foresee their greatest
accomplishments as occurring in the future, although, in contrast
to other subjects, they are least likely to feel that the future
is predictable. These findings seem to complement each other.
Perhaps, as Cappon and Tyndel found, alcoholics project a normal
number of events into the future, but they project a different
kind of event: i.e., they project fantasied fulfillments of their
high ambitions rather than realistic concrete goals. Thus, they
would have great hopes for the future, but little basis for con-
fidence in predicting the realization of these hopes.

This interpretation of the research on temporal orienta-
tion is compatible with the developmental theory we suggested. The
future might exist as the outlet for the wish-fulfilling projections
of the positive identity, but not so much for realistic plans
which would normally be grounded in a realistic and integrated
sense of self. Thus, Force (1958) inferred from results with the
Kuder Preference Record that the alcoholic's future was mainly a
screen for the projection of "improbable fantasy."

There are a number of interesting corollaries of this pro-
position. Since the future contains mainly wish fulfillments, the
alcoholic would be relatively little oriented toward methods or means
of accomplishment extending into the future. Van Kaam (1971, p. 241)

reports that the oral dependent alcoholic has a "special avidity for

38

effortless gratification." "This avidity," he says, "could be de-
scribed as a thirsting for gratification, rest, fulfillment as a
mere gift to be received passively without a preparatory activity."
Stewart (1971, p. 62) similarly characterizes the alcoholic as
lacking the inclination for "cause-effect," "means-end" thinking.

Drinking is especially tempting to the person with this
orientation because, as Bonaparte (1940, p. 435) points out, the
gratification from alcohol is "ready to one's hand," and so,
little "preparatory activity" is required. Furthermore, the
effects of alcohol might help remove the alcoholic from the per-
ceived world of tasks and projects. Chotlos and Deiter (1959,
pp. 24-25) suggest that “the perceptual world dulls and recedes
with the use of alcohol,“ and "perceptual objects lose some of
their articulation and come closer in quality to objects of fan-
tasy, which represent our dreams and aspirations." "Dulling the
perceptual world reduces the urgency of action," and allows a
greater absorption in the world of fantasied fulfillments where
future-directed action is not required.

The disinclination for means-ends thinking might be re-
flected in a less finely articulated conception of time. Lacking
the awareness of steps in a progress, the alcoholic's characteristic
conception of time would be composed largely of relatively gross
, events such as the objects of their hopes, fears, and so on: the
finer articulation of time normally provided by the steps of a.

plan would be missing.

39

This greater cathexis of ends, in contrast to means,
would be another factor in the alcoholic's lack of the normal inte-
gration of past, present, and future, since part of this integra-
tion is normally produced by tying present means to future ends.

We would also expect, then, that the alcoholic would be more in-
clined than normals to think of his present in a relatively passive
way rather than in terms of active, future-oriented striving.
Somewhat tangential support is provided by Smart's (1968) finding
that the alcoholic's future is less well organized, or "coherent”
than that of normals, and by Sattler and Pflugarth's (1970) find-
ing that the alcoholic sees his future as less predictable,
structured, and controllable than that projected by normal subjects.
The lesser degree of coherence and structure may reflect the grosser
articulation and lesser integration of the alcoholic's conception
of time, and the feeling that the future is not predictable or con-
trollable would, as we suggested earlier, reflect the passivity of

the alcoholic.

STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES

From the preceding discussion, nine hypotheses concern-
ing the temporality of alcoholics may be drawn. A general impli-
cation of the dynamics we have outlined would seem to be that the
ideal state of affairs for the alcoholic would be a return to the
relatively timeless state of infancy. Thus, we would predict that:

I. Alcoholics are more oriented toward "timeless,"
unchanging states than nonalcoholics.

This hypothesis has not, to our knowledge, been previously tested
empirically.

The oral preference for more immediate satisfactions
should affect the characteristic degree of orientation toward the
present and the future:

II. Alcoholics are less oriented toward the future than
nonalcoholics.

III. Alcoholics are more oriented toward the present than
nonalcoholics.

We found that the previous research on the temporal orientation of
alcoholics is inconclusive. The methodology described below is de-
signed to provide a more adequate test of these hypotheses.
The nature of the alcoholic's present and future should be
different from nonalcoholics':
IV. Alcoholics project a more passive future than nonalcoholics.

V. Alcoholics see the present in a more passive way than non-
alcoholics.

4O

41

Alcoholics' future projections should include a greater proportion
of wishes, hopes, fears, passive expectations, etc., as opposed to
goals or outcomes of active striving. Similarly, alcoholics should
more often see the present as largely determined by the past or as
passive expectation of future events, as opposed to seeing it as
changing the past or as active striving toward future goals.

A related hypothesis is that, both because of their
greater sense of being determined by the past and because contempla-
tion of past events should be congenial to their passive orientation:

VI. Alcoholics are more oriented toward the past than
nonalcoholics.

Although we have reviewed much literature on the general passive
orientation of alcoholics, we did not find any empirical research
on these three, specifically temporal aspects of this passivity
(other than the inconclusive work on past orientation).

A final set of hypotheses concerns the way in which time
might be structured for the alcoholic. Since they are less likely
to generate future plans and projects realistically grounded in the
present and the past:

VII. Alcoholics integrate the past, present, and future
to a lesser degree than nonalcoholics.

We found that there are already three reports in the research litera-
ture which agree in finding that alcoholics have shorter temporal
perspectives than normals. We will attempt to see if these findings
are supported when more elaborate controls are provided in the de-

sign:

42

VIII. Alcoholics conceptualize shorter spans of time than
nonalcoholics.

Finally, because they are disinclined to develop plans and, thus,
to consider the connecting steps between events:
IX. Alcoholics' conceptions of spans of time are less
finely subdivided into discrete events than non-
alcoholics'.
Although the clinical literature seems to support all three of these

hypotheses, there is empirical research only on Hypothesis VIII.

SUBJECTS AND INSTRUMENTS:
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

Subjects: Who is an Alcoholic?

We must now fulfill our earlier promise to grapple with
some of the complexities involved in defining alcoholism. Turn-
ing first to Wolman‘s Dictionary of the Behavioral Sciences (1973,
p. 17), we find a seemingly simple and plausible definition:
"addiction to alcoholic beverages." Even the seemingly obvious
"alcoholic beverages" in this definition might be questioned, for,
as Keller (1962, p. 312) points out, "many 'alcoholics' may be de-
pendent on intoxication rather than addicted to a particular sub-
stance." This question, though, seems most profitably posed to
future research, and it should not impede our search for a work-
able definition.

"Addiction" poses more pressing problems, however. As
the McCords (1960, p. 9) suggest, use of "addiction" or "dependency"
in the definition neglects the important fact that some people may
be dependent on alcohol without its causing them or others signifi-
cant problems. They also object to these terms because of the
difficulty of determining who is addicted or dependent. While
Wolman's definition might be criticized for overinclusiveness, as
in the McCords' first objection, it might also be objected that it

excludes a significant number of people who should be included.

43

44

Jellinek (1962) points out that in Anglo-Saxon countries most prob-
lems associated with alcohol are seen in those who consume excessive
amounts over a long period, and our definitions tend to derive from
these more prominent specimens. In some countries, and in this
country too to some degree, however, major problems derive from
occasional, episodic heavy drinking. These I'binge drinkers" might
not be called addicted, but they, too, may certainly have major
problems with alcohol.

Wolman's superficially plausible definition seems inade-
quate, then, on a number of counts. Perhaps most basically the
problem is that the definition is grounded in a presupposed theory
of alcoholism: that it is an addiction. This theory is by no
means universally accepted (see, e.g., Szasz, 1974), and so the
picture of alcoholism reflected in research with subjects selected
on the basis of such a definition may be a biased one.

A second type of definition shifts the emphasis from
presumed internal factors to observable behaviors. Our interest
in what we prereflectively call alcoholism is probably piqued by
the familial, medical, legal, and employment problems we see
associated with drinking. Observable problems which seem to result
from drinking would, therefore, be one useful component of this sort
of definition. Secondly, although significant problems might result
from even a single episode of drinking, we are interested in more
long-term patterns: repetitive drinking would, therefore, be a
second observable characteristic. Combining these two components,

we have the following operational definition of the alcoholic: the

45

alcoholic is a person whose repeated drinking seems to cause signi-
ficant legal, medical, employment, or familial problems. More
specific criteria are listed in the next section.

Our definition is admittedly vague in its use of the
words "seems to cause“. The various problems may be caused by
drinking, or they may themselves help to cause the drinking; the
direction of influence would not always be easily specifiable. We
would agree, however, with the argument of other writers (e.g.,
Cahalan, 1970) who have used this sort of definition that this
imprecision appropriately reflects the current, early stage of

research on alcoholism.

Instruments

From the wide variety of instruments reported in the
literature, we have chosen the TAT to elicit our subjects' char-
acteristic styles of dealing with time. Our rationale was largely
pragmatic. The TAT, in contrast to many of the other possible in-
struments, is a commonly used clinical test, and our scoring system
might extend its usefulness. Also, by scoring the TAT protocols
in the way we will describe, we were able to test all of our hypo-

theses with a single instrument.

PROCEDURE

Subjects

Two groups of subjects were used to test the hypotheses
outlined previously: a group of 15 male, alcoholic inpatients on
the psychiatric wards of the Ann Arbor VA Hospital; and a compari-
son group of 15 male, nonalcoholic inpatients on the medical (most
often the orthopedic) wards of the same hospital. Patients were
referred to the experimenter by their physicians or nurses if they
were between the ages of 24 and 36, and if they did not manifest psy-
chotic or psychotic-like processes. The experimenter interviewed
each referred patient to obtain: 1) his written consent to parti-
cipate in the experiment (see Appendix B for a copy of the consent
forms); 2) information relevant to the criteria (see below) for in-
clusion in the groups; and, 3) information relevant to the controls
provided in the study.

Criteria for Selection of Alcoholic Gropp. Patients who
were referred to the experimenter as alcoholics were included in
this group if they met two criteria. First, they had to carry a
diagnosis of alcoholism; the diagnoses used were those of the ward
psychiatrists. Second, only those "alcoholic" patients whose re-
peated drinking seemed to have caused significant familial, legal,
medical, or employment problems were included in this group. In-

formation used to establish this second criterion was obtained from

46

47

hospital records and from the interviews with the patients. A

patient was considered to have significant problems associated

with his drinking if there was an affirmative answer to any of

the questions in any two of the following five categories:

Familial: has his wife or girlfriend ever threatened to

leave him, or actually left him on account of
his drinking?; has any family member ever
suggested that he seek assistance to control
his drinking?

Legal : has his drinking ever been a factor in a court
conviction?

Medical : does he have any diagnosed (physical) medical
problem which a physician has attributed in
whole or in part to his drinking?

Employment: has he ever lost, or been threatened with
the loss of a job on account of his drinking?;
has he lost more than a couple of days of work
on account of his drinking?

General : does he, himself, feel his drinking has adversely
affected any of these four aspects of his life?

Criteria for Selection of Nonalcoholic Sample. Patients
who were referred to the experimenter as nonalcoholics were in-.
cluded in this group if they met two criteria. First, they could
not be carrying a diagnosis of alcoholism in their medical records.
Second, only those "nonalcoholic" medical patients who occasionally
drank alcoholic beverages, but for whom none of the criteria
questions (above) could be answered affirmatively, were included in
this group.

Comparison of the Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Groups. Infor-
mation relevant to the following control variables was obtained for

each subject: length of hospitalization, age, educational level,

48

intellectual level, employment status, and marital status. The two
groups were found not to differ statistically on any of these vari-
ables. The comparisons are outlined below:

Length of Hospitalization: The mean number of days of hospi-
talization prior to the experiment was 15 for the alco-
holics, and 10.2 for the nonalcoholics. A Student's
T-test with a = .05 showed that the two groups had not
been hospitalized for statistically different lengths of
time.

Age: Only 55 between 24 and 36 years of age were included in
the sample. The mean ages of 29.93 for the alcoholics
and 29.13 for the nonalcoholics were found, in a Student's
T-test with a = .05, not to be statistically different.

Educational Level: The alcoholic subjects had a mean of 11.53
years of formal education, while the nonalcoholics had a
mean of 12.6 years. A Student's T-test with a = .05 re-
vealed that these scores were not statistically different.

Intellectual Level: The Thorndike Vocabulary Test (found in
Tomkins and Miner, 1957) was used to assess intellectual
level. The means of 9.47 for the alcoholics and 8.67 for
the nonalcoholics were found, in a Student's T-test with
a = .05, not to be statistically different.

Employment Status: Eight of the 15 alcoholics were employed
when they entered the hospital compared with 11 of the 15
nonalcoholics. Comparison of these proportions by means
of the g_statistic revealed that they were not statistically

different at a = .05.

49

Marital Status: Nine of the 15 alcoholics were married com-
pared with 6 of the 15 nonalcoholics. The g_statistic
revealed that these proportions were not statistically

different at a = .05.

Instrument

 

After completion of the interview and the Thorndike Voca-
bulary Test, each subject wrote out a story to each of 5 TAT cards
(cards 4, 63M, 78M, 10 and 14). Subjects were tested individually.
Subjects were handed a booklet of 7 pages, including a cover sheet,
5 blank sheets for writing stories, and a final page of questions.
The cover sheet contained the following instructions:

On the following pages you are to make up and write out a
story for each of 5 pictures. When you have read the in-
structions, the experimenter will hand you the first picture.
Look at it briefly, then turn this page, and write out the
story suggested to you by the picture. Don't take more than
5 minutes. When you have finished the first story, the ex-
perimenter will hand you another picture. Turn to the next
page and write out the story suggested by this picture, and
so on through the series of 5 pictures. Try to tell a real
story to each of the pictures. Please don't just describe
the picture. Total time for the 5 stories: 25 minutes.

When you have finished the last story, turn to the last page
and answer the questions there. Please do not turn to the
last page until after you have finished writing the stories.

The following instructions were on the last page:

Please make an estimate of the amount of time covered by each
of your stories. We mean the amount of time you think it
would take if the events in your story actually happened, not
the time it took you to think of the story or write it down.
If a story has memories in it, or hopes, fears, dreams, etc.,
disregard these in making your estimate; just estimate the
time it would take for the action to happen.

50

lst story

 

2nd story

 

3rd story

 

4th story

 

5th story

 

Scoring

Data for testing the hypotheses were derived from the TAT
stories and the time estimates. A complete scoring manual may be
found in Appendix A, but a summary of the scoring procedure follows.

first, each story was scored for the number of discrete
events it contained. "Discrete events" were defined as explicit com-
ponents of the plot that took place at different points in time.

Example: He just got up. He's looking out the window, and
thinking about his upcoming marriage.

Score: 3.
Explanation: Each of the underlined groups of words refers

to a temporally discrete event. "Thinking about"

is contemporaneous with "looking out", and so is

not scored.

Sggppg, each story received a score of 1 if it contained

a reference to a "timeless," unchanging state, and if this state
pertained to any of the “given" characters, i.e., any of the char-
acters depicted on the TAT cards. Such states include sleep, day-
dreaming, death, suicide, drug "highs," and other states which
represent a removal from the forward-moving progression of time.

Alcohol intoxication, however, is ppt_scored because it might un-

duly inflate the scores of the alcoholic subjects.

51

Example: Bob is considering suicide.
Score: 1.

ijpg, data for the hypotheses concerning temporal orienta-
tion, temporal integration, and activity vs. passivity were derived
from the results of a coding process. Each story was given a code
for each of the three temporal dimensions (past, present, and
future). Thus, there were three codes assigned to each story.
Coders had to choose between 3 possible codes for the past dimension,
5 for the present, and 5 for the future dimension of each story. The
following chart lists the codes, descriptive "category names" for
each code, and brief descriptions of the categories. Examples and

detailed coding instructions may be found in Appendix A.

deg_ Category Name Description of Category

1 Past oriented The story focuses mainly on what led
up to the scene depicted in the pic-
ture: or the story is mainly of re-
miniscences, memories, or feelings

about things done in the past.

(1) Past included The past figures in the story in some
way, but the present or the future in-

troduces significant new action.

Xl No past The story does not explicitly include

a past dimension.

52

 

 

Code Category Name Description of Category
2A Present oriented- The story focuses mainly on a present
active situation. If the past plays a role,

the present is more than simply an
emotional reaction to it. The present
may change the past situation, or the
characters may be actively consider-

ing such a change.

2B Present oriented- The story mainly describes a present

passive situation which is either: simply a
continuation of the past; simply an

emotional reaction to the past or to

an expected future event; or largely

a "timeless," unchanging state.

(2A) Present included- The present figures in the story in
active some way and is related to the past
and the future, but is not the most
significant focus of the story. If
the past plays a role, the present is
more than simply an emotional reaction
to it. The present may change the
past situation, or the characters may

be actively considering such a change.

Code

(23)

X2

3A

3B

(34)

CategoryoName

Present included-

passive

No present

Future oriented-

active

Future oriented-

passive

Future included-

active

53

Description of Category

The present figures in the story in
some way, and is related to the past
and the future, but is not the most
significant focus of the story. This
present is either: simply an emo-
tional reaction to the past or to an
expected future event; simply a con-
tinuation of the past; or largely a

"timeless,“ unchanging state.

The story does not explicitly include

a present dimension.

The story focuses mainly on action, or
a plan of action extending into the

future.

The story focuses mainly on wishes,
hopes, fears, or expectations extend-

ing into the future.

The future figures in the story in some
way, and is related to the present and
the past, but is not the most signifi-
cant focus of the story. This future
may be a goal or an outcome of a "pre-

sent oriented-active" story.

Code Category Name

54

Description of Category

(3B) Future included- The future figures in the story in

passive

X3 No future

After these

some way, and is related to the pre-
sent and the past, but is not the
most significant focus of the story.
This future may be either wishes,
hopes, fears, expectations, or simply
continuations of present and/or past

conditions.

The story does not explicitly include

a future dimension.

three steps (coding, number of events, and

"timeless" states) were completed, each subject's score relevant to

each hypothesis was derived:

Hypothesis 1. The
the
the

Hypothesis II. The
the

score for "timeless" states is provided by
second step; i.e., by summing the number of
subject's stories scored 1.

score for future orientation is provided by
sum: 3A+3B+l/3(3A)+1/3(3B). The "future in-

cluded" scores are included in this sum because
they do reflect some future orientation, but they

are

not given full weight because they reflect a

lesser degree of future orientation than the
"future oriented" scores. 1/3 is an arbitrary

figure here, but it seems to represent a reason—

able reduction of the significance of (3A) and
3B .

Hypothesis III. The
the

score for present orientation is provided by
sum: 2A+2B+1/3(2A)+1/3(2B). The rationale

here is the same as that for Hypothesis II.

55

Hypothesis IV. The score for degree of passive future is the pro-
portion of passive future scores in the total sum
of future scores; i.e., [3B+(3B)]/[3A+38+(3A)+(3B)].

Hypothesis V. The score for degree of passive present is the pro-
portion of passive present scores in the total sum
pf ppesent scores; i.e., [23+(2B)]/[2A+2B+(2A)+

2B .

Hypothesis VI. The score for past orientation is the sum:
1+1/3(l).

Hypothesis VII. The score for temporal integration is the total
number of stories in which each temporal dimen-
sion is at least "included"; i.e., the number of
stories in which neither X1 nor X2 nor X3 is
coded.

Hypothesis VIII. The score for span of time conceptualized is pro-
vided by the subjects' own ratings.

Hypothesis IX. The score for degree of subdivision of spans of
time is provided by the first step; i.e., by sum-

ming the number of events in all 5 of the subject's
stories.

Scoring Procedure and Interrater Reliability

Subjects' stories were identified only by letter codes
which had been assigned randomly to the 30 subjects. The scorers,
thus, had no knowledge of which type of subject wrote any of the
stories. After the scoring was completed, the subjects were identi-
fied and the data were separated into the two groups for hypothesis
testing.

The experimenter and two advanced graduate students in
Clinical Psychology scored the stories. Both of the latter two
scorers were blind to the nature of the experiment beyond what might

be inferred from the scoring manual. Each of these two scorers

56

practiced for approximately an hour by using the scoring manual to
score 10 stories written by an entirely different group of subjects.
Consultation with the experimenter was permitted only during this
training period. A

The experimenter and one of the other scorers scored all
of the stories. The third scorer scored only the first story writ-
ten by each of the last 5 subjects of the two groups; thus, she
scored a subsample of 10 stories. The interrater reliability of
the scoring was assessed by comparing the two sets of scores from
the total sample, and by comparing the scores from the subsample
produced by the two independent raters. The two interrater reli-

ability coefficients are listed below for each hypothesis.

Interrater Reliability_

 

 

 

Hypothesis for total sample for subsample
I - "timeless" states 0.879 1.000
II - future orientation 0.905 0.795
III - present orientation 0.833 0.810
IV - passive future 0.584 ---
V - passive present 0.855 ---
VI - past orientation 0.876 0.939
VII - temporal integration 0.755 0.924
VIII - spans of time scored by subjects
IX - subdivision of spans 0.684 0.814

Because the scores relevant to Hypotheses IV and V re-
flect the proportions of future and present references, respectively,
which are passive in nature, and because, in the subsample, only one
score is available for each subject, reliability coefficients using
the type of scores used in the hypothesis testing cannot be derived

for the subsample for Hypotheses IV and V; i.e., proportions cannot

57

be derived from the subsample scores. The two independent raters
did agree, however, in their "active" vs. "passive" coding of
85.71% of the future references, and of 87.50% of the present
references,

Most of these correlation coefficients are fairly high,
and so some faith in the objectivity of the scoring system seems
warranted. Using Nunnally's (1967, p. 226) criterion of 0.60 for
reliabilities in basic research, all but one of the measures has an
acceptable level of interrater reliability. Nunnally (191g,, p. 497)
reports, moreover, that "the typical finding is a reliability around
.60" for projective tests. Therefore, the results for all of the
hypotheses will be reported in the following section. It should
be remembered, however, that use of a more conservative criterion
such as 0.80 would make the objectivity of the scores for Hypotheses
IV, VII, and IX questionable.

It might have been possible to resolve some of the scor-
ing differences through consultation among the raters, but, because
the experimenter developed the rating system, such consultation
would most likely have biased the scores in favor of his judgments.
It was decided instead to average the scores of the two raters of
the total sample. In the Results section, then, the statistics re-
ported are derived from the averages of the two raters' scores for

each subject.

 

RESULTS

The hypotheses and experimental procedures have been pre—
sented in the previous chapters“. In the following pages the results
obtained from the statistical analysis of the data are presented.

Hypothesis I - "timeless" states. Each subject received
a score representing the number of his stories in which there was a
reference to a "timeless," unchanging state. The alcoholic subjects
referred to such states in an average of 1.067 of their 5 stories,
.while the mean for the nonalcoholics was 0.567. As depicted in
Table l, a T-test revealed that these are statistically different
scores at a = 0.05, and so the data are consistent with the hypo-
thesis that alcoholics are more oriented toward "timeless" states
than are nonalcoholics.

Table l. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of Orientation Toward "Timeless" States.

 

N Mean 5.0. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics 15 1.067 0.904
Nonalcoholics 15 0.567 0.651

1.739 < 0.05

 

Hypothesis II - future orientation. Each subject received
a score summing the number of his stories which were future oriented

(scored 1), or in which there was at least a reference to the future

58

59

(scored 1/3). As shown in Table 2, the mean of 1.144 for the alco-
holics was found to be statistically different, in a T-test with

a = 0.025 from the mean of 1.767 for the nonalcoholics. These re-
sults support the hypothesis that alcoholics are less future oriented
than nonalcoholics.

Table 2. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of Future Orientation.

 

N Mean 5.0. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics 15 1.144 0.597
2.321 <0.025
Nonalcoholics 15 1.767 0.849

 

Hypothesis III - present orientation. Each subject received

 

a score summing the number of his stories which were present oriented
(scored 1), or in which there was at least a reference to the present
(scored 1/3). Table 3 shows that the means of 4.478 for the alco-
holics and 4.056 for the nonalcoholics were not found to be statisti-
cally different in a T-test with a = 0.05. Thus, Hypothesis III, pre-
dicting that alcoholics are more present oriented than nonalcoholics,
is not supported by the data.

Table 3. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of Present Orientation.

 

N Mean S.D. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics I 15 4.478 0.684
1.315 n.s.
Nonalcoholics 15 4.056 1.040

 

6O

Hypothesis IV - passive future. Each subject received a
score reflecting the proportion of his references to the future which
were passive in nature. The mean proportions of 0.414 for the alco-
holics and 0.335 for the nonalcoholics were found not to be statis-
tically different at a = 0.05. Thus, the data do not support the
hypothesis that alcoholics project a more passive future than non-
alcoholics. The data are summarized in Table 4.

Table 4. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of the Passivity of Their Projected Futures.

 

N Mean 5.0. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics 15 0.414 0.321
0.746 n.s.
Nonalcoholics 15 0.335 0.254

 

Hypothesis V - passive present. Each subject received a
score reflecting the proportion of his references to the present
which were passive in nature. The mean proportions of 0.417 for
the alcoholics and 0.527 for the nonalcoholics were found not to be
statistically different at a = 0.05; these data are summarized in
Table 5. The data do not support the hypothesis that alcoholics
project a more passive present than nonalcoholics.

Table 5. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of the Passivity of Their Projected Presents.

 

N Mean 5.0. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics 15 0.417 0.190
-l.l47 n.s.
Nonalcoholics 15 0.527 0.316

 

61

Hypothesis VI - past orientation. Each subject received
a score summing the number of his stories which were past oriented
(scored 1), or in which there was at least a reference to the past
(scored 1/3). The means of 1.467 for the alcoholics and 1.451 for
the nonalcoholics were found not to be statistically different at
a = 0.05; these data are summarized in Table 6. The data do not
support the hypothesis that alcoholics are more past oriented than

nonalcoholics.

Table 6. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of Past Orientation.

 

N Mean 5.0. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics 15 1.467 0.746

0.057 n.s.
Nonalcoholics 15 1.451 0.748

 

Hypothesis VII - temporal integration. Each subject re—
ceived a score for the number of his stories in which each of the
three temporal dimensions (past, present, and future) appeared. The
means of 2.133 for the alcoholics and 2.233 for the nonalcoholics
were found not to be statistically different at a = 0.05. These
data are summarized in Table 7. The data do not give support to
the hypothesis that alcoholics integrate the three temporal dimensions

to a lesser extent than nonalcoholics.

62

Table 7. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of Temporal Integration.

 

N Mean 5.0. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics 15 2.133 1.797

0.178 n.s.
Nonalcoholics 15 2.233 1.223

 

Hypothesis VIII - spans of time. Each subject estimated
the amount of time required for the action in his story actually to
occur. Since a normal distribution could not be assumed here, and
since some of the responses did not permit interval scaling (e.g.,
"a few years"), a nonparametric statistical test was required. The
Mann-Whitney U Test was chosen because of its power.

The data were prepared for analysis in the following way.
First, each time estimate was given a score from 1 to 8. Following

are the ranges of time estimates and the scores assigned to each

 

range:
Sgp[§_ Range of Time Estimates (IE)
1 0 < TE < 60"
2 60" §_TE §_5'
3 5' < TE < 1 hr.
4 1 hr. ijE §_24 hrs.
5 1 day < TE §_7 days
6 7 days < TE 5_12 mos.
7 12 mos. < TE §_20 years
8 20 yrs. < TE

The resulting scores were then averaged for each subject, and these

averages were then ranked.

63

Although the mean time-estimate score for the alcoholics
was a little lower than that for the nonalcoholics (3.657 vs.
3.853), Table 8 shows that the obtained U of 97 was not statistically
significant at a = 0.05. N = 13 for the alcoholic group because
two of these subjects were not able to provide time estimates.
The data do not support the hypothesis that alcoholics conceptual-
ize shorter spans of time than nonalcoholics.

Table 8. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of Length of Conceptualized Spans of Time.

 

 

N Sum of Ranks U p, one-tailed test
Alcoholics 13 188
97 n.s.
Nonalcoholics 15 218

 

Hypothesis IX - subdivision of spans of time. Each sub-
ject received a score summing the total number of discrete events
in all 5 of his stories. The means of 23.700 for the alcoholics
and 20.533 for the nonalcoholics were found not to be statistically
different at a = 0.05; the data are summarized in Table 9. The data
do not support the hypothesis that alcoholics' conceptions of time
are less finely subdivided than nonalcoholics'.

Table 9. A Comparison of Alcoholics and Nonalcoholics on a Measure
of the Subdivision of Spans of Time.

 

N Mean 5.0. t p, one-tailed test

 

Alcoholics 15 23.700 15.908
-0.684 n.s.
Nonalcoholics 15 20.533 8.308

 

DISCUSSION

The findings reported above suggest that alcoholic men
differ from nonalcoholic men in two important aspects of temporal-
ity: the degree of orientation toward "timeless" states, and the
degree of future orientation. A number of other predicted differ—
ences failed to materialize, however. In the following pages
these findings will be discussed in relation to the theory and
previous research reviewed above. Finally, the general implica-

ticans for future research will be reviewed.

"Timeless" States

In comparison to the nonalcoholics, the alcoholic sub-
jects referred significantly more often in their TAT stories to
“timeless," unchanging states such as sleep, reverie, and death.
Although there are numerous clinical and theoretical reports along
this line (Bonaparte, 1940; MacAndrew & Edgerton, 1969; van Kaam,
1971), this study seems to offer the first empirical evidence of
such an orientation in alcoholics.

The hypothesis was derived from the developmental, motiva-
tional theory of alcoholism reviewed earlier. It was suggested that
"timeless" states represent an escape from the "restraints imposed
upon us by . . . time" (Bonaparte, 1940, p. 436), an escape back to

the relatively timeless world of infancy. As van Kaam suggests

64

55.

(1971, p. 244), the alcoholic seems to be "overwhelmed“ by "daily
life that as past, present, and future is linked to progress, task,
and responsibility." Timeless states, such as intoxication, allow
the alcoholic to lose “his concern for past and future, for the
limits of his lifetime, for progress and project," to live in an
"eternal present" (191g , p. 243).

Although the present research is consistent with this
theory, the results do not, of course, provide any direct support
for the speculations concerning development or motivation. The
direction of causality might, in fact, be the opposite of that sug-
gested here: i.e., it might be that alcoholics are more oriented
toward "timeless" states because of their repeated experience with
the timelessness of intoxication, rather than that they drink
heavily to achieve such timelessness. This research has suggested
only that "timeless" states are more prevalent in the fantasies of
alcoholics than of nonalcoholics.

The finding does, however, seem to fit most plausibly with
those psychodynamic theories reviewed above which stress the oral
dependent strivings of the alcoholic. The present research might
best be seen as broadening this line of theorizing a bit. 0n the
basis of the present research, it might be argued that the gratifica-
tions the alcoholic seeks in intoxication are distinguished not only
by their oral, dependent, and passive aspects, but also by their
temporal aspect, i.e., their timelessness.

If this interpretation of the finding were correct, then

there would not only be important theoretical implications (e.g.,

66

that there may be strivings for timeless states), but also potential
practical implications. Might it not be possible, for example, for
the alcoholic to learn to seek his timelessness in less harmful ways
than in intoxication?; for example, in meditation, contemplation, or

religious or artistic experience?

Future Orientation

In comparison to the nonalcoholics, the alcoholic subjects
were significantly less future-oriented in their TAT stories. As
discussed earlier, there are seemingly contradictory results reported
in the literature on this question of future orientation. Cheek and
Laucius (1972) suggest that alcoholics are less future-oriented than
normal subjects, while Cappon and Tyndel (1967) found no difference
between the two groups. Actually, Cheek and Laucius do not, in fact,
state clearly their findings concerning temporal orientation, but
rather merely seem to imply a lesser degree of future orientation
among alcoholics. Thus, the major question concerns the reconcilia-
tion of the present results with those of Cappon and Tyndel.

There are two differences between the two research designs
which might account for these contrasting results: the subject pools,
and the instruments used. Cappon and Tyndel's alcoholics were
selected from day-treatment and outpatient services, and so they may
have been less severely alcoholic than the inpatients studied in the
present investigation. In this writer's (informal) opinion, however,
the latter subjects might well, in a different setting, with a

different treatment philosophy, have been treated as outpatients too.

67

At any rate, both groups of alcoholics differed from their respective
control groups in having been diagnosed and treated as alcoholics,
and in their responses to questionnaires designed to identify alcohol-
ism. Thus, there do not appear to be clear differences between the
two groups of alcoholic subjects which might plausibly account for
the differing results. .1

There were, however, clear differences between the instru-
ments used in the two investigations. Cappon and Tyndel used two
sentence-completion tests, rather than the TAT, as their instruments.
In their first test, subjects' completions of 4 future-directed
sentence stems (e.g., "Five years from now I see myself . . .") were
scored for number of words used, number of different ideas expressed,
and degree of optimism. Alcoholics did not differ from nonalcoholics
on any of these three aspects of future orientation. In the second
test subjects were asked to choose between past-, present-, and
future-oriented completions of 10 sentence stems; e.g., "Eating an
especially good meal, I usually (a) recall other good meals I have
eaten, (b) enjoy my food to the utmost, (c) think of when I will be
able to enjoy such food again." Again, there were no significant
differences between the two groups, and, in fact, the researchers
report that "all 55 showed a marked preference for 'present' items."

The second test does not seem to be a particularly sensitive
measure of temporal orientation since "all Ss." including the well—
functioning and, therefore, presumably future-oriented comparison
group, preferred the "present" items. The first test differs from

the TAT procedure in that the sentence stems require the subjects to

68

respond in terms of the future. Cappon and Tyndel, thus, show that
when alcoholics are directed to consider the future they are not

less voluble or optimistic than normals. The TAT results, in con-
trast, suggest that alcoholics are less likely on their own initia-
tive, in their relatively free fantasy, to consider the future. A
plausible reconciliation of the two studies might, then, be the
proposition that alcoholics are capable of generating normal thoughts
about the future, but are less likely than nonalcoholics to exercise
this capacity.

This lesser degree of future orientation is consistent
with the developmental, motivational theory of alcoholism outlined
above. Early patterns of erratic, indulgent, or frustrating oral
gratification leave the alcoholic less inclined to look for future
gratifications. Future orientation might later be further limited
by the lack of a clear masculine identification, i.e., more speci-
fically, by the relative lack of future images of the self in mascu-
line roles. Adult alcoholics, then, such as the subjects in the
present investigation, are relatively little oriented toward the
future. Our empirical evidence for this hypothesis supports the
clinically derived descriptions of such writers as van Kaam (1971).

As with the first hypothesis, it is necessary to note that,
although the finding is, thus, consistent with the proposed develop-
mental, motivational theory, there are other plausible interpreta-
tions. Alcoholism might be caused by quite different dynamics (or
by genetic or physiological factors), and the finding reported here

might be more a result of the alcoholism than, as our theory suggests,

69

an aspect of the dynamics underlying the alcoholism. The repeated
bouts of intoxication might, for example, have so impeded the ful-
fillment of life plans as to discourage the inclination to consider
the future.

Regardless, however, of the theoretical interpretation, it
seems likely that the finding does suggest an important aspect of the
alcoholic's current functioning. Even if the disinclination to con-
sider the future is a late development, a result of the alcoholism,
it probably still has significant consequences for the alcoholic.

It may, for instance, hasten the descent into more egregious stages
of the disease by lessening the inhibitions resulting from awareness
of the future consequences of bouts of intoxication. The finding
may also have implications for therapy. As Smart (1969, p. 83), in
a somewhat different context, suggests, "treatments emphasizing
long-term changes and dire eventualities may be less effective than

treatments focusing on the present."

Present Orientation

Although alcoholics were more present-oriented than non-
alcoholics, the difference was not significant. This result is con-
sistent with Cappon and Tyndel's finding of no difference in degree
of present orientation between alcoholics and normals, but it is at
odds with the theory of alcoholic temporality presented above. This
theory suggested that developmental experiences would cause the

alcoholic to be unusually preoccupied with the present.

70

Like Cappon and Tyndel's test (see above), the procedure
here may not have been sufficiently sensitive to differences between
the groups. Hindsight suggests that probably most TAT stories from
nearly any group of subjects would include a present dimension, and,
in fact, inspection of the results indicates that both of these
groups of subjects were very strongly present-oriented (the means
were 4.478 and 4.056 out of a maximum possible score of 5.0). Thus,
the test itself, or the scoring system may have so favored present
references that any real differences between the groups were
obscured.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that neither of the two
relevant empirical investigations support the theories and the
clinically derived suggestions that a greater than normal degree

of present orientation is characteristic of alcoholics.

Passive Future

There was not a significant difference in the proportions
of future references which were passive in nature for alcoholics
vs. nonalcoholics. Confidence in the objectivity of this finding
is lowered considerably, however, by the low interrater reliability
coefficient.

Many writers, such as Van Kaam (1971, p. 241), have suggest-
ed that alcoholics have a "special avidity" for "gratification, rest,
fulfillment as a mere gift to be received passively without a pre-
paratory activity:" If such descriptions were accurate, it seems

that alcoholics' future references would include fewer active

71

strivings or plans of action than would those of nonalcoholics. Un-
fortunately, conclusions regarding such hypotheses must await the

development of a more reliable test.

Passive Present

Alcoholics' present references were found not to be more
passive than those of nonalcoholics; in fact, although the differ-
ence was not significant, the nonalcoholics had the greater propor-
tion of passive present references. Although we should not hedge
the conclusion that there is no support here for the theory that
alcoholics are more passive than nonalcoholics, there is a plausible
and easily testable explanation for this unexpected finding. The
alcoholics in this sample were relatively young (mean age of 29.93
years), and, thus, might still have been operating in terms of the
hypermasculine facade, or positive identity described above. It
would be interesting to see, then, if older alcoholics, who pre-
sumably have given up the pretensions to active, hypermasculine
strivings, would project a more passive present. Precedent for
such a finding concerning age and temporality is provided by Smart
(1968), who found a high negative correlation between time per-

spective scores and age in an alcoholic sample.

Past Orientation

The hypothesis that alcoholics' TAT stories would be more
past-oriented than those of nonalcoholics was not supported by the

data. This result seems to conflict both with the theory presented

72

above, and with the other research relevant to this hypothesis.
Cheek and Laucius (1971) concluded that alcoholics were more "past-
oriented" than normals. Using a questionnaire and a version of the
Semantic Differential, they found that for alcoholics "the past is
seen as the most pleasant, influential, exciting, receptive period
of their lives, and is closer to them than it is to the other
groups": moreover, "given their choice, they would like to live in
the past" (p. 340). In that the past is, in a sense, "finished."
requiring, in contrast to the present and future, no further effort
or activity, Cheek and Laucius' results are consistent with the
general theory that alcoholics have a more passive orientation than
normals. As mentioned before, however, the report of this study is
so sketchy that, unless more details are provided, we can have
little confidence in the validity of the conclusions stated. The
writers, in fact, do not provide any numerical data, nor do they
mention the use of any statistical tests of significance.

None of our three hypotheses concerning the presumed
alcoholic passivity was supported by our data: alcoholics were not
more passive in their present and future references, nor were they
more past-oriented than nonalcoholics. Again, these results may
reflect the relative youth of our sample, but the consistent lack
of support for these hypotheses does suggest strongly that alcoholics,
at least those of this age group, cannot be said to have a more

passive temporal orientation than comparable nonalcoholics.

73

Temporal Integration

Alcoholics did not integrate the three temporal dimensions
(past, present, and future) less often than the nonalcoholics. Al-
though there is no previous reference in the literature to temporal
integration among alcoholics, there are numerous reports which
would be consistent with a finding of a lesser degree of temporal
integration. Stewart (1971, p. 62) suggests that the alcoholic
lacks the inclination for "cause-effect," “means-end" thinking.
More generally, it seemed plausible that the relative lack of
future plans realistically grounded in the present and the past
(e.g., Force, 1958) would be reflected in a lessened tendency to
integrate past, present, and future. Also, the various descriptions
(e.g., Rosenman, 1955) of a developing split between the hyper-
masculine facade and the negative ego identity would seem to
suggest that the integration of the life span in terms of past,
present, and future identity would be impeded.

Our hypothesis predicted a more general lack of temporal
integration than would, strictly, have been predicted by the
theories from which it was derived. A more direct test of these
theories might involve a narrower focus on the integration of sub-
jects' actual future goals and present and past experiences and
actions. The present results perhaps reflect most directly on
Stewart's suggestion, but, still, a measure more specifically rele-

vant to "means-ends" thinking could probably be devised.

74

Spans of Time

Alcoholics did not give significantly shorter estimates of
the spans of time required for the action in their stories to occur.
This result conflicts with what had appeared to be the most amply
documented finding in the literature on alcoholic temporality.

Smart (1968) and Sattler and Pflugarth (1970), using story—telling
procedures rather similar to the one used here, and R005 and Albers
(1965), using a questionnaire, had all found that their alcoholic
subjects had significantly shorter temporal perspectives than their
normal subjects.

Probably the most plausible reason for the difference be-
tween the present result and those of these other investigators is
the difference in the controls employed. Sattler and Pflugarth,
and R005 and Albers compared hospitalized alcoholics to nonalcoholics
living their normal lives in their communities. Both groups in the
present study, on the other hand, were hospitalized. Although the
proposition has not been empirically tested, it seems likely that
hospitalization itself might significantly curtail temporal per-
spective since it removes the patient from the activities and re-
lationships in which much of his past and future are embedded;
hospital life, in contrast, seems to be almost a timeless state,
with a cyclical repetition of the same daily schedule, and with the
furthest temporal horizons being only as far away from the present as
the dates of entry into and discharge from the hospital. Thus, the
results of the two earlier studies may reflect the effects of hospi-

talization rather than of alcoholism.

75

In the other study finding shorter temporal perspectives
among alcoholics, Smart compared alcoholics involved in day-treatment
and outpatient programs to nonalcoholics living their usual lives.
Although the uncontrolled effects of the treatment programs might
not be as great here, similar considerations would still seem rele-
vant, especially in regard to the day-treatment patients. Smart's
findings seem further confounded by the fact that "all of these
alcoholics had a long history of uncontrolled drinking and previous
attempts at therapy" (p. 81). In other words, his alcoholics were
currently attempting, for whatever reasons (not necessarily because
of their own future plans), a treatment that had previously failed
for them. Alcoholism, thus, does not seem to be the only difference
between his groups which might have shortened the temporal per-
spectives of the alcoholics.

In summary, then, until a new study with better controls
suggests otherwise, alcoholics cannot be confidently described as

having a shorter temporal perspective than nonalcoholics.

Subdivision of Spans of Time

Alcoholics did not subdivide their stories into fewer dis-
crete events than nonalcoholics; in fact, alcoholics included a few
more events in their stories, although the difference was not signi-
ficant. The results here are not entirely convincing, however, be-
cause the interrater reliability coefficient was fairly low.

Although perhaps unreliable, the results are consistent

with the results for the previous two hypotheses. All three of these

76

hypotheses concerned the overall structure of the temporality of
alcoholics, and all three were basically derived from the notion
that alcoholics are less inclined to develop future plans. In this
case, it was thought that the lack of interest in the specific
steps required in plans of action would be reflected in story plots
which were less finely subdivided into discrete events.

These last three measures might, alternatively, be con-
ceptualized as reflecting different components of an underlying
planning ability. Rather than casting the results in the framework
of the previously proposed motivational theory (i.e., as reflecting
degree of interest in future plans), they might be seen as reflect-
ing aspects of the cognitive underpinnings of planning ability:
the "capacity" to integrate past, present, and future, the "capacity"
to conceptualize (normally) long spans of time, the "capacity" to
subdivide spans of time into specific related events-~all three of
these phrases seem appropriate alternative ways to name our three
hypotheses, and all three might plausibly be presented as components
of planning ability.

This last set of results might, then,be interpreted as
suggesting that alcoholics have a normal capacity to plan (at least
in terms of these three components of planning ability). As suggested
by the results concerning future orientation, and by the discussion
of Cappon and Tyndel's findings, alcoholics might be less likely to
make use of their planning ability.

This line of reasoning is, of course, merely speculation,

and, in fact, verges on an assertion of the null hypothesis. All

77

that can be confidently asserted on the basis of these findings is
that there is no support for the three hypotheses concerning the
overall structure of alcoholic temporality. The speculation does
suggest, however, that it might be interesting to investigate more
directly the alcoholic's planning abilities and inclinations to

exercise them.

Implications for Future Research

In the preceding discussion, we have already suggested a
number of topics for future research. In this section, then, we
will confine ourselves to the overall implications of this study.

The two significant differences suggest the potential
heuristic value of the respective concepts. Actually, future
orientation is emerging, with the present study as merely the
latest of a long series, as an increasingly popular and interest-
ing variable in research; the present study suggests that the list
of relevant nosological groups has not yet been exhausted. Time-
lessness, on the other hand, seems to be a relatively novel variable
in empirical research, and further study of the topic in relation
both to alcoholics and to other types of subjects might be interest-
ing.

The number of significant studies on future orientation
raises an interesting problem, however. Thus far, a lesser degree
of future orientation in comparison to normals has been reported
for: less anxious people (Lipman, 1957): depressives (Dilling and
Rabin, l967);schizophrenics(19151-1; psychopaths (Buss. 1966); and

78

alcoholics (the present study). The differing theoretical explana-
tions for these findings suggest that a greater degree of differ-
entiation of the orientations of the different groups might be
possible, but, as they stand, in aggregate, the findings do not
suggest that very precise characteristics of the groups have been
found. Rabin (1976) has, somewhat similarly, called for a greater
"attention to some of the content and characteristics of the FTP
constituents" (p. 20), suggesting that different characteristics
and contents may reflect quite different traits. FTP here is a
measure of temporal perspective, but the argument, mutatis mutandis,
seems equally applicable to temporal orientation.

The present study, in the breadth of variables investi-
gated, represents a step in the direction of greater specificity
in the study of temporality. Some of the variables (passivity of
present and future references, and subdivision of spans of time)
have never been studied before. Although the reliability of a few
of the scoring procedures was low, the overall pattern of co-
efficients suggests that, with some further refinement, the scoring
procedure might be useful in future investigations. The potential
for more specificity, and even the heuristic potential of the
specific variables studied here need not be limited by whatever
drawbacks might be found in this scoring procedure, however; other
instruments might readily be derived. In fact, as we saw in dis-
cussing the conflicting results on future orientation, the use of
different procedures may sometimes lead to a greater degree of.

specificity of conceptualization.

79

There do, however, seem to be certain advantages to the
instrument used here. First, we were able to study a total of nine
hypotheses with just one instrument. Also, by demonstrating the
applicability of new concepts to TAT protocols, the usefulness of
this widely used clinical instrument might be extended somewhat.
Thus, for example, it would be a relatively simple matter to score

a patient's protocol for number of "timeless" states.

SUMMARY

This study compared a sample of alcoholics with a sample of
nonalcoholics on measures of a number of aspects of temporality, the
manner of relating to time. In general it was predicted, on the
basis of a developmental, motivational theory of alcoholism, that
the alcoholics would manifest a temporality very different from that
of nonalcoholics. Nine specific hypotheses were proposed:

I. Alcoholics are more oriented toward "timeless, " un-
changing states than nonalcoholics.

II. Alcoholics are less oriented toward the future than
nonalcoholics.

III. Alcoholics are more oriented toward the present than
nonalcoholics.

IV. Alcoholics project a more passive future than non-
alcoholics.

V. Alcoholics see the present in a more passive way than
nonalcoholics.

VI. Alcoholics are more oriented toward the past than non—
alcoholics.

VII. Alcoholics integrate the past, present, and future to
a lesser degree than nonalcoholics.

VIII. Alcoholics conceptualize shorter spans of time than
nonalcoholics.

IX. Alcoholics' conceptions of spans of time are less finely
subdivided into discrete events than nonalcoholics'.

The alcoholic sample consisted of 15 male inpatients hospi-

talized with a primary diagnosis of alcoholism at the Ann Arbor VA

80

81

Hospital. The comparison group consisted of 15 male inpatients from
the medical wards of the same hospital. In addition to medical re-
cords, a questionnaire concerning significant familial, legal, medi-
cal, and employment problems associated with drinking was used to
differentiate the two groups. Controls for length of hospitaliza-
tion, age, educational level, intellectual level, employment status,
and marital status were employed.

Each subject was asked to write out a story to each of 5
TAT cards. Scores relevant to each of the hypotheses were derived
from the stories. Although the interrater reliabilities for Hypo-
theses IV, VII, and IX were only 0.584, 0.755, and 0.684 respectively,
the other scores were much more reliable, and the specially designed
rating procedure was judged to be generally successful.

The results supported only Hypotheses I and II: alcoholics
were found to be more oriented toward “timeless" states, and less
oriented toward the future than nonalcoholics. Although these re-
sults may reflect the effects rather than, as suggested by our
theory, the underlying dynamics of alcoholism, it was suggested that,
in either theoretical interpretation, the findings imply important
practical problems for the alcoholics.

Of the seven hypotheses not supported by the data, one
should be singled out here for special attention. In three previous
investigations, alcoholic subjects were found to conceptualize
significantly shorter spans of time than nonalcoholics. It was

suggested that the failure to replicate these results reflected the

82

more elaborate controls in the present investigation, and that,
therefore, the previously accepted conclusions regarding the time
perspectives of alcoholics are unwarranted.

In general, it may be concluded that alcoholism does have
a significant influence on temporality, but not in nearly as many
ways as would be predicted from a consideration of alcoholics'
dynamics. This study does not, however, bear directly on the
validity of the various dynamic theories of alcoholism. Other
aspects of temporality related more directly to these theories
might still prove to differentiate alcoholics from nonalcoholics;
in the discussion of the results, suggestions are made along this
line. It was further suggested that at least some of the results
of this study might be different among alcoholics of a different

age group.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

SCORING MANUAL

I.

SCORING MANUAL

Number of Events:

A.

Each story is scored for the number of discrete events it
contains. "Discrete events" are defined as explicit com-
ponents of the plot that take place at different points in
time.

1. Example: (The man has finished his work) and (come
home from his office). Now he's (looking
out his window, planning) (what he'll do
tomorrow).

Score : 4

Explanation: Each group of words enclosed in paren-
theses represents an explicit component of
the plot which would take place at a point
in time different from each of the other
events.

When a character thinks about, talks about, or in any way

refers to a past or future event, score both the present

act (of thinking, wishing, wanting, talking, etc.) and the
past or future event.

1. Example: Mother and son after (a funeral), son (wants)
Mom (to come live with him).

Score : 3
Explanation: "Funeral" is a past event; "wants" is a
present act; and "to come live with him" is
a future event.
A past event or state is sometimes referred to in such phrases

as "like they knew all along" or "as they had always done".

89

90

Such phrases may refer to discrete events (i.e., they are
scorable) if they are not contemporaneous with other, scored
events.

1. Example: (They're hugging and loving each other), (just
like they always have for the twenty years of
their marriage).

Score : 2 I

Explanation: Although the action ("hugging and loving")
is the same in the present and the past, there
are two explicit components of the plot taking
place at different points in time.

2. Example: (John says), "Mary, (don't 90).“

Score : 2

Explanation: John is saying something in the present,
but is referring to a future event.

If a character is deliberating over several alternative
courses of future action, score each alternative; however,

if the alternatives clearly reflect the narrator's uncertain-
ty and are not connected to the character's deliberation,
score only the first alternative.

1. Example: John (is trying to decide) (whether to buy a
new car) or (save his money).

Score : 3

2. Example: (He is) either about to (jump out) the window,
or maybe he's just opening the window.

Score : 2

Explanation: "He is about to" refers to a present state;
"to jump out", to a future event; "or maybe. . .
reflects the author's uncertainty and is not
tied explicitly to the character's uncertainty.

Restatements of essentially the same event are scored only

once .

II.

91

1. Example: Mother and son are having a talk. She is giving
him some advice.

Score : l

Explanation: "Having a talk" and "giving him some advice"
refer essentially to the same event. '

If the same situation is described both generally, and in more
specific terms, and if the latter description includes expli-
cit events that are not contemporaneous, then each of these
explicit events is scored.

1. Example: They had a good time. (They swam). (they ate),
and they talked.

Score : 2
Explanation: "They swam" and "they ate" most likely re-

fer to non-contemporaneous events, but they
may have "talked" while they "ate" or "swam".

"Timeless States"

 

A.

Each story receives a score of 1 (one) if it contains a re-
ference to a "timeless," unchanging state, and if this re-
ference pertains to any of the "given" characters, i.e., any
of the characters depicted on the TAT cards. Such states in-
clude sleep, daydreaming, vacations, retirement, resting,
celebrations, festivals, death, suicide, drug "highs," and
so on. Alcohol intoxication is ppt_scored. A story is
scored if the state actually exists in the present action,
if the state existed in the past, or if the state is merely
a future possibility explicitly referred to.

1. Example: Bob is considering suicide.

Score ?: l

III.

92

2. Example: Bob and his mother are mourning the death of
his father.

Score ?: O

Explanation: The "timeless" state, death, pertains to a
character who is not depicted in the TAT card.

8. Many stories involve love, scenes of affection, men and women
comforting each other, etc. These are scored only if the en-
tire story describes nothing but love, affection, etc.

1. Example: Two people embraced. They might be dancing,
or showing affection.

Score ?: l
2. Example: The closeness and comfort of two people.
Their love has come in their working and
laughing together.
Score ?: 0

Explanation: "Working" introduces a distinctly "non-
timeless" element into the story.

C. Sometimes it may be difficult to distinguish between day-

dreaming, reverie, etc. and more active, temporally oriented
mental activity.
1. Example: A man is wondering about his future.
Score ?: 1
Explanation: "Wondering", in contrast to, e.g., "think-
ing" suggests a reverie-like state. If the
character were wondering "whether to do x or
y", the story would not be scored because of
the implied necessity of active mental effort
(choice).
Coding
A. Each story is given a code for each of the three temporal

dimensions of past, present, and future. Thus, there are

 

('5
—' O
O.
(D

XI

2A

93

three codes assigned to each story. The following chart

lists the codes and the category names, and gives a brief

description of each category. Explicit scoring directions

follow the chart.

Category Name

Past oriented

Past included

No past

Present oriented-

active

.Description of Category_

The story focuses mainly on what

led up to the scene depicted in the
picture; or the story is mainly of
reminiscences, memories, or feelings

about things done in the past.

The past figures in the story in
some way, but the present or the
future introduces significant new

action.

The story does not explicitly in-

clude a past dimension.

The story focuses mainly on a present
situation. If the past plays a role,
the present is more than simply an
emotional reaction to it. The present
may change the past situation, or the
character may be actively considering

such a change.

Code Category Name

2B Present oriented-

passive

(2A) Present included-

active

(2B) Present included-

passive

94

Description of Category

The story mainly describes a present
situation which is either: simply a

continuation of the past; simply an

.emotional reaction to the past or

to an expected future event; or
largely a "timeless," unchanging

state.

The present figures in the story in
some way and is related to the past
and the future, but is not the most
significant focus of the story. If
the past plays a role, the present

is more than simply an emotional re-
action to it. The present may change
the past situation, or the characters
may be actively considering such a

change.

The present figures in the story in
some way, and is related to the past
and the future, but is not the most
significant focus of the story. This
present is either: simply an emotion-

al reaction to the past or to an

Code

X2

BA

BB

(33)

Category Name

 

No present

Future oriented-

active

Future oriented-

passive

Future included-

active

Future included-

passive

95

Description of Category

expected future event; simply a
continuation of the past; or
largely a "timeless," unchanging

state.

The story does not explicitly in-

clude a present dimension.

The story focuses mainly on action,
or a plan of action extending into

the future.

The story focuses mainly on wishes,
hopes, fears, or expectations ex-

tending into the future.

The future figures in the story in
some way, and is related to the
present and the past, but is not the
most significant focus of the story.

This future may be a goal or an out-

'come of a "present oriented-active"

story.

The future figures in the story in
some way, and is related to the pre-

sent and the past, but is not the

Code

X3

96

Categornyame Description of Category

most significant focus of the story.
This future may be either wishes,
hopes, fears, expectations, or
simply continuations of present

and/or past conditions.

No future The story does not explicitly in-

clude a future dimension.

The coding process can be divided into a series of six de-
cisions which are made in sequence about each story:
First : Does the story contain any reference to the past?

If it does, score 1: if not, score X1.

Second: Does the story contain any reference to the present?
If it does, score 2; if not, score X2.
Third : Does the story contain any reference to the future?

If it does, score 3; if not, score X3.

Fourth: Is the story past, present, or future oriented?
Place parentheses around the temporal-dimension

codes which do not reflect the dominant orientation.

Fifth : If the story is "present oriented" or "present in-
cluded", is the present active or passive? If it
is active, add an "A" after the "2“; if passive, add

a "B".

97

Sixth : If the story is "future oriented" or "future in-
cluded", is the future active or passive? If it
is active, add an "A" after the "3"; if passive,

add a "3".

Examples of each of the decisions follow.

C.

l or X1

1. Example: This man is very happy with his life. He is
gazing at the sky in contentment.

Score : X1

2. Example: A father having a heart-to-heart talk with
his son who has been down on his luck.

Score : l

3. Example: Due to insomnia, this person gazes out of an
open window to the stars.

Score : l

Explanation: The "insomnia" preceded the present
activity and so is a reference to the past.

2 or X2

1. Example: John had not had any sleep in three days. He
had been having trouble at work.

Score : X2
2. A score of 2 is sometimes appropriate when the narration
is in a past tense.

3. Example: The mother stared out the window, knowing this
would be the last time she would see her son.

Score : 2
Explanation: Score for the character's temporal location.

not for the narrator's use or misuse of verb
tenses.

98

3 or X3
1.

Example: A man wondering about the future.
Score : 3

Example: A man trying to finish his work.
Score : 3

Explanation: There is a future goal (trying to finish
his work). "Trying" may cometimes refer
simply to a present activity, however, with
no clear indication of a future goal, e.g.,
"trying to be helpful“. Score these latter
types of stories, X3.

Example: This lady wants to be more beautiful.
Score : X3

Explanation: "Wants to be more beautiful" refers merely
to a present desire. If the story went on to
say, e.g., “so she is trying to lose weight",
a future goal would be implied and the score
would be 3.

l, 2, or 3 oriented

1.

Scoring for orientation may be facilitated by consider-
ing the stories dramaturgically, and asking, "where is
the (relatively) climactic action?", or "where is the
'dramatist' placing his emphasis?" Nuances are important:
superficially similar stories may have different orienta-

tions as in the following examples.

Example: A couple embracing after a traumatic experience.
Score : l (2) X3

Example: Something went wrong. They are trying to figure
out what went wrong. ‘

Score : (l) 2 (3)

99

Explanation: In the first example, the present action
is merely a reaction to the past event; the
present is secondary, it is not the "main"
event. In the second example, the present
introduces a new element into the plot, and
if the story were a play, the audience's in-
terest would be focused on this new effort.
The plot does develop from the past, but the
interest has shifted to the present activity.

Similar considerations distinguish future orientation.

Example: "00 you have to go?" "Yes, my plane will be
leaving in a couple of hours."

Score : X1 (2) 3

Explanation: Although all of the action takes place in
the present, the "main" event, the climax, is
in the future.

0n the other hand, if the future is merely the implied

outcome of the present "trying", or if the future inten-

tion is merely one of a number of approximately equally

important components of a present monologue or dialogue,

then the story is not future oriented.

Example: They're feeling bad about what they did, and
they're trying to get back together.

Score : (1) 2 (3)
Explanation: The main interest is in the present "try-

ing", although a future is clearly "included"
as the goal of this effort.

2A or 2B

The tool with which this decision is made is the question,
"Does the character engage in the present in motoric or
mental activity that is actually or potentially productive

(in the sense of bringing about some change in reality)?"

TOO

"Trying" is potentially productive; merely "wanting",
without any reference to activity, is scored 2B.

Example: Bill and John are planning how to improve
their business.

Score : 2A

Explanation: "Planning" is an active mental activity
that is potentially productive.

Example: Jerry is feeling sad about the loss of his
father.

Score : 2B

Explanation: "Feeling sad" is to be considered a non-
productive reaction in this scoring system.

Example: Bill is consoling Mary after the loss of
their son.

Score : 2A

Explanation: “Consoling” is a potentially productive,
present action.

"Timeless" present states (daydreaming, etc.) are scored
28 if there are no "active" elements present as well.

Example: They are celebrating their anniversary--they're
dancing and cuddling.

Score : 2B

Somewhat similar to "timeless“ stories are those in which
a character wants to be active but is stymied or blocked.
The present, in these cases, is relatively "timeless,"
i.e. the action is not "going anywhere,Y and so these
stories are scored 28.

Example: He wants to ask her if she will marry him but
he can't.

Score : 2B

101

9. Example: He can't seem to explain something to his
father.
Score : 2B
10. In stories with both male and female characters, only
the male's present is scored for activity-passivity.
Thus, e.g., if the female is passive, and the male is
active, the score is 2A.
11. Example: He is feeling sorry for himself and she is
trying to help him.
Score : 23
H. 3A or 3B
1. Any future goal or outcome of action engaged in by one
of the (male) characters depicted on the TAT card is
scored 3A, except when that future is one of the "time-
less" states.
2. Example: The man is trying to leave the lady. She
feels sad about it.
Score : 3A
3. Example: They are both afraid of the coming events, and
are holding each other for security.
Score : 3B
Explanation: The "coming events" are not explicitly de-
picted as either a goal, or an outcome of pre-
sent actions.
4. Example: He is thinking about committing suicide.

Score : 3B

Explanation: Suicide is a "timeless" state.

102

If the future is simply a continuation of a present state
with no clear indication of a goal which is distinct from
the present activity, the score is 3B.
Example: John is wondering about his son's behavior.
He'll probably continue to wonder about it
as long as he lives.

Score : 3B

APPENDIX B

CONSENT FORMS

CONSENT TO ACT AS SUBJECT FOR RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATIONS

SUBJECT'S NAME DATE

 

 

I hereby authorize Mr. T. Batchelder to perform the following pro-
cedure(s) and/or investigations on myself:

The first part of the experiment is a 20-word, multiple-choice
vocabulary test. The second part involves making up stories about
some pictures. There are no "right" or "wrong" stories about the
pictures, but by studying these stories we may be able to learn a
little more about how the human mind works. The experiment will
take about 45 minutes.

I understand that my participation in this experiment is entirely
voluntary, and that there will not be any effect on my stay in the
hospital whether or not I participate. I understand that my
answers will be completely confidential and anonymous, and that my
name will not be put anywhere on the stories or on the vocabulary
test. I also understand that the staff will not learn anything
about my responses, and that nothing will be put in my medical
chart concerning the experiment.

I understand that I may choose not to enter this study or to stop
my participation at any time without prejudice and without jeopard-
izing my future medical care. I Understand that I will not be paid
for my participation in this study.

I understand that the investigator, Mr. Batchelder, will answer any
inquiries I may have at any time concerning the investigation: he
may be reached at (313) 769-7100, Ward 8-E.

 

Signature of subject

103

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HATS

PART I-AOREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
IT OR UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE VET ERAN'S ADMINISTRATION

 

1. L, f (M. of Wm ”blah "we, voluntarily consent to participate as a subject

in the ' ‘
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2. l have signed one or more information sheets with this title to show that I have read the description including the purpose and
nahsre of the investigation, the procedures to be used, the risks, inconveniences, side effects and benefits to be expected, as well as other
courses of action open to me and my right to withdraw from the investigation at any time. Each of these items ha been explained to me by

the investiator in me presence of a witness. The investigator hm answered my questions concerning the investigation and I believe I
understand what is intended.

3. Ismdesstandthstnoguarantees orassuranceshavebeengivenmesincedseresultsandrisksofaninvcstigationarenotalways

known before hand. I have been told that this investigation has been carefully planned, that the plan has been reviewed by knowledgeable
people, and that every reuonable precaution will be taken to protect my well-being.

4. Nevertheless, I wish to limit my participation in the investigation a follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VA FACILITY SUBJECT'S SIGNATURE

WITNESS'S NAME AND ADDRESS (Print or type) wsTuzss's SIGNATURE

INVESTIGATOR’S NAN! (Print or typo) INVESTIGATOR'S SIGNATURE

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Sheet_sa thedt_a_§ Sheet; ayailapie 23:
SUBJECT” s IDENTIFICATION (I. D. plate or (in name-lass, first, middle) SUBJECT'S I.D. N0. WARD
AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE
IN RESEARCH BY OR UNDER
THE DIRECTION OF THE

VETERAN'S ADMINISTRATION

 

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