'1 ?‘N—k~.flm-M‘ “ THE FEAR OF DEATH: AN; EXPLORATORY STUDY Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D. MECH|GAN STATE UNIVERSITY LAWRENCE LANGER 1975 LIBRARY h" Michigan° .2113» - [I 3 1293 10653 9739 Umvcrsity . r This is to certify that the thesis entitled The Fear of Death: An Exploratory Study presented by Lawrence Langer has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph . D . degree in Psychology im‘fi/ %§{WWML\ t/Ma/jor professor C Date 7/? 3/75. 0—7639 ’ unomo av ‘ nus-s ‘ HHUK Blfl "spam 8' NDERS 'spp urpnnrfilculsll‘ll i __ . .— q «nu—- ___..._.___ . .___ _.._ c..—..... . _. -.-\...--—- -~ I \ tr" ‘ I l“ «1 1 i w 1:: ’ f i p i «F J s . \‘1’g' {:3 1": 5 I I\ . C. E 'r‘d‘?"f~.m“,. " ‘ . '5, A Dot 4 . ‘ k v, "i II? J” ‘ ‘ 1"" .11 L».- 10 A221 , V o.\ \D r’ 2“. A“) l” ‘1. ABSTRACT THE FEAR OF DEATH: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY BY Lawrence Langer This exploratory study of the fear of death was comprised of two parts, an objective/correlational study and a clinical investi- gation. The objective/correlational study was designed to investigate whether individuals troubled by fears of death differ in the degree of psychopathology from both subjects having moderate fears of death and others, highly fearful of a comparison fear, the fear of speaking in public. A secondary purpose of the objective study was to determine whether subjects troubled by fears of death (as measured by a scale designed for this study) were comparably high in their level of the fear of death on another measure (Death Anxiety Scale, Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967) in order to relate the results of the present investigation to previous studies that had used the Death Anxiety Scale and related measures. The clinical investigation compared subjects high and moderate in fears of death and fears of public speaking in a 2 X 2 design and examined two general issues. First, a comparison was made of the lif'S in “his” 5:739:15 in ea gases: functi authese hiii For It :troisctory ; rsumh(fimu between fear c stjeas whose tazrthe mea: ewes were variables to l resented to s 155% a teas; iteiule (N01; finaNaff, 1S iiii-“fed for t ERikerScale For t} :‘S‘J. "Maia“ § 6' deriz if: ls" .uvllc Speé “Ullr \a] :15 n Lawrence Langer _ ways in which the fear of death is manifested in the daily lives of subjects in each group. Second, the clinical study investigated the present functioning and deve10pmenta1 history of subjects to determine how those highly troubled by fears of death differ from others. For the objective/correlational study, 308 women, enrolled in introductory psychology courses served as subjects. Since prior research (Handal and Rychlak, 1971) suggested that the relationship between fear of death and psychological disturbance may be curvilinear, subjects whose scores were less than or equal to one standard deviation below the mean on either the fear of death or fear of public speaking measures were eliminated from some of the analyses comparing these variables to psychopathology. The following five instruments were presented to subjects: (1) MMPI (from which Welsh's Factor A (Welsh, 1956), a measure of psychopathology, was derived); (2) Fear Survey Schedule (Wolpe and Lang, 1964); (3) Death Anxiety Scale (Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967); (4) Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale (a measure designed for this study); and (5) Personal report of Confidence as a Speaker Scale (Paul, 1966). For the clinical study, those whose scores were beyond one standard deviation above the mean on either the fear of death or fear of public speaking measures were assigned to the high group for the particular variable. Subjects in the moderate groups had scores between the mean and one standard deviation below the mean. The 12 women comprising the clinical sample were randomly selected from a pool of subjects in the objective study who both met these criteria and volunteered for the clinical study. Each woman met with the inter- viewer for a total of six one-hour meetings, each interview having a .- 0‘9 ...ierent fxu: o c _ V T V“ ~ fiftie 1AA !A\r “fie ob ..::.= ‘15 1615‘. ;:;;;a:;on c: :sychoicgical w . a.. ”H, \ .- "V‘4|\...5. . 1' . ‘H‘ IS‘aAL ‘2‘“ h....~ “-40:11 . Lie . fear of ‘ "1:3 0f bei Lawrence Langer differemt focus, although they were conducted in a nondirective manner. Twelve TAT pictures were presented at the fifth interview. The objective/correlational results indicated that there is a significantly stronger relationship between fear of death and fearful— ness (as measured by the Fear Survey Schedule) than between fear of public speaking and fearfulness. To the extent that fearfulness is an indication of psychopathology, those highly fearful of death had more psychological disturbance than others, troubled by fears of public speaking. Using a second measure of psychopathology (Welsh's Factor A), there was a significantly stronger relationship between fear of public speaking and psychOpathology than between fear of death and psycho- pathology. This was attributed to the presence of several items tapping dimensions of fear of public speaking and no items directly tapping fear of death on Welsh's Factor A measure. Nevertheless, the findings of a relationship between fear of death and psychOpathology remain equivocal. A significant, but moderate correlation was found between the fear of death measure designed for this study and the Death Anxiety Scale. Four major results emerged from the clinical study. First, women fearful of death had significantly more aggression conflicts than those less troubled by fears of death. All high fear of death women had difficulties in expressing aggression and many were bothered by fears of being harmed by others. Second, women highly troubled by fears of death had significantly more family conflicts with a parent than those less troubled by this fear. Third, those highly fearful of death all have had early experiences with death, while none of the :t'zer men has; 22:1 tended to t; fears of dea ;s;r:h:pathoiegy afgtgblic speak use: with bot? A them hgpctheses for '12 also offer Lawrence Langer other women had this experience. Finally, women who were fearful of death.tended to have more religious conflict than those less troubled by fears of death. No differences were found in the extent of psychOpathology between those highly fearful of death and women fearful of public speaking, though both groups had more psychopathology than women with both moderate fears of death and public speaking. A theoretical explanation of the results was explored. Several hypotheses for future research were suggested. A critique of the study was also offered. THE FEAR OF DEATH: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY BY Lawrence Langer A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Psychology 1975 it is Lied to this dais-nan of m ”FPO“, guid :areer. He}: CilillClan, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is with great pleasure that I thank those who have contri- buted to this research. Special thanks goes to Donald L. Grummon, the chairman of my doctoral committee who has been a major source of support, guidance and wisdom to me throughout my graduate school career. He has added immeasurably to my growth as a researcher and clinician. I would also like to express my appreciation to the other members of my committee, Robert A. Zucker, Elaine Donelson, and Richard Russell. Each of them contributed through their thoughtful comments, patience, and careful reading and helped improve the overall quality and conceptual clarity of this research. Finally, I shall always be thankful to my wife, Gin Langer, who has been a constant source of encouragement and support and who always has been eager to help in every possible way. ii P53 Re TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theoretical Conceptions . . . . 2 The Deve10pment of a Child's Conception of Death. . . 7 Demographic Variables and the Fear of Death . . . . 12 Religion and the Fear of Death. . . . . . . . . 15 Defensive Style and the Fear of Death . . . . . . 18 Psychopathology and the Fear of Death . . . . 23 Early Childhood Experiences and the Fear of Death . . 25 Psychodynamic Studies of the Fear of Death. . . . . 27 Sexuality and the Fear of Death . . . . . . . . 30 Statement of the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . 32 11. METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Clinical Sample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 III. OBJECTIVE RESULTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Relationship Between Phenomenological Fear of Death and Death Anxiety . . . . 45 Relationship Between Phenomenological Fear of Death and Psychopathology (as Measured by the Fear Survey Schedule). . . . . 46 Relationship Between Phenomenological Fear of Death and Psychopathology (as Measured by Welsh's Factor A) . . . . . . . . . . . 48 iii I . sues ‘r— I”, ”I... “‘rw-\' “L1 '_‘-‘~ “~55 “ :Cl') "r- F:- 5“. h:S ~ .1 .' “En X A. 1m ‘3' w . Inst () CRSe C1 The: IT Chapter Page IV. CLINICAL RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 How Fear of Death is Troublesome in Everyday Life . . 53 Fear of Death and Aggression . . . . . . . . . 56 Fear of Death and Family Conflict. . . . . . 65 Fear of Death and Early Experience With Death. . . . 69 Fear of Death and Religious Conflict. . . . . . . 72 Fear of Death and Psychopathology. . . . . . . . 74 V. DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Concluding Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 VI. SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 APPENDICES Appendix A. Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 B. Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 C. Case Summaries of Subjects in the Clinical Study . . . 111 D. Thematic Apperception Test Protocols of Subjects in the Clinical Study. . . . . . . . . . . . 132 iv Table LIST OF TABLES Correlations Between the Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale (PFDS), Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker Scale (PRCS), Fear Survey Schedule, (FSS), Welsh Factor A (A). . . . . Subjects in the Clinical Study. Percent of Women in Each Group With Aggression Conflicts . Percent of Women in Each Group Actually Discussing Fears of Being Murdered Percent of Women in Each Group With Family Conflicts Percent of Women in Each Group Who Had Early Experience With Death . Percent of Women in Each Group With Religious Conflicts . Page 47 52 57 63 66 7O 73 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Until recently, psychologists have focused little attention on the study of death and dying. Historically, sexuality and death have been considered taboo as topics of discussion. While sexuality, in large part, has been out of the Victorian bedroom for some time, death has only recently begun to gain acceptability as a topic for research and discussion. Though most people have thoughts, fantasies, and fears of death, the fear of death is not usually an issue uppermost in their thinking. When it becomes habitually salient, this is considered neurotic behavior. Unfortunately, little is known about people who are parti- cularly bothered by fears of deaths and thus the present research seeks to learn more about these individuals. To better understand what is meant by fears of death, Choron (1964), a phiIOSOpher, classified the various fears one may have about death into three groups. One may be afraid of: (1) what happens after death, (2) the process or event of dying, or (3) "ceasing to be" or extinction. Choron notes that one does not necessarily have only one of these fears; we may have any combination of these fears. Generally, however, the a \ . 3: non-Dem, err cal p: .'.‘-_1‘_"‘\~ v . :6..;u1v5) 'u 5.3%ng 1'1. ‘P‘y-H . new b" l ,“Oqa..- ‘ s sue-r1. 6318 £55.23} “1d t 3’.“ . W311 Stuc ‘--J;..- “enldual Sew an- . augztlgat \zk tne f: \ death. ps- 1 1'. kn .‘. h "(a A“ however, when one speaks of the basic fear of death, it is of the fear of non-being or "ceasing-to-be" (Kastenbaum and Aisenberg, 1972). The present research consists of two parts. First, using an empirical procedure, the relationship between fear of death and psycho- pathology will be compared to the relationship of fear of public speaking and psychOpathology, in order to determine whether those troubled by fears of death are in general, more disturbed than a comparable group troubled by a different fear. The second part of this research is a clinical study comparing those troubled by fears of death to others less troubled by fears of death and to those troubled by fears of public speaking. This investi- gation studies the "whole person," both the life history of the individual as well as present day functioning. Several areas of research and theory are relevant to this investigation and are reviewed separately. They are: theoretical con- ceptions of the fear of death, the development of a child's concept of death, demographic variables and the fear of death, religion and the fear of death, defensive style and the fear of death, psychopathology and the fear of death, early childhood experiences and the fear of death, psychodynamic studies of the fear of death, and sexuality and the fear of death. Theoretical Conceptions Conceptions regarding the etiology of the fear of death have come from two major sources, the psychoanalysts and the existentialists (Stolorow, 1924). Two basic positions have evolved and are' §rai€licall 11:15:51." 3:1 The 15 a cmflORS 3; 3 reflect 1339; the f 2::e nor is reiequate d :atemal ex; are not expc .15 children azcept it as 1:: does it Freu {Lat while in resuscious resorting, f "Esmal feat 4°15 0f otl paradoxically termed by Becker (1974) the "healthy minded" and "morbidly minded" arguments. The healthy minded theorists, according to Becker (1974) have as a commonality, the belief that a fear of death is somehow abnormal or a reflection of underlying psychopathology. According to Brown (1959) the fear of death is neither a natural thing for man to experi- ence nor is it innate. Rather, a fear of death emerges only after an inadequate deve10pmental history. Those children who have had good maternal experiences naturally develop a sense of basic security and are not exposed to such fears as being annihilated, separation, etc. As children develop cognitive processes to understand death, they accept it as a part of the life cycle and are not threatened by it, nor does it interfere with self-confidence. Freud (1959a), in a well known statement, expressed the position that while we know that at some point we will die, there is the unconscious belief in all of us that we are immortal. Following this reasoning, Fenichel (1945) questioned the existence of any so-called "normal fear of death" and asserted that fears of death are representa- tions of other unconscious ideas, in particular "(a) the idea of death may be a fear of punishment for death wishes against other persons and (b) a death wish may represent a fear of one's own (orgasmic) excitement" or fear of loss of one's ego. Fenichel and others (Bromberg and Schilder, 1933; Natterson and Knudson, 1960) believed that childhood experiences can turn a fear of castration or loss of love (separation anxiety) into a fear of death. An elaboration of this concept relates the fear of death to superego dynamics. Freud (1960) argued that in the ego, living is equated with 13,, 118131“ 115,01 persec failure to n- ln 1 to 1 acre pr than attribu- Freed assert Lithsugh the :31 save its award. I} 75-3 Call dEfl Bro: oer, th :12 death 1 LEG? 1““ guts, 0 a“ PETSOna equated with being loved by the superego and thus the fear of death (e.g., melancholia) may be a representation of the fear of abandonment and/or persecution by the superego. Death anxiety then is a feared failure to meet the demands of the ego-ideal. In later writings, Freud (1959b) elevated the issue of death to a more prominent position by postulating a death instinct. Rather than attributing human evil merely to a conflict between the ego and id, Freud asserted that there are both innate urges towards death and life. Although the death instinct drives the organism to die, the organism can save itself (at least temporarily) by redirecting this impulsion outward. The desire to die is replaced by a desire to kill and thus man can defeat his death instinct by killing others. Brown (1959), a fervent advocate of this position, believes however, that only under "culturally imposed general repression" does the death instinct Operate malignantly. The repression of death thoughts, or the individual's "flight from death" is seen as underlying all personality deve10pment. However, this flight from death contri- butes to man's destructiveness and unhappiness. Brown advocates that man should transcend this repression and experience life fully in the here and now. This new "unrepressed-man" would-be so strong as to completely "overcome guilt and anxiety." Another view, the morbidly minded position (Becker, 1974), asserts that although early "experiences may heighten natural anxieties and later fears, . . . nevertheless the fear of death is natural and is present in everyone, that it is the basic fear that influences all others, a fear from which no one is immune, no matter how disguised it may be." From this perspective, since anxiety about death is thl separation : to heighten file as crucial ‘ recascious :stinct to If the dang Klein, the: the fear of 211 135531 beta :3— . .4! 15 Hal death is the most basic anxiety, fears of punishment, castration and separation are not the underlying cause of a fear of death, but serve to heighten it. Klein (1957), like Freud, viewed the life and death instincts as crucial to the development of personality. She stated that an unconscious fear of annihilation Operates in response to a basic instinct towards death. The basic or "primordial" anxiety arises out of the danger to the ego of being destroyed by the death instinct. Klein, therefore, took the position that anxiety has its beginnings in the fear of death. Zilboorg (1943) proposed that most people think death fear is absent because it rarely is directly manifested. Nevertheless, death fear is "always present in our mental functioning." He viewed this fear as an expression of the instinct of self-preservation, functioning as a drive to maintain life and master the dangers threatening life. Paradoxically, while the fear of death is present underneath one's drive towards self-preservation, it cannot be constantly conscious or one could not function adequately. It must be "properly repressed to keep us living with any modicum of comfort." Others (Chadwick, 1929; Wahl, 1959) also viewed the fear of death as a basic fear and contrary to Fenichel's (1945) position, viewed castration and separation fears as derivatives of this basic fear. Wahl (1959) further asserted that the fear of death is actually composed of two levels: "(a) a realistic concern that we shall some- day cease to be, and (b) a variety of other fears which parade under the panoply of the death fear." Among these are the fear of Talion punishment (to think a thing, is to do a thing; to do a thing, is to gmmfl ‘31215'41‘8, re Kier {‘15: of dea: szthesis of sizes whit? ansisilai ziexistenc iath. Uni: fie,ehich 1 in ways of sienses to E1” 01' "pi"; Ailing Hit filed-ed wit istfronts h 5311C“, in 331311 With Mos *3 RCCEpt with. Yet 2H ation Hi e». s Via: ion j it nCflbe' . ll).I 'bev MlpreSe: ‘5 Exis. fiers ‘Iative insure an equal and similar punishment to the self), abandonment, pleasure, revenge, power, etc. Kierkegaard (1957), an existential philOSOpher, viewed the fear of death as arising from an existential paradox. He saw man as a synthesis of both animal and god—like beings. Men, like animals, have bodies which begin to degenerate and eventually die. Man, however, is also similar to God since man can contemplate the meanings of creation and existence; yet unlike God, man's body is finite and subject to death. Unlike the animal, however, man has the knowledge that he will die, which results in a fear of death. Essentially, Kierkegaard saw two ways of resolving this dilemma. One involves the building up of defenses to ward off the dread of death, resulting in an "inauthentic man" or "philistine." For Kierkegaard, the more authentic manner of dealing with the dread of death is to allow one's self to become flooded with this basic death anxiety. Through this process, one confronts his impotence and faces death. A dissolution of the ego follows, which culminates in a transcendence of fears of death and a union with God. Most of the existential philosophers are not of the opinion that accepting God is the most viable means of conquering fears of death. Yet virtually all believe that man is in a constant "dialetical relation with nonbeing" (May, 1958). Since every possibility or new situation involves a threat to one's security, and therefore a threat of nonbeing or death, death anxiety, according to Stolorow (1974), is "omnipresent" as it is a major part of the ontological structure of man's existence. Death anxiety rather than being a secondary derivative is instead the ontological core of every fear. This abut the de :egtions do In fact, the Easic terrm emit. tion E«1:: ’he fear of in: - “ "[ .Utgm‘ng c - :1 Detelg: tiiiejt f \xo Al' This discussion has focused on two Opposing theoretical positions about the deve10pment of a fear of death. These philosophical con- ceptions do not easily lend themselves to experimental verification. In fact, the existential position, that all anxiety is related to a basic terror of non-being, may not be amenable at all to empirical examination as it is a metapsychological assumption. Empirical research has, however, focused on the development of the fear of death in children. This will be elaborated on in the following section. The Develgpment of a Child's Concept of Death Although Piaget has never related his conceptions of cognitive development to the deve10pment of a death concept, his theory lends itself to such an endeavor. According to the Piagetian (1966) schema, children between infancy and three years of age would be incapable of any ideas or perceptions of death, since they are just beginning to use symbolic functioning and language or have not yet reached this stage. Psychoanalytically-oriented researchers (Kastenbaum, 1967; Maurer, 1966) however, have prOposed that though very young children may not be able to conceptualize death, they can, nevertheless, have some rudimentary perceptions of it. Kastenbaum (1967) and Maurer (1966) take the position that very early exposure to death and dying has impact upon the individual's further development. Maurer contends that even during infancy, the child is beginning to have an awareness of death. She suggests that such periodic alternations as the sleep-waking cycle endow the individual with a basic sense of the dichotomy of being and non-being. kgrirentatic :hildtood (8.; identity as we h‘hile very young ch: indies using 310; Schilde' Ihear, 1974‘, An ea '. O 3.5811 a: (lens, 2general, I; '3), Age six or actions of de I331) aCCUIatE anions com with as a n. LC age hill, 1 IT,“ - q.,5d01ng . 1.. Aide}! ‘ . thel Experimentation with the disappearance and return games of early childhood (e.g., peek-a-boo) are crucial to the deve10pment of a self- identity as well as to a concept Of non-being or death. While the research on the development of a concept of death in very young children is limited, nevertheless there have been several studies using children from ages three and Older (Nagy, 1948; Anthony, 1940; Schilder and Wechsler, 1934; Rochlin, 1967; Mitchell, 1969; Malear, 1974). An early study (Schilder and Wechsler, 1934), using play Observations, stories and direct questioning of children found that, in general, most children can partially understand the meaning of death by age six or seven, although Older children have more realistic notions of death than therounger ones. The six or seven year Old had many accurate perceptions of death but harbored many erroneous per- ceptions concurrently. Moreover, these children see no need to resolve these contradictions. Further, many of these children do not see death as a natural end of life, something that comes with disease and Old age but rather they see it as a punishment meted out for some wrongdoing. Most of the children did not want to die nor did they believe their own deaths were probable. Schilder and Wechsler con- cluded from this that children do not have a fear of death so much as they have fears of being murdered. A serious shortcoming of the study, however, is that the authors did not consistently differentiate children by age and thus it is not clear what factors are crucial at each age. Nagy (1948) using a sample Of 378 Hungarian children ranging in age from three to ten years, attempted to elicit the thoughts and feelings ”‘65 iet‘elCPEental five years Of if. addition t Life and thus The 6 gears of age) :sually seen :hiidren Spyl see, and Who to congrehem the child. a the prior they also be that it, by tee child. feelings these children had about death. Nagy isolated three major developmental stages which occur in sequence. In stage one (three to five years Of age), the child has no sense of the finality of death. In addition the preschooler looks upon death as being continuous with life and thus attributes life and consciousness to the dead. The distinguishing characteristic Of stage two (five to nine years Of age) is the child's personification of death. Death is usually seen as either a separate person or as a corpse. Nagy's children spoke of a death—man who lurks in the night, is difficult to see, and who carries people away. At this stage, the child is able to comprehend the finality of death, a major shift in the thinking of the child. However, an element of denial is present in this stage as in the prior one. Although younger children believed in a death-man they also believed they could avoid this creature by running faster than it, by locking doors, or by trickery. Thus death is still outside the child. In stage three (nine or ten and Older) children not only have a sense of the finality Of death, but also of the fact that death is inevitable and will happen to them as well as to Others. This is the adult concept Of death. An examination of the stages reported by Nagy (1948) indicate that they correspond quite closely to Piaget's levels of cognitive deve10pment. Stage one occurs during the preoperational stage- egocentric period. The child imagines the world as he sees it. In Nagy's second stage corresponding to Piaget's concrete Operational period, the child believes that the world is made by and for man (artificialism). It is in the third stage or Piaget's formal :perational I :l'irding and Roch] ages three tc first stage. he's vital 1 hate childrei perhaps frig': that death 1; Pfiihlin also :mceive of ‘ stage of dev ”05911 tied if death as . Roch and five do . is the Test“ for 50:36 Chi CDACEpt 0f S 10 Operational period that the child is governed by reality and causal thinking and sees death as cessation of corporeal activities. Rochlin (1967) using fantasy play sessions with children from ages three to five confirmed Nagy's observations with resPect to her first stage. Rochlin found that dying was recognized as an arrest of one's vital functions but attempts to deny death were also evident. Some children believed that peOple returned from the dead while others, perhaps frightened by the idea of loss of bodily function, asserted that death liberates rather than restricts one's ability to function. Rochlin also found (as did Nagy) that children of this age period may conceive of death as a departure or as people going away. At this stage of deve10pment, the fear of separation or abandonment seems very closely tied to the child's concept of death, and possibly to his fears of death as well. Rochlin's other major finding was that children between three and five do not see death as resulting from natural causes, but rather as the result of strife, retaliation, or defiance Of authority. Thus, for some children, the concept of death is strongly related to the concept of separation while for others it is more closely tied to their fears of punishment. Although Rochlin did not report sex differences, it would be intriguing, from a psychodynamic perspective if girls tend to see death as separation (or loss of love object) while boys see it as a result of aggression (castration). Further research (Mitchell, 1969; Malear, 1974; Wulf, 1973) has shown a relationship between the deve10pment of a death concept and general cognitive development. wulf using children ranging in age from fOur to eleven, tested the association between level of cognitive det'eLOpeer seasure oi tent and c 111 that 1 the ages 1 experimen‘ T. the mean: itith be: death Con Cognitive 11 development and level of death conceptualizations. Using an Objective measure of death concept formation, Wulf found that cognitive develop- ment and death conceptualization are significantly positively related and that the greatest change in death conceptualization occurs between the ages of six and eight years of age when the child first begins to experiment with logic in his cognitive processing. Thus research has demonstrated that the child's conception of the meaning of death differs at difference ages, that his concept of death becomes more realistic as he matures and that these stages of death conceptualization generally correspond to the child's overall cognitive functioning. Young children, although lacking the cognitive ability to realistically conceptualize death, are nevertheless familiar with aspects of death. Early games of peek-a-boo may serve _/ to help the young differentiate being from non—being (Maurer, l966).’//07 As the child develOpS, conceptions of death frequently include notions of abandonment and punishment. Research also indicates that anxiety is a component of children's feelings about death. In a study of children's affective responses to death, Alexander and Adlerstein (1958) studied 108 boys between five and sixteen years of age. The boys were given a word association test in individual sessions. Response latencies, as well as changes in galvanic skin response were the dependent variables. The stimuli consisted of three sets of words, one composed Of neutral or base line words, another containing words to arouse emotions in a child (mama, papa, love, kiss, etc.) with the third set consisting of death related words (burial, kill, dead, etc.). NO mention was made of whether the words were equated for frequency of usage. The iris gener ectartce, i “the authors 5:18 fears of usage, t :‘ieat'r. rela‘. {Al's-m, .' , "L- rat‘hu Fear Of he; xx" 5m. attezpted, tear of (16 21151335 0 "FR to h it. ”5531»), an AiChCIS’ a 361: Sher their fear II II“ . 0: Se‘v'era kid" ufl deat 12 The results indicated that for all the boys, death related words generated a greater response latency and decreased skin con- ductance, implying heightened emotional arousal to death words. The authors suggest that their findings indicate that children have some fears of death; but if the words were not equated for frequency of usage, the results could be due to the lack of familiarity with the death related words. Demographic Variables and the Fear of Death Much of the early research in the area of the fear of death attempted, albiet unsuccessfully, to find relationship between the fear of death and a variety of demographic variables. Research findings on sex differences were mixed such that some studies found women to have a higher fear of death and dying then men (Lester, 1967a; Diggory and Rothman, 1961), while others (Christ, 1961; Jeffers, Nichols, and Eisdorfer, 1961; Middleton, 1936; Rhudick and Dibner, 1961; Swenson, 1961) found no differences between men and women in their fears of death. The research on occupational status and the fear of death is also equivocal. Stacy and Markin (1952) compared the fears Of death Of several groups of students and prisoners and found prisoners more concerned about death than students. Law students were more concerned with death than other student groups. Yet, as Lester (1967a) indicates, the comparison of these different groups offers little. Research comparing different occupations, (e.g., high and low risk occupations) might be more illuminating. However, later research compared groups of policement, mailmen, and students (Ford, Alexander, and Lester, Strut (1 Q 31‘. 5:31 Season GTE LITE Cibfiér 1 Mple 1 in good 13 1971) and skydivers with students (Lester and Alexander, 1972) and found no differences in their fears of death. Other research (Jeffers et al., 1961; Rhudick and Dibner, 1961; Swenson, 1961) found no differences between elderly people who were retired and those elderly individuals who were working. Another demographic variable investigated was residence. Shrut (1958) found that those elderly individuals living on their own showed less fear of death then those living in nursing or old age homes. Swenson (1961), on the other hand, found that those in homes for the aged had a more forward, positive attitude towards death then those living on their own. Studies Of martial status have yielded conflicting results. Swenson (1961) found that elderly, widowed people tend to fear death more than single, separated, and married individuals. Yet Rhudick and Dibner (1961) found no differences between these groups. On the issue of health, Swenson (1961) found that those elderly pe0ple who were ill looked forward to death more positively than those in good health. The reverse was found by Christ (1961). Another demographic variable, education, produced conflicting results. Jeffers et al. (1961), Maurer (1964), and Swenson (1961) found that those who are less educated or have lower academic success have more fear Of death than people who are more educated. No relationship between these variables was found by Others (Christ, 1961; Rhudick and Dibner, 1961). The issue of whether there is a relationship between agg_and the fear of death has also been examined. Research on children (Nagy, 1948; Wulf, 1973; Malear, 1974) has indicated that children's a .0; “.5 :Gnyer ulOA universal, Grist, 19 2961) found 55:;ies. 1 death indi‘. ige was re] 311115331 SEEDS to h; 14 conceptions of death become more realistic with increasing cognitive deve10pment. Young children (Schilder and Wechsler, 1934; Rochlin, 1967) frequently associate death with punishment or abandonment, although older children (Nagy, 1948) can understand that death is a universal, irreversible phenomenon. Research with an elderly population (Christ, 1961; Jeffers et al., 1961; Rhudick and Dibner, 1961; Swenson, 1961) found no differences between fear of death and different aged samples. The crucial variable differentiating high and low fear of death individuals does not seem to be age. In the research on children, age was related to conception and fears of death, however, once the individual deve10ps the cognitive capacity to understand death, age seems to have little relevance to fear of death. The entire body of research relating fear of death and demographic variables is inconclusive and equivocal. None of the variables examined bears any consistent relationship to the fear of death. Some Of these discrepant findings may result from the different fear of death measured used. Some investigators (Rhudick and Dibner, 1961) used TAT type fantasy measures to tap fears of death, others (Christ, 1961; Swenson, 1961; Jeffers et al., 1961) used paper and pencil measures. Beyond the type of measure employed in the research relating fear of death and demographic variables, differences exist on a conceptual level in what the researchers are studying. Although some instruments purport to measure death attitudes and others attempt to measure death fears, there is little conceptual clarity in the different measures and, on an a priori basis, little face validity for these instruments. Further, no attention was paid to issues of reliability or validity by the researchers. Lelizicn an __.____ 56‘» religion an gersons ad: L-‘e contende miety by Res religious ; 2551) form 15 Religion and the Fear of Death Several studies have investigated the relationship between religion and the fear of death. Feifel (1956) suggested that older persons adopt a religious outlook in order to help understand death. He contended that religious people attempt to master their death anxiety by thinking about death as a precursor to a new life. Research comparing religious affiliation, religiosity, and religious activity with the fear of death have been equivocal. Swenson (1961) found that elderly people who had more fundamentalist religious convictions (Cottrell Religiosity Scale) look forward to death more than those with less fundamentalist views. Jeffers et a1. (1961) demonstrated that in an elderly sample, those who read the Bible less have higher fears of death. Christ (1961) found no effect from religiosity (as measured by physicians' judgments of patients' religiosity). Martin and Wrightsman's (1965) study also indicated no association between the fear of death and religious attitudes, but those who participated more in religious activities had less fears of death. Another study (Alexander and Adlerstein, 1960) compared two matched groups of students, one areligious and the other very religious. Subjects were given a word association test with galvanic skin reSponse measurements, the Cattell Manifest Anxiety Scale, a second word association test to measure connotative meanings of death related words, a questionnaire on the fear of death, and an interview. Differences between the groups were found only on the manifest anxiety scale with those in the religious group having more anxiety than those it the arei related to .;' ‘ _‘ .- 211; be: It 8: :‘eecnstrate 16 in the areligious group. However, religiosity was not found to be related to the fear of death. Studying Catholics and Protestants, Templer and Dotson (1973) investigated how religious affiliation, belief and activity are related to fears of death (Templer Death Anxiety Scale). No relation- ship between any of the religious variables and death anxiety were demonstrated. Additional research (Berman and Hays, 1973) found a small but negative relationship between belief in an afterlife and the fear of death (Templer Death Anxiety Scale, 1970). A study by Osarchuk and Tatz (1973) further investigated the relationship between belief in an afterlife and the fear of death. Subjects in two conditions of belief in an afterlife were exposed to either a death fear arousal condition, a shock fear arousal condition, or a control condition. Subjects high in belief in an afterlife who were exposed to the death fear arousal condition scored higher on an alternate post-test Of belief in an afterlife while other subjects' post-scores remained unchanged, suggesting that a strong belief in an afterlife is associated with fears of death. Feifel and Branscomb (1973) examined the relationship between several variables to the fear of death. Five measures were used to derive three levels of the fear of death--conscious fear of death, fear of death on a fantasy level, and fears of death that are present below the level of awareness. Using seriously ill, hospitalized patients and a control group of healthy subjects, Feifel and Branscomb Obtained measures of ten variables: age, education, intelligence, socioeconomic status, religious self-ratings, recent experience with the deat. sex, marit Tl :mscious £53: Herc are reli,l religious Self-rat: an the ct death, 1: 11111535 5 farther C 17 the death of a person close to the subject, personal nearness to death, sex, marital status, and number of children. The results indicated that for the fear of death on both a conscious and fantasy level, the only variables related to the fear of death were age and religious self—ratings, with those Older and those more religious reporting less fear of death than their younger and less religious counterparts. On an unconscious level, however, religious self-ratings were not significantly related to the fear of death. Age, on the other hand, was positively related to the unconscious fear of death. Finally, personal nearness to one's own death, caused by illness severity was positively related to unconscious fears of death. Feifel and Branscomb's (1973) findings suggest several con- clusions. Firstly, religion plays some part in helping one to allay fears of death on a day to day basis. However, on an unconscious level, religion may not reduce one's fears of death. The relationships between age and the fear of death suggest that though defenses, operating on conscious and preconscious levels aid the individual in denying or repressing the fear of death, on a more unconscious level, the fear of death increases as one ages and the possibility of death increases. The research relating various aspects of religion to the fear of death is equivocal. Besides differences in the conceptualizations of the fear of death and the psychometrically weak instruments to tap these fears, problems in defining religiosity and religious behavior further compound the methodological and conceptual weaknesses in this area of research. Future research with more well formulated conceptions of religic trtlusivc ‘efensire Se nob-eh“. . do.:~'a,~ L‘ A Skill TesP. iiSIS Her. teasure 3 results i: 18 of religiosity, religious behavior and fear of death may provide more conclusive evidence of any relationship among these variables. Defensive Style and the Fear of Death Several studies have looked at various means by which peOple attempt to defend against their fears of death. In one study (Alexander, Colley, and Adlerstein, 1957), 31 male undergraduates provided word associations while their response times and galvanic skin responses were recorded. Three different sets of word association lists were compiled: basal words, words related to sex and school that measure affective responsiveness, and death related words. The results indicated that death and sex words elicited responses of greater magnitude (as measured by GSR and response latency) then did equivalent words drawn from the general language (as compiled by Thornike and Lorge, 1944). There were no differences in emotional response to death and sex words. Golding, Atwood, and Goodman (1966) extended the Alexander et al. research by investigating whether individuals with a high fear of death have a stronger emotional reaction to death related words than other peOple. Golding et al. (1966) reasoned that people with high fears of death should exhibit "connotative rigidity" when con- fronted by death stimuli, that is resistance to making cognitive associations to death related stimuli. In addition, they hypothesized that high death fearers should exhibit perceptual defense tO death related stimuli, such that those who have high fear of death should resist or control the recognition of death stimuli. Undergraduates were shown death related and non-death related stimuli via tathistoseo‘ e‘aluate th as measure Alt relationsh. perceptual fiithough G sensitizat Suggests t 19 tachistoscoPic presentation. A semantic differential form was used to evaluate the connotative meanings of death words and the fear of death was measured by the Sarnoff and Corwin (1959) Fear of Death Scale. Although recognition of death related words took longer, no relationship was established between either connotative rigidity or perceptual defensiveness and the measure of the fear of death. Although Golding et al. (1966) did not consider the repression- sensitization dimension in their conceptualizations, the evidence suggests that those highly fearful of death may be sensitizers (Byrne, 1961) i.e., they may employ defensive behaviors which involve an attempt to approach the source of their anxieties. Others (Paris and Goodstein, 1966; Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967) have examined the concept of defensiveness more closely and have investigated its relationship to the fear of death. Rather than defining defense as a way of resisting the anxiety laden material from coming into consciousness, these researchers have investigated defensiveness by conceptualizing the defensive style of a person on a continuum of repression-sensitization (Byrne, 1961). Repressors, according to this schema, exhibit behavior designed to avoid anxiety- arousing stimuli; their primary defenses involve repression, denial and rationalization. On the other end of the continuum are sensitizers, individuals who exhibit behavior which involves an attempt to approach or control threatening stimuli; their typical defense mechanisms involve intellectualization, obsessions, and ruminative worry. A study by Paris and Goodstein (1966) investigated the relationship between death and sex related anxiety to the repression-sensitization dimension. They hypothesized that sensitizers would express more satiety to repressors two groups Scale (5)1“? literary m 20 anxiety to literary material dealing with death and sex than would repressors. Subjects included males and females differentiated into two groups based upon their scores on the Repression-Sensitization Scale (Byrne, 1961). A third of the subjects were exposed to erotic literary material, another third read a similar set dealing with death, and the control group read neutral material. Although most people subjectively reported feeling sexier after reading the erotic material, there was no tendency for sensitizers to report more anxiety than repressors to either the erotic or death related stimuli. A study by Tolor and Retznikoff (1967) investigated the relationship between the fear of death, repression-sensitization, and internal-external control (Rotter, 1966). A sample of male college students were given the Internal-External Scale, the Repression- Sensitization Scale and the Livingston-Zimet Death Anxiety Scale (revised by Tolor and Retznikoff). It was found that: (a) sensitizers v// V// have significantly greater death anxiety than repressors, and (b) V/ externals have significantly greater death anxiety than internals. However, it is important to remember that sensitizers probably will score higher on any type of manifest anxiety test. It is difficult to reconcile the different findings of both Tolor and Retznikoff (1967) and Paris and Goodstein (1966) about the relationship between the fear of death and the repression-sensitization dimension of personality. It may be significant that they used quite different methods of identifying death anxiety. The Paris and .Goodstein (1966) research measured concern about death by using death related passages from literary works as arousal situations to which subjects then recorded how anxious they felt. The Tolor and Retznikoff 196') Stu fears of d relied on trmgh fi their 01.11 K: death, ide :EIIC‘CEd f] 21 (1967) study, on the other hand, used a direct measure of conscious fears of death, for which they reported reliability of r=.85. Certainly one possibility may be that the Paris and Goodstein (1966) measure is a poor method of tapping the fear of death. Perhaps the passages they selected were poor choices. Further, this method relied on subjects identifying with the literary character, and so through first fearing the death of another, deveIOping fears about their own deaths. While this process may well occur in people who have a fear of death, identification with a character in a book may be fairly far removed from being directly afraid of one's own death or dying. In fact, some researchers (Kastenbaum and Aisenberg, 1972; Collett and Lester, 1969) have argued for differentiating between fearing the death of self and fearing the death of others. Although this issue has yet to be experimentally investigated, it is their (Kastenbaum and Aisenberg, 1972; Collett and Lester, 1969) contention that the fear of death of self is the more central fear. 0n the other hand, these two measures (Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967; Paris and Goodstein, 1966) may differ along still another dimension: namely a conscious or unconscious fear of death. Probably, the objective scale used by Tolor and Retznikoff (1967) measures conscious fears, while the.method used by Paris and Goodstein may be more like a projective-fantasy measure, and, as such, tap an entirely different dimension. We have already seen that other research (Feifel and Branscomb, 1973) found differences in peOple's conscious, fantasy and unconscious fears of death. Further, additional research by Fisher (1973) found differences between women who have sexual ‘yst'unctii hut Fishe' aconscio then eyal type of r findings different 8 the relat dizension senSitiZe addIIIOn’ 31“.: mlCOns 11:5ng the they fen: that thos nseatit-e level of 22 dysfunctions and those who do not on their unconscious fears of death, but Fisher found no differences between the two groups of women when a conscious, objective measure was used. It is therefore necessary when evaluating the prior research on the fear of death to consider the type of research: Objective, fantasy or unconscious, as the different findings may possibly result from the different measures tapping different dimensions. Some further research (Handal and Rychlak, 1971) investigating the relationship between death anxiety and the repression-sensitization dimension found that subjects who are high in death anxiety tend to be sensitizers while those low in death anxiety are repressors. In addition, they investigated the relationship between death anxiety and an unconscious measure of death concern, namely, recalled dream content. Using the same death anxiety measure as Tolor and Retznikoff (1967), they found a curvilinear relationship between the two variables such that those very high and very low in death anxiety reported more negative and death-related dream thema than those with a moderate level of death anxiety. The results of this study (Handal and Rychlak, 1973) challenge the model of research that has been employed in the study of the fear of death, namely, the comparison of responses of those with high fear of death to those with low death fears. The assumption has been that high fear of death represents the pathological condition while low fear Of death is considered normal. We now can see that neither group may be "normal," but instead have opposing defensive styles--i.e., those who are high in the fear of death may be sensitizers while those low in the important of the par .. the fear ( fear of d, 9f suicid; Sidered, 1 t"'0 Fear ( to rink O' descri in death. I suiCide S two Emu; Problms1 swieCts l SUbjeCts 11.11., th unrelate Phlr’siCal laveI‘Itor ’i-Itg. k‘iklgr SCOI-es , 23 low in the fear of death are repressors. In light of this, it is important for future research to carefully consider the implications of the particular choice of groups utilized. PsychoPathology and the Fear of Death Some researchers have investigated the relationship between the fear of death and psychopathology. Lester (1967b) studied the fear of death in four groups of college students with various degrees of suicidal tendencies, consisting of those who had: discussed, con- sidered, threatened, or attempted suicide. Subjects were administered two Fear of Death scales (Boyar, 1964; Lester, 1966), and were asked to rank order: (1) a list of metaphors as to their appropriateness in describing death, and (2) a list of advantages and disadvantages of death. The results indicated that those who threatened or attempted suicide saw the manipulative advantages of death more than the other two groups. Further, these two groups saw death as a cure for their problems, and in fact, had less fear of death on both scales then those subjects who had only discussed or considered suicide. Another study by Rhudick and Dibner (1961), gave elderly subjects a series of TAT cards that were scored for death thema. While these researchers generally found demographic variables to be unrelated to the fear of death, subjects who reported either high physical or emotional distress, as measured by the Cornell Medical Inventory, showed higher fears of death in the TAT stories. In addition, the MMPI was administered to subjects. Of the 12 scales scores, the following were significantly related to death concern: Hypochondriasis, Hysteria, Depression and Impulsivity. In general, there was death fea neasuring death anc 9011125 0: using th: fantasy ; Patients 3:011:35 Ill i.e., re 591169911 fear of Y“Baiting 5Uffer il 30;» e me; lb‘o C01 24 there was a tendency for the more neurotic individuals to have greater death fears. No relationships were found between any of the scales measuring psychotic behavior and the fear of death. Another study (Templer, 1971) found a positive relationship between the fear of death and a measure of depression in a sample of elderly peOple. An additional study by Feifel and Hermann (1973) compared groups of normals and mentally 111 subjects on their fears of death using three different measures of the fear of death: conscious, fantasy and unconscious. The results indicated that the disturbed patients did not differ from the emotionally healthy group. Both groups manifested an overall similarity in their perceptions of death, i.e., repudiation of death at a conscious level, ambivalence at a fantasy level and dread at an unconscious level. A study by Durlak (1972) investigated the relationship between one's attitudes about his purpose and meaning in life and the fear of death. According to Frankl (1963), to find true purpose and meaning in life, an individual, "must accept and find meaning in his suffering and ultimately in his own death." Durlak reasoned that the more meaning one finds in life, the lower his fears of death. Using two college student and one high school student samples, Durlak (1972) found a highly significant negative relationship between these two variables. Although there are some interesting findings in the research to date, we know very little about the personality characteristics of those who have a high fear of death. Further, in light of previous work by Handal and Rychlak (1971), it is necessary now, when studying the interpersonal and emotional behavior of those with a fear of death, to conpa death, a say give :EY'IV CI: 1.6.. ‘ “.c ne fear of reasoned betieen 0f death 25 to compare groups of subjects with high, moderate and low fears of death, and to recognize that different types of measured death fears may give quite different findings. Early Childhood Experiences and and the Fear of Death Another area that has been examined for its relevance to the _r—* ,e fear of death is parental attitudes toward death;:;Lester (1970) reasoned that the process of identification occurs most strongly between the child and parent of the same sex. He administered a fear of death scale to female college students and both parents. He found a significant relationship between daughters and mothers and a relationship between daughters and fathers approaching significance on their fears of death. Another study by Templer, Ruff, and Franks (1971), using a different fear of death measure, investigated the relationships between the fears of death in parents and their children. Using a pOpulation of male and female high school students and their parents, they found significant relationships between the fears of death of: (l) the student and his or her same sex parent, (2) the student and his or her cross sex parent, and (3) mothers and fathers. A follow-up stdd;:(Lgsper:;nd:T;mpTg:%i1972i>reinvestigated the relationship between the fears of death of parents and children. Male and female high school students were differentiated into three age groups and they and their parents were administered the Templer Death Anxiety Scale. The results confirmed the previous research of Ruff and Fr'ahks)(l972) and also found that the relationship between the fear of death of daughters and either of their parents "i D I. i \ . \\\/W”Q;IICT\' 7? V395 I "x" . _ , , ~41 v' v1, detrease relation 1371; l.e \ 26 \,r decreased as the daughter aged but for sons and their parents, the o'1tg)/ relationship increased as a function of age;>‘Templer (Templer et al.;5 1971; Lester and Templer, 1972) concluded that death anxiety, rather than being a fixed entity, is more a state that is sensitive to environmental influences and particularly to the impact of intimate interpersonal relationships. Of particular importance is the question of how the fear of death becomes transmitted to the child. Have those who have a high fear of death had more experiences with the deaths of others--parents, relatives, friends, etc.? Are there differences in the ways in which families Of those with high death fears handle the issue of death and dying as opposed to those with low or moderate death fears? A study by Durlak (1973) undertook, in part, to examine what effect the death of a close friend or relative has on the fear of death. Using a sample of college students, he administered the Lester Fear of Death Scale and related it to the following five indices of death concern: (1) subjects were asked to indicate whether they were ever in a situation where they thought their own death was imminent; (2) they were to indicate whether they had ever experienced the loss, through death, of a close friend or family member; (3) they were asked to state whether they had thought about their own death within the last two days; (4) they were asked to estimate their chances in 1,000 of the probability of their dying within the next year; (5) finally, they were to indicate the frequency with which they thought about their own death and express this as a number divided by 1,000. The results indicated no relationship between any of the measures and the fear of death. Al the death rust be re sothistica Psythoc'ma 5:— :ear or De A1 death is b Separation is really caStration A Ship betwe before-aft males “he he arOUSa 0f clothed differ in the high 1 Star of d6 the high 5 A who “Ere t to NEaSUrf drunk I} belief or °r [b] inc 27 Although the results indicate that previous experience with the death of others bears no relationship to the fear of death, it must be remembered that Durlak's (1973) measures were quite un- sophisticated. Further research is necessary to explore this area. Psychodynamic Studies of the Fear of Death Another means of exploring the development of the fear of death is by examining the deve10pment of the fears of castration and separation. Some have suggested (Freud, 1959b) that the fear of death is really an outcome of the Oedipus Complex, whereby the child fears castration by the father. A study by Sarnoff and Corwin (1959) investigated the relation- ship between the fear of castration and the fear of death. Using a before-after design, they aroused two levels of sexual feeling among males who had been differentiated into high and low castration fears. One arousal condition involved showing slides of naked women, the other of clothed women. Though high and low castration subjects did not differ in the degree of death anxiety prior to the arousal stimuli, the high fear of castration subjects showed a significantly greater fear of death than low castration fear subjects after being exposed to the high sexual anxiety arousal condition. A study by Greenberger (1965) explored the fantasies of women who were dying. Using TAT cards, Greenberger devised a scoring system to measure the fantasies of women based upon five different psycho- dynamic theories regarding the etiology of the fear of death: (1) dis- belief or denial of death, (2) death as punishment for [a] aggression, or [b] incestuous wishes, (3) death as separation from the mother, (4} deatl cards user or were 5 ho pitali hospitali Etched g the first experimen‘ $3565 Wen uncertain ainal Stag the Points lent, $ng Th more fanta Wishes tha canCEI‘ 81-0 the COUtro (196:) tha rePTESente PQILra).ing Significan as Separat Al confrontin Sexual fee interprEta‘ 28 (4) death as reunion with the mother, and (5) death as a lover. TAT cards were presented to a group of hospitalized women who either had or were suspected of having cancer as well as a matched group hospitalized for minor ailments. In a second study, a group of women hospitalized for serious ailments (e.g., heart disease) as well as a matched group were given a set of TAT cards different from those used in the first study. In each study, to maximize concern with death, the experimental subjects were tested at points of severe stress; surgical cases were tested one day before the Operation where the outcome was uncertain, medical cases were given the test material during the ter- minal stage of their illness. Controls were given the test material at the points of lower stress; medical cases at the conclusion of treat- ment, surgical cases after the Operation. The results indicated that the cancer group had significantly more fantasies of death as punishment for aggressive or incestuous wishes than the control group. Further, for unmarried women, the cancer group had significantly more fantasies of death as a lover than the control group. This provided support for McClelland's contention (1964) that women tend to personify death as a lover (frequently represented in the arts, as Harlequin, the commedia del'arte character portraying both sexuality and death).' A difference approaching significance was found between the cancer and control groups on death as separation from the mother. Although Greenberger's (1965) findings suggest that women confronting death conceptualized it as punishment for aggressive or sexual feelings, difficulties in her design suggest alternative interpretations. For the cancer group, there was undoubtably a great deal of subject are not min‘m to do w the\' we Sigifi h‘ith th researc being a Childrej of moth. r132‘er ; intrins bUtiOn , One eXp “113101;: 0f the °f thos separat 29 deal of pain accompaning their illnesses. Although we are told that subjects were tested at times of maximum concern with death, what we are not told is that these patients were probably tested at points of maximum pain. Thus their concerns with punishment may have had less to do with concern over death and more to do with the present condition they were in. Greenberger's finding that there is a relationship approaching significance between concern with death and fear of separation coincides with the findings reported by Bowlby (1973). In summarizing the research on separation anxiety, Bowlby concludes that, ". . . because being alone carries an increased risk of danger, especially for young children and others who are weak, the fear response to inaccessibility of mother can usefully be regarded as a basic adaptive response, namely a response that during the course of evolution has become an intrinsic part of man's behavioral repertoire because of its contri- bution to Species survival" (1973, p. 178). Thus the earliest fear one experiences is the fear of being separated from the mother. Without having a mother figure available to provide for all the needs of the child, the child must die. It follows then that death fantasies of those who are dying (Greenberger, 1965) would involve fears of separation as well. (// Ross (1966) examined the relationship between the fear of separation and the fear of death in children. Subjects (fourth graders) found to be high or low in habitual separation fear were exposed to high or low separation arousal conditions. Stories were used to arouse separation fear. Fear of death was measured during the pre-experimental session and again, following arousal. fear of of sepa (Greent sazple only. love) i ihile t (Fenich T81atio in boys Vhether SamPle ~exu31 i 30 The results indicated a positive, but weak relationship between habitual separation fear and the fear of death. In addition, the high aroused separation fear condition and the high habitual separation fear interacted in a significant manner in determining increases in fear of death. Thus we can see that there is some relationship between fear of separation and fear of death as reflected in the literature (Greenberger, 1965; Ross, 1966). The Ross (1966) study utilized a sample of both boys and girls, while Greenberger (1965) used women only. Others have suggested that the fear of separation (or loss of love) is involved in the fear of death in women only (Fenichel, 1945) while the fear of castration is involved in the fear of death in men (Fenichel, 1945). Yet the Ross study (1967) would indicate that the relationship between separation fear and the fear of death is present in boys as well as girls. Further reserach is necessary to determine whether the fear of separation and the fear of death are related in a sample of adult males. Sexualitygand the Fear of Death Another area that has been studied in relation to the fear of death is sexual functioning. Fisher (1973) examined the relationship between sexual dysfunction and death imagery in women and found that those who had fewer orgasms had a greater number of Holtzman inkblot percepts of the following: dead, carcass, burial, extinct, and end of the world. Fisher (1973) deve10ped a scoring system to measure the amount of death concern in each woman's protocol such that a response was considered to have death significance if it fulfilled either of the w activi‘ 42 mar: :gasmi Safiplet found } and org Accordi 3 ion-an arousal believes SClOUSne 93° Smt had the is in t e iitermp lamb.“ upectat death ma; 0}"! 533m a, 31 the two criteria: (1) directly mentioned death, or (2) referred to activities, objects or symbols associated with death. In a sample of 42 married women, the negative relationship between death scores and orgasmic consistency approached significance. Using three other samples of married women (N=4l, 43, 30 respectively), Fisher (1973) found highly significant inverse relationships between death scores and orgasm consistency. This set of findings suggests a number of conclusions. According to several analytic theorists (Benedek, 1968; Fenichel, 1945), a woman may become frightened by the buildup in sexual excitation and arousal to the point where she fears a loss of control. Kieser (1956) believes that orgasm is often accompanied by a brief loss of con- sciousness. This temporary loss of consciousness or dissolution of ego symbolically may represent the death of the individual. Thus Fisher (1973) found that those women with the highest death concerns had the least frequent orgasms. One way to conceptualize this findings is in terms of Shneidman's (Shneidman et al., 1970) notion of "death interruption" (e.g., sleep, orgasm, being under anesthesia, etc.) which involves a temporary loss of consciousness, but unlike death, an expectation of further censcious experiences. Those highly fearful of death may become afraid that they might not regain consciousness after orgasm and thus they inhibit themselves from achieving this state. Benedek (1968) and Fried (1960) suggest that for men as well as women, anxiety is aroused which blocks further excitation when the fear of ego dissolution becomes too manifest. Although Fisher (1973) found an inverse relationship between high death concern and orgasmic consistency, when the same relationship was exax relatiox of cons< the rel: occurs < further. .- K 32 was examined using a measure of the conscious fear of death, no relationship was found. There may be the possibility that the measure of conscious fear of death was a poor one or perhaps, more importantly, the relationship between the fear of death and orgasmic consistency occurs only on an unconscious level. This issue needs to be explored further. Statement of the Problem The literature indicates many contradictions in the relation- ships found between the fear of death and a variety of other variables. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, early studies (Christ, 1961; Swenson, 1961; Jeffers, Nichols, and Eisdorfer, 1961) used measures of attitudes towards death where the focus was not specifi- cally on the fear of death but rather on the attitudes about a variety of issues related to death. Later measures of the fear of death (Boyar, 1959; Lester, 1967; Collett and Lester, 1969; Livingston and Zimet, 1965) though claiming to measure the fear of death, also tapped such issues as the fear of others dying, attitudes about smoking, feelings about donating one's body to medical schools, etc. While these items may bear some relation to the fear of one's death, they are not directly tapping at whether one is troubled by fears of death. Another reason why prior studies have been contradictory may be related to the kind or level of fear of death being examined, i.e., conscious, fantasy or unconscious. There are some indications (Fisher, 1974; Feifel and Branscomb, 1973; Feifel and Hermann, 1974) that there are considerable differences in the extent of the fear of death depending on what level of conscious or unconscious awareness is being assessed. used a situat send but a] anxiet the ex experi CCnsci high a: ind: Vi¢ bEng 1 l J *1 ( Sucl IEnsiol SO 1hr! objett: P058151 of PUB} whethEr 33 Further, studies comparing high and low fears of death have not used any comparison group, i.e., individuals fearful of some other situation or object. This is a serious weakness as any differences fOund between groups cannot solely be attributed to the fear of death, but alternately could be a function of the degree of manifest general anxiety. The present research uses a measure which is designed to assess the extent to which the fear of death is a troublesome and interferring experience in one's day to day living and as such is a measure of conscious fear of death. Those highly fearful of their own deaths will experience, when confronted by some death related stimuli, a state of high arousal in which threat is felt. Phenomenologically, these individuals experience psychological discomfort including feelings of being tense, upset, worried, anxious, nervous, jittery, (Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene, 1970) and often symptoms of striated muscle tension and autonomic arousal. (No actual differences are made in this study, however, between anxiety and fear.) Individuals who are highly fearful of death, therefore, become so threatened by this fear that they may (I) avoid situations or objects that are associated with death, and/or (2) obsess about the possibility of death. Those having moderate fears of death rarely, if ever, find these fears to be troublesome in their day to day lives. However, at times, they do become frightened of death. The present research also employs a comparison fear, the fear of public speaking, in the design. This allows for an assessment of whether any differences found among those highly troubled by death and t rathe 34 and those less fearful of this issue are specific to the fear of death rather than a function of general anxiety. The present research consists of two parts. First, it investi- gates, using correlational procedures, the relationship between fear of death and psychOpathology and compares this to the relationship between fear of public speaking and psychopathology. In addition the concurrent validity of a measure of phenomenological fear of death (designed specifically for this study) is investigated. The second part, the major thrust of the study, is a clinical investigation seeking to learn about individuals who have high fear of death. The following questions will be objectively investigated: 1. Do people who consciously experience fears or anxieties about death as troublesome in their day to day living score higher on an objective measure of death anxiety (Livingston-Zimet Death Anxiety Scale, 1965 revised by Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967) than those with moderate fears of death. This question examines whether the measure of phenomenological fear of death, designed for this study, is related to a measure of death anxiety employed in past research (Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967; Handal and Rychlak, 1971) to determine whether the phenomenological fear of death measure has concurrent validity. The importance of examining the question is that since the phenomenological fear of death is being measured in this study, the extent to which this measure is related to past research has a strong bearing on the interpretations of the present data. fO‘md th pathOIOg FEifel a, 35 2a. Do people who have a high phenomenal fear of death score higher on measures of psychopathology (Fear Survey Schedule, Welsh Factor A) than those with moderate fears of death? 2b. Do peOple who have a high phenomenal fear of death score higher on measures of psychopathology (Fear Survey Schedule, Welsh Factor A) than subjects who are high in fears of public speaking? Previous research (Rhudick and Dibner, 1961; Templer, 1971) has found that fear of death is related to several indices of psycho- pathology: depression, hysteria, impulsivity, and hypochondriasis. Feifel and Hermann (1974) however, found no differences between psychiatric inpatients and normals in their fears of death. The present research investigates the relationship between the fear of (death and psychopathology using two measures of psychopathology: The Fear Survey Schedule, a measure of general fearfulness, and Welsh Factor A, a factor analytically derived measure of psychopathology. Various theorists (Becker, 1973; Zilboorg, 1943) believe that the fear of death is the primary or basic fear. Therefore, those troubled by fears of death are likely to have more psychopathology than either those less troubled by this fear or those highly troubled by a comparison fear, public speaking. The second focus of this research is an intensive clinical study which investigates what factors are specific to persons with a high fear of death that are not found in peOple with other fears. Through intensive case study, this research explores whether there are commonalities in a group of people with a high fear of death that are not found in peOple with moderate fears of death or a comparison group of people high in another fear. and mod‘ east re: high an: fear, b1 diaens ic 1. 36 It is important to note that this study compares subjects high and moderate in their fears of death rather than high and low because past research (Handal and Rychlak, 1971) found that those measuring high and low in their fear of death may be quite similar in their fear, but defend against it in different ways. The clinical case study focuses specifically upon the following dimensions: 1. The ways in which the fear of death operates in the present life experiences of the subjects. This includes an investigation of the frequency and duration of the fears, the situations in which the fears occur, and the kinds of places or situations the individual avoids or feels uncomfortable in as a result of the fear of death. 2. The developmental experiences leading to fear of death. Two areas are investigated: a. childhood memories of death and dying and ways in which death was handled in the family. b. childhood and adolescent life experiences. Previous research (Templer, Ruff, and Frank, 1971; Lester, 1970; Lester and Templer, 1972) found that there is a strong relation- ship between fears of death of parents and their offspring. The present study focuses in on how this relationship is transmitted in the family. 3. The general functioning of the individual including: a. present life adjustment b. interpersonal problems c. intrapsychic problems preposal s pathology inconclus Hermann, psychopat generat ir i'ith more 37 This focus of the clinical study follows from theoretical preposals of a strong relationship between fear of death and psycho- pathology (Freud, 1959; Fenichel, 1945). Empirical studies have been inconclusive (Rhudick and Dibner, 1961; Templer, 1971; Feifel and Hermann, 1974) regarding the relationship between fear of death and psychopathology. Therefore, a clinical study can be helpful in generating hypotheses which may help to investigate these variables with more precision. Subie t 1") I) ( dram fr Credit f S“Meets may be 1- Homen te host the death ar d9Signec‘ Welsh , Ont thOs either I includec anal).5es 1tinge e) CHAPTER II METHOD Subjects Data was obtained from 315 undergraduates who were volunteers drawn from the introductory psychology classes and who received course credit for their participation in this research. Only women served as subjects since there is some empirical evidence that sex differences may be related to the fear of death. In addition, impressionistically, women tend to be less defensive and more willing to share their inner- most thoughts and feelings than men. The women were categorized as to their level of the fear of death and fear of public speaking on the basis of two instruments designed to measure these variables. Subjects scoring above +8 on F-K (Welsh, 1956), a validity scale derived from the MMPI that screens out those who "fake bad," were eliminated, thus reducing the sample of 308. Those scoring below one standard deviation from the mean on either the fear of death or fear of public speaking measures were not included on some of the analyses, further reducing the sample for these analyses to 212. This procedure was followed as there is evidence that those extremely low in fear of death may be similarly disturbed as those with high fears of death (Handal and Rychlak, 1971). 38 n A (IDLE: attitt two he (1; F0! Death Phenom. fee to flat HO 4 HOK1 to] COm; free any 39 Procedure Subjects were asked to volunteer for a study investigating the attitudes of the self and were informed that the study would take about two hours. At the testing session, they were given the following: (1) MMPI, (2) Wolpe-Lang Fear Survey Schedule, (3) Livingston-Zimet Death Anxiety Scale (revised by and Retznikoff, 1967), (4) Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale, (5) Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker Scale, and (6) Release form. Subjects were read the following instructions as a group: This is a study designed to learn some of the attitudes and feelings of college students about themselves. You will be asked to answer many questions, some of which are of a highly personal nature. The answers will be kept in strictest confidence and no one, except myself, will have access to the information. However, if you feel uncomfortable about participating, feel free to leave. Please do not leave out any answers or parts. Although complete instructions are included in this packet, please feel free to raise your hand to ask questions at any time. Are there any questions? Please begin. At the end of the test packet was included a question asking whether they would like to participate in further studies on the attitudes and feelings of college students and told that this would require about 5-6 hours of interviews and testing for which they would be renumerated in the sum of $10.00 upon completion of the final session. Clinical Sample Subjects who agreed to participate in the clinical study were divided into four groups based upon their scores on the Phenomenologi- cal Fear of Death Scale and the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker Scale: High Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking, High Fear of High Fea of Publi of publi the near Partici: highly less tr Partici highly than ‘0 a diffe “‘0 diff death a Particj 40 Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking, Moderate Fear of Death/ High Fear of Public Speaking, and Moderate Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking. Subjects in the high fear of death or high fear of public speaking groups scored at least one standard deviation above the mean on their respective scales. Those assigned to the moderate group (for either variable) scored in the range between one standard deviation below the mean to the mean. Of a possible 109 subjects meeting these criteria, 60 agreed to participate in the study. A chi square analysis revealed that those highly fearful of speaking in public differed significantly from those less troubled by public speaking in whether or not they agreed to participate in the study (x2=1l.46, p<.01, df=l). Fewer of those highly troubled by fears of public speaking were willing to volunteer than would be expected by chance, suggesting that there may have been a difference between volunteers and nonvolunteers on this variable. No differences were found between those highly troubled by fears of death and those less troubled by death in whether they agreed to participate in the study. The women actually comprising the clinical sample were randomly drawn from the group of 60 volunteers. 0f the 13 women originally contacted by phone, 12 agreed to participate, the other, a woman having both fears of death and fears of public speaking, refused. Thus, there were three women in each of the four cells of the design. One subject, a woman both high in fears of death and public speaking, became so defensive as to completely deny her fears. Though she completed the interviews, another subject was recruited to replace her. Intervi: approxil subject: discuss: intervie could d; each in' in as ng my app! Content‘ 1599 AP; aSCF-‘I'ta: academic health a Experie, things a individL expel”ier With fan individL adjust,“E Persmal subjeCts intervie mm inn 41 Interviews Subjects were interviewed six times, each session lasting approximately 45-60 minutes. At the conclusion of each interview, subjects were asked to think about the topics and issues that were just discussed during the previous hour and to write down, before the next interview, any comments, ideas or feelings that they had so that we could discuss them. The overall scope of the interviews was quite broad and although each interview had a particular emphasis, the interviews were conducted in as non-directive way as possible. Although the interview questions may appear to be Specific, they were only used as a guide to cover all content, rather than serving as a formal outline for the interviews (see Appendix A for the complete interview guide). The first interview ascertained the subject's present adjustment in the following areas: academic-scholastic, financial, vocational plans, hobbies and interests, health and religion. The second interview focused on the individual's experiences during childhood and adolescence within the family--such things as the relationship between the individual and sibs, the individual's relationship with her family, history of punishment, experiences of severe rejection and/or separation, present relationship with family, etc. In the third interview, the focus was on the individual's ability to meet and maintain friends, interpersonal adjustment to same-sex friends, and history and development of inter- personal adjustment. In addition, this interview also focused upon subjeCtS' dating and sexual adjustment history. The fourth interview covered subjects' present feelings and thoughts about death and dying as well as a history of their early involvement with the issue interv , (see A :0 COT 42 issue of death and ways it was handled in the family. In the fifth interview, subjects were given a TAT series, consisting of 12 cards (see Appendix D). The sixth and final interview was a general wrap-up, attempting to cover any issues that were only partially dealt with previously or any additional problems or issues not previously discussed. Finally, each subject was asked to discuss her feelings and thoughts about the study and was given the Opportunity to ask questions about the nature of the study. Further, if subjects seemed distressed or overly anxious, and requested help, they were referred to the University Counseling Center for treatment. At the conclusion of this interview, subjects were paid $10.00 and informed that they would be contacted sometime in the near future and given an appointment if they desired, to discuss the general findings Of the research. Instruments Fear Survey Schedule (Wolpe and Lang, 1964). This is a 72 item questionnaire listing different fears a person may experience, classified into the following categories: Animal; Social/Interpersonal; Tissue damage, illness, and death; Noises, Classical phobias; Mis- cellaneous. Subjects indicate the degree to which they are disturbed by each fear, ranging from "not at all" tO "very much" with five degrees provided. Internal consistency reliability reported is r=.946 (Spiegler and Liebert, 1970). TO prevent the possibility Of bias, all 19 items rationally derived by Wolpe and Lang as dealing with death, illness or tissue damage as well as one item specifically mentioning the fear Of public speaking were eliminated from the data analysis. This p hensiv Append Retzni‘ t0 res; agreemt and Re‘ 0f deat PartiCI Appendj and Wei Yieldir auguflen instru: with On Posh-1C Study t in one! 43 This particular instrument was selected as it provides a fairly compre- hensive inventory Of fears, one element of psychopathology (see Appendix B). Livingston and Zimet Death Anxiety Scale (revised by Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967). This is a 20 item instrument which asks subjects to reSpond to death-related statements with one of three levels of agreement or disagreement with no neutral position provided. Tolor and Retznikoff report reliability (test—retest) Of r=.85. This measure of death anxiety was used to help determine the validity of the particular measure of death fears employed in the present study (see Appendix B). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Welsh, Dahlstrom, and Welsh, 1974). This is a 566 item true-false personality test yielding nine basic scales. The MMPI was selected for this study to augument the clinical case material. Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale. This is a 10 item instrument which asks subjects to respond to death related statements with one of three levels of agreement or disagreement with no neutral position provided. This measure was specifically designed for this study to assess the degree to which the fear Of death is troublesome in one's day-tO-day life (see Appendix B). Welsh's Factor A (Welsh, 1956). This is a 39 item true-false test, factor analytically derived from the MMPI, designed to measure psychopathology. Five clusters of items were included by Welsh and are labelled as follows: (1) thinking and thought processes, (2) negative emotional tone and dysphoria, (3) lack of energy and pessimism, (4) pe a spli using study the tc gatio: true-f public Hell, less I for th areas. USefu1 Confli SIOrie 5, 13 Pretoc 44 (4) personal sensitivity, and (S) malignant mentation. Welsh reports a split—half reliability Of r=.88 and test-retest reliability Of r=.70 using a normal sample. This particular measure was selected for the study as it provides a more concise measure of psychopathology than the total MMPI, and is thus more adaptable for the objective investi- gation. Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker. This is a 30 item true—false test which provides a measure Of the fear of speaking in public. It was utilized by Paul (1966) and felt to distinguish, fairly well, those highly troubled by fears of public speaking from others, less troubled by this fear (see Appendix B). Thematic Apperception Test. Twelve TAT cards were selected for the clinical study and were used to tap a variety of conflict areas. The protocols generated from this instrument are particularly useful in augmenting clinical interview data as they tap at issues and conflicts Often beneath the subject's level of awareness. The TAT stories were administered in the following order: 1, 2, 3 BM, 6 GF, 5, 13 MF, 7 GF, 14, 4, 15, 18 GF, 9 GF (see Appendix D for the TAT protocols of the clinical subjects). heals“f theSe ‘ remains finding leo CHAPTER III OBJECTIVE RESULTS Relationshipretween Phenomenological Fear of Death and Death Anxiety To determine the level of the fear of death, subjects were measured on the Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale, an instrument designed for this study to tap the degree to which the fear of death is a troublesome event in people's day to day lives. Prior research has used a variety of other paper and pencil measures Of death anxiety which though measuring attitudes and fears about death, do not exclusively focus on subjects' phenomenal fear of death experiences. Subjects scores on the Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale were compared to their Death Anxiety Scale (Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967) scores to determine the extent tO which subjects selected on the basis of their phenomenological fears of death are similar to those in past studies. A significant correlation (r=.54, p<.01) was obtained for these measures, indicating that there is a moderate relationship between these variables. However, since roughly 70 percent of the variance remains unaccounted for, caution is required when comparing the findings of this study with earlier studies using the Death Anxiety Scale or related measures. 45 In (D r r' - 1‘ Lu (‘0 ’71 (D $U '1 2: fl. ‘1 (In L; l '31; the experi experi IEdSUI 46 Relationship Between Phenomenological Fear of Death and PsychOpathology (as Measured by the Fear Survey Schedule) This research examined the relationship between the phenome— nological fear of death and psychOpathOlogy by (a) exploring the relationship between fear of death and level of fearfulness as measured by the Fear Survey Schedule and (b) determining whether those who experience the fear of death are more fearful than a group of those experiencing high levels Of another fear, speaking in public, as measured by the Personal Report Of Confidence as a Speaker Scale. A significant correlation was found between the fear of death measure and the Fear Survey Schedule (r=.43, p<.0005, see Table l). The relationship between the fear of public speaking measure and the Fear Survey Schedule was also significant (r=.26, p<.0005). Since there was some evidence from previous research that there is a cur- vilinear relationship between fear of death and psychological dis- turbance, subjects whose scores were below one standard deviation from the mean on either the fear of death or fear of public speaking measures, were eliminated. The attenuated correlations (n=212) between the fear of death and Fear Survey Schedule (r=.44, p<.0005) and between the fear of public speaking and the Fear Survey Schedule (r=.28), p<.0005) were also significant. The results, therefore indicate that the elimination of subjects had a negligible effect on the correlations, suggesting that, for this sample, there is a linear relationship between both fear of death and fear of public speaking with the Fear Survey Schedule. Since there were also significant correlations between the Phenomenological Fear of Death and Personal Report Of Confidence as a PRES A: PFDS 47 Table 1 Correlations Between the Phenomenological Fear Of Death Scale (PFDS), Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker Scale (PRCS), Fear Survey Schedule (FSS) Welsh Faction A (A) Correlation N Measures A FSS PRCS Pearson Product- Moment PFDS 308 .33** .43** .25** 212 .30** .44** .16* PRCS 308 .47** .26** 212 .43** .28** Partials PFDS 308 .25* .39** 212 .27** .42** PRCS 308 .42** .17* 212 .41** .24** Note: The larger N represent the true value of the correlations when all data were included, while the correlation for the smaller N have eliminated scores which are below one standard deviation from the mean on either the PFDS or the PRCS. fp<.005. *fp<.0005. the d there fearft Insofa high j subjeC Clarif Psycho 48 Speaker scales (Table 1), they were partialled out of the previous correlation between the fear of death and Fear Survey Schedule as well as for the correlation between the fear Of public speaking and the Fear Survey Schedule. The partial correlations between the fear of death and the Fear Survey Schedule were significant (Table 1), indicating that those high in fears Of death are generally fearful individuals. The partial correlations between the fear of public speaking and Fear Survey Schedule measures were significant as well (Table 1). Transforming the partial correlations (n=308) into 5_scores, the difference Obtained between them is 2.96 (p<.002), indicating that there is a stronger relationship between fear of death and general fearfulness than between another fear, public speaking and fearfulness. Insofar as fearfulness is a component Of general psychOpathOlogy, those high in fears Of death have considerably more psychOpathOlogy than subjects high in public speaking. However, it still needs to be clarified whether fear of death is also related to other elements of psychopathology. Relationship Between Phenomenological Fear Of Death and Psychopathology (as Measured by Welsh's Factor A) The relationship between phenomenological fear of death and psychOpathOlogy was further investigated by comparing the scores for the phenomenological fear of death and fear Of public speaking instruments with scores obtained on Welsh Factor A, a general measure of psychopathology. Both the full (n=308) and attenuated (n=212) correlations between the fear of death and Welsh A as well as between :l‘ (D 5“; (I: :7‘ E? n: RUDE c seen 1 'hhen to tal embarr direCt fear 0: YESearc death a Welsh A items 01 dedth an to refle. deriled 1 Talated i 49 the fear of public speaking and Welsh A were significant (Table 1). Again, partial correlations were Obtained between fear of death and Welsh A as well as between fear of public speaking and Welsh A, all of, which were significant (Table 1). The z_difference Obtained from the partial correlations (n=308) was equal to -2.35 (p<.01), indicating a stronger relationship between fear of public speaking and Welsh A than between fear of death and Welsh A. The stronger relationship between fear of public speaking and Welsh A than between fear of death and Welsh A may be artifactual. An a priori inspection of the Welsh A test items reveals that while none of the items bears a direct relationship to death, several items seem to be tapping dimensions related to public speaking. For example: "When in a group of people, I have trouble thinking of the right things to talk about; Criticism or scolding hurts me terribly; I am easily embarrassed." In addition, none of the Welsh A items appear to directly tap at fear of death. Therefore, the relationship between fear of public speaking and Welsh A may very likely be inflated. This assertion is made more plausible when one considers the research of Templer and Lester (1972). They attempted to construct a death anxiety scale composed Of items drawn from the MMPI (from which Welsh A items are also drawn) and were unable to do so. Only nine items of the 566 test items were significantly related to a measure of death anxiety (Templer Death Anxiety Scale) and these items were felt to reflect general anxiety rather than death anxiety. Thus, a measure derived from the MMPI could not have an opportunity to have death- related items included in it. Altl (i.e., Kelsi still the C: more fearfu. ship betweex Further my least on an public spea] 50 Although the choice Of one of the psychOpathOlogy instruments (i.e., Welsh's Factor A) may not have been an appropriate one, it is still the case that even though subjects troubled by fears of death are more fearful than those troubled by speaking in public, the relation- ship between fear of death and psychopathology remains equivocal. Further research using a different psychopathology measure, which, at least on an a priori basis taps at both the fear of death and fear Of public speaking, would be one way to clarify this issue. Ex evident th avariety . one way of empirical : tried to <11 death are 5 troubled b3 Th: “'0 1e‘cels EOEpared. med are l irrespectix otheI'lv'ise j MdErate f: The ”latively bemeen 18 These l‘ther CHAPTER IV CLINICAL RESULTS Examining the literature on the fear Of death it is quite evident that the empirical research is contradictory and confused for a variety of reasons that have been discussed. A clinical study is one way of generating hypotheses which can help direct further empirical research to more productive ends. This investigation has tried to determine in what ways those highly troubled by the issue of death are similar to each other and yet different from Others less troubled by death. The study originally had a 2 x 2 design so that subjects with two levels Of fear of death and fear of public speaking could be compared. The overall results indicate that most of the differences found are between subjects high and moderate in fears of death, irreSpective of their level of public speaking fear. Therefore, unless Otherwise indicated, the groups have been collapsed into high and moderate fears of death for purposes of discussion. The 12 women who comprise the clinical sample (see Table 2) are relatively homogeneous with respect to social class and age. All are between 18 and 20 years, two Of whom are SOphomores, the rest freshmen. These women all come from middle class families, ten from suburban 51 52 Table 2 Subjects in the Clinical Study* High Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Diane Van Brocklin Jean Thomas Ellen Carney High Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking: Cheryl Smith Ann Jones Sarah Robinson Moderate Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Denise Anderson Ruth Hull Janice Burton Moderate Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking: Elizabeth Johnson Alison Leonard Donna Kent *TO protect the confidentiality of subjects, pseudonyms are used. 53 areas and two from small towns. Their religious backgrounds are varied: five are Catholic, six Protestant, and one Jewish. Brief clinical sketches of each subject and her family are found in Appendix C. TO protect the confidentiality of these women, pseudonyms are used. A brief discussion Of the ways in which the fear of death are manifested in the women's day to day lives is presented. This is followed by clinical case material relating the fear of death to the following: (1) aggression conflicts, (2) family conflicts, (3) early experiences with death, (4) religious conflicts, and (5) psychopathology. i How Fear of Death is Troublesome in Everyday Life Women in the high fear of death group are more frequently troubled by thoughts and feelings about death than the other women. Thoughts of death Often occur when they are alone, typically at night, and especially when they are depressed. These women not only have thoughts and fears about death but also obsessively dwell on these concerns once they come into awareness, thus prolonging their fear states. The following examples illustrate ways in which subjects high in fears of death experience their death fears on a day-to-day basis: Diane Van Brocklin typically becomes afraid of death when she is depressed and when she is alone at night. She has a recurring daydream where she tries to imagine who will come to her funeral and visit her grave, wondering if people care about her. The idea of her parents, especially her mother, dying fills her with apprehension as she pictures this as abandonment. Jean Thomas fears the unknown and the finality of death. She fears an afterlife that includes a god that will judge her harsly but is even more frightened by the prospect of no after life, just nothingness. While she has thoughts of death occurring at different times, they most frequently occur at night when she is alone. 54 Ellen Carney becomes so intensely anxious at the thought of death that she actively tries to avoid thinking about it. She fears that she will be judged by a punishing God, her whole life "paraded" in front of her and then be "eternally damned to hell." The finality and lack of choice about death particularly bothers her. A secondary fear is Of her father dying, as she imagines herself being abandoned to her "witch mother." Cheryl Smith's fears Of death center around the meaninglessness Of life and her lack Of accomplishment. She also fantasizes about being terminally ill. She wonders about her funeral, weighing the merits of particular methods of body disposal, and particularly fears being buried alive. Ann Jones has recurrent dreams about death which occasionally cause her to be afraid of going to sleep. After having these dreams, she Often wakes up in a highly anxious state. A frequent dream she has is of her mother driving a car with Ms. Jones as a passenger. Her mother gets in an accident and Ms. Jones dies. Another dream that recurs Often is Of Ms. Jones running down the street and into a building which she eventually realizes is a funeral home. She sees a group of people standing around a body, crying. As they move away, she sees the body is of her father and she becomes very upset. Sarah Robinson resents the fact that Others will remain when she is no longer alive. She feels lonely when she thinks of no longer existing and then becomes intensely anxious when she thinks Of the nothingness following death. She dreads the idea of her body decomposing and is terrified of the idea of worms ingesting her. Her fears of death occur when she is depressed. Often, when she is alone, she fears that she will be murdered. Her most enduring fear, which began in childhood, is of being immobilized and buried alive. Fear of immobilization is so pervasive that she has intense anxiety if the blanket covers her head in bed. In contrast, subjects having moderate fears of death rarely admit to thinking about their own deaths except in situations that are dangerous to them or after someone they have known has died. Women in this group are more often afraid Of their parents' deaths than of their Own. They feel especially dependent upon their parents and fear being abandoned by them, sensing an inability to cope after their parents' deaths. The following vignettes of those with moderate fears Of death serve as a comparison to the subjects with high fear Of death. [F ‘T‘ECSW.’ v I 55 Denise Anderson rarely thinks of her own death. Clearly though the issue of others dying is one which causes her anxiety and in particular she fears the death of her parents and grand— mother, her major sources of support. Experience with the death Of her grandfather was upsetting to her as she felt a sense of helplessness during the situation. Thoughs of a painful death are also troublesome for her. However, in general, Ms. Anderson is fairly well defended against thoughts and fears of death. Ruth Hull is well defended against fears of her own death. Lately though she has had these fears after repeated latenight fire alarms in the dormitory. More often her attitude is one of acceptance of death with no belief in an afterlife. Fears of aging and/or becoming crippled are more frightening to her, for she is an active, athletic person. She defends against her fears of others dying by intellectualization, talking of how she would miss them yet being totally removed from her feelings. Janice Burton claims she only thinks of death either when some- one she knows has died or when she is in a dangerous situation. At other times, she defends against her fears by an acceptance of the inevitable. Though she certainly does not want to die, thoughts of the process of dying rarely trouble her. Likewise, though she recognizes that her parents and others close to her will die she defends against her discomfort with this by denial, figuring they will not die for a long time. Elizabeth Johnson claims she is never afraid of death though her non-verbal behavior during the interview indicated otherwise. She will admit to a fear of dying, especially if it would involve pain. Fears of her parents' death are handled by denial. She feels she could not ever imagine not having her parents, but more- over, could not stand this situation, believing she could not c0pe without them. Alison Leonard admits to having some thoughts of her own death though she denies that they frighten her. Instead, she sometimes feels that death could be a wonderful experience for her. However, fears of monsters and the supernatural have continued since child- hood and Ms. Leonard associates these to feelings about death. She sometimes finds herself compelled to watch or read about the supernatural in the media but always ends up frightened. Thoughts of her parents' deaths arouse anxiety as she dreads being without them. Donna Kent only has infrequent thought Of death and these occur only when she hears that someone has died or has been in a dangerous situation. She tends to deny the possibility of her own death and feels that she will have a fulfilling afterlife. The thought of her parents dying is distressful as she loves them and feels needing of them. al.- 5,, . m-.. _ 56 Fear of Death and Aggression One of the strongest differences between women highly fearful of death and others is in their handling of aggression and hostility (Table 3). Among those in the high fear of death group, there is great diversity in how these women handle their anger, though all use maladaptive means. Using Fisher's exact test, the relationship between fear of death and aggression conflicts is significant (p=.016, two tailed test). Sarah Robinson, the only married woman, detests her husband passivity. Since displays of anger are interpreted by her as demonstrations of love, she goads her husband into fights, some- times humiliating him to get a reaction from him. is.” ." L' Jean Thomas is also an angry woman, though she has extra— ordinary difficulty expressing it directly. Always fearful of a punishing father, Ms. Thomas has adopted various passive aggressive means to manager her anger. Thus when she becomes angry she typically ignores people or fails to meet appointments or dates with them, though at no time can she verbalize this real feeling of anger that she experiences. Three Of the women, while experiencing much hostility, inhibit their anger for fear of becoming vulnerable. Sensing they will be criticized or rejected, they rarely let people know how they feel, hoping instead that their feelings will just disappear: Ann Jones while stating that she has a short temper neverthe- less suppresses her anger frequently. Much of the time her anger is directed towards her father or men in general but she usually refrains from expressing her feelings. Ellen Carney rarely lets anyone know that she is angry with them and instead tries to please them while she is inwardly fhrious. Interestingly, she can easily yell at her mother, towards whom she feels intensely ambivalent. Diane Van Brocklin, disliking the fact that her father is bigoted and quick to judge others, renders similar negative opinions toward peOple herself causing her to feel alienated and estranged from others, though at the same time lonely and depressed. Percent of Women in Each Group With Aggression Conflicts 57 Table 3 Piazzaar' Of —_‘ Fear of Deatha I>1113£1zic Speaking High Moderate Total Hi gh 100% 3396 6896 ___l 3 Moderate 100% 0 50% 3 \ Totais 1009a 17% 6 6 \ Note: aFisher's exact test indicates that those high in fears of geath have more difficulty with aggression than those less troubled by ‘3Etrs of death (p=.016, two tailed test). Numbers in corners are total subjects in each cell. ‘4. V m)" 58 The other woman high in fears of death identifies with some of the behaviors she least likes in her parents in order to avoid having to face her hostility towards them: Cheryl Smith although claiming her parents are overly conser- vative, has essentially identified with many of their values and in so doing has been able tO avoid conflict. Although she often criticizes her brother for acting out, she inwardly admires him for his rebelliousness. Women in the moderate fear of death group are, in general, more able to be direct in their anger expression. Of course at times they too have difficulties managing their anger (see clinical sketches) but tYpically they do not have the same degree of difficulty as the'women With high fears of death. Up to this point the discussion has focused on subject's behavioral management Of aggressive feelings. The difficulty that women high in the fear of death have with aggression is evident on a f"=lntasy level as well. An inspection of the TAT stories reveals a Preponderance of stories dealing with aggressive themes (rape, suicide auncl murder) from those high in fears of death as compared with the $1:Ories given by those less troubled by death fears. Almost all the WC”hen in the clinical sample offered some violent stories though a Preponderance of these themes came from many of those high in the fear (’i5 death. The following brief examples illustrate the violent nature ()1? the stories produced by those troubled by fears of death: Diane Van Brocklin (3BM)--"There's a gun laying down here on the floor by this kid and he's very tempermental kid and his temper really flares and he got a hold of this gun from somewhere. I guess he found it in his father's drawer or something and he got mad at his mom and dad one day and so he shot them. And now he realizes what he's done. And he doesn't know what he's going to do about it, so he's just kind of sunk in a corner and just trying to decide where he's going to go from here." 59 Ann Jones (l3MF)--"(Big laugh). This one, that girl looks dead. Looks like he just walked in and found her raped or some- thing. Stabbed or something. And he's totally disgusted, anguished or something. He'll probably go out and kill the guy, track him down. Mash his head to a pulp. She looks dead. He looks pretty upset by it." Sarah Robinson (6GF)--"Looks like Katherine Hepburn. Oh this is easy--she's writing a letter to her Old boyfriend and all of a sudden she turns around and there's her husband looking over her shoulder and then she kills him, that's her, that's her trip (laugh) alright, now she's writing a letter to her Old boyfriend and she's putting it into her drawer, right then he comes in and sees her. He asks, her what she did and she's denying the whole thing." These stories are all indicative of poor impulse control. NO planning or forethought is evident and instead, without any well formulated plan, the protagonist acts aggressively. In addition, two Of these stories have a sexual component as aggressive and sexual expression become intertwined. Further examination of the TAT stories reveals that of the responses to Card 15 (death card), those with high fear Of death more often demonstrated aggressive themes, and two of these women, seeing the picture as malevolent, directly mentioned their own fears Of being murdered. The following are TAT stories to Card 15 of those troubled by fears of death: Diane Van Brocklin--Oh, we can call this person, we can call him Death, I think and uh, he goes out--he takes what he wants he brings them in. He's standing on an empty spot now. He wants a cross or tombstone, something in there. He's trying to determine who he's going to get next, to fill up his vacancy. Ann Jones--This looks like Ebenezer Scrooge. Christmas future or something huh, Spirit of Christmas Future. That's what it reminds me of. This reminds me of how my mother would see death. Real black and morbid. But that person looks like how I feel when I'm in a.cemetery. I feel like the (Inaudible) are trying to squeeze me in, like it's too crowded or something, I don't like it. Um I'd say this person is here, doesn't really know anybody at the cemetary but he just came there for the sake of going to pay Wm” H . } 6O respects and he realizes that these people are dead and they're gone. And uh, he's kind of spooked by it. Somehow just leaving and never coming back again. Jean Thomas--Ok, um, this man was walking through the cemetery. He's just walking through, you know. And all of a sudden, his hands seemed to be forced together and kind of pulled down. And this happened all the way through the cemetery. And then when he got out (inaudible) and this made him realize, kind of brought to his attention that there is no way for his ever escaping death. And he has kind of lived a poor life until then. And so he decided to change his ways and become a better person. Cause he had never figures on dying before and this kind of brought it to this attention. Sarah Robinson--Oh, No! This guy's a grave robber, and uhm, but he only likes stealing robbing from the graves with crosses on them. They're easier, I don't know. Maybe he doesn't, he's a grave robber though. No! He's not--think what he could really be--(long pause). Hmmm. I know what he is--his wife is buried here and he's always hated his wife and now he's putting curses on the graves.throwing (inaudible) and since he's doing nothing now, just kind of wandering around, he's blaming her for everything that's gone along with his business and things he went out of business. All, all the other grave markers are closing in on him, out for him. But he doesn't really notice that all the other graves are (laughs). Why are all these graves different ways? Did you notice that? You know how grave yards are always in a straight line. These are all weird so they're like closing in on him. They're walking toward him. Grave markers, they're going to kill him. She's perfect, she can't defend herself at all. The grave markers can but they-re--inaudib1e. The stories indicate considerable anxiety. Two of the women, Diane Van Brocklin and Ann Jones, gave stories in which death was personified, as a fearsome figure who kills peOple. Their stories are indicative of the feeling that they have no control over others' aggressiveness. Both Ann Jones and Sarah Robinson were especially afraid Of being closed in and killed by the grave stones. Ms. Robinson is particularly afraid of being enclosed and buried alive and this too was evident in her TAT story. Ms. Thomas gave a story in which themes of fear and guilt played a major part. 9-; er" . , 61 Cheryl Smith, personifying the figure in the "death card" became so anxious that she was unable to generate a story to the stimulus. Fears of aggression are thus not specifically mentioned by her but may have played a part in her inability to compose a story: Cheryl Smith--Well it looks like a graveyard and (inaudible). First thing when I saw him I thought of was the devil because he's all bleak, in the graveyard, kind of spooky. Um. And he's right by one of the cross-shaped headstones, tombstones. Um. Hmm. Doesn't look too happy, but whether he's just mourned a dead person or the devil and lost another person I don't know. I don't know. gag Just the first thing I saw or thought of was the graveyard and he : just reminds me of the devil. But, I don't know what else. 3 In order to more clearly see the extent of the aggression i,» conflicts that women in the high fear of death group experience, examples of TAT stories to Card 15 are presented from women less troubled by death: Denise Anderson--This looks like somebody who they're on a (inaudible) cemetery at night and he looks like he believes there's evil spirits in the cemetery and they're going to do something to him and he's really scared. He probably uhm, I don't know what he's doing there, maybe someone he knows is buried there and he'll probably look at whatever he wanted to see and he'll run away because he's scared and then realize that really no harm can come to him in a cemetery. i Janice Burton--I don't know. This one's weird. Looks like a spirit in a graveyard, maybe looking over his own grave or some- thing. It's really weird. That's what it looks like to me. Spirits or something, seems to be standing over his own grave wondering if people still remember that he's down there. He seems kind of sad. Elizabeth Johnson--Well that remind me of death--the guy in the picture cause he's standing in a cemetery. And he's all dressed in a dark, or black, like a shroud, looks like the guy from Scrooge and he's not human so I don't, or doesn't appear to be human, just seems to represent death so uh, he's probably just taking a look out for whose coming next, I don't know. Someone who's just buried, well uh, cause I don't see his eyes or anything. He just appears to be a symbol that uh--can't say he has any thoughts-- just seems to represent something to me. Donna Kent--Um, this is really bizarre. This is an evil picture. OK. This is a cemetery and uh, this guy just, um, um, 62 maybe um, I don't know what he was doing before he came here. He looks evil to me. Maybe he did something and then he came to the cemetery. Maybe he just likes cemeteries. I don't know, but a cemetery. And he does look like he's praying to me. Maybe he's thinking about dying. Yea. Thinks he's come here and he's thinking about dying. And so then he will die (laughs). It's hard. I couldn't make up anything. The story given by Denise Anderson, a subject in the moderate fear of death/high fear of public speaking group is indicative of anxiety and suggests some difficulty with aggression. Ms. Anderson, 19.? however, is able to defend against her fears by denial (e.g., "no harm t can come to him in a cemetery"). L Janice Burton is concerned with rejection and separation, wondering if people will remember her after she is dead. Elizabeth Johnson, a woman with moderate fears of death and public speaking, personifies death in a similar way (Scrooge) as some of the women with high fears of death. She is able to distance herself from the figure however, by asserting that he is "merely a symbol" not a tangible figure. Donna Kent another woman with only moderate fears of death and public speaking is the only woman in the comparison group who actually gives a story which is similar in content and affective tone to stories written by the women in the high fear of death group. Clearly, this story had aroused anxiety though she does not verbalize fears of aggression or death. The fear Of being harmed however, is not only experienced on a fantasy level in response to the TAT stimuli, but is in fact experi- enced as a strong fear in four of the women high in the fear of death as compared to only one woman in the moderate fear of death group (see Table 3). However the difference is not significant between 63 Table 4 Percent Of Women in Each Group Actually Discussing Fears of Being Murdered Fear of Fear of Deatha Public Speaking High Moderate Total High 33% 33% 33% 3 3 6 Moderate 100% 0 50% 3 3 6 Total 68% 17% 6 6 Note: Numbers in corners are total subjects in each cell. 3Fisher's exact test indicates no significant difference between those high or moderate in fears of death. ’3’ -"'.—:_"'Wrfimi. 5 64 tliose high and moderate in their fears of death. For those women who ante highly afraid of death the fear of being murdered is closely connected to their death fears. The following examples will illustrate how the fear of being murdered is manifested in these women's lives: Jean Thomas becomes frightened of being attacked whenever she is some place where she is not "supposed to be." For example, she becomes apprehensive and has fantasies of being murdered when she has failed to tell her family of her whereabouts. Sarah Robinson cannot tolerate being in a house alone for fear that she will be killed. Since childhood she has avoided her parents basement, imagining that she will be attacked. She routinely checks the closets in her own house for hiding intruders. Cheryl Smith is also frightened to be alone. House noises cause her to become agitated and trigger her fantasies and fears of attack. Ann Jones is also sensitive to noises whenever she is alone. At times she senses that someone is hiding and will attack her. Other examples Of women high in death fear also being fearful of attack and murder were evident in dreams. While dreams were not specifically solicited, two women, both in the high fear of death group, volunteered that they had had recurrent dreams: Ann Jones dreams that she is riding in a car with her mother on a stormy night and her mother kills her in an accident. Sarah Robinson dreams that an evil witch (the witch of sleeping beauty) casts a Spell on her which immobilizes her. While she can think and feel, she is unable to move. Her friends call her to come to them but She is unable. Sleep disturbance is encountered by both subjects since the dream content of aggression directed toward the subject by a parent, is especially threatening. 65 Fear of Death and Family Conflict In the previous section, women fearful of death were Shown to have major conflicts with aggression, fearing their own impulses towards others as well as being frightened of the aggressive feelings Of Others towards them. One question that is raised from these findings is what is the origin of these aggressive conflicts? The clinical case material indicates that all six women in the high fear of death group have had major difficulties with one of their parents and in all cases but one it was with the father. Using Fisher's exact test, the relationship between the fear of death and family conflict is Significant (p=.016, two-tailed test) [see Table 5]. The high fear Of death women have had a parent who has frequently acted in either an overtly hostile or a teasing, argumentative manner towards them: Ellen Carney feels She has never been wanted or loved by her mother. Rarely receiving praise and never getting enough attention, MS. Carney feels that her mother "hates her" and that her mother views her as a "bad person." Although Ms. Carney tends to idealize her father, She recognizes that he generally avoided rescuing from her mother, instead remaining aloof and uninvolved in their conflicts. The other five women, though having some conflicts with their mothers, have had the greatest difficulty in their relationships with their fathers. Ann Jones feels that as a child, her relationship with her father was quite good. He would take her along on errands, visiting parks, even Showering together. All this abruptly ended when She was eight years old, when he seemed to lose interest in her and withdrew emotionally from their relationship. He is so passive and quiet that the family sometimes jokes about his not being there. Nevertheless She sees him as "pigheaded" and resents him when he needles her about women's rights. At the same time, he is unable to get angry directly with anybody and attempts to get family members to act as intermediaries for him. At the lglrfi‘c 1.0 q Percent of Women in Each Group With Family Conflicts 66 Table 5 Fear of Fear of Deatha *1 Public i Speaking High Moderate Total 3 High 100% 33% 68% ‘ 3 Moderate 100% O 50% 3 Total 100% 17% 6 Note: Numbers in corners are total subjects in each cell. 3Fisher's exact test indicates that those high in fears of death have more family conflict than those less troubled by fears of death (p=.016, two-tailed test). 67 present time MS. Jones finds it difficult to share anything with her father and their relationship is hostile and distant. Jean Thomas, from childhood, has viewed her father as an awesome figure, one to be feared. His method of punishment, kicking her in the buttocks while she was forced to walk by him, helped to reinforce these fears. Otherwise her father is rather remote and withdrawn and the mother is more dominant in most family matters. However, he frequently teases her, especially about her appearance and makes derogatory remarks about the boys She dates, although always in a joking manner. At other times he acts in a patronizing, aggressive manner which Ms. Thomas reacts to by becoming inwardly furious but avoiding expression of her feeling lest she enter a conflict with him. Cheryl Smith generally has felt comforable in her relationship with her parents yet is still highly resentful of her father. As a child She saw her father as a source of strength and support, yet later his narrowmindedness and rigidity became increasingly obvious to her, often infuriating her. He insists that she listen to both Sides of an argument, yet she has discovered that his mind is closed to her ideas and feelings and thus she rarely can have impact on him. Diane Van Brocklin feels that as a child her relationship with her father was particularly poor, as he believes that children have little of value to offer. Hostile and opinionated, Mr. Van Brocklin berates and dismisses all his children, but Ms. Van Brocklin feels that it is worse fOr her because she is a woman. Though the relationship between them remains hostile and distant, Ms. Van Brocklin Still feels that it has improved since childhood. Sarah Robinson becomes particularly upset at her father's ' teasing. Frequently he takes a "devil's advocate position" in an argument, never conceding and usually berating his daughter for her beliefs. Since childhood she has viewed her father as "the heavy," the one who meted out punishment and has found it difficult to confide or approach him. Further, she feels that he has rigid views about male and female sex-roles, and has felt that he con- sidered her inferior to her younger brother. Some degree of family conflict is evident in most families. However, only one of the women in the Moderate Fear of Death/High Public Speaking group had family conflict similar to either of the high fear of death groups. Denise Anderson has had difficulties with her father for many years. She has often felt devalued by him for being a woman sensing he felt women were intellectually inferior and belonged at home. During puberty, she was often teased by him about her 68 sexual development and remembers her father and his friends ogling nude magazines. She has also become ashamed of her own body and also believes herself to be unattractive and undesirable. In her frequent fights with her father, MS. Anderson reacts to his hostility with considerable anger Of her own, though sensing his inflexibility, she often feels helpless in these situations. Denise Anderson's conflicts with her father have resulted in fears of being evaluated and criticized, fears especially evident when she must speak in front of others. Sex-role conflicts and anger towards men have also resulted in part from conflicts with men. However, 1 she is not troubled by fears of death. a The other two women in the High Fear Of Public Speaking/ Moderate Fear of Death group do not have any overt, continual conflict with a parent. Ruth Hull has always felt detached and aloof from both parents. The few conflicts she does have center around the develop- mental issue of independence. Janice Burton, a dependent woman, has rarely had conflicts with her parents. Always wanting their approval, she has attempted to be a "model daughter." However, she does not readily Share her feelings with her parents either. Women having both moderate fears of death and public Speaking do not come from conflict ridden homes. Elizabeth Johnson feels her mother "nags" her at times, though there is no major conflict with either parent. Alison Leonard feels her parents' relationship with each other is not good but her relationship with both is not marked by severe difficulties. Donna Kent tends to idealize her father and though She feels her mother gets too easily upset, She had not had too many conflicts with her either. 69 Fear of Death and Early Experience With Death An additional area in which those with high fears of death differ from others is in their early experiences with death and dying. All of the subjects in the high fear of death group have had some early experience with death which they recall as terribly upsetting, while none of the subjects with moderate fears of death recall early experi- ences with death (p=.01, two-tailed test, see Table 6). Cheryl Smith recalls that at the age of 6, her mother's brother, age 17, died in an accident. Mrs. Smith was naturally upset and crying after hearing the news. Although Cheryl and her brother repeatedly asked their mother what was going on, She refused to tell them, overwhelmed by her feelings of grief. MS. Smith feels that this was a frightening and upsetting experience for her and that her mother handled the Situation poorly. h . .u -. Q. .1 Jean Thomas recalls her first experience with death was at age 10, when a girl in her class contracted leukemia and died shortly thereafter. She suddenly realized that that if this young girl, the same age as herself, had died, that she too could die at any time. Her anxiety was further heightened by the funeral with its sadness and mourning and from viewing her friend's body. MS. Thomas recalls this as both her first experience with death and her first conscious fear of death. Ann Jones remembers her mother being obsessed with death, ' forever wearing black and going to the cemetery to pay respects to some relative. She recounts that her earliest experience with death was at age 4 when her mother's mother died. Mrs. Jones, griefstricken, only briefly explained that "grandma's heart stopped and she won't be coming back again." The funeral made a great impact on Ms. Jones as she remembers the most minute details of the setting, including the clothing worn by her grandmother, the pattern of the rosary beads intertwined in her grandmother's fingers, etc. She feels that she was too young to go to a funeral and resents her mother for having brought her there. Sarah Robinson, at age 6, remembers her cat giving birth to a stillborn and her mother explaining to her that death is a natural phenomenon. A year later however, when her maternal grandmother died, she remembers being frightened at the funeral, particularly of her grandmother's corpse. She recalls being upset that the adults acted SO upset and grief Stricken at the funeral. 70 Table 6 Percent of Women in Each Group Who Had Early Experience With Death Fear of Fear of-Deatha Public Speaking High Moderate Total High 100% 0 50% 3 3 6 Moderate 100% 0 50% 3 3 6 Total 100% 0 3 3 Note: Numbers in corners are total subjects in each cell. 3Fisher's exact test indicates that there is a significant difference with respect to early experience with death between those highly troubled by fears of death and those less fearful of death (p=.01, two-tailed test). 4 "L P‘lt-T'im' a ‘ 71 Diane Van Brocklin remembers, at age 6, the assassination and funeral of President Kennedy and recalls feeling very sad and upset by it. A month after this a neighbor's car exploded and killed the man. While she did not know the man well, she cried continuously for some time, realizing that death can occur so close to home. Ellen Carney had her first experience with death at age 9 when her uncle died. She recalls being interrupted from play and with no explanation, being taken to a funeral. She was forced to kneel before him and look at her uncle's corpse, a man She hardly knew, and this terrified her. Her anxiety was heightened when She observed that the adults were all so unhappy and grief stricken. These case vignettes clearly demonstrate the fact that these women were exposed to death at an early age. Two factors related to this emerge. Firstly, most of the children received only the briefest explanations, if any at all, about death and funerals, leaving them confused and upset and without clear expectations of what would happen. Secondly, the realization by these children that adults could display such an intensity of feeling and be SO grief stricken greatly added to the constion and fear. The child is anxious that if the parents and other adults can be weak and vulnerable, then they are left without a protector. In contrast, those less troubled by fears Of death had their first experience with someone's death a few years later. Further, in general, the parents of these individuals were better able to help their child understand and cope with death. The following case examples serve as a comparison from the high fear of death women: Denise Anderson remember that at age 11, her grandfather died. She recalls the experience of intense grief and helplessness She felt during this time. However, her parents attempted to comfort her and to provide her support for her feelings. Janice Burton was 11 years old when her maternal grandfather died. She felt quite close to him and was especially grief stricken. She does recall, however, that her parents tried to offer her comfort. .m'q In Rm ’1 72 Elizabeth Johnson remembers that at about age 11 or 12 her mother felt extreme anguish over the loss of the grandfather and this was frightening for her to see. However, the fact that he had been Sick for some time allowed Ms. Johnson to become used to the idea that he might die and this eased her own feelings of grief and fear. Alison Leonard recalled that as a very young child, one of her pet animals died. Her parents tried to explain death and reassured her that her pet would go to heaven. Her first experience with human death occurred at age 11 when her grandfather died. Though she did not report feeling particularly frightened by this experi- ence, she recalls some anxiety when actually seeing her grand- father's body. Donna Kent was 12 when her grandmother died. As the grandmother was ill for a long time, MS. Kent and her family began the grief work before her death, so that the actual occurrence of death was not especially difficult for the family to go through. Ruth Hull has never actually experienced the death of someone she knew and cannot recall the issue Of death ever being raised or discussed in her family. Fear of Death and Religious Conflict Another area that is related to fear of death is religion. Most of the subjects report a belief in God but four of the women in high fear of death group are in some conflict over their religious beliefs, while none of the subjects in the moderate fear of death group experience this conflict (Table 7). Using Fisher's exact test, there is a tendency for those highly troubled by death to have more religious conflict than those less troubled by fears of death (p=.08, two-tailed test). The following examples illustrate this conflict: Diane Van Brocklin, who considers herself a devoutly religious person and attends church three times a week, feels She has to act differently than others in order to "bear testimony to Christ." Though she believes that she Should be tolerant towards others, she realizes that She holds some narrow and bigoted views. This makes her feel guilty and doubtful of her Christian beliefs. Sarah Robinson, a Jewish woman, has been subjected to religious prejudice on a number of occasions, leaving her with ambivalent feelings about her religion. While She believes in God and feels IT ' T‘s’sr. w. 73 Table 7 Percent of Women in Each Group With Religious Conflicts Fear of Fear of Death Public Speaking High Moderate Total High 67% 0 33% 3 3 Moderate 67% 0 33% 3 3 Total 67% O 6 6 Note: Numbers in corners are total subjects in each cell. test). 3Fisher's exact test indicates that there is a near significant difference with respect to religious conflicts between those highly fearful of death and those less fearful of death (p=.08, two-tailed 74 a cultural identification with her religion, Ms. Robinson feels uncomfortable around members of other faiths. This makes her feel defensive about her own religion, yet angry and unhappy for being a member of a discriminated religion. Ellen Carney, formerly a devout church-goer, rejected her religion a few years ago. She believes in a God but feels uncom- fortable about an organized church. She fears that she will be damned forever if She does not follow the teachings of her former church, yet she does not believe in them, causing her considerable anxiety. Cheryl Smith, a devout church-goer, wonders about her devotion to her faith. She learned and still believes that "a true Christian doesn't fear death," and her own very real and anxious feelings about death makes her doubts the extent of her beliefs. The case vignettes all suggest conflicts about religious feelings, though indicate considerable diversity in the ways in which subjects are in conflict. Subjects with moderate fears Of death did not have similar conflicts about religion, Denise Anderson and Ruth Hull have essentially had no religious background, their families rarely if ever going to church. Alison Leonard and Donna Kent had some early religious teaching, though for some years, neither has felt religion to be an important part of their lives. Elizabeth Johnson is a religious person who has little conflict over her beliefs and Janice Burton has recently become more involved with the church, feeling that this serves some important needs for her. Fear of Death and Psyghopathology_ The clinical data indicates that there is little difference in the degree of psychopathology between those highly fearful of death and those afraid of Speaking in public. Less psychopathology, however, was exhibited by those having both moderate fears of death and moderate fears of public Speaking. The following examples indicate some of the 75 diversity in the types of problems experienced by those women fearful of death or public Speaking: High Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Diane Van Brocklin--This woman tends to feel extremely self- conscious, fearing that She is incompetent, unintelligent, and unattractive. Since in high school She was a superior Student, it has been difficult for her to accept that her college performance has not met her expectations. Her response has been to take on an even more difficult course load and although claiming that she Operates more efficiently under stress, she has done less well, making her feel even more anxious and inadequate. Her behavior during many of the interviews was indicative of a high level of suspiciousness and tension as she had a great deal of difficulty trusting me. Jean Thomas—~1ndications of paranoid behavior were Often evident during the interviews. She was extremely constricted and she rarely shared anything of herself. One of her major concerns was that I might discover that She was emotionally disturbed. She felt guilty about her ambivalent feelings towards her parents and projected her anger onto me. On one occasion she became convinced that I was making negative evaluations of her parents but could only express her anger indirectly by repeatedly missing appointments. Further, her tendency to withdraw from people and her inability to facilitate conversation has made it difficult for her to make friends at the university. Ellen Carney--Intense feelings of inadequacy and guilt are evident. Having always heard from her mother that she was a "bad" girl, has made MS. Carney feel guilty and responsible for things over which she has no control. While She readily accepts the veracity of negative statements that others make of her, She is unable to accept any positive feedback, especially regarding attactiveness, believing this to be the result of devious motives to manipulate her. Further, MS. Carney is an extraordinarily dependent, indecisive person. Ambivalence about choosing between two boyfriends has recently left her in a state of intense anxiety as She vacillates, unable to make a decision. High Fears of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking: Cheryl Smith--This woman has never had any close relationships with a man. She is particularly fearful of new situations, feeling unsure of her social adequacy and physical attractiveness. Further, she is ambivalent about becoming involved in relationships, wanting the closeness and warmth, yet fearing the demands that may be placed on her, particularly sexual ones. 76 Ann JoneS--This woman in her first term at the university became progressively more depressed and disorganized during the course of the semester. At the start Of the interview series, She appeared relatively neat and well-groomed, yet as time passed, She took less care of her dress and appearance, looking continually more dishevelled. Issues centering around her lack of academic achievement were often discussed, with MS. Jones feeling that she had to perform well to gain the acceptance of her parents. Sexual conflicts, triggered by homosexual advances added to her agitated depressed state (apparent during some of the interviews) and increased identity confusion. Sarah Robinson--This woman is particularly sensitive to any criticism often feeling that nobody likes or cares for her. An overly active fantasy life makes being alone intensely difficult as she imagines hearing noises, seeing objects, etc. Anxiety about this compels MS. Robinson to systematically search all the closets and hallways when alone and to Sing ritualistic songs to ward off maleviolent influences. During her first year at the university she went through a period of depersonalization, feeling as if she was physically present at school, yet feeling totally cut Off from her body. During this time, she had several accidents where She crashed into trees, as She was unaware of herself or her environ- ment. The pressures of making choices about school and career plans intensified her identify confusion. Further, her interview behavior was also indicative of considerable disturbance. Severe anxiety occurred during the administration of the TAT as she noted that several stories were arousing murderous thoughts. Some thought disorder also occurred at this time as She was unable to make coherent stories for some of the TAT pictures (see TAT Card #3BM). The final session also aroused acute anxiety as She believed I was able to "see through" her. A suggestion of seeking counseling triggered her fears that others think she is "crazy” and she related this to her experiences the previous year when in a period of decompensation, friends suggested she seek help and she had become anxious of losing her mind. Moderate Fears Of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Denise Anderson often has intense feelings of social and intellectual inadequacy. Though she fears being negatively evaluated, she competes with others in areas that are beyond her capability. A need to prove her competency has motivated her to take extremely difficult course loads while at the same time, working long hours in an outside job. As a result of all this activity, Ms. Anderson occasionally becomes so anxious that she has some paranoid ideations (e.g., MMPI-peOple are trying to steal my thoughts). Further, she considers herself an anxious individual. Though her anxiety decreased somewhat after the first interview, it was clearly a difficult experience for her. 77 Janice Burton is a particularly dependent and insecure young woman. Fears of rejection and criticism inhibit her from expressing her Opinions. She feels extremely uncomfortable in competitive situations and thus finds university life quite difficult. Her needs for security and dependency, in part accounted for her remaining in a relationship with a boy who was especially con- trolling. Though She frequently resented subjugating her own needs to his, she nevertheless found it difficult to separate from him. Overall, she is a fairly anxious woman, though she was not especially anxious during the interviews. She tends to somaticize her anxieties through a variety of physical symptoms including severe migraine headaches, and hives. Ruth Hull, the least overtly anxious woman in this group, is an overcontrolled and compulsive woman. Her body carriage and dress attest to her rigidity and need for order and cleanliness. She describes herself as a "clean freak" who, like her mother, feels uncomfortable if her apartment is at all messy. She has had few friends in her life, and her detachment and difficulties in con- fiding in others have made most of these relationships superficial. Though during the interviews Ms. Hull was able to Share various aspects Of her life, she expressed little, if any affect. Those with moderate fears of death and moderate fears of public Speaking have much less overall psychOpathOlogy than all the other women. All three of the women are immature and dependent, but other- wise are faily well adjusted young women. CHAPTER V DISCUSSION Several findings emerge from the present research that can be viewed in an historical-deve10pmental perspective. Women troubled by fears of death were exposed to constant conflict with a hostile, argumentative parent during early childhood. During this tense time, they had their first experience with someone's death. They received inadequate information from their parents about the meaning of death and funerals and they therefore were subjected to this frightening, new experience without parental support or comfort. For many this was also the first time they witnessed their parents' intense anguish and grief, and this added to their fears of the death experience. The conflict with the parents has continued and intensified in adolescence. At this time, religion, which had been a source of com- fort during childhood, also has become a conflicted issue, with the development of doubts about their beliefs. The family and religious conflicts intensifies their growing fear of death which they have generalized to a variety of other fears including a fear of being murdered, fear of developing a fatal illness, etc. The fear of being murdered comprises one aspect of their current intense conflicts with aggression. The long history of family 78 79 conflict has also had its affects on their interpersonal relationships. These are presently marred, in particular by difficulties with expression of anger. Aggression conflicts seem to emerge as a crucial element linked to these women's fears of death. Two types of aggression conflicts are operating in their present lives. Firstly, women fearful of death fear being murdered. Secondly, they have difficulty in the expression of their own anger towards others. For some there is an inability to adequately inhibit the expression of aggression, and these women are inappropriately hostile towards others. For other women, the opposite problem occurs as they are too inhibited to adequately express any of their angry feelings. First the relationship between fear of being murdered and the fear of death in early childhood will be considered. Continual conflict with a parent results in the child's feeling of rage. Though Obviously the child lacks complex cognitive processes, one can speculate that feelings of rage result in a wish for the disappearance of this frustrating parent. The wish for the parent's disappearance can be viewed as a rudimentary death wish. To further speculate, this wish for the disappearance of the parent is projected onto the parent Since the child senses (through the Talion principle) that to think a thing is to do a thing, to do a thing is to expect a similar reaction from others. Thus the child develOpS the fear that her parent wishes her dead. Empirical studies of young children lends some support for the above theory regarding the relationship between the fear of death and the fear of being murdered. Rochlin (1967) found that among children 80 between the ages of 3-5, primitive associations between death and punishment are quite common. These children do not fully understand the process of death but see death as resulting from strife, retaliation, or defiance of authority. Schilder and Wechsler (1934) also found that young children Often do not see death as a natural end of life, but rather as a punishment meted out for wrongdoing. It is important to note that the children selected for these empirical Studies were not drawn from a clinic population nor were they selected on the basis of any reported emotional or behavioral problem. Rather, they were samples of nursery and elementary school children. Thus, one can assume that primitive associations of death and fear of punishment are not uncommon in young children. In the present research, though all women had adequately deve10ped conceptual awareness Of the process of death, those most troubled by fears of death continue to harbor in fantasy these primitive associations between death and fear of punishment. This is especially evident in their responses to card 15 of the TAT. Jean Thomas--This man was walking throuth the cemetery. He's just walking through, you know, and all of a sudden, his hands seemed to be forced together and kind of pulled down. And this happened all the way through the cemetery. And then when he got out (inaudible) and this made him realize, kind of brought to his attention that there is no way for his ever escaping death. And he had lived kind of a poor life up until then. And so he decided to change his ways and become a better person. Cause he never figured on dying before and this kind of brought it to his attention. This clinical finding of a relationship between fear of murder and punishment and fear of death needs to be further investigated empirically. One direction research could be directed is toward studying the relationship between guilt and the fear of death. Since 81 guilt is the internalization of a fear of punishment, those having high fears of death should be more guilt-ridden than others. The clinical evidence indicates that several of the women with high fears of death were frequently troubled by feelings of guilt. In particular guilt over aggressive impulses should be related to the fear of death, though it would also be interesting to explore if sexual guilt is associated in a Similar manner. In the clinical sample, there was a high degree of guilt over sexual feelings in many of the women with both high and moderate fears of death, but they were a mostly sexually inexperienced group. This issue could be clarified with a larger and possibly older sample. Thus far, it has been proposed that frustration in early childhood leads to intense anger and rage which results in fears of punishment and death. Though many children associate fears of punish- ment with death, those troubled by fears of death have also had repeated conflicts with a parent which may have served to keep this primitive association salient, while those who have not had intense family conflict were able to give up this association. The long history of continued family conflict among those who are troubled by thoughts and fears of death needs to be empirically verified. However, present family conflict may in itself contribute to and arouse death fear. Any conflict with a parent may involve intense feelings of rage and guilt which may intensify and evoke primitive fears of death. For those who are troubled by fears of death, however, expressing anger apprOpriately is extremely difficult. The women experience tremendous rage, particularly towards the parent who has not provided them ‘ rage anger years inhib perso repre being Women death. an ear ence a such I Parent of dea Partic a Pare; the Pre in OTde alOne C‘ TECalle She beg age She 82 them with the love and support that they have needed. This intense rage is occasionally expressed in inappropriate excessive outbursts of anger. More often though, the woman who is fearful of death, after years of having little impact and fearing punishment from her parents, inhibits her expression of anger altogether. This makes her inter- personal relationships strained. Her anger then is handled by repression, denial, and projection which leads back to her fears Of being murdered. Another finding of the clinical study was that all of the women troubled by fears of death have had an early experience with death, while none of those less troubled by death fears have had such an early contact with someone's death. The women recall this experi- ence as traumatic as it was also the first time that they had observed such profound and intense emotion in their parents. Further, their parents did not provide them with adequate explanations of the meaning of death and the rituals (e.g., funerals) that they were expected to participate in. Thus, these individuals not only had a history of conflict with a parent but also an early experience with death. It is not clear from the present data whether it is necessary for both conditions to occur in order for fears of death to develop or whether either Situation alone can lead to intensified fears Of death. For example, one Of the women troubled by fears of death, recalled that upon observing the dead body of a classmate as a child, She became acutely frightened of her own death. Because of her young age she had not as yet developed mature conceptions of the death process and thus still associated the classmate's death with punishment for wr partic arouse vulner her pa her we clarif jointl in whi fears, not fu Which [Piage there Stall histor partic family Punish- the ag “rte Since . fliCts their j 83 for wrongdoing. This may well occur for any child. For this particular child though, her intense parental conflicts had already aroused strong fears of punishment and thus may have left her more vulnerable to the experience than her classmates. At the same time her parents failed to provide her with the support that may have helped her work through some of these fears. Further research needs to clarify whether both family conflict and early death experiences are jointly a factor in later fears of death. This raises another issue of whether there is a particular age in which one is especially vulnerable to the development of death fears. Previous research (Nagy, 1948) has indicated that children do not fully understand death until at least nine or ten years of age, which corresponds to the beginnings of formal operational thought (Piaget, 1966). First experiences with death at a later age, when there is the intellectual capacity to deal with the events, may fore- stall the focus of fears on the death issue, even for those with a history of family conflict. However, there may also be an age in which the child is . lyJ’p fl L) particularly vulnerable to develOping death fears as a result of l\l:?TI family conflicts. The particular conflict over aggression and fear of punishment evident among the high fear of death women, suggests that the ages 3-5, when the superego is forming, may be a critical period for the deve10pment of death fears. Though this is purely conjecture Since the clinical sample could not recall how far back family con- flicts occurred, future research could ascertain whether women who had their first death experience at this time and who had families where there more I to be on the Bernar l 73) religi h0W€V¢ religj of cor of One is net Standj 0f rel their handli Oners then t COnfli 0rdEr death. psyChO: object: betweer 84 there were external signs of strife (e.g., divorce) at this age are more often troubled by death fears. Religion is another area which was found in the clinical study to be related to the fear of death. Prior research has been equivocal on the relationship between these variables (Templer and Dotson, 1973; Berman and Hays, 1973; Osarchuk and Iatz, 1973; Feifel and Branscomb, 1973). In part, this has occurred since definitions of religiosity and religious behavior have varied from study to study. The present study, however, finds some indications that it is not religious behavior Or religiosity that is related to fears of death, but rather the presence of conflict over one's former religious beliefs. It is important to remember that a certain degree of questioning of one's religious beliefs is age appropriate for women in college and is necessary in order to come to a more mature acceptance and under- standing of the purpose of religion in one's life. Thus the finding of religious conflict in these women may be not be attributable to their fears of death. However, if religion had served as a way of handling one's concerns with mortality, then the process of doubting one's beliefs may serve to heighten fears of death. It would be useful then to empirically investigate the relationship between religious conflict and fears of death, perhaps with different age groups in order to clarify the relationship of religious conflict with fears of death. The present study offers equivocal findings as to whether psychOpathOlogy and anxiety are related to the fear of death. For the objective data, there are significant, albeit weak, correlations between fear Of death and measures of psychOpathOlogy (Fear Survey Scheduj of spe. using ' fear 0 the fe VS. 10 compar 1961; relati and an death There neuros data, Pathol Speaki high d from b psycho PubliC neaSur Public relati While 85 Schedule, Welsh Factor A). However, another specific fear, i.e., fear of speaking in public, is also correlated with these measures. Only using the Fear Survey Schedule, is the relationship stronger for the fear of death than for the fear of public speaking. Using Welsh A, the fear of public Speaking is more strongly related to psychopathology. Previous research has only compared the relationship of high vs. low fear of death to psychOpathOlogy and anxiety and has not used a comparison fear. Nevertheless, these Studies (Rhudick and Dibner, 1961; Feifel and Hermann, 1973) are contradictory with respect to the relationship between the level of the fear of death and psychOpathOlogy and anxiety. For the present clinical sample, the women with high fears of death were more disturbed than those with moderate fears of death. There were a number of cases of borderline psychoses and severe neuroses among women with high fear of death. As with the objective data, however, fear of public speaking was also related to psycho- pathology and anxiety, though among those with high fears of public speaking, there was one less subject who was disturbed than among the high death fearers. Several factors may account for the equivocal results drawn from both the objective and clinical data. First, Welsh Factor A, the psychopatholOgy measure derived from the MMPI, may be more relevant to public speaking anxiety than to fear of death. Specifically, this measure of psychopathology appears to be tapping dimensions of fear of public speaking, but not fear of death. This might be inflating the relationship between fear of public Speaking and psychopathology while, at the same time, inadequately measuring the relationship between 86 fear of death and psychOpathOlogy. Second, the comparison fear chosen for the study, fear of public Speaking, is one that is continually being aroused for this sample Of university students where there is a continual demand for classroom participation. This maintains a high level of anxiety for those with this particular kind of fear. For those with a high fear of death, there may be fewer external day to day arousal situations than for those with a fear of public Speaking. Had an alternate comparison fear been chosen (e.g., fear of snakes) which is not being daily aroused, the relationship between it and psychOpathOlogy and anxiety might have been weaker. Finally, what may be most crucial is not so much the degree of psychOpathOlogy related to each type of fear, but the particular conflict peculiar to each. (This emerges from the clinical sample most If clearly where conflicts over aggression and a history of severe family .xlla, H -‘~ discord are central issues for those with fears of death;> In contrast, feelings of intense inadequacy and intense fears of criticism are the major concerns for those with high fears of public speaking. ConcludingCommentS It is crucial to emphasize at this point that the conclusions and interpretations are not offered as a definitive statement of how high fear of death develops but rather as a framework and direction for future empirical research. This study is clearly only exploratory in nature. Only one investigator interviewed the subjects, listened to the tapes, and formulated the interpretive material. Certainly experimenter bias could have been a factor in the findings despite attempts to remain objective. r _______________fi small and di pretat was co to wha presen‘ Clinic; betwee: indica‘ Separa‘ thongh for a ; indiCat are mod SHEEEst 0f dark 87 Further, it was necessary to limit this clinical study to a small homogeneous sample. Thus future research using larger samples, and different populations will serve to determine how broadly inter- pretations of this study can be generalized. Also, since this research was confined to a study of women, additional research must investigate to what extent the findings are applicable to men. Some issues raised in the literature were not clarified in the present research. The limited sexual experience of the women in the clinical sample did not allow for any investigation of the relationship between the fear of death and sexual dysfunction.1 Although some indications of a relationship between fear of death and fear of separation were noted, this issue needs further exploration. Clearly though, the research elucidating the development and importance of the fear of death is still in its infancy and future research is crucial for a more comprehensive understanding of the area. 1An informal inspection of the Fear Survey Schedule items indicate that for the clinical sample, those high in fears of death are more fearful of nude men than those moderate in fears of death, suggesting some conflicts about sexuality among these women. Fears of darkness, making mistakes, and looking foolish also appear to be associated with high fear of death women. two ; gatic Wheth PSYCh other Publh Wheth. desigx fear ‘ RetZn: inves1 Scale in fee exami, in Wh: CHAPTER VI SUMMARY This exploratory study of the fear of death was comprised of two parts, an objective/correlational study and a clinical investi- gation. The objective/correlational study was designed to investigate whether individuals troubled by fears of death differ in the degree of psychopathology from both subjects having moderate fears of death and others, highly fearful of a comparison fear, the fear of speaking in public. A secondary purpose of the objective study was to determine whether subjects troubled by fears of death (as measured by a scale designed for this Study) were comparably high in their level of the fear of death on another measure (Death Anxiety Scale, Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967) in order to relate the results of the present investigation to previous studies that had used the Death Anxiety Scale and related measures. The clinical investigation compared subjects high and moderate in fears of death and fears of public speaking in a 2 X 2 design and examined two general issues. First, a comparison was made of the ways in which the fear of death is manifested in the daily lives of 88 subj! pres! how ‘ intr rese. betw« SUbjl belor measr Variz press 1956) Sched Retzn desig: SPEak. Standa 0f pub Partic betWee "Owen P001 0 an v0 intery; 89 subjects in each group. Second, the clinical study investigated the present functioning and deve10pmental history of subjects to determine how those highly troubled by fears of death differ from others. For the objective/correlational study, 308 women, enrolled in introductory psychology courses served as subjects. Since prior research (Handal and Rychlak, 1971) suggested that the relationship between fear of death and psychological disturbance may be curvilinear, subjects whose scores were less than or equal to one Standard deviation below the mean on either the fear of death or fear of public speaking measures were eliminated from some of the analyses comparing these variables to psychOpathOlogy. The following five instruments were presented to subjects: (1) MMPI (from which Welsh's Factor A (Welsh, 1956), a measure of psychOpathOlogy, was derived), (2) Fear SurVey Schedule (Wolpe and Lang, 1964), (3) Death Anxiety Scale (Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967), (4) Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale (a measure designed for this study), and (5) Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker Scale (Paul, 1966). For the clinical Study, those whose scores were beyond one standard deviation above the mean on either the fear of death or fear of public Speaking measures were assigned to the high group for the particular variable. Subjects in the moderate groups had scores between the mean and one standard deviation below the mean. The 12 women comprising the clinical sample were randomly selected from a pool of subjects in the objective Study who both met these criteria and volunteered for the clinical study. Each woman met with the interviewer for a total of six one—hour meetings, each interview havi mann Sign. fear- fear is a1 more speal there Speak Pathc tappj tappj findi Temai betwe Death “Omen than Women by fe fears than 1 death 90 having a different focus, although they were conducted in a nondirective manner. Twelve TAT pictures were presented at the fifth interview. The objective/correlational results indicated that there is a significantly stronger relationship between the fear of death and fearfulness (as measured by the Fear Survey Schedule) than between fear of public Speaking and fearfulness. To the extent that fearfulness is an indication of psychOpathOlogy, those highly fearful of death had more psychological disturbance than others, troubled by fears of public Speaking. Using a second measure of psychOpathOlogy (Welsh's Factor A), there was a Significantly stronger relationship between fear of public speaking and psychopathology than between fear of death and psycho- pathology. This was attributed to the presence of several items tapping dimensions of fear of public speaking and no items directly tapping fear of death on Welsh's Factor A measure. Nevertheless, the findings of a relationship between fear of death and psychOpathOlogy remain equivocal. A significant, but moderate correlation was found between the fear Of death measure designed for this study and the Death Anxiety Scale. Four major findings emerged from the clinical study. First, women fearful of death had significantly more aggression conflicts than those less troubled by fears of death. All high fear of death women had difficulties in expression aggression and many were bothered by fears of being harmed by others. 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Attitudes toward death in an aged population. Journal of Gerontology, 1961, 29, 49-52. Templer, D. Death anxiety as it relates to depression and health Of retired persons. Journal of Gerontology, 1971, 29, 521-23. v/Templer, D., and Dotson, E. Religious correlates of death anxiety. Psychological Roports, 1970, 29, 895-97. Templer, D., and Lester, D. An MMPI scale for assessing death anxiety. Psychological Reports, 1974, 99, 895-97. t/Templer, D.; Ruff, C., and Franks, C. Death anxiety: Age, sex and patental resemblance in diverse populations. Developmental Psychology, 1971, g, 108. Thorn Tolor Wahl, Welsh Welsh Wolpe INulf, ‘nl.,/ Zilbo 97 Thorndike, E., and Lorge, I. Teacher's word book of 30,000 words. New York: Teacher's College, Columbia University, 1944. Tolor, A., and Retznikoff, M. Relation between insight, repression- sensitization, internal-external control and death anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1967, 22, 426-30. Wahl, C. The fear of death. In H. Feifel (Ed.), The meaning of death. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959. Welsh, G. Factor dimensions A and R. In G. Welsh, and W. Dahlstrom (Eds.), Basic Readings on the MMPI in psychology and medicine. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1956. Welsh, G., Dahlstrom, G., and Welsh, L. An MMPI handbook. Vol. 1. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1974. Wolpe, J., and Lang, P. A fear survey schedule for use in behavior therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 1964, 2, 27-30. ,/ e V, Wulf‘ V. Children's concepts of death related to cognitive develop— ment. Unpublished master's thesis, Michigan State University, 1973. Zilboorg, G. Fear of death. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 1943, 22, 465-75. APPENDICES APPENDIX A INTERVIEW GUIDE Interv UO‘ (DD-1:3"? *U-< (309-3? APPENDIX A INTERVIEW GUIDE Interview 1 1. What year are you in school? What is your major? How have things been going for you at school? Are you satisfied with your grades? Describe. What are you feelings about it? What source of income do you receive while at school? (If job, how is the job, how many hours, is it difficult to hold down job and go to school, describe and feelings.) (If receiving money or support from parents, how does it feel to receive it?) You said you were majoring in . What are your immediate plans after graduation? In the next ten years? Life plans? What sorts of hobbies or interests do you have? Describe. Do you do this often? What do you do most in your spare time? Do you enjoy this? Are there other things you would like to do? How come? Do you enjoy doing things alone or with others? How come? What kind of living situation are you in now--dormitory, sorority house, apartment, etc. Describe. Who else is living there? Describe. How do you get along with the people you live with? (If not well, how have you tried to change things? IS it hard for you to make changes?) Do you currently have or have you ever had any health problems? Describe. Have these been of great concern to you? What steps have you taken to treat ? Do you currently have or have you in the past had any concerns about your general appearance? Please describe? What are your feelings about this? Have you tried to change this? How? What is your religion? Would you describe yourself as a religious person? Do you belong to a religious group or church? Do you attend prayer meetings? How Often? Are there anything you dislike or would like to see changed in your religion? DO you believe in God? In a life after death? Heaven and Hell? Salvation and Damnation? 98 lnte: 10. ll. 14. 15. 16. 17, 18. 19, 99 Who is in your immediate family? Describe mother, father, sisters, brothers. What is each one like. Describe, give ages, occupations, education. What are they like as peOple? Does anyone else live in the house other than those already mentioned? Describe them. Interview 11 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. How would you characterize your relationship with your parents? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it? What would you like to change? Why? How have you, or how do you plan to initiate these changes? 15 it easy or difficult to change things in the family. How did you try to get your way when you were younger? Do you like your parents? Do you feel they like you? What is the biggest bone of contention between you and your folks? Describe. When you get upset at your parents, how do you usually handle it? How often do you see your parents? How come? If you had to pick one, which one do you feel closer to? How come? Has it always been like this? What is the earliest thing you can remember? Describe. Looking back to your relationship with your parents, how would you categorize it during childhood? Were you a happy or unhappy child? Explain. During childhood, how were you punished? By what means? For what? How long? Who typically did the punishing? How do you feel about the use of punishment? Why? As a child what do you remember of the relationship between your folks? Was it a good marriage or not? Describe. During adolescence, in what ways did your relationship between you and your folks change? Were there differences in the ways in which they punished you, in the way in which they expressed affection, anger, etc.? Describe. During adolescence, who did you feel closer to, mother or father? Why? How did your folks react to your dating? Encourage, discourage, upset, happy. Did they put limits on the time you could be out, the type of boy you went with, etc.? How did you feel about this? How did your folks feel about your leaving home to go to college? How did you feel about leaving home? Let's go back to your relationship with your brothers and sisters. How do you get along with them now? Has it always been the same or was there ever a period when you had a different kind of relation- ship with them, or felt differently towards them? Was there Note Inte 20. 31. 1.4).]C Ddlco, O 93 Note 100 much competition between you and them as a child? As an adolescent? Describe. If individual is adopted, in addition to ascertaining above, also necessary to explore feelings about being adOpted? At what age adopted? Wonder about real parent? If individual comes from a divorced family, necessary to explore feelings about the divorce, about the fact that person was raised in one of the parent's houses--feelings about how the choice was made, age of individual during divorce. If one or both parents remarried, need to explore feelings about the stepparents, how the stepparents get along with each other, how person felt about parents remarrying. Age of person when divorce occurred? At remarriage? If one of parents died, need to explore feelings about the death, about the period of grief and resolution, (if parent has not remarried, how does the individual feel about this?). (If parent has remarried, how does the person feel about the stepparent, does the individual make comparisons to deceased parent?) What was age of individual at time of death of parent? At time of remarriage? Interview III 20. 21. 22. 23. Do you have many friends? How many would you say are close friends? What are they like? Do you get together with them often? 00 you enjoy their company? Are there any things about your friends that you don't especially like? What do you do to change those things in your relationship with your friends that you don't like? Do you feel that your the kind of person who can have impact and influence your friends' behavior? Do you find that you are generally pleased with your friends or do you feel that they often fail to come up to your expectations? Who do you go to when you are beset by problems? What is this person like? Are you satisfied with the number of friends you now have? DO you ever experience any difficulties in meeting new peOple? Has it always been like that for you? Did you have many friends as a child? As an adolescent? Explain. Do you consider yourself as popular? How often do you go out on dates? Are you pleased with your social life? How would you like it to change? DO you go out with different men or are you currently seeing one man in particular? (If gay, several women or one in particular.) (If seeing one person what plans for the 25. 26. 27. 29. so. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 1h. mo. 24. 25. 26. 27. 101 future, how long have they been seeing each other, describe the person?) Are there things that bother you about dating and men? How do you handle these things? Are you currently engaging in any form of sexual activity? (If not, have you ever?) DO you enjoy sex? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it? Are there any things about the area of sex that either upset you or make you uncomfortable? Please describe. Do you engage in sex on a frequent basis? How often? Would you categorize sex as something that is fulfilling for you or not? Do you generally achieve orgasm during love- making? (If not, do you have any sense of why?) DO you remember the first time you engaged in sexual activity? How old were you, with whom, what were your feelings about it? Can you remember how you found out about sex? Please describe, how old were you, who told you, etc. DO you remember, as a child, experimenting with sex? Please describe, with whom, what were your feelings about it? As you approahced adolescence and went through puberty, can you remember your feelings about the nature of your body changing? How old were you? What were some of your feelings at the time? Interview IV 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. How often do you think about your own death? What feelings do you have when you think of this? What frightens you most about death? What kinds of situations trigger off fears of death? 00 fears of death occur at any particular time of the day or night? DO you think about death more when things are going well for you or when things are not going well? Do your fears of death in any way ever interfere with your life or prevent you from doing something? How long does the fear usually last? When you become afraid, what usually happens to you? Can you describe the changes that occur to you physically and emotionally? If you had to imagine death as a person, how would you describe death? What happens after death? What are your fantasies of dying? How do your religious beliefs influence your feelings about death? What does death mean to you? What aspect of your own death is most distasteful to you? 40. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 102 For how long have you experienced fears of death? What are your earliest memories and recollections about death? How old were you? What did death mean to you then? Can you remember your parents explaining death to you? Describe the situation--who explained it, how was it explained, how did you feel about this, how old were you, how did your parents seem to feel when explaining this topic? How did your parents feel about the possibility of their own deaths? What were your feelings about their eventual deaths? Did your parents ever discuss the deaths of people they knew? How did they react to others dying? How did you react to these discussions? What was the general atmosphere of the family when the tOpic of death was brought up? How did you feel about the family's reaction to the tOpic of death? Who do you feel is more afraid of death--mother or father? What was the first experience you had with the death of a living thing? Describe and discuss your feelings. Who was the first person you knew to die? Describe and discuss your feelings. Who is the Person closest to you that died? Describe and discuss your feelings. What were your earliest fears of death? How did they arise? Have you ever been at a wake or visited a funeral chapel to pay reSpects to the family of a dead person? Describe your feelings, how Old were you? Have you ever been to a funeral? Was the casket Opened or closed? Did you view the body. What were your feelings about the funeral and Of seeing the body? What was your age at the time? Interview V: TAT presentation Interview VI 43. 44. 45. Today, of course, is the last session. We have looked at a great many issues and attitudes that are important in your life. I wonder now if there are any other issues or problems that you either have had or currently have which you could share with me in order that I can fully understand you. Since we have discussed a great many areas of your life which are important and personal, I would like to know what your reactions are to this series of interviews. How did you feel about this experience? Before we conclude, do you have any questions or concerns that I can help you with? APPENDIX B INSTRUMENTS Fear Survey Schedule (Wolpe and Lange, 1964) Death Anxiety Scale (revised by Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967) Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker Scale (Paul, 1966) that may cause fear or other unpleasant feelings. APPENDIX B INSTRUMENTS Fear Survey Schedule (Wolpe and Lang, 1964) The items in this questionnaire refers to things and experiences Circle the number of each item in the column that describes how much you are disturbed by it nowadays. Not at All A A Fair Very Little Amount Much Much 'OQVO‘U'IbMNO-i . Noise of vacuum cleaners . Open wounds . Being alone . Being in a strange place Loud noises Dead peOple Speaking in public Crossing streets People who seem insane . Falling Automobiles Being teased . Dentists Thunder . Sirens . Failure . Entering a room where other peOple are already seated I High places on land . People with deformities . Worms . Imaginary creatures . Receiving injections Strangers Bats . Journeys a. Train b. Bus c. Car 103 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 90000000 000 HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHH HHH NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNN NNN MMWMMMWMMMMMMMWM MMMMMMMM M0404 Abbbhbhbbbbbbhbb hbbbb-fi-bb bbh 104 Not at All A A Fair Very Little Amount Much Much 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. S6. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. Feeling angry People in authority Flying insects Seeing other people injected Sudden noises Dull weather Crowds Large Open Spaces Cats One person bullying another Tough looking people Birds Sight of deep water Being watched working Dead animals Weapons Dirt Crawling insects Sight of fighting Ugly people Fire Sick people Dogs Being criticized Strange shapes Being in an elevator Witnessing surgical operations Angry people Mice Blood a. Human b. Animal Parting from friends Enclosed places Prospect of a surgical Operation Feeling rejected by others Airplanes Medical Odors Feeling disapproved of Harmless snakes Cemeteries Being ignored Darkness Premature heart beats (missing a beat) (a) nude men (b) nude women OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO COO HHD—‘HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHH HI—I NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNN NNN “MMMMMMMMMMMMMWMMMMWMMWMMMMMW MMMMMMMMMMMMM (140104 bbhbhbhbbbhbhhhbhbbbbbAbbhbbb b§bbbbbbhbbbb Abb 105 Not at A A Fair Very All Little Amount Much Much 69. Lightening 70. Doctors 71. Making mistakes 72. Looking foolish COCO HI—It—al-a NNNN 04010404 :5th 106 Death Anxiety Scale (Revised by Tolor and Retznikoff, 1967) Below are a series of items. Read each one carefully and if you: Strongly Slightly Slightly Strongly Disagree Disagree Disagree Agree Agree Agree Circle: 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. When I see a funeral procession, I never particularly wonder who the dead person is. l 2 3 4 5 6 2. My reaction to visiting the hospital where there are peOple who may have fatal diseases often includes certain disturbing and difficult to understand feelings of curiosity which are not altogether sympathetic. l 2 3 4 5 6 3. There are few, if any, real dangers to one's health while working on the wards of a hospital. 1 2 3 4 5 6 4. We are kidding ourselves if we think cancer is not a hopeless disease. 1 2 3 4 5 6 5. Death hardly concerns me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 6. Pe0ple should cut out smoking. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. I hardly ever am troubled by such things as birthmarks or other marks on my body. 1 2 3 4 5 6 8. Dying people don't make me uneasy. l 2 3 4 5 6 9. At times one has the feeling that no disease is curable and no one leaves the hospital in quite as good condition as they were before they fell ill. 1 2 3 4 5 6 10. After I am deceased I plan to donate my body to a medical school. 1 2 3 4 5 6 11. I wonder which of the diseases I know about will finally get me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 107 There is too much living to do for me to worry about death. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sometimes you just don't want to see a dying person because he makes you feel pretty damned helpless. l 2 3 4 S 6 Killing animals in a science course wouldn't bother me. 1 2 3 4 S 6 A doctor has to be stronger than most to stand up to the constant emotional pressure due to suffering and death. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The thought of my dying young has hardly ever occurred to me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 I think about death often; these thoughts accompany my life like the bass accompaniment in music which I do not want to hear. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sometimes I've actually had some fantasies of the event of dying. I 2 3 4 5 6 When I am ill it is certainly unusual for me to think of my dying. I 2 3 4 5 6 I'd love to go into a field like medicine where maybe I could cure myself and live longer. 1 2 3 4 5 6 108 Phenomenological Fear of Death Scale Below are a series of items dealing with death and dying. Read each one carefully and if you: Strongly Slightly Slightly Strongly Disagree Disagree Disagree Agree Agree Agree Circle: 1 . 2 3 4 5 6 21. I frequently have thoughts about my own death. 1 2 3 4 5 6 22. When I think about death, I often become frightened that I will die. 1 2 3 4 5 6 23. I feel that I am a person who is overly worried and afraid of my own death. 1 2 3 4 5 6 24. I am the sort of person who, upon hearing that someone has contracted a fatal disease or illness, usually fears that I will be next. 1 2 3 4 5 6 25. When I think about it, there are many places and situations I feel like avoiding since they remind me of death. 1 2 3 4 5 6 26. I find my fears and anxieties about death troublesome in everyday life. 1 2 3 4 S 6 27. I find funerals, wakes, and ceremonies for the dead upsetting. 1 2 3 4 s 6 “ 28. I have a feeling that I am more frightened and concerned about death than most peOple. l 2 3 4 5 6 29. When I go to bed at night, I am bothered sometimes by thoughts and feelings about death. 1 2 3 4 5 6 30. I often find myself being frightened of dying in Situations that are really only somewhat dangerous. 1 2 3 4 5 6 109 Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (Paul, 1966) This instrument is composed of 30 items regarding your feelings of confidence as a speaker. After each question there is a "true" and a "false." Try to decide whether "true" or "false" most represents your feelings associated with public Speaking, then put a circle around the "true" or "false." Remember that this information is completely con- fidential. Work quickly and don't spend much time on any one question. We want your first impression on this questionnaire. Now go ahead, work quickly, and remember to answer every question. 1. I look forward to an opportunity to speak in public. T 2. My hands tremble when I try to handle objects on the platform. T 3. I an in constant fear of forgetting my speech. T 4. Audiences seem friendly when I address them. T 5. While preparing a Speech I am in a constant state of anxiety. T 6. At the conclusion of a Speech I feel that I have had a pleasant experience. T 7. I dislike to use my body and voice expressively. T 8. My thoughts become confused and jumbled when I speak before an audience. T 9. Although I am nervous just before getting up I soon forget my fears and enjoy the experience. T 10. I have no fear of facing an audience. T 11. I face the prospect of making a speech with complete confidence. T 12. I feel that I am in complete possession of myself while speaking. T 13. I prefer to have notes on the platform in case I forget my speech. T 14. I like to observe the reactions of my audience to my Speech. T 15. Although I talk fluently with friends I am at a loss for words on the platform. T 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 110 I feel relaxed and comfortable while speaking. Although I do not enjoy speaking in public I do not particularly dread it. I always avoid speaking in public if possible. The faces of my audience are blurred when I look at them. I feel dngusted with myself after trying to address a group of people. I enjoy preparing a talk. My mind is clear when I face an audience. I am fairly fluent. I perSpire and tremble just before getting up to Speak. My posture feels strained and unnatural. I am fearful and tense all the while I am Speaking before a group of people. I find the prospect of speaking mildly pleasant. It is difficult for me tolcalmly search my mind for the right words to express my thoughts. I am terrified at the thought of Speaking before a group of people. I have a feeling of alertness in facing an audience. APPENDIX C CASE SUMMARIES OF SUBJECTS IN THE CLINICAL STUDY High Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Diane Van Brocklin Jean Thomas Ellen Carney High Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking: Cheryl Smith Ann Jones Sarah Robinson Moderate Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Denise Anderson Ruth Hull Janice Burton Moderate Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking: Elizabeth Johnson Alison Leonard Donna Kent APPENDIX C CASE SUMMARIES OF SUBJECTS IN THE CLINICAL STUDY Diane Van Brocklin Diane Van Brocklin is an 18 year old freshman raised in a small town, rural, fundamendalist family. Ms. Van Brocklin, a highly neurotic woman, is the middle child of three children with an Older sister and a younger brother. Her father is a laborer while her mother is a school teacher. PIS-W 5'1, .5 1 Ms. Van Brocklin's relationship with her father, a hostile, argumentative, and condescending man, is poor and She is often in conflict with him. She views her mother as her confidante and protector and so suppresses any anger towards her. Ms. Van Brocklin's relation- ship with her older sister is ambivalent. Although they have always confided in each other, she feels jealous and disapproving of her sister's lack of academic ambition and early marriage and vows to be more successful than her. Her relationship with her brother is marked by jealousy. She is resentful of his close relationship with her father and the fact that he has more material possessions than she. Ms. Van. Brocklin has always had few friends and has always felt isolated from others. In high school she was never part of a clique and rationalized the cause Of this as the family's lack of social status. Presently, her extreme religious views serve to set her apart from others, furthering her isolation. Her relationship with men has been limited in number as well as in depth. She has avoided any sexual contact, believing this to be immoral. Her adjustment to college life has been poor. In the past, recognition for her outstanding academic record compensated in part for her lack of popularity. Although she is an intelligent woman, she has not done well in her classes at the university and this has made her feel depressed and highly anxious. Further, she has recently developed an overconcern with her looks and others Opinions of her. Overall Ms. Van Brocklin is a fearful person with much of her concerns centering about fears of her own death. These fears occur especially when she is depressed and at night. Early experiences with the deaths of others and observations of her parents' intense fears of death have contributed to her own fears. Although she considers her- self a religious woman, this does not serve as a strong enough defense 111 112 against her death anxiety. Several other fears are associated with her fears of death. In particular, she fears contracting a fatal illness with a painful death. She also fears the possibility of being murdered. Thoughts about her parents' deaths often leave her feeling anxious and insecure about her ability to cope without them. Ms. Van Brocklin also experiences intense anxiety over the prospect of Speaking in public. Thoughts that she will forget her speech and be negatively evaluated serve to raise her anxiety. Unlike her fears of death, however, this fear is more easily controlled by avoiding the situation. In summary, MS. Van Brocklin is a highly neurotic woman who is overly concerned about her intellectual and social adequacy. Relationships with her parents (especially her father) and peers are marked by feelings of hostility and fears that others neither like nor respect her. Fears about death and speaking in public to a great extent, emerge from this basic sense that others are malevolent. 113 Jean Thomas Jean Thomas, an 18 year Old first year student, is a highly anxious, withdrawn woman. She is the youngest of three siblings from a Catholic, middle class suburban family. Both parents work in white collar professions. Ms. Thomas was extremely anxious and constricted during the interviews, offering little information regarding her relationships with others. Clearly, though, her relationship with her father is marked by considerable tension. Mr. Thomas, a bigoted, opinionated man often teases and berates her about her appearance and her choice of boyfriends. However, She is unable to express her anger directly as 1‘ she is particularly fearful of her father's temper. Though her relationship with her mother is not hostile, it is distant and aloof. Ms. Thomas, at first claiming her parents' relationship was quite good, later admitted that there was considerable conflict between her parents, sometimes with talk of divorce. Her relationship with her sister has been rivalrous with Ms. Thomas frequently feeling jealousy about her sister's popularity and academic success. She feels most warmly towards her older brother and feels comfortable in sharing many of her problems with him. FWT‘ ' - a MS. Thomas' friendships have been limited primarily to women since She only attended parochial schools. Friendships have always been few in number and superficial as a result of her intense anxiety in social situations and her inability to facilitate social inter- actions. Frequently, MS. Thomas withdraws from others and though this reduces some anxiety, it also increases her feelings of inadequacy resulting in severe depression. Excessive drinking is also employed to reduce her interpersonal anxieties. Relationships with men have been limited, although presently she has been involved in a relationship for about one year. Ms. Thomas recognizes that a large part of the reason she has continued this relationship is due to her strong need for dependency/security and the fact that such a relationship allows her to avoid the anxiety of being unattached, rather than from any love for him. Sexual behavior is limited as a result of intense sex guilt. Ms. Thomas' fears of death are particularly threatening to her. Frequently, these fears become manifest when She has feelings of depression and inadequacy. An early experience with the death of a classmate heightened Ms. Thomas' fears of death. She particularly fears an afterlife that she envisions includes harsh judgment and possible damnation. However, she is in conflict about her religious beliefs and sometimes experiences fears that death brings "nothingness." In addition, fears of being alone and fears of being murdered are also bound up in her anxieties. This appears to be related to her hostile relationship to her father. 114 Another source of intense anxiety is speaking in public. Feeling particularly inadequate and inept in social Situations, and sensing that she will be evaluated by others makes this activity particularly threatening. Ms. Thomas clearly is a severely anxious and frightened women who has difficulty COping with Stress. She is severely neurotic and can only manage her anxiety either by withdrawal/avoidance or excessive drinking. Feelings of social inadequacy and intense anger contribute to her fears of death and fears of speaking in public. 115 Ellen Carney Ellen Carney is a guilt ridden, highly anxious woman. An 18 year old freshmen, She is from a Catholic, middle class family, her father being employed in a technical capacity and her mother a secretary. The large family consists of seven children, Ms. Carney being the middle child. Family relationships have been poor. Ms. Carney feels her mother, a controlling, hostile woman has always "hated" her, forever berating and criticizing her. Though Ms. Carney feels she has made attempts to bridge the conflicts, these have failed to end their continual arguing. Ms. Carney feels particularly warmly towards her father, in fact idealizing their relationship. However, he is a with- drawn, passive man, experiencing similar conflicts with his wife and has rarely interceded for his daughter in her conflicts with the mother. Relationships with siblings are generally good, though Ms. Carney is jealous of their physical attractiveness. MS. Carney's relationships with peers (both men and women) can be characterized as extremely dependent. During adolescence, she had a succession of "best friends" who she lost as a result of her demands that they spend virtually all their free time with her. After meeting her boyfriend in high school, Ms. Carney devoted all her time to this relationship to the exclusion of all others. Her fear of losing her boyfriend has caused her to avoid any expression of hostility. Recently, She has been involved with a second boy and her belief that she must choose between the two has caused her to be intensely depressed and anxious. Fears of death have been a particularly troublesome area for her. Though MS. Carney tries to avoid thoughts of death, frequently she is incapable of adequately defending against these fears. Fears of death are interwoven with fears of punishment as Ms. Carney fears she will be harshly punished and eternally damned for her misdeeds. Early experiences with death were so anxiety provoking that MS. Carney finds it highly threatening to attend a funeral. Among Ms. Carney's other fears (though not as intense as her fear of death) is a fear of speaking in public, fearing She will be criticized and negatively evaluated by others. Ms. Carney also has considerable fears of aggression and she rarely expresses her anger towards others (except mother). Ms. Carney can be characterized as a severely neurotic woman with hysterical symptomatology. Often, she defends against anxiety by withdrawal into fantasies. At other times, when being sexually approached (especially in an aggressive manner), Ms. Carney has had fainting, seizure-like episodes medically diagnosed as psychogenic in origin. Fears of being hurt by others and feelings of intense guilt and anxiety for her hostility towards her mother have contributed to her fears of death. Her anticipation of being rejected and resultant feelings of inadequacy have contributed to Ms. Carney's fears of speaking in public. 116 Cheryl Smith Cheryl Smith, an 18 year old Catholic woman in her first year at the university is a highly anxious individual, who feels inadequate about her social and intellectual skills. The oldest of five children, Ms. Smith is from a suburban, middle class family whose father ispa technician and mother a housewife. Ms. Smith's relationship with her parents has been a relatively close, supportive one. This is particularly the case with her mother with whom she feels able to share and confide in. Although her father is often supportive of her, at other times, she has considerable difficulty with him. His rigid, authoritarian and conservative posture make it difficult for she and her father to agree. Often, he is unyielding and unreasonable in his attitudes about her behavior and subsequently limits her freedom to an unreasonable extent. Further, she feels she rarely has impact on him and he seems incapable of flexibility. Although she frequently feels anger towards her father, Ms. Smith has adopted many of his values thus reducing the need for conflict. AS the eldest child, She has had to take on more responsi- bility than the others, a situation she feels ambivalently about. Often she acts quite parental towards her brother, an adolescent who frequently acts out, yet at the same time admires his ability to assert himself and move towards independence. Relationships with other women have been varied and often rewarding for Ms. Smith. She has little difficulty in maintaining friendships, although has intense feelings of inadequacy in meeting new people. Ms. Smith, in addition. has difficulty in expressing her anger to friends fearing she will be rejected by them. Her opposite sex relationships have been few and of short duration. Though she has a variety of male friends, Ms. Smith has rarely dated and has never been seriously involved with a man. She feels intensely ambivalent about developing such a relationship, wishing the closeness and security, yet fearing the demands, especially sexual ones, that this type of relationship entails. Sexual activity has therefore been limited. The issue of death occupies much of her thoughts. Ms. Smith finds this to be particularly troublesome for her fearing the eventuality and finality of death. Though fears of death are heightened whenever someone she knows has died, the fact that her family frequently dwells on their fears of death keeps the issue constantly salient. Though Ms. Smith tries to handle her fear of death through religion, she realizes that she does not fully accept the notion of an afterlife and this, in turen, further serves to raise fears of death. Associated with her fears of death are strong fears of being murdered, often occurring when alone, and fears of developing fatal illnesses resulting in a slow, painful death. Thoughts of dying in a car accident at times interferes with her ability to enjoy herself when on a vacation. I' 'Ph‘ugh 1. ,.. 117 MS. Smith also obsesses about whether or not she is liked and accepted by others. In social situations, she has considerable anxiety over the idea that she may be ignored. Her shyness at times makes this a self fulfilling prophecy as she lacks the confidence to assert her- self (especially at a party) to try to meet others. Generally she feels anger at both herself and others for her loneliness. Once she meets new people, however, she often alienates them by her rigid, conservative argumentativeness. Ms. Smith, though frequently highly anxious and depressed, does not appear to be particularly disturbed nor does she Show any gross psychopathology. She does have interpersonal difficulties stemming from her fears of being rejected which interfere with the deve10pment of any meaningful Opposite sex relationships. Aggression conflicts are a major issue for her, serving to heighten fears of death. Continual conflict with her father served to elevate fears of ‘ death and lower her self esteem. 118 Ann Jones Ann Jones, an 18 year old first year student at the university, comes from a Catholic suburban lower middle class family of seven. MS. Jones, a borderline personality, is the youngest child. Due to the great range in age between herself and her older siblings, she has never had much of a relationship with them. All the children are experiencing a variety of personality and character problems which Ms. Jones attributes to poor parenting. Ms. Jones' own relationship with her father is often marked by friction as he frequently devalues her Opinions and feelings. At other times, he is so withdrawn that Ms. Jones wonders whether he is physically present. The mother, Mrs. Jones, is an intrusive, con- trolling person who has made child-rearing her single aim in life. 7 Ms. Jones feels ambivalently toward her mother for though she is g thankful that her mother intercedes for her in her battles with her father, at other times she resents her mother's constant interference. ‘ Relationships outside the immediate family include long standing friendships since grade school. Although she resents being confined to the same friends, Ms. Jones is anxious about meeting new people. She often feels that others manipulate her and easily hurt her feelings. When she is with people she easily becomes depressed and either withdraws or pretends to be happy. This in turn leads to feelings of intense anxiety and inadequacy as she punishes herself with recriminations. Ms. Jones' relationships with men have been poor. She feels depressed when involved with a man because of demands that she perceives are placed on her. She feels distrustful towards men, sensing that they are attempting to trap her into some sex-typed role. However,-she usually is afraid to assert herself to change a dissatisfying relation- ship because of her fear of being rejected. When she is not involved in a relationship with a man Ms, Jones feels isolated and lonely. Her sexual activity has been limited. She feels intensely guilty and uncomfortable about her sexual drive, due in part to her strict Catholic background. Her confusion about her sexuality though is also a function of her basic mistrust of men. Although Ms. Jones is in general a highly fearful individual, much of her anxiety stems from a morbid fear of death. Frequent thoughts about death and recurrent death dreams with sleep disturbance, are particularly troublesome. Anger towards her father results in dreams of his death followed by intense anxiety. Rivalrous thoughts about her Sister are expressed in dreams Of her sister's death and similar fantasies of her sister's joy at Ms. Jones' own funeral. Dreams of her mother killing her in a car accident are also recurrent. MS. Jones' mother also has morbid concerns with death and this further serves to heighten her death anxiety. 119 Ms. Jones elevated personality profile (from MMPI) indicates she is borderline psychotic. She fears losing her ability to cOpe while at the same time experiences intense continual anxiety. The adjustment to a new environment and conflict over aggressive impulses have increased her fears of death and overall level of psychopathology. Ms. Jones fears the anger and rejection of others as she projects her own feelings of hostility. Behaviorally, Ms. Jones' decompensation is indicated by an increasingly dishevelled appearance, instances of thought disorder, and intense anxiety and depression. ‘TT‘i-‘m... . . rm 120 Sarah Robinson Sarah Robinson is a highly disturbed woman functioning at a borderline level. She is a 19 year old married woman in her second year at the university. She was raised in a middle class Jewish family. Her father, an overly sensitive and anxious individual is a businessman and her mother is a housewife. She is the middle child in a family of five children. She married a graduate student in her first year of college after a Six month courtship. Ms. Robinson has always been competitive with one of her younger brothers whom she resents and feels jealous toward. Her feelings toward her two Older sisters are also ambivalent. Though she cares about them, she expresses intense resentment of their many failures (e.g., school) apparently fearing that she will follow their pattern. Although her early adolescence was marked by much conflict with her mother, Ms. Robinson now views her relationship with her mother, a socially active, assertive woman, as being a close one. On the other hand the relationship with the father is frequently tense and full of conflict. She views him as a hostile, rigid and punishing individual who teases and devalues her. Further, the fact that he seems more generous towards her brother intensifies her anger. Outside the family, Ms. Robinson feels insecure in her ability to meet and maintain friendships, often fearing that others will hurt her. She only feels confortable with friends who pose little threat and are transparent in their behavior. Consequently, many of her relationships have been exceptionally shallow. Currently, many of her new acquaintances are friends of her husband's and since she preceives them as more wordly and sophisticated than she, she is anxious when around them. Her past relationships with men have been marked with rejection and hostility. Her father's teasing manner has lead to a confusion of aggressive and affectional feelings. Equating these two affects, she frequently tries to provoke her husband to be angry with her, and interprets these outbursts as expressions of love. Similarly, she expects sexual activity to be extremely active and aggressive but has worked out a satisfying sex life with her husband. Ms. Robinson is troubled by other things as well in particular fears of death. This is expressed in thoughts, fantasies and dreams about death. Early experiences with the death of others further raised her death anxiety. Other fears associated with her fear of death included her fear of being murdered, developing cancer, being immobilized and being buried alive. Ms. Robinson's personality profile is one of a borderline psychotic with intense anxiety and poor ego strength. Though she is intelligent she is an underachiever in her school work. In early 121 adolescence she controlled her anxiety through compulsive acting out (e.g., shoplifting) but now uses denial as her major defense. Currently, she is coping moderately well but last year experienced severe decompensation in the form of loss of identity and depersonalization, inability to differentiate self from environment, and paranoid ideations. Feelings of intense anger and hostility serve to heighten her fears of death and increase her psychopathology. 122 Denise Anderson Denise Anderson is a high Strung individual who is in her first year at the university. The older of two children of a suburban, middle class Protestant family, Ms. Anderson was particularly anxious about coming to the university, fearing she would not succeed. Ms. Anderson's relationship with her father has been marked by constant conflict. Mr. Anderson, a hostile, argumentative man, frequently berates his daughter, feeling that women are less capable then men. He has frequently teased her about her sexual deve10pment making Ms. Anderson feel awkward and unattractive, though furious at her father. Mr. Anderson, when not arguing with his daughter is a withdrawn, unemotional man. Although there is little conflict between mother and daughter, Ms. Anderson feels her mother is cold and unemotional, rarely demonstrating any affection. Though her relation- ships with her parents are remote, Ms. Anderson has had a close and loving relationship with a grandmother which has helped provide her With some positive feeling about herself. She feels somewhat rivalrous towards her brother, although there are no major conflicts between the two . Same sex relationships have been varied and rewarding for her. Though she has only been at school a short period of time, she feels eSPeCially close to a few women and this she finds fulfilling. Her relationships with men have been somewhat troubled. Ms. Anderson often feels inadequate, unlovable and unattractive, feeling that there must be Something wrong with any man who takes an active interest in her. Though she very much wants to be found desirable She also is acutely s‘37}31121ve to being sex typed and feels men devalue her. Frequently, thl? makes her act in a hostile, rejecting way towards men. Her aunt>1Valence about men has interferred with her sexual enjoyment and though she asserts that she feels no guilt about sex, it has always been a painful, unrewarding experience for her. . Intense feelings of inadequacy, coupled with fears of crltficism, make the prospect of speaking to a group of people extremely :n’u-ety provoking. She generally tries to avoid such situations, OWeVer being called on in class by teachers has proved unavoidable and has left her highly distressed. es . Though occasionally she has thoughts of death, this is not an depeclally troublesome issue for her. Rather than fearing her own esathf Ms. Anderson seems more concerned with the process Of dying, $0Pecially the thought of a protracted illness. Thoughts of death are bu‘set lmes focused on others, in particular her parents and grandmother, 111 She deals with this by denial, imagining it will not occur for Dilly Years. Ms. Anderson has had some experience with the death of Sh ers and though it was upsetting to see her parents grieve and cry, . e Was old enough to be able to deal with her feelings of helplessness 1n the situation . 123 Ms. Anderson is an anxious person who often feels incapable both socially and intellectually. Frequent antagonism from her father anger her but also motivated her to prove her self worth. Further, her experiences with her father have made her suspicious of men in general. Feelings of inadequacy have also limited her ability to speak in public. 124 Ruth Hull Ruth Hull is a 19 year old first year student at the university coming from a middle class Protestant family. Ms. Hull, an over- controlled, dependent person feels detached from her parents and two older siblings . She views her relationship with her father as distant, feeling he is a remote, ambiguous and rigid person who can only be dealt with indirectly, through her mother. Neither Ms. Hull nor her mother seem to have much respect for his abilities as a father. However, there is little conflict between father and daughter. Her mother is an obsessive individual who is extremely concerned with cleanliness and money matters and is very traditional in her sex role. Ms. Hull does not feel particularly close to her mother, rarely, if ever confiding in her, although she certainly has adopted many of her mother's per- sonality traits. Ms. Hull very much wants the approval and acceptance 0f both her parents and she is ambivalent about how much independence she wants from them. As both siblings are older, Ms. Hull has not had a.close relationship with either, though she feels her brother (the middle child) is more understanding of her than her older sister. Ms. Hull has had few friends throughout her life. Her de1.351Chment and difficulties in confiding in others have made the few fr{endships she has had only superficial ones. She is afraid of being re] Geted and defends against this by withdrawing. Her opposite sex relationships have also been few. Currently, she is involved with a manfnuch older than she whom she has plans of marrying. Though she Clalms to feel comfortable and fulfilled in this relationship, she is ffearful of letting her parents know of her plans to leave school and llVe With this man. Further, though she is reluctant to verbalize it, she also has doubts about the man's background. Sexually, she feels the two are compatible. Ms. Hull admits to being somewhat fearful of death, especially ”:1?“ in a particularly threatening situation. Usually, however she is Malrly well defended against these fears, rarely thinking about death. 1:181: Hull has had no actual experience of being at a funeral and perhaps . 15 helps to reduce her death anxiety. Fears of old age and of being lmluobilized or crippled are more salient ones for her as she is an act; 1V8 , athletic woman . in . The issue most anxiety provoking for her is the fear of speaking a SPublic. She finds herself becoming increasingly anxious prior to PBGCh and though she attempts to reduce her anxieties by writing out tfiztfipeech, she nevertheless becomes terrified, constantly thinking She fOthers are cr1t1c1zing her and observmg her anxiety“ Frequently eith antasues that she W111 forget her speech and the audience W111 er ignore her or exit en masse. 5 Although Ms. Hull manifests considerable anxiety prior to cPeech making, at other times she is a fairly controlled, somewhat omP‘1181ve person who withdraws from others in order to manager her 125 anxieties. She is ambivalent about many of her relationships with others. She seems to be attempting to break away from her parents by becoming more involved with her boyfriend, yet she is so unsure of her decision that she hesitates to inform them of her life plans. Fears of rejection are a strong motivating factor accounting for her tendency towards detachment and conflicts over dependency. Fears of death, though sometimes experienced, seem to play a negligible role in her personality dynamics . 126 Janice Burton Janice Burton, an 18 year old freshman is an extremely dependent woman. The younger of two siblings, Ms. Burton is from a middle class Protestant suburban family. Her father is an executive and her mother a housewife. Ms. Burton describes her relationship with both parents as warm and close knit, yet she shares little with either one. Though she finds it difficult to criticize her family, clearly a major reason for her distance from her family is their tendency to be controlling and to infantalize her, always making decisions for her. Ms. Burton, frightened of their disapproval, rarely disobeyed and always tried to be a model child. The fact that the family moved several times further served to increase Ms. Burton's dependence on her family. There appears to be little overt rivalry between Ms. Burton and her brother. She claims to feel a sense of pity and superiority towards him as she perceives him to be even more dependent and more socially inadequate than she. Ms. Burton has had few close friendships, partially as a result of the frequent moves, but also due to a lack of trust, fearing others will hurt and reject her. Though she is beginning to make some friends POW. in high school she had no female companions at all. Instead, she involved herself with a boy who she had first met when she arrived to her new community. Eager to gain approval and reluctant to assert herself, she became totally dependent upon this boy, spending all of her time with him. Though she often felt he was too controlling and that She was being asked to give up her own identity, she found it eXtraOrdinarily difficult to separate from him. Sexual behavior was accompanied by considerable distress as she felt terribly guilty about her actions. Currently she has terminated this relationship and though she is trying to be more independent in a new romantic involvement that she has recently developed, she is finding that she is repeating old Patterns. b Ms. Burton feels especially anxious in situations where she can fe eValuated by others. Speaking in public is particularly difficult Sfir her as she feels inferior to others and fears their disapproval. h e also believes that she is intellectually inferior to others around 3::: . in particularly to men. She actively avoids competition, since amb‘ ls frightened of asserting her independence. However, she is. . ar81Valent about her submisSive manner towards others. These anxieties sOmetimes accompanied by such physical manifestations as hives. Sh . Fears of death are rarely consciously troublesome for her and a e tihlnks about death only when others die or when she herself is in Potentially dangerous situation (e.g., car accident). Though she eats u~f‘»ually adequate defenses to protect her from her death fears, she xperlences related fears of being left alone through the death of her Barents and fears of being attached. She recalls that as a child, hee“ tlhere was a death in the family, there was an attempt to shield r from the event but at the same time an effort was made to help her “fiderstand death. 127 Ms. Burton is a fairly anxious woman who tends to somatacize her anxiety through a variety of physical symptoms including severe migraine head-aches, breaking out in hives. Her major source of ' anxiety stems from feelings of social and intellectual inadequacy and ambivalence over dependency, developing from an overly controlling, infantalizing family. 128 Elizabeth Johnson Elizabeth Johnson, a 19 year old first year student is the youngest in a Catholic, middle class family of four children whose father is a professional man and mother a housewife. Ms. Johnson, an immature dependent person describes her father as a quiet man who though usually supportive of her, is generally uninvolved. Her relationship with her mother is quite different. Mrs. Johnson has been the chief disciplinarian and has had the majority of responsibility in raising the family. Though Ms. Johnson gets along with her mother reasonably well, frequently Mrs. Johnson "nags" her about a variety of issues (especially her weight and studies) which results in her being inwardly angry, though suppressing these feelings. Ms. Johnson sees herself as unintelligent and unattractive and has often been intensely jealous of her sister for being the outgoing, intelligent and attractive women that she always wished to be. Though there does not appear to be overt conflict among the siblings, neither does Ms. Johnson have a close relationship with them. Ms. Johnson has had many friends though from her descriptions, the relationships seem superficial. Friendships are based solely on mutuality of interests, in particular, enjoying sporting events. Ms. Johnson denies ever having conflicts with her friends. She has dated several men, but these have been superficial relationships as well. Claiming she tires easily of the same person, Ms. Johnson seems anxious about being deeply involved with a man, fearing the stresses and demands of such a relationship. Her criteria for a relationship includes only the most surface qualities, suggesting that deve10p- mentally, Ms. Johnson may be too immature to maintain a high level of intimacy demanded in an intense relationship. Sexual experience has been quite limited as she feels considerable guilt and moral constraint about engaging in this activity. Fears of death are only occasionally troublesome. Thoughts of death typically occur after hearing of someone's death, but rarely does she spontaneously have thoughts or feelings about death. Denying fears of death, Ms. Johnson claims she does not want to die because she enjoys living. Religious teachings about an afterlife provide a partial defense against fears of death. Fears of a painful death cause her some concern because she senses that in pain, she would want to be allowed to die, yet realizes that this would run counter to her religious beliefs. Though Ms. Johnson is not an especially troubled or anxious individual, fears about her social and intellectual competancy cause some distress. She has, at times, experienced intense anxiety prior to taking a test or engaging competition. She also has some diffi- culties in developing close friendships. Basically, the psychological issues facing Ms. Johnson appear to be the normal developmental problems of adolescence. 129 Alison Leonard Alison Leonard is an overly dependent young woman who often feels guilt for a variety of things. She is a 20 year old student at the university who is the younger of two sisters from an upper middle class, suburban, Protestant family. Her feeling toward her father are of pity. Though she tries to be supportive and understanding of his depressive episodes, she, like her mother, believes that he is a failure. However, there is no conflict between the two. Her mother, the more active of the two parents, is highly concerned with financial status and material wealth. Ms. Leonard's relationship with her mother is basically satisfactory, though there are some difficulties. Her mother finds it difficult to be demonstrative of her feelings and to praise her daughter. Ms. Leonard is dependent on her mother for support and is sensitive to what she perceives as criticism. The often tense, conflict-laden relation— ship between the parents causes Ms. Leonard additional stress. Always placed in the role of the family mediator, she feels her parents try to force her to take sides in their arguments, making her feel angry at them and depressed at the sense of hopelessness she perceives in their relationship. Close in age to her sister, Ms. Leonard feels very competitive with her. Though their present relationship is satisfactory, in the past, Ms. Leonard has blamed her sister for much of her unhappiness. During early adolescence, her sister was experiencing great adjustment and personality problems and to help her, the parents decided to move to a completely new area, thus uprotting Ms. Leonard from familiar surroundings and friends. Though this did not substantially help her sister, Ms. Leonard had great difficulty adjusting to her new environ- ment and bitterly resented her sister. Close relationships with other women have been few. Ms. Leonard, while having many acquaintances, is reluctant to enter into more meaningful relationships for fear of being hurt. When her closest friend, a woman she has known since grade school, recently married, Ms. Leonard became extremely jealous and bitter, fearing someone was coming between she and her friend. In general, though relationships with women are more comfortable than with men as she feels women are less threatening. Though Ms. Leonard an intelligent, verbal and attractive woman has dated some men, she has yet to have any close or meaningful relationships. She verbalizes a desire to be involved with a man, yet acknowledges a sense of fear and avoidance when a man is interested in her. To some extent, her failure to become involved with a man stems from feelings of inadequacy, a belief that she is unattractive and undesirable in comparison to her sister and friends. Further, negative feelings towards men stem from similar feelings toward her father, viewing him as a weak, ineffectual man. Fears of sex also play a part in her fears of men. Ms. Leonard feels quite conflicted and anxious 130 about the prospect of sexual intercourse, partially due to the guilt- ridden, secretive manner in which sex was dealt with in the family. Ms. Leonard denies being fearful of death and in fact believes an afterlife might be "wonderful . . . the beinning of everything." Since the issue of death was handled in a sensitive way by her parents and she was exposed to death quite late in her development, this reduced a possible source of trauma for her. Dependency and fears of separation are more crucial to her. She states that she would rather die herself than have her parents die and leave her. Ms. Leonard also has suicidal thoughts when severely depressed. Ms. Leonard has a variety of other fears which she associates with death: fears of worms, snakes, the supernatural, monsters, etc. Ms. Leonard though showing little overt psychopathology has some difficulties in interpersonal relationships. Her relationships with men and women are ambivalent with her feeling dependent, jealous and untrusting. Her need for approval has prevented her from following her interests when her mother disapproves. 131 Donna Kent Donna Kent, an 18 year old first year student is a suspicious and sensitive, yet lively and animated individual. Coming from a small town, Ms. Kent is the youngest of three children whose father is a professional man and mother a housewife. Ms. Kent, an immature, dependent woman, having strong oedipal attachments to her father, views him as ideal, having few, if any faults. Reluctant to share anything negative about either parent, Ms. Kent admits she often gets upset with her mother, a compulsive person who has a low tolerance for stress. Ms. Kent actively avoids arguments with her mother as she feels she is unable to have impact on her. As the youngest child, Ms. Kent was clearly indulged more than her siblings. She views both her parents as protectors and realizes that she has demanded an inordinate amount of attention and approval from them. Ms. Kent, adopting the traditional values of her parents, views her brother's more liberal life style with disdain. However, she feels closer to him than to her sister who she has always viewed as a rival for father's love. Ms. Kent was a particularly popular individual in high school enjoying the attention and companionship of a great many people. However, the quality of her friendships have remained on a superficial level since she has difficulty confiding in others. Further, she is quite uneasy about angry feelings and prefers to avoid expressing them for fear of being hurt. She has little difficulty meeting new peOple and has developed many acquaintances in the short time she has Spent at the university. Ms. Kent's relationships with men are confused, at present. She restricted most of her high school dating to one boy who she still is involved with. As he is not in attendance at the same college, both now date others. She, in general is suspicious of men fearing they are only interested in her sexually. Her boyfriend, she feels is not strong, domineering and protective enough to suit her and thus she is unsure of future plans with him. Sexuality is a highly emotionally charged issue for her. She has avoided sexual contact and even finds talking about sex shameful. Fears of death are usually well defended against, though situations such as a car accident or someone's funeral may cause her to become anxious. At times, thoughts of a painful illness or paralysis causes her some distress. Ms. Kent shows no serious personality difficulties, but is an immature, dependent person. Her peer relationships have been somewhat superficial. She is an appealing person, however, lively and interesting enough to make many friends. Generally, she feels uncom- fortable about making decisions. preferring to leave this responsi— bility to her parents. APPENDIX D THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST PROTOCOLS OF SUBJECTS IN THE CLINICAL STUDY High Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Diane Van Brocklin Jean Thomas Ellen Carney High Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking: Cheryl Smith Ann Jones Sarah Robinson Moderate Fear of Death/High Fear of Public Speaking: Denise Anderson Ruth Hull Janice Burton Moderate Fear of Death/Moderate Fear of Public Speaking: Elizabeth Johnson Alison Leonard Donna Kent 38M 6GP APPENDIX D THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST PROTOCOLS OF SUBJECTS IN THE CLINICAL STUDY Diane Van Brocklin Well OK. He's um . . . he's depressed with himself mostly because in the past his parents expected him to be really good in music, even though he was really young and uh, he couldn't live up to their expectations and so he's really discouraged with himself and uhm, he can't play very well. His parents expect him to, so they look down on him. So he's kind of in an all around bad situation. And rather than practice harder he'll probably just quit! 0K uh . . . What led up to this? There's water in the background so I'd say there was a flood. Ruined all the crops and everything so they kind of had to start all over, make a go of it all over again. Kind of ruined the land and everything, like rocks and stuff and wrecked everything and uh--this girl, who's looking on-- These are her parents. She sees her father doing everything and her mother's standing by superior like she's the boss. And I think she resents her mother. She won't be like her mother when she grows older. (inaudible) 0K. There's a gun laying down here on the floor by this kid, and he's a very temperamental kid, and his temper really flares, and he's got a hold of this gun from someplace. I guess he found it in his father's drawer or something and he got mad at his mom and dad one day and so he shot them. Andanow he realizes what he's done. And doesn't know what he's going to do about, so he's just kind of sunk in a corner and just trying to decide where he's going to go from here. Uh, from the look on this lady's face I'd say uh, he just pro- positioned her, and huh, what led up to that? He's been keeping his eye on her for a long time and everything and she's annoyed. It really came as a shock to her uh, she's going to let him have it on the side of the face. 132 13MF 7GP 14 15 IBGF 96F 133 OK. she looks like she's suspicious, suspicious wife, suspicious mother, we'll say mother, and she's kind of been wondering about her son, what he's been up to and everything. And so, uh, she knows he's been coming in late, nights after dates. 80 she decided to keep an eye on him one night, and uh, she heard the car drive in. But he never came up to his room, so she went down to find out what's going on and she found her son and this girl in the den and uh--That's just what she saw. Uh, this is this man's wife and she's dead. And he looks like a preacher. Looks like a bible, or something laying on the table. And he's dressed up. Tie and stuff on. And obviously his wife got messed up with the wrong kind of people. And uh, she did something wrong. So they turned around and killed her. He came and found her this way. Uh, This is a mother and a daughter and daughter's got a doll in her hands and the mother's got a book. It looks like she's trying to tell her about the facts of life, I guess. And the daughter's not interested, she's not ready. Not ready for book talk and so she won't pay much attention to her. OK. It looks like this guy's going to jump out this window. He's in a pretty dark room so whatever let up to this, it would be something that can be carried on in a dark room. Something you'd want to hide. Whatever it was that he did, uh, he regrets it. Uh, he's going to jump. The guy's just seeing something he doesn't like, could be any- thing, he's really mad. He's ready to fight. His wife's trying to hold him back but, uh, look like he's trying to push his wife back and try to push her away and go fight it out. Oh, we can call--This person we can call him death I think and, uh, he goes out--he takes what he wants. He brings them in. He's standing on an empty spot now. He whats a cross or tombstone something in there. He's trying to determine who he's going to get next, to fill up his vacancy. Uh, one lady's strangling the other. Uh, she's, uh, probably heard this lady's been, her husband's been cheating on her; I suppose this is the lady. She's gotten into a situation where she can take advantage of it so she strangled her. OK. This high in the mountains or the coast, big ravine, big drop off and lady's running. Like she just pushed her husband over. She doesn't realize that she's been seen but, uhm, she's going to be caught because the lady who saw it knows what happened. 38M 6GP 13MF 134 Jean Thomas OK. Well. Probably a little kid asked his mother if he could take this in school. He heard the orchestra and he really wanted to be in it. So he begged her for the violin. To show her how he'd practice everyday, three hours a day and everything. And she got it and about 2 weeks after, he got real sick of it. He was supposed to be practicing. His mother makes him practice. So all he does is sit there. (Whats going to happen?) Um . I don't know. . . . His mother gets sick of forcing him. She just-—stop--Oh! This is supposed to be interesting. (laughs) Its not real interesting. And the kid'll never learn how to play it. Not very interesting. Hm Alright, um, this girl went to the same high school as him and they went out for a really long time. But he always wanted to be a farmer and she decided she wanted go to away to school, to college. So she went away and um, oh, about a year later she came back and he'd already gotten married. So she came to visit him and his wife was standing there (laughs). -And so she is really unhappy (oh boy). . . . And so . . . I don't know how it ends. Um, so she becomes really depressed for a while, but she snaps out of it and goes back to school. She decides it wasn't worth it. If he didn't really love her its too bad. What is that on the floor there? (Whatever you think it is.) Um. This girl has just taken her chemistry exam. And she came out and saw what she did. She's concerned (anxious laughter). Didn't like it very much. So that's her. She sat there for a while and then decided to forget about it and went home. Had a few drinks. Oh, Uh. These two peOple are married. And uh in the picture he's telling her he wants to discuss something. So they're sitting down to talk. OK. And then so he sat down. They have a son who's 17. So he wanted to tell her that he got arrested and she was very upset because it was, or even more upset because (inaudible) picture. And um, so the kid goes to court and every- thing. And when they're all through, getting off the hook, she has his father sit down and straighten the kid out and he turns out all right. OK This lady is a housewife and she's just got up in the morning. And um, she's very tired of her life as a housewife. And she's coming down to make breakfast and she's thinking about how that life is and it will be just another day doing the same thing around the house. So, um, she thinks about this for a while, then after a couple of months, she decides there's a better way to live and goes out and gets a job and education. Um, all right. This guy's in school. He's studying, he's in some kind of school. And he was just sitting down talking to his wife and she wanted him to come to sleep and forget about studying. And so they had a big argument out, you know. She was mad 7GP 14 15 186E 135 because she was neglected, because he's studying all the time. So she turned away and went to sleep and he got back up and decided he might as well study as long as they're not speaking to each other. And so he goes back and studies. Um. This, mother is trying to get her daughter to do her home- work. She was just reading it over to see if she could help her in any way. And, but the little girl is looking out the window. All of her friends are outside, they're playing. She wanted to go out and she's trying to think of a way she can get outside without having to do her homework first. So, she finally asks her mother if she can go outside, you know, just till dinner time. And her mother says, um, that she could and that they'd both work on it after dinner. OK, This one. . . This guy was trying to sleep, it was night. And um . . . um he thought he saw flashing. So he want to his window. He's looking around. I don't like these stories. Um, He saw this thing landing in his front yard. So, then these little guys got out, with antennas and stuff. It was a UFO and he tried talking to them for a while and stuff. And all of a sudden he found himself attracted to them. He started following them around. He followed them back into the space ship and it took back up to where they came from--Mars so and no one knew what happened to him. He settled. He became one of their leaders on the new planet, you know. (inaudible) liked it much better there. OK um, OK this guy, one of his friends, these two are married. One of his friends would always come to his house, but he was never home. He'd just sit there and talk to his wife and stuff. And one day he walked in the house and he didn't, he thought some- thing was going on between them. So, he's about ready to take off to go punch the guy. She's trying to get him to stay and you know, just talk with her a while before he runs out and starts fighting. Ok Um, This man was walking through the cemetery. He's just walking through, you know. And all of a sudden, his hands seemed to be forced together and kind of pulled down. And this happened all the way through the cemetery. And then when he got out (inaudible) and this made him realize, kind of brought to his attention that there is no way for his ever escaping death. And he had lived kind of a poor life up until then. And so he decided to change his ways and become a better person. Cause he had never figured on dying before and this kind of brought it to his attention. OK um. This girl had been out sort of (inaudible) and she got really drunk. She came from and she didn't figure anyone would be up. She was having a really hard time controlling herself. So she walked in and her mother was there. So right in the picture there her mother's helping her up to bed and she goes to sleep. But her mother is really mad about it. She's (inaudible). And when she wakes up in the morning, she give her a lecture on drinking and so she's mad at her. That's all. 136 96F OK um. These two girls have gone out with the same guy for a while and they both know about each other. They were like differ- ent kinds of girls, you know. He finally decided which one he liked better and he's going to tell the other one to get lost. And so um, he just told her and she wanted to make sure he really told her because she didn't kind of trust him. So she's waiting behind the tree and she saw her go storming by so she figured that he had told her. So she left and he's down at the beach and she went down to the beach and he told her that he had told that other girl to get lost and so they lived happily ever after. 33M 6GP 137 Ellen Carney Wow, A little boy, the little kid's what? Doing the same thing that other people go through. All parents want to put you through um--What you do to be cultured. He's got to take violin lessons and he sits in his room and looks at the think and thinks "I can't do this. This is really dumb. Why are they making me take violin lessons? I'd much rather take Drama or something else." He's real angry at his parents and tries to learn the violin but (inaudible) and he can and do very well. So he just sits down and looks at it, and thinks, "Who's getting conquered me or the violin?" The violin wins. 80 he finally tells his parents, "I can't do it, I don't like the violin." "OK, you don't have to take violin lessons any more." Hm. This one completely baffles me. Um. Whew. The woman on the side looks pregnant. Her husband's a slave or worker, I don't know. There's somebody going to school or leaving to become educated rather than being always pregnant and working for your food. Um, I can't tell if she's supposed to be a daughter or younger, or someone of their equal age. Hm. Well, I could say that, lets see, she's a school teacher, can't tell the age of this picture. Lets say she's a school teacher and she's a friend of the pregnant woman who's watching her husband working the fields, wishing that she went to school to go off to go and expand her brain, rather than just working very hard just to scratch out a little bit for food to keep her stomach full. The husband, well, he doesn't know that he's not, not missing anything or that he is missing anything. Only knows he's working to keep his wife clothed and fed and keep up his honor. Um. So his child will be well taken care of and have material things. The school teacher is looking away, feeling very sorry for both of them, that they don't know what they're missing and then again, she's missing something too. She's missing the love that's going between the two. Really terrible. Um. Wow. Just been completely messed up and still is messed up. The picture's incomplete. She just doesn't know what to do, what you've done or where you're headed or any- thing. The decision can't be made just by laying your head, down a (inaudible) to a chair or whatever. Finally he or she looks up, takes a deep breath (breathes) sighs (sighs) and gets up and walks away and finally makes the decision. Whatever it was they were having a hard time with, whether its good or bad, I don't know. Don't know if they'll be happy with the (inaudible) they made. They're going to look back and regret whatever they thought the decision (inaudible). Hm. These two are having an argument, not a hollering, fighting argument. Just having an argument, discussion? Having a discussion. They've been walking around pacing, just moving around an awful lot. Not just calmly speaking to one another. Really emotional peOple. And, this is one that I don't know 13MF 76F 138 what's going to happen. He leans down, tries to say something funny and she just looks up like, don't try to change the subject. That's not what we were discussing. She smiles. Let's terminate this. Nothing's going to get accomplished if we're very angry. Let's just calm down and have a swim. Then we'll come back and try to discuss it a little more calmly. Sit down, and look at each other. He says, yeh, I agree. They go out and do something physical, play tennis, whatever and they come back in, sit down and calmly discuss whatever it was they were discussing before. Perhaps now they feel toward one another. I like this card. Hm. Well lets see. This lady is up in her room. And she was alone, she thinks she hears something and so she creeps down the stairs, old house with old furnishings. And she'd left the light on for her, for a member of her family so they wouldn't feel quite so unwelcome or frightened. And so she creeps down stairs and opens the door. There's that person just sitting there thinking, lost in thought. She's very quite (inaudible). Says hi, why don't you turn off the light (inaudible). They talk about whatever the person had done tonight (inaudible). (Laugh) Oh Gee! Oh my. Um. Too young. They've gotten, gone out and getting very close and having feelings they never felt before. So, he took her back to his house, his home, his mother's home and nobody was home. He takes her in his room. One thing leads to another and they're finally in bed, make love and then he stands up, crying. Thinks, "how could I do this?" (inaudible) The two kneel down and pray, "Please forgive us for the awful thing we just now did." (inaudible) Come over to each other. Read in the Bible that once a man has given himself to a woman, or should I say, the woman to the man, that they are one and they are married in God's eyes. So they eventually do get married. They look back and think they did the right thing. Uh Oh. Here we go. This girl's going through puberty. Oh my. Such a traumatic experience. But she's still young enough yet to want to playwvith dolls, so she decides it's time she learns what's going, what will go on when she becomes a woman, supposedly. So she takes down the old family book and explains what menstration means. Of course nothing else is told just what's going to happen to the girl, nothing at all about what happens to a boy or the feelings that are involved or anything, just what happens. The girl doesn't understand why the mother is making her sit there and listen to all this malarkey. She doesn't know, doesn't care what's going to happen in the future. She wants to go out and play with her friends now. She has a doll right there in her hand. She doesn't think of it as a baby, just a doll. She wants to go out and play. Her mother is making her sit there, so she just looks away, kind of lets it go in one ear and out the other. One day, she's going to look back at the memory of her mother telling her and she's not going to think it's a very enjoyable experience. Never told her at the right time or place. (inaudible). And the 14 15 ISGF 96F 139 mother, she'll probably feel somehow, that she failed and she'll look back and wished she had said it in a different way. Mother apologizes. Later she's sorry but didn't know any other way and she hOpes that her future children will be taught differently. I like this picture. Um. Hm. This man all his life he worked very hard, out at night he'd come home, late at night he'd stand in (inaudible). Then he lay awake for a couple of hours (inaudible). Ch! 15 this passionate. Oh gee. These are two people in love. And she's just told him that he must (inaudible) but he's not being strong. The guy looks very depressed. "I know, but what can I do?" And she keeps trying to tell him she wants to help him. The best way she can help him is to leave, or just to be his friend rather than his lover. And he decides that rather than begging her to say, he'll just be very cold, look away. "Ya, go ahead, it doesn't matter. I'll live without you. I've lived without you before, I'll do it again." And she thinks well of all the good times they've had, but still thinks it would be best. So she says, OK good bye (inaudible) and she leaves. Oh. Ick. What a terrible picture. My goodness. Looks live the ghost from Ebenezer Scrooze, A Christmas Carol. Oh Gee, Um, its back in time, (long pause). He is a minister and these are his parishoners, they have recently died. The minister doesn't think that he did enough for these persons, doesn't think he helped them enough before they died, to live in a manner in which God would have wanted them to. He feels very guilty. This person has been dead for a couple of years now but the minister is still grieving. He wasn't able to help this man enough, so he goes, every day to her grave. And he still doesn't feel that he's done enough so he becomes a very sorry man and stops trying to help anybody else. He st0ps going to the grave sites, becomes really introverted and begins to think of himself dying. So this man dies, (inaudible) feels he's done nothing. Oh my. This woman she cares about (inaudible). She's been having a lot of trouble, she's been having a lot of physical trouble. Uh. She does not (inaudible). She's always very tired, always has to rest. This one time she kind of passed out on the stair case. Her mother comes to and puts her arms around, and smoothes over her hair and touches her fact and just looks (inaudible). Then the daughter looks up, comes back into consciousness and looks at her mother and puts her arms on her waist and shoulder and pulls her- self and starts over again. Tries to go up the stairs. Doesn't give up. She's in pain (inaudible). Um. Looks like twins. (inaudible) One twin walking by the ocean --one twin is just eh, the other is prettier than the other. The other doesn't want to fix herself up, her body. So, um. The pretty sister has lot of boyfriends, the other has a few close friends. She's gone down to the ocean to look out. The other sister doesn't feel like she's getting enough attention. She 140 comes down to where her sister is. And her friend came along and the pretty sister tries to talk him away. The pretty sister is batting her eyelashes, making suggestive moves and the poor, pathetic sister retreats and goes and hides behind the three and watches her sister's moves and feels sorry for her, that she has to do these things. Wishes she were a little more open, less (inaudible). And so, this particular sister got bored with this guy because there is no competition and nobody to win over and so she gets real huffy and argues with him for no reason and stalks off. And so the pathetic sister, who isn't really pathetic, goes back to the friend and tells him not to worry about her, you know how she is, she's always like that. This sister (points) is always very childish and very unhappy and gets divorced several times. And the other one, she gets married and has a wonderful life, children. This sister is jealous. She finally has a child out of spite, really spoils this child rotten for the first five years, then sends him off to boarding school because the child drives her crazy, (inaudible). The pathetic sister has finally outgrown her jealousy (inaudible). 38M 66F 141 Cheryl Smith Um, Well it looks like (laughs) a young boy who's just gotten a violin. No, he looks kind of like not upset but sad. Like maybe he either wants it or its his, but he can't play it. Maybe he's um, I don't know, handicapped or something. His face just looks like he can't have it. Maybe its not his. Um. He'd like to be able to play it but for some reason doesn't look like he can. Um. It looks like that in the end he's not going to get it, you know, whatever, he's not going to be able to play it. Its just like a dream or something that for him, you know, became reality. I guess that's all. He just looks like somebody who wants it and for some reason can't have it and won't get it. I guess that's all. Hm. OK, Um. The guy here, he's just, I don't know, I can't see his face or anything so I don't know what he's thinking or feeling. It looks just like he's working. But the lady here, she's either fat or pregnant, probably pregnant and so. She looks happy, just kind of not smiley happy, but just quiet happy, serene. Looks like she's like (inaudible) sun. Just standing in front, whatever. Maybe this is her husband. Um. The girl. She looks like she's thinking of looking at somebody but maybe not her in the picture. Or thinking about someone who's not here. Maybe a boyfriend or somebody she wished would be a boyfriend, somebody she likes. Um they just all look kind of quiet like peaceful. Um I would say that these two are probably married. Maybe. And she'll have the baby and everything will like work out, maybe. Happily ever after type thing. But her, she'll maybe things won't work out with whatever she's thinking about or whatever she wants. She'll probably be happy, but maybe not right now with what she wants. You think you want something and you never get it but, you're happy with something else. They just all look, I don't know, quiet, not really paying attention to each other, just themselves, thinking, or working. I guess that's all. OK This looks like a person who is troubled. It looks like, well it reminded me, I just was reading this book about a guy in jail and the first thing I thought of was somebody in a jail cell or prison. Um. Who's thinking, it looks you know, he's done some- thing, she . . . don't know. The person has done something that they regret and they wish. They're in jail, prison, um, (in- audible), but Um (inaudible). It looks like maybe this person's always had bad luck. I don't know why but. And now, you know, its something they've done that's caught up with them and they'll probably always have bad luck. I guess that's all. Hm. I don't know. This one. They don't look like they're husband and wife or anything. But, doesn't look like she works for him either. Maybe they're just Hm. not that either. (pause) I think they are maybe married or good friends, maybe married. Looks like he's telling her something, just got done. Her reaction. She doesn't look happy but she doesn't look upset just kind of 13MF 7GP 142 listening maybe. Um. He just looks like whatever he's telling her, OK. He looks not really happy but kind of. Um. Maybe whatever he's telling her, he, to him it's maybe good news. To her it's, she's not too sure. She's just kind of looking at him and listening. Um. I don't know. I don't know what will happen or because I don't know she's, she's just kind of sitting there. I don't know about this one. Probably though, if it is good news he's looking right now. That he could get her to see the good side of whatever he's telling her. So she'd agree with him and everything would be ok, I guess. I guess that's it. She looks like she's just opened the door and caught somebody, um, doing something wrong. Could be a young boy just goofing around, or just kids or it could be girlfriend-boyfriend. She looks like she's caught somebody doing-—I suppose may be even her husband—- but somebody doing something that maybe they shouldn't be. She looks like the type that kind of always, um, no, no, no. The type that never smiles, is always, nothing's ever good, everything. She's never shown any happiness or whatever. Um, she'll probably always be that way. She just looks like the type that never ‘ smiles, always. And maybe even sometimes looks to find people doing things that are wrong or, in her thinking wrong, I guess that's all. Um. First I thought maybe they were married or something but the way he's got his like arm over his face. He looks like maybe he's just you know, maybe not raped her but. Well he looks like he's just made love to her and either now knows he shouldn't have or it was wrong or whatever for I guess I don't know what reasons. But the way his arm's over his face. Maybe he's hiding something or he's ashamed of what he's done or um. um. Like maybe he's taken advantage of her because eh, doesn't look like she's too rich or anything from the way the room looks. Its kind of bare. But he'll maybe now he's just ashamed of what he did. Maybe taking advantage of her. OK This looks like a mother and a daughter and I'm not sure. It looks like maybe like a baby, the way she's holding it, if it's a baby then, it doesn't look like she's holding it too well. So maybe it's just a doll. The mother looks like she's reading to her but the daughter doesn't look like she's paying any attention. Like she's just kind of in space, just thinking. Um. Not too sure about what. But, whatever it is, the daughter doesn't look like she's paying attention and the mother is just, keeps reading. Um. I don't know what else. It just um. It doesn't look like the mother is paying any attention either cause she just looks like she's just looking at the book and the daughter is looking way off into Space and neither one of them is paying attention to what the other one is doing. Um. They're kind of in there own world. 14 15 186E 143 OK This looks like a person, a man, um, just um, sitting, thinking by himself um, maybe soul searching or just um thinking of his life um. Needing time to himself. Just looks like the type, well, seems like the type that um does a lot by himself. Just a loner type person. Um, who thinks a lot and just, about himself. But it looks like whatever he's thinking about or whatever his, life will be OK. Just the way. Kind of looks like the sun's reflecting on the window like and that to me is always. The sun really happy or bright. So it seems that whatever he's thinking about or h0ping or thinking about the past, everything will be OK, um. But he looks like the type that's always like, will not always like this but kind of basically does a lot of things by himself, thinking, stuff like that. ' OK It looks to me like a movie scene at first. That guy looks familiar. Um. (inaudible) It looks like maybe he's a real swinger-type a whatever and she's pleading with him. Maybe kind of like a one night stand or a weekend or week or whatever. But it didn't really, he just kind of used her more than anything else. And she, he looks like he's turned his head away, not really listening to what she's saying not caring about what she's saying or thinking. Hm. Looks like maybe he's always been this way and just, people he meets, he acts the same way with all of them. And her, she's probably, maybe it's never happened to her before and he doesn't look like the type that or he doesn't look right, any- ways, like he cares. He's just kind of "too bad" you know? Um. And probably he'll just leave and she won't, maybe never see him again. I don't know. Um. He looks like the type that could just forget about it and not ever think about anything. Well. It looks like a graveyard and (inaudible). First thing when I saw him the first think I thought of was the devil because he's all bleak, in the graveyard, kind of spooky. Um. And he's right by one of the cross-shaped headstones, tombstones. Um. Hm. Doesn't look too happy, but whether he's just mourned a dead person or the devil and lost another person I don't know. I don't know. Just the first think I saw or thought of was the graveyard and he just reminds me of the devil. But, I don't know what else. This looks like maybe two sisters or I think they're both girls. And it looks like something's wrong with this one physically or mentally or has done something and she, the other one, is trying to console her, comfort her. Um she looks upsets because she is kind of um. One thing, maybe, if she has done something wrong, maybe something she shouldn't have. She looks like the type that's always maybe the, of the two, the mother type, the I guess just the mother type always, you know and the one who would just running be the one to go to her or comfort her and she'd be the one would be like very, be very (inaudible). But they look, you know, very close and that she's maybe sorry for what she has done, for upsetting her, but it looks like they'll probably be that you know, well I don't know, she'll always be like the mother type of she is and maybe she'll change if she's done something wrong. I guess that's all. 144 96F Hey, well, it looks like they're someplace near the ocean or beach. Um. She looks like she's running-~her--This one, I'm not for sure about her. Looks like she's up above her, in the tree, but I don't know, um. She looks maybe like she's chasing someone. Her eyes or her face looks like maybe she's mad, um. She looks like just maybe from her eyes and her mouth that she's another one of those that doesn't smile too much Um. She looks like the type who's just kind of in the middle, kind of goes along with things Hm. Hm. I don't know what else. It just looks like she's chasing somebody, who I'm not sure of and she looks like she's really going after him, really stireed up, taking off, um. She just looks like she's like I said, just right in the middle and like maybe she sees this girl and whoever she's chasing but really doesn't like to see something and kind of don't really, she doesn't pay any real attention to it. Doesn't look like anybody who pays any attention to anything um. I don't know what she's got in her hand. I guess that's it. 38M 66F 145 Ann Jones Ok, this little boy's got a violin. He looks like he got a violin for a present, but its not what he really wanted and he really appreciates it but really not what he wanted and now its kind of like now he's got to learn to play it cause he got it for a present. But he really doesn't want to, he'd rather have some- thing else instead. Like he appreciates it, but he'd rather have something else instead. He'll probably learn to play the violin. Probably good at it too. Looks like something they carved in one of the buildings at MSU. It looks like the American Father or something. This girl is going to go to college, I mean school. The parents have worked hard for her. And it looks like she's kind of wondering why she's even going. Cause her mother, I guess she's pregnant, pregnant in the background. She looks like she's the girl, looks like she's wondering what life is all about. Looks like she's kind of contemplating on her mom and dad. Why they're working so hard. She looks like she's just satisfied somewhat and the dads still working real hard. (Q-whats going to happen?) She'll probably to go school. Do real.good. And uhm and the mother, the mother and the father will probably just keep working hard. Probably send some other kinds to school too. But this girl will probably exceed them all. Ooh, this person looks like he wanted to kill himself but decided not to. Um--looks like he's at a point that he doesn't know what to do. He has a knife, a blade or something on the ground. Or a gun, oh that's a gun. I don't know what it is. But it looks like the person is very mixed up and doesn't know where to turn he wants to kill himself and then decided that's not going to work either. You know, he'll probably end up confused for a little while longer (pause) inaudible. This looks like a movie (laugh) like Gone With the Wind or some- thing. This lady looks like when. This look like a typical male/female role. Looks like she's doing something that a woman shouldn't be doing, that a man comes in and says "what are you doing?" Like she should be guilty for something, when you look at his face. She looks kind of surprised and uh, maybe she was looking at his drawers or something. Like a mystery movie thing. The guy with the pipe and everything. Uhm--well what'll happen I don't know. She'll probably when, looks like she's trying to find something out, looks like a mystery. She's snooping around like Nancy Drew. (inaudible) And this guy is uh the spooky guy, hell, she'll probably find him involved in a murder, that's probably it. This lady looks like she just went to visit her neighbor. Nobody answers so she decided to just walk in. Looks like she's kind of yelling to see if he and her lady is here. Hmm. (long pause) I don't think he or her lady's home. She'll probably end up not finding her. 146 13MF (Big Laugh) This one, that girl looks dead. Looks like he just 76F 14 15 walked in and found her raped or something. Stabbed or something. And he's totally disgusted, anguished, or something. He'll probably go out and kill the guy, track him down. Mash his head to a pulp. She looks dead. He looks pretty upset about it. Looks like something my sister draws on--that's pretty. This, this looks like a typical female image. I can just see this mother talking to this little girl. "Now you're going to have to grow up to be a lady and you're going to have little babies.” And men giving her a doll and dressing her up real nice. Pulling her hair back. The lady looks like my mother, except for the bun, the size of her and everything. This little girl looks like she's interested in something else. And uhm and, the little girl will probably grow, have a lot of problems, frustrations. She'll probably end up matching her mother and all that she stands for. This guy looks like he's looking for some spiritual freedom. Now with that dark room, opening the window and that he looks like he's looking for a purpose in life and like now the light is shining on him. He sees the light, and he knows what to do. He looks very assured of himself you know, like he, the way he's leaned on the window. He looks a little like steadfast and looks like he knows what he's going to do. Like against that light he can see himself; there's an image. If he were back over here in the black, that way you wouldn't be able to see an image. I kind of take it as kind of a deep message or something. Uh. Just seems he found his purpose. Now he's going to go out and fulfill. Looks like he's found God or something. Oh this looks like another Hollywood Classic. This guy, looks like another typical, typical, headstrong male. I mean like some dude just came up and said something nasty to this chick and he's going to say, "I'm going to kill him." ”Oh, no, no don't" (laughs). Uh--this guys got a real real look in his eye. she's suppose to calm him down--it's always a woman's place. Calm him down. Hmm, he looks likes he's ready to kill someone, typical male pighead. First chance he'll kill him. This looks like Ebenezer Scrooge. Christmas future or something, huh, Spirit of Christmas future. That's what it reminds me of. This reminds me of how my mother would see death. Real black and morbid. But that person looks like how I feel when I'm in a cemetery I feel like the (inaudible) are trying to squeeze me in, like its too crowded or some thing, I don't like it. Um, I'd say this person is here, doesn't really know anybody at the cemetery but he just came there for the sake of going to a cemetery to pay respects and he realizes that these people are dead and they're gone. And uh he's kind of spooked by it. Somehow just leaving and never coming back again. 147 186F Is that a man or a woman? This person looks like he just got shot, or something. He's too limp, and that's too unnatural a position to be alive or normal. And she could be Dracula and squeezing the blood out of him (laugh) OK. She's Dracula and squeezing the blood out of him and before he goes upstairs; he's going to rescue someone from upstairs, and she doesn't want him to get at him. So she's grabbing him by the throat, choking him to death. She's real powerful. You can tell she's mascular.. She looks like a blah face, she looks like she has a subconscious reason for killing this person. She doesn't kill him just for the sake of killing him. It's just that one hang-up she has that she wants to kill him. She probably does too. 96F This looks like--Ok, this lady is spying on this girl that's running around the shore of this tropical forest. I don't know why she's spying on her. She looks like the girl running around. Ok, this is the story. This girl lost her boyfriend and she's spying on him. They were in a plane crash. Both had their boy- friend in it or she was with her boyfriend and he got interested in this other girl. So they got in a plane crash and are stranded on this island. And now she's spying on them. And she's going to plot somehow to get rid of this girl cause she doesn't like this idea of fooling around with her boyfriend. So the end will turn out that this lady here is going to get it either that or she'll come to realize that her boyfriend or no, they'll leave and leave her behind. 38M 66F 13MF 148 Sarah Robinson (Pause) OK. This is about a boy who everytime he ever tried any- think, he always wanted things, expensive things, material things, and his parents would get it for him and something would always happen. Like he would lose it or lose interest in it or something. So he wanted a violin and finally got one for Christmas and he practices and practices and one day he came home and broke the violin and he's really upset, not because he broke the violin, because he knows that he was getting kind of bored of it anyway. But he knows that the next thing, he wants, his parents aren't going to be getting it for him as soon as other times and so he's really worried what they're going to say (inaudible). Do you want more? OK. This one's about when, this girl's going off to school and as she's leaving she's seeing her two parents working. And I think one feels guilty for leaving because her parents are working hard and she's just going off to school and not helping out at all. You want an end? A conclusion to the story? Oh--it's hard, OK she (pause) OK she thinks she should be staying home but she doesn't, she goes off to school, and never sends her parents the money that she makes. I don't know what this is. My imagination, right? OK, (long pause). This looks like a shoe salesman, who's (inaudible) dropped over with the shoe horn--No, it looks like somebody in grief, grieving or something OK let say that I would say that she did something wrong that now she's really upset over, grieving over it. She found out (inaudible)--long pause--End of the story. (Long pause.) I don't know (pause) she's blaming herself for what she did, but we don't know what she did, but there's a gun, or a shoe horn. I don't know how it ends, these are hard. Looks like Katherine Hepburn. Oh, this is easy--she's writing a letter to her old boyfriend and all of a sudden she turns around and there's her husband looking over her shoulder and then she kills him, that's her, that's her trip (laugh). All right now she's writing a letter to her boyfriend and she's putting it into her drawer, right then he comes in and sees her he asks her what she did and she's denying the whole thing. Hmm-—This is, this is a woman who's alone, and she's going into a bedroom (pause). Oh, she couldn't go alone, she's got too much surprise in her face. All right she's a mother and she's checking out, or grandmother and checking in on her children at night to make sure they're 0K and she's nervous because she heard noises upstairs before and she heard a kid cry and the kids aren't there. The window's Open. There's a ladder against the window-- I can make them all into horror movies (laughs)--They're all pretty frightening so far. Oh, no, he killed her he killed her, OK. This man, he didn't mean to kill her but he suffocated her 76F 14 15 149 with the pillow. He got dressed. He's leaving, he knows that she's dead and he's thinking about calling the police but he knows he can't cause he's on parole anyway for killing someone else with a pillow. That time it was on purpose. This time! He's really upset but he wants to get out fast before he. . . It looks like a sleazy motel or anything, he wants to get out of there before he gets caught. Looks like this is a mother reading her daughter's report card and the mother's worried about the grades and the daughter's not really caring much about anything except that she wants to get out of the whole situation, and she's feeling badly, when. Actually it doesn't look like that at all, it looks like the mother is trying to get the daughter interested in something and the girl doesn't have any interest in it (inaudible). I don't know. Looks like the mother is trying get her interested in some kind of a book, a page that she's reading out of, and the daughter's looking out the window, cause her friends are all out there with their dolls, or actually, it could be an unwed mother, her mother's trying to read her the facts of life (laughs). It's too late. OK. This is a man who's new in a town and he had to settle for a small room on the top floor in a building just dark and dingy room, and the only source of light that he has, is the one window. He doesn't even have electric lights. And, so whenever its light outside he stands next to the window to do whatever he wants to do. (long pause)--And he's thinking about moving but he doesn't have enough money to get out and into another apartment or room. (long pause) Maybe he's not and there's a landlord locked him up in his room and he's trying to figure out a way to get out. The window's the only way. He's on the 24th floor. I guess that's it, he's trying to figure out a way how to get out of there. These pictures are too hard to understand. I there can be too many things for them to be. This looks like Katheryn Hepburn and Clark Gable, Umm, pause OK (inaudible) background for going to Florida--and she wants to go, he wants to stay up in the north for the vacation and work so they can take another vacation in the summer. He's a factory worker. She's a beautician, she wants to go to Florida and spend the money that they have saved up so far. And so at first she tried to be nice to him and then they got in a very big argument. He's already mad, but she's not mad yet, she's still being nice to him. They don't go. Oh, no! This guy's a grave robber, and uhm? but he only likes stealing, robbing from the graves with corpses on them. They're easier, I don't know. Maybe he doesn't, he's a grave robber though. N0! He's not-~Think what he could really be (long pause) Hmm. I know what he is—-his wife is buried here and he always hated his wife and now he's putting curses, on the grave, throwing and since he's doing nothing now, just kind of wandering around, he's blaming her for everything that's gone wrong with 186E 96F 150 his business and things he went out of business. And all the other grave markers are closing in on him, out for him. But he doesn't really notice that all the other graves are (laughs) why are all these graves different ways? Did you notice that? You know how grave yards are always in straight line. These are all wierd, so they're like closing in on him. They're all walking toward him. Grave markers, they're going to kill him. She's perfect she can't defend herself at all. The grave markers can but they're (inaudible). Looks like uh . . . she doesn't have a father. Her mother's very, very possessive and she came home late from a date. And at first her mother gets really angry at her and she starts, walks down- stairs and starts yelling and trys to beat her but then she realizes that uhm, the way that she's been behaving that, the way that the mother was behaving that daughter. Had no choice, then she felt sorry for her. Or it could be, all are killer pictures, could be that the daughter fell down the stairs, they had an argument at the t0p of the stairs. The daughter's dead. The mother looks at her. She's sorry that she got in the accident. She's feeling guilty that the girl fell down the stairs and died but it wasn't really her fault, that she did that. I must have some warped mind that everyone's killing everyone. This is Nancy Drew. Is it? Doesn't she look like Nancy Drew? (long pause) What this? I don't know (long pause). This one the blond one just got in a fight with her husband (inaudible) and he because, she just found out that he was seeing another woman who was Nancy Drew and Nancy Drew was hiding behind a tree because she was supposed to meet the man there at that time and she's scared that she's going to get caught meeting him. I, then she feels a little bit nervous being uhm, not really nervous kind of apprehensive about the whole situation. Cause she sees how really, how really unbalanced the blond one is, what does she have in her hands? It would have to be after a fancy party, because she's wearing too fancy a dress. So Nancy Drew--Oh, she's also worried about the whole think too, because she knows how much the blond one is going to be on the lookout now. That's about it. It does look like Nancy Drew lurking behind the stories. 3 BM 6GF 13MF 76F 151 Denise Anderson What should I start with (answer) OK. His mother decided that he, what is this thing a violin? His mother decided he had to learn to play the violin cause, uhm, a lot of little kids, their mother wanted them to learn to play the pianos or something, this kid'll learn to play the violin. And supposed to be in his room practicing. And he's looking at it and he doesn't want to practice cause he doesn't like to play it. So he stuck it out. He stays in the school orchestra or whatever for a few years and then he finally talks his mother into letting him quit. (Inaudible) Looks like, uh, way back in the olden days when the men were supposed to go to school and the men were supposed to be the smart ones. And the women were supposed to stay home and take care of the kids and the house. And this girl's kind of turning her back on it and she's going to school. She wants to be smart like all the men. And eventually she'll probably go back to being like all the other women because the society doesn't want women to be smart, just the men. Are these stories too long or too short? This looks like, uh, can't tell if it's a man or a woman looks like, maybe a mother who's been taking care of the kids all day. Looks like maybe her husband has run out on her and the kids and she has to work too. And she doesn't have enough money. And they've been driving her crazy. And she's upset about it. She doesn't know what to do. Eventually she'll probably get things straightened out. And get used to taking care of kids by herself. This one looks like, uh, a girl from way back, 50 years ago, way back when women weren't supposed to smoke. Looks like, like out of a Virginia Slims ad. And a man catching her smoking gets all upset 'cause women are allowed to do that and eventually she'll probably either be able to smoke in public or she'll just give up the idea and listen to whatever, whatever her father says. Looks like maybe there's, uh, maybe there's a living room, a dining room, something kids aren't supposed to play in. Kids are probably in there making a mess. And the mother heard them. And she comes in kind of in a fix, and knocking the stuff off the table (mumble). This one looks like the woman just died. Her husband's all upset about it, and she had a heart attack or died in her sleep or something. If she did die, she probably wasn't sick, a heart attack or something else. Probably called an ambulance. This looks like the little girl's mother is reading to her and she's not paying any attention or else, uh, she's thinking about what the mother's reading, making up a story of her own. Looks like she's got a baby or doll in her hand. She might be thinking 14 15 18GF 96F 152 of that. (Pause question-~what's going to happen?) Happen? Uhm, well, probably grow up and raise kids. I don't know all little girls play with dolls when they're young. They don't always turn out like they want to have their own. Well, this guy looks like he's going to commit suicide and jump out of that window. And the picture's all black which probably represents how he thinks about his life--really blank and if he's he doesn't succeed, he'll try again. This looks like a guy who has just been convicted to some kind of crime and he'll be sent to jail. He looks like he wants to run away like before they can take him or if he's already in the jail. Looks like he wants to escape from the jail. And his wife is telling him not, that he should stay there finish out his sentence and lead a normal life. He'll probably listen to her. This looks like somebody who, they're on (inaudible) a cemetery at night and he looks live he believes there's evil spirits in the cemetery and they're going to do something to him and he's really scared. He probably, uhm, I don't know what he's doing there, maybe someone he knows is buried there and he'll probably look at whatever he wanted to see and he'll run away because he's scared and then realize that really no harm can come to him in a cemetery. This looks like a child who's just been scolded or spanked for doing something wrong and probably got really upset about it and the mother's talking to him and trying to make him feel better, explains to him what he did wrong, and maybe the mother is sorry that she Spanked him. Looks a little like something out of a Nancy Drew mystery book. Nancy Drew is hiding out behind the trees trying to catch the girl who Stole the jewels and her. This girl's running away she did something and Nancy Drew always wins, she's (inaudible). 1 38M 66F 13MF 153 Ruth Hull UM. HM. There is a little kid there who was made to take violin lessons and just can't stand it. Um. His mother thought he had musical abilities so he was forced into taking violin lessons and he's sick of. Its just sitting on his desk and he's looking at it and he just can't hack practicing anymore. And he'll probably get out of it eventually. I guess the same thing happened to me. I took violin lessons and I couldn't stand it and I guess that's why I see it like that. Um. He'd rather go outside and play baseball or something like that. He's just Sitting there looking at it knowing he has another hour to go left to keep practicing and he doesn't want to do it. That's about what I can see. HM. These are really strange pictures, tough to make a story out of it. (pause) It could be a girl, looking back on what she'd rather be than what she is right now. Um. She could be in the picture to me it, She's standing and looking at what's behind her, remembering, rather than being in the picture. Um. Uh, maybe she'd rather, instead of going to school or whatever she's doing, maybe she'd rather be doing something else, like uh, being that woman in the picture looking at, I think that's her husband, kind of looking at him and uh. And kind of enjoying the land that she has instead of being confined like a school girl. Uh, and maybe. Hm. I don't know that I can see a past, present and future, but uh, its (inaudible) what I see. Looks like somebody who's having a breakdown, or something, like maybe a patient or something and uh, can't (inaudible) her problem so She Suddenly breaks down and uh cries. Hm. Hm. It's hard to think about that. It's such a one shot thing (inaudible). Looks like an old fashioned story, like the governess and the guy's used her (inaudible) something and she's just (inaudible). Looks like someone being questioned, maybe a Sherlock Holmes types where he's, he's, he's questioning her for something and she maybe doesn't know the information and she has her across her, eyes, very intensely. Um. He's (inaudible) really questioning her. Looks right into her. Figure out what she's thinking. Hm. This woman is all alone in her house and she hears a noise downstairs. She hears the noise upstairs and she's downstairs. And She's afraid of what may be but she's looking in all the rooms. And she looks in this one to see if there's anything in it. Can't, her expression on her face, it's really hard to get anything out of. It came to mind first, to get every room and see what's in there and She sort of (inaudible) her whole body come in the room because she's afraid of, to come in. That's about all. Hm. Looks like she's dead. Um. Doesn't look like he killed her but she's dead. Um. He came in the room and she looked so quiet that he picked up her hand and when she was dead, he just let it 76F 14 15 154 fall. Feels miserable about the whole thing. Um. He goes into shock. Uh. From the position She's in, it kind of unusual, Uh. I don't think he killed her or anything because he looks like he's sad, (inaudible) looks just average, she was lying there. Um. Maybe he just found her that way, sort of a quiet kind of death. She didn't get stabbed or anything. Fell asleep and died. Could be his wife or girlfriend, wife or his child, anything. Whatever this lady is saying to the girl, it doesn't interest her in the least. She'd rather do anything but sit there. Um. Can't, Um, way the lady is looking its hard to determine, you know if the girl, the doll and the book, but She's kind of learning over, maybe she's trying to tell the girl something. Could be like um, her teacher, or her mother trying to explain to her something from the book. And she could care less. She's like looking out the window wishing she could do anything but that. Uh, Um. (inaudible) Doesn't look like she really cares what's in her hands either. She'd rather, its like her mother maybe likes to have her be a real lady, you know, doll and the lessons and the girl is not interested. She'd rather be doing something else. She'll leave her home. This seems like a guy who's just, like his apartment is really dark and lonely and he wants to go and see something else. So he goes and sits in his window and looks out. Um., at the streets below. For some reason I get the impression like its a poor apartment and his only escape is to look out the window and just gaze. He can't do anything else--very desolate life. Uh. This looks like his leg, like ready to jump out the window, his leg being up there. Uh, or looking I can't really tell. Uh. He looks like if he was jumping, he probably would be (inaudible). I think he's just gazing around. Um, at the buildings and she feels really trapped. Like a scene from an old movie. She looks like she wants, she wants him so bad she's really clinging to him and he wants out (laugh). I don't know why. She's pretty. It must be her per- sonality, either that or he just feels trapped. He doesn't want to stay there. Uh. (inaudible), could be a picture. She very, she looks like a whore-type of a person. Um, and maybe he remembers something else. He'd rather be with, with someone else, he'd rather be with. And he realizes that this isn't what he wants. He wants to get out and she's clawing at him. She's got her nails in his arms. She's looking at him tenderly but she's grabbing on to him at the same time. Um. The look in her eyes is not love its more, you know, just possession and he, he just can't stand it. Um. Looks like an undertaker-type person who's gravestones looking very inhuman from this. They don't look like the kind you'd weep over or identify with someone who died. They just look, give you, spooky. He seems like, looks exactly like a mortician. That's all I can think of. He doesn't look sad. He looks like this is 18GF 96F 155 his life's work and its all gathered around him, it's what he's done, all his life. Um. (inaudible) He doesn't look sad and he doesn't look gleeful or threatening or nasty, he just simply looks. He doesn't doesn't really have any look at all. Uh. They look mere like his friends then, Uh, just like his companions. Like he's a mortician and that's his life's work and that's all around him. Uh. Can't figure what his hands are doing. He's not praying. It's like the opposite, or, um, looks like maybe he put his hands together, maybe he feels insecure. Hm. From the way his mouth looks and eyes either she could be either that She's strangling the girl or guy, it's a girl, against the railing of the stairs. Her hands are in a strange position. The person doesn't look like he's struggling very much. It could be just like she's uh, um, maybe the girl fainted or something and she's standing her against the wall and pushing her head up and looking in her eyes to see what she's doing, what her eyes are doing, Um cause her fingers aren't like in a strangling-type position. They're just, sort of, like tilting the head up, sort of, around the neck. Uh, the other person looks too helpless to like, uh, like she wants to be where she is instead of trying, instead of grabbing and fighting her off. So I think it looks like she's holding on, looking in her eyes to figure out what's wrong. Um, hm, maybe she cut herself and She (inaudible). I'm not sure. Like a Nancy Drew mystery (laughs). Uh. Hm. The girl, this girl who's behind the tree was, um doing something with the paper, uh. Maybe painting or writing or something and she heard a sound and she goes to look down and she sees a girl running across the shore, from something, from somebody. She's all dressed up. I can't really see how that is, um. Anyway she's really frightened. This one looks like she's just observing, she happened to look down to see what's going on. Uh. She may be running from a man who's after her, or from monster who's after her, or I would say anything else, something that's after her. She's just watching. She doesn't see what's behind her. She only sees the girl. That's about all I guess. 38M 6GF 13MF 156 Janice Burton Hm. Well (laughs) kind of reminds me of, maybe he was made to take, you know, lessons and he doesn't really want to. And his mother's left him to practice and he's just, you know, staring at it, wishing he could be outside playing instead or something, you know, trying to practice the dumb instrument or something. And I don't know, that's about it. I guess (what's going to happen?). He'll probably end up practicing a little bit. That's usually what I ended up doing. Hm. I don't know. I really don't know what it is (laughs). (Just try to make up a story about it.) Kind of looks like maybe this is the farm and these are the workers out in the field and this is a girl whose father maybe owns the farm and she's really rich or something and she's on her way back from school. And doesn't look like she's gotten too good a response from maybe talking to the workers or something. And she looks disappointed that maybe they didn't talk to her or something like that. That would probably be about it. (Do you know what's going to happen? What the outcome's going to be?) I don't know. Maybe she'll, you have to try talk to them some more try to get them to like her, like her. Their ways are probably different. She's richer and they're more like farm workers and poor. Looks like someone who's awful unhappy. Maybe somebody who, like, lost a parent or relative or something that was really close to her. She doesn't look like someone that just, you know, got hurt. It seems like someone who's really anguished or upset, but looks like She's kind of lost, doesn't understand it. Don't know what will happen. It's hard to say. Anything could happen. But it will probably turn out all right after. Looks like an old movie. Um. She kind of looks like she got caught doing something or saying something she wasn't supposed to and she's kind of surprised to see that there was someone listening. So she's trying to get herself out of it. Making up excuses. He doesn't look like he believes her (laugh). That's all. She looks like maybe she was sleeping and heard a noise. And she's kind of walking around the house looking. And she walked into this room and seem to have seen something which isn't in the picture. She looks kind of startled like there's someone there or something there. Or something has happened to the room, something is broken, something like that. She looks startled. I don't know. She looks like she's dead like maybe, I don't know. Kind of looks like he might of killed her or something and that he's feeling real, you know, confused like he doesn't believe he did it or something. She looks like she's kind of dead or some- think. He looks like he feels he shouldn't have done it and he -13 , I“ vwi -. "\ 157 knows he was wrong and he's going to be very upset and mad at himself. Like maybe he might do something to himself or something cause of what he's done these are (inaudible) pictures (laughs). 76F Kind of looks like she's being read to or something. She's not really thinking about these stories. She's thinking about you know, maybe, being somewhere else or doing something else that she'd rather be doing. And that's her mother, Sitting, reading a story to her. It seems like she's off in another world not really thinking about the story. She'd rather be somewhere else. 14 Kind of looks like a lonely person who was just maybe laying in his bed in the dark. Decided to go Open the window and was just :1 looking out. Kind of a big town, busy street. You know, watching 3’. all the people go by or something. Because he's in there all { alone and all those people are outside running around having so ' much to do and being so busy. I like that picture a lot. 4 Looks like maybe she had done something that made him quite upset and he's very mad and already turned to leave. She's trying to explain to him. Like She's trying to say she's sorry or explain something. Explain the situation to him but he's not listening. Looks pretty mad. 15 I don't know. This one's weird. Looks kind of like a spirit in a graveyard, maybe looking over his own grave or something. It's really weird. That's what it looks like to me. Spirits or some- think, seems to be standing over his own grave wondering if people still remember that he's down there. He seems kind of sad. l8GF Looks like she's either trying to hold her up or trying to strangle her. I can't really tell. Maybe it might be a maid or something, whose stollen something. She's threatening her not to do it again, shaking her by the neck. She doesn't look the type though, that would do something like that. But she's probably quite upset that she did it so She's trying to punish her in some way, kind of shaking her. 9GF Looks like the girl in the bottom is running from something that she either did or saw, and this girl up in the tree is observing her. The other girl not know she's there. I think maybe she's running from-~looks like they're kind of by water and cliffs. Maybe she either pushed someone or someone push someone else off a cliff and the other girl saw it and she's running from it. So that the other one in the tree knows everything that's gone on. The other girl doesn't know she's there. It kind of looks like she's might be a maid and the other one looks kind of dressed up like she might be coming back late from a party that had been (inaudible) or something. 38M 66F 158 Elizabeth Johnson It looks like he's cramming for a test, you want me to tell a Story? It looks like a violin, couldn't tell at first, Ok. Well he looks a little discouraged, this little boy, I don't know what his name is but um probably was practicing for hours on end with his violin. Can't do anything right with this music and he looks really discouraged laying his violin down, has his eyes half closed, and probably just thinking its not worth all this practice and hard work. (What else did you want me to put in here?) (prompt) Probably eventually pick it up again, start playing and maybe he'll be lucky and not hit as many sour notes, won't be as discouraged, probably needs a little encouragement. Well, back in the past and um, this girl doesn't look like she fits in the picture. She's going to school, maybe she's coming back from school and look like a relative I don't know. Brother or something working on their farm and She seems like she's kind of civilized compared to the people in the background. She um, she's dressed a little bit nicer and she's carrying her school books. She's kind of looking far off so she appears that She's thinking of maybe the city or something else instead of you know, their own farm and make use of her education. She probably was always satisfied until, you know, she went to school and started getting educated. And it looks like it could be her mother maybe an older Sister in the background, seems really content with her life and seems to have opposite expression. You can almost tell, one pleased and the other one's got a desire for something else. This one's a little unclear to me. Is that suppose to be some object I recognize? Couldn't even tell you what it was (laughs). Well, this person is obviously distraught. Looks like, looks like, a woman and she's (long pause) she's upset about something I don't know, I haven't figured that one out as yet (pause). Well to me it looks like maybe oh someone very close to her has passed away and she feels herself like she can't go on, like at this moment she's in a state of shock. Although I can't see her face but the way she's, the position looks like She's in a state of shock and like the world is against her or something and she probably sees her future as meaningless but She'll probably get over this emotional state and uhm go on living her life. (long pause) Well this looks like a kind of home, looks like a husband and a wife, but the wife looks younger than the husband, and they're discussing something. He appears to be dominating the conversation though cause he's standing up leaning over her and She's acting very passively and appears to be like the woman's role in the early 19005. The 18005, they weren't the dominant one in the family and uh whatever they are doing, a conversation, she probably already realizes She won't win out in the argument and She seems a little disgusted at the fact. 13MF 76F 14» 159 Looks like this lady heard, maybe heard a noise or something up- stairs and she's coming from a basement or something into a room and she doesn't appear to be frightened at all. She seems real calm she can't She can't, she probably lives alone and is kind of used to it, hearing noises and what not. Hm, (long pause) can't imagine what She's actually thinking but probably something to the effect that whatever the noise was, probably nothing, just some- thing that, the house breathing or something or I don't know, that's a hard one (inaudible). Well the woman looks dead the way she's laying on the bed and the guy looks like he found her and possibly she died of like uh, well uh an overdose of something and he thinks its his fault the way well, the way he's standing wiping his eyes like. Seems like maybe they had not gotten along in the past year or something, and he feels like it's her, his fault that she died, and he feels like the future's kind of nil for him because he can't make it up to her (pause) (question--what's going to happen in the fUture). Well, he'll probably live his life in kind of a slump, Uh probably like depressed all the time. He'll probably keep thinking about this and what he should have done in the past to make you know that, what might have prevented what happened and him--he'll go on living but not living he'll just be existing. Well this looks like a mother telling her daughter the facts of life, or something but the daughter doesn't look that old but, cause she's carrying a baby doll and the mother looks like she's just looking at her child. She can tell she's growing up and the daughter--she's got kind of a far away look. Probably imagining herself when she's older and when probably also though sorry that she'll be getting older because things are more complicated, man I think her mother's making this known to her. (long pause) That's about all. Well this guy, think it's a man, uhm, doesn't have any lights on his house. Looks like maybe he woke early in the morning, Opened his window to find snow outside, cause its all white and bright outside. Probably the first snowfall or something. Just, uh in a certain mood, don't know if I can describe it exactly but the first snowfall always makes people a little happier and he just looks like he's gazing at it in wonder. Probably imagining uh that, probably or foreseeing the snow to Stay forever cause at this moment he's happy and he and most peOple want to be happy and it's kind of a vague picture--that's all. Well to me it looks like the woman in the picture told the man about an affair She had and she's grabbing on to him like but, he doesn't look like he's holding on to her like he has revenge in his eyes--a look of revenge against the man who had the affair with her. She's trying to prevent him from doing anything rash. ‘What will probably happen is uh--(pause) She'll eventually calm ihim down and he'll come back to her and forgive her for her 15 186E 96F 160 distrustfulness and disloyalty cause it doesn't look like he's really out to kill the guy but he, just that in his eyes he looks a little revengeful. Well that reminds me of death--the guy in the picture cause he's Standing in a cemetery. And he's all dressed in a dark, or black, like a shroud, looks like the guy from Scrooge and he's not human so I don't, or doesn't appear to be human, just seems to represent death so uh he's probably just taking a look out for whose coming next I don't know. Someone who's just buried, well uh cause I don't see his eyes or anything. He just appears to be a symbol that uh--can't say he has any thoughts--just seems to represent something to me. (Do you know what's supposed to happen in the future?) Not exactly just maybe uh, oh that probably that's all that's here, someone dies, I don't know. Just a symbol, probably go on and on. Looks like a mother and daughter. Appear that the daughter nearly fainted on her. Maybe down about something and the mother's com- forting her and probably thinking, the mothers thinking about the times her mother reacted the same way and times that her mother helped her out. And this daughter looks like maybe she has a problem, some kind of, some strain, maybe a boyfriend problem or something and she's being comforted by her mother. Seems kind of a sad event that she probably can't imagine things getting better but she knows that since her mother's there she probably. It's beginning to feel better and she knows that in the past her mother helped her through the same kind of situations in the same way. Hmmm. Well looks like this one girl is maybe reading by the lake. She looks like she has a book in her hand but She was startled by someone running and gets up and sees this girl--another girl running. I don't know I can't see--they seem to be up from the water's edge and she's probably just running to a place a place of secretion (seclusion?) where no one gets hidden away no one knows much about her, just some place to get away from her problem whatever it is. Probably something that upset her and the girl that's startled by this person's probably wondering why the girl is running, what she's running away from, probably imagining all sorts of things. But she doesn't say anything to the girl just watches her go by and the girl running will go to her secret place, stay there till She calms down and actually sees what she was running to and try to find out what She was running from. That's hard. 3BM 161 Alison Leonard 0k. (laughs) This reminds me sort of myself. Uhm, hm, all right this little boy is going to take violin lessons and he comes from a very poor family and his father is dead and his mother has been working very hard to buy him this violin and she has to work hard to pay for his lessons because She wants him to Study with some- body good because she feels he has talent. And the kid isn't too sure whether he wants to take lessons or not. He wants to but he feels sort Of guilty about making his mother work real hard and he also has an older brother who, uh, wanted to go to college but is also working and uh, he eventually does get to take his lessons. And, uh, he really gets into it after a few years. He has some problems in school because, the other boys sort of make fun of him for taking violin lessons. But he doesn't really mind and he plays in the school orchestra and, uh, he really is very talented and in the end he ends up at Carnegie Hall (laughs) on the stage as a star (laughs). That's the end of the story. Hm. . . OK, this girl was raised on a farm in the Midwest and She's lived there ever since She was born. And when she turned 18, um, her parents came into some money and they decided that She should go to college. She didn't want to go because she didn't want to leave this little community. She didn't want to leave her parents and she had a lot of friends there. And she had quite a hard time actually leaving but she finally did go. Her parents convinced her that it would be the best thing and she was their only child and she was an only child and they wanted her to have a good life, a better life than they had had because they always had to work very hard. And she went away to college and she met a lot of new peOple and had a lot of different experiences than she was used to. And this is the first time She came back home to visit her parents she stayed in school the whole year because she went out of state (laughs). And she came back at the end of the year to Spend the summer with her parents and She was just really shocked at how much she had changed and she thought that they were quite awkward; that they used poor grammar; and, uh, just didn't know about the better things in life, like her new friends did. And she felt that She really didn't know them anymore and, uh, when she went back to school in the fall She felt very confused about it. She wanted to go back to take part in this new life she had made for herself and she felt rather uneasy about leaving her parents there because she felt she really didn't know them anymore and she felt she had lost something of herself too. She wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or not. The end. Hm . . . (Sigh). God. I can't think of anything for this. Um . . OK, this is a child in an orphanage and uh, when he was about three years old, his parents got a divorce. And uh, they had been fighting for quite a long time. His mother is an alcoholic and his father, his father isn't really a bad man but he's not very ambitious, he's just sort of a drifter, doesn't really know what he wants out of life. So his parents divorced. He was put in the 6GP 162 custody of his mother. Um, and her alcoholism got very bad. She would have him alone at night and go out to bars and pick up men. And bring them back and uh, she didn't pay any attention to him at all, really, um. He didn't do well in school and his teachers didn't really understand what his problem was. And so eventually, he just stOpped going to school, hung out in the streets and uh, he started hanging out with a gang of kids and uh, they were all actually in the same boat as he was. They had a lot of time on their hands and didn't know what to do with it and their parents didn't give them enough attention for one reason or another. They were busy working or they had their own emotional problems. So one day they were just all sitting around. It was boring, it was in the summer time and it was really hot and they were all kind of on edge and everything. And the oldest kid in the group said, ya know, if we had some money, we could take a bus downtown and go swimming and everybody said heah but we don't have any money, so let's go into that drugstore there and rip them off and the other guys said, oh sure. "Come on, it wouldn't be hard, we've seen other guys do it on TV, we can do it ourselves." SO this kid didn't really want to do it. So they went in and they ripped off the money and they gave the money to him to hold because he was the youngest, I suppose. They thought if anybody got caught it would be him and he would be holding the bag. Well it turned out that they did get caught. He was taken to court, you know, and the juvenile authorities decided that his mother was unfit to take care of him and that he should be put in a home as a ward of the State. That's where he is right now. 0K (laughs). All right um, this picture shows a young woman. She comes from a small community in England. Um not too far from London, about 50 miles from London. But uh, very rural and sort of quaint, um. She needs a job and she applies in several London papers because she feels there is nothing for her to do in this little town other than just get married to some juy and she doesn't want to do that. And uh, so She applies for jobs as governesses because She has had quite a good education herself and She feels that she could take care of kids and she likes kids. 80, um she receives a couple of replies and uh she finds a home that she likes and the people like her and She has to take care of three children, two girls and a boy. And uh, in the home, the mother is dead and uh the father is a newspaper editor. And quite an influential man. He's about ten years older than She is. She, she likes him a lot, She likes the kids, she likes her job. Um, she's read Jane Eyre. She knows all about Mr. Rochester and Jane and how they got something going together. She thinks, wow, it would be great if something like this could happen to me. And, this thinking about eventually marrying this man prays on her mind. It becomes more and more like, it takes over her whole mind. And uh, one day, he comes in, sits down and he says uh, "I have something very important to tell you." And She says, "What is it?" And he goes "I'm getting married and uh at the end of the month to a woman who works down at the newspaper." And uh, she's quite upset by this and quite shocked. And uh, She feels 13MF 163 sort of betrayed by him because all along She had thought that he was feeling, ya know, the same thing about her that she felt about him. And uh, eventually she decides to leave his home and go back to the town where she came from. OK. This woman is staying overnight in a friend's house. Um, her friend is a woman and about her own age and she called her and asked her up and asked her to come over because she didn't like living alone. This was quite a new apartment she moved into and didn't really like the neighborhood too much. And she had received several sort of threatening phone calls. And uh, she was a little afraid to stay alone. SO she asked this woman to come over and stay with her, just for the night. So, the woman didn't really want to come. Um, She had things of her own to do. She didn't really want to go and spend the night in somebody else's house. She wanted to Stay home. But She decided she would because this woman was her friend. So, they just sat around talking most of the evening. And uh, around 11:00 o'clock they both went up to bed. About 1:30 in the morning she heard this tremendous crash and she sat up in bed and She didn't know what it was. And uh, she called her friend's name a couple of times and there was no answer. So she decided "Well I guess I better get up and see what happened." She's wandering around the house and she turned on a few lights, it's very quiet, very Still. She's Still calling her friend's name but there's still no answer. She starts looking around for her and she can't find her any place. She goes in her room; she finds the bed has not been Slept in. She looks outside the window, the streets are deserted. It's a very dark night out, no moon. She doesn't know what to do now. She picks up the phone and it's dead. She doesn't want to go outside all by herself on this dark night in this deserted street in a bad neighborhood so she doesn't know what to do. She searches the whole place, can't find her friend anywhere, can't find any notes, so She doesn't know what to do. Suddenly She hears a tapping in the next room. She thinks "could that be my friend, or could it be some murderer who came in and killer her and is looking to get me too?" She doesn't know what to do. So, slowly she Opens the door. She looks in and there is no body there. The tapping has stopped. She closes the door and starts to go back to her room thinking she'll wait till morning and see what happens then. Then she hears this tapping again. By this time she's really scared and she doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to go back to her own room. So, she's just standing there in the hallway. Doesn't know what to do. Suddenly these hands come around. And there's some kind of a fiend in back of her and this person strangles her and kills her. And hides the body in the cellar of the apartment house where he has also hidden the body of her friend. And then he finally Stalks off into the night. Sighs . . . Gee these pictures are hard . . . all right let me see. This man is uh, an average middle class family man. He's been married for fifteen years. And uh, they have two children, two boys. He and his wife get along pretty well. They love each 7GP 164 other and have a pretty good relationship. Um, he has quite a demanding job and he spends quite a lot of time at the office. And uh, his wife doesn't like this too much. It makes her sort of angry. Sometimes She thinks he cares more about his work than he cares about me and the kids. And uh, so one night when he's worked especially late and they were supposed to go out that night he obviously forgot about it, he comes home and they have a big fight and she accuses him of seeing another woman. And uh, he gets very mad at her for having so little faith in him. And it ends up that he storms out of the house. And uh, decided, "well, if that's all she thinks of me, maybe I will take up with some other woman. So he cruises around the two for awhile and he's angry and upset and meanwhile his wife is upset too. She has sort of come to her senses and realizes that, uh, everything she said to him was pretty stupid. Um. Eventually this man picks up a girl in a bar. She takes him home with her. And. They're going to go to bed together. And, just at the last minute, he sort of gets this, you know, pangs of conscience and uh, decides he can't go through with it. But he's ashamed to go home to his wife. He's also still angry with her. And uh, he's just rather confused at the whole thing. She doesn't know what the heck is the matter with him. And uh, his wife is wondering where he is, and wants him to come home. tree-1'11 OK. This woman has just told her daughter that she's going to have a baby. And this girl's been the only child all her life and she's about ten years old now. And her mother's just suddenly come out with this you know, and said "wouldn't you like to have a little brother?" And the little girl is not all sure that She'd like to have a little brother or a little sister. And uh, she's angry at her parents. She doesn't want anybody else intruding on the family. She feels that, you know, everything is fine the way it is now and they don't need anybody else. And uh, she also feels like, you know, "wasn't it good enough just to have me? Why did you have to have, why do we have to have another baby?" And her mother says to her, um, "it'll be fun. You can help me take care of it. It'll be just like playing with your doll only it'll be real." The little girl is a little intrigued by the idea of taking care of a baby but this still doesn't make her feel too much better. And she's pretty upset by it right now. And eventually, her mother has the baby and the girl is Still very jealous of it and uh, she finds that her parents have no time for her any more, must for this new baby which is a little sister. And they'll talk about how cute the baby is and they never say how cute she is anymore. And uh, all her friends even talk about, there interested in the new baby and she feels that they're not interested in her anymore. And, she's just, her whole, she feels that her whole life has been ruined by this baby. She doesn't like that baby at all. She is mad at her parents and she is mad at herself for feeling this way. 14 165 OK. Uh, this man is walking along the street one day. It's a very bright sunny day. Everything very nice. He feels very at ease with himself, he has no problems. Suddenly in back of him, he hears this voice shouting at him, telling him to stOp. And he stops and he looks around and he sees these two men, two uniformed men coming for him. They have guns and they have clubs. And uh, they stOp him and say "you're coming with us." He says, "what did I do?" "You'll find out when we get down to the station house." And they're not the regular policemen. He doesn't know who they are. They're not from the army. You know, he just doesn't know who these guys are or what they want him for. And uh, he says, "no I'm not going to go with you, and uh, unless you can give me some kind of good reason or some kind warrant." They start to drag him away, and uh, he fights them off and he runs for his life, really. They start shooting at him, and uh. It turns out that they have a dog to search him out. And he's running down the street and suddenly no one is in the streets. And it's all deserted and this bright sunlight seems to be getting brighter. In his eyes he becomes almost blinded and he can't tell where he is going. All he can hear is the dogs barking in back of him and the foot steps of the men coming for him. And, suddenly he sees a doorway. He thinks, "I'll duck in there." And he goes in there and its completely black. And he can't see anything. He doesn't really know where he is. He can't hear anything in the room. Outside he can still hear the barking and the footsteps. And he goes over to the doorway and looks out. And he sees them coming for him. He doesn't know what to do. They're getting closer, and closer, and closer. And then he wakes up (laughs). It was all a dream. OK, this man is a trucker and uh, he has been driving trucks since he was 16 years old. He is now 33. Um, he drives a regular route from California to a small town in Mexico. And he hadn't had much education. This trucking job is about the best that he can get. But he is not satisfied with it. He's not happy with it. He feels that he'd like to better himself but he really doesn't know how and he feels that he can't anyway. When he's driving he daydreams about things, thinks sometimes, well what if I didn't go on my regular route? What if I just took Off someplace? But he never does and uh, he always stOps at this same little truck st0p in Mexico. He knows the waitress there and they're friends. And she is in a pretty hopeless situation too. She has to work there. She doesn't really make enough money to live well but She can't go either. She doesn't like working there. Most of the truckers are a pretty crude bunch. But she does like this one man. She thinks he is a little bit better than the rest of them. And she wishes that he would marry her and take her away from this. And he likes her too and uh, he thinks, you know maybe, if we did get married that, She'd be able to help me and I could get out of this job that I don't like. So eventually they get married and she has to keep on working because he can't support them both. He has to keep on with his truck route because he can't do anything else. 80 actually their relationship is about the same as it was when she was the waitress and he was the trucker. Its almost as if they 15 186F 166 had never gotten married at all. And they stay married for the rest of their lives until he dies and she goes on working as long as she can. They never had any children. And uh, eventually She just gets put in an old people's home. I can't seem to think of anything original. . . . This picture reminds me a lot of different stories but I can't think of any- thing new (anxious laughter). UM . . ok. This is a picture of a puritan and uh, he came over to this country and well, his parents came over to this country in the middle of the sixteen hundreds. And uh, settled in New England. And they lived in a very small community, very pious, go to church all the time--um. And they raise their child, boy, now this man, to be very God— fearing, rather intolerant. And they raise him very Strictly and when he becomes a man he is really a pillar of the community. He becomes a judge and uh, an elder in the church. And just about the time all the witchhunts are breaking out in Salem he decides that this would be a good thing for their community too. He sees a lot of evil and uh, he wants to get rid of that. Also, sub- consciously he thinks that this would be a good thing for him too. Um, it'll make him even more powerful in the community then he already is. So he just picks out a couple of people he doesn't really like and that are sort of shunned anyway and uh he accuses them of being witches. And most of the people in the town are only too willing to go along with this. Um, he, evidence is brought against these people and uh, they are condemned to die. Most of them are hanged and uh, this man builds quite a career on just witch hunting. And, at the end of his life, he's a very old man and he goes off to the cemetery and looks around at the grave stones of the peOple who he has condemned to die. All right, um. This is a picture of a woman and her son. And uh, they are very rich. They always have been rich. Her parents were very wealthy and her husband's parents were wealthy too. Came from a very long line of aristocracy in America. And uh, they've always just had it really good. They live in a very nice house in Boston and uh, it's around 1870. And she had two sons, one of them was killed in the Civil War, and this son was also in the war but he got out of it all right and She thought, "Well thank God, at least I have one son left." And she has a lot of aspirations for him. She wants him to be a lawyer. And she wants him to continue his schooling. Um, suddenly one day he comes to her and says, ”I can't be what you want me to be. I have to be what I want to be myself." But she says, "What are you going to do?" And he says, "I'm going out to sea. I'm going to join the Navy." And she's just shocked and uh, she's angry at him and upset. She's afraid She's going to lose another son. She tries to talk him out of it but he is just Stubborn, you know, he's got to go. And uh, finally she just reconciles herself for it. Uh, she says goodbye to him. He goes away to sea and she doesn't hear from him for six months. She thinks, you know, that something happened to him. And uh, she finds out that he's gotten married and he's going to live in France. He is going to settle down there. And this is, the letter's just to say goodbye. 167 9GF Hm. 0k. This is a story about a woman, a young woman, um she teaches school in a small town in the country. It's just a one room schoolhouse. She teaches children from kindergarten to twelfth grade. And uh, she's sort of a mousey person. She's very smart. She's not real pretty or, you know. She doesn't have real nice clothes or anything. And uh, most peOple this that she really doesn't care to be pretty or have nice clothes. But actually this is just a front she puts on. She feels that a teacher should, uh, be sort of a very special person, sort of above the rest of the crowd. Um, should sort of exemplify what is good to the rest of the community and to the children that She teachers. She's not real happy in the role but she feels that she has to stick to it. She's made this life for herself and now she's stuck with it, really but she does daydream a lot. And uh, one day she was walking home, She walks by this river close near the town. And uh, she sees an image of herself newly dressed up, really looking sharp. And uh, tries to imagine what it would be like to really look like that. Then she imagines herself to have a very glamorous life in a big town always having fun, always have parties, a lot of money. And uh, she, she gets very caught up in this fantasy. Um, and she doesn't realize that one of the kids from her class has snuck up behind her and throws a rock in the water the whole think just sort of dissolves and she comes back to reality and goes home. . A 38M 66F 168 Donna Kent (Laugh). All right (laughs). I don't know. OK. This little boy in this picture. Um. He always wanted to, let me see. I can't decide if he likes it or not. OK. He's always wanted a violin, is that a violin? Yea (laughs). OK. He always wanted one, you know. Since he was real little he always watched TV and saw how they uh, saw all the musicians and everything and he always wanted to play one. SO uh, it was his birthday and his parents bought him this violin. It was all wrapped up and everything and he unwrapped it. And uh, Since that time he's had second thoughts about what he wants to do. All his friends have been playing basketball and stuff and all the sports he was just getting to like, and uh, he's not so sure he wants to play that anymore. So right now he can't, he's really in a state of confusion and afterwards, when he thinks this out, he'll learn to play the violin because he feels guilty but he won't enjoy it (laughs). This one's weird. OK. This girl in the picture, she went, she at, she lives on this farm with all of these people, but right now she went away to school. I think she went away to college. And um, she's dreaming this, see she's Standing here and dreaming this. And this is her home she's thinking of. She's just standing I don't know, probably just somewhere, just standing, dreaming about it. And she sees her mother's leaning up against this tree and that's her dad or one of the helpers that are plowing the fields and stuff. And I think she's really lonely right now. And she'll probably. The outcome, she'll probably go back home to visit them (laughs). What can I say? How many of these have you got? I don't know if this is a boy or a girl. I guess it's a girl. OK, I'll say it's a girl. This girl is being punished for something, not really punished. I think that she did something wrong and maybe she wasn't really caught at it but she's feeling guilty about it. She's having second thoughts now and like its worse punishment than if she would have been caught and yelled at. And so she's crying about it now and she wished she wouldn't have done it and everything. And the outcome, she will go and she will confess it all (laughs). Oh boy. I'll love to hear what somebody else said about these. This is in a scary movie. See uh. This girl, all innocent and everything. She's just Sitting there. I don't know what She was doing, probably uh, maybe she's in a haunted house or something. She, looke like she was pretty tense before this guy came up. But she's sitting there just minding her own business and this kind of Spooky guy comes up behind her and scares her. So She turns and she's real startled and she doesn't know what's going to happen. I think he'll probably uh, he'll probably try to hurt her. Probably uh, kidnap her or tie her up or something. 13MF 7GP 14 169 Hm. I feel like Mac Davis. You ever watch that? He makes up, uh. They give him a sentence and he makes up songs that go along with it, little stories that go along with the sentence. Um. I can't decide whether she heard something or if She's looking for something. Um. I'll guess she heard something. I don't see any- thing in the room but that's it, maybe she's home alone and she's just knitting or something. And she hears this noise in the dining room. Wherever it is. And she gets up to see what it is and she's, uh, pretty nervous about it. So She, uh, Opens the door kind of cautious and she's kind of looking in with that scared look on her face. And I don't think She'll find anything there. She imagined it. Well. This guy either just raped this girl (laugh) or maybe he was impotent is that how you say it? um. I think that though because I just saw that Bonnie and Clyde movie, maybe it looked kind of like this. He was impotent and it really bothered him. OK I Stick with that story, no I'll say he raped her because of the way he's got his arm over his eyes. I'll say he came in here and raped this, this girl and uh. And now he feels bad about it. He's got his arm over his face. He doesn't really want to look at her. And uh. She was, uh, I don't know if She's dead or not. She looks like She's dead. And he's going to take off pretty soon. Take Off running (laughs). Oh wow. What a bizarre imagination. OK. This little girl's got her doll. She's probably playing house or something. It's just her little doll She carries around all the time. And uh. That's her mother and I think that this little girl came up and asked her mom something, something about, um, something about the baby or something. Maybe She asked where it came from or something about how to take care of it or something. And I think the mother here is reading out of the Bible to answer. She found something in the Bible to answer. And I think the little girl's going to go away more confused then knowing the answer. OK. This guy's trying to sleep. He's just laying in his bed. Something is bothering him. It's pretty late, probably three or four in the morning and he can't sleep and it's a really nice night out. So he just goes up, up to the window and looks out the window and he's just looking out, just kind of thinking over his problems. And then eventually, he'll get em all worked out and so back to sleep. I'll bet some peOple said he jumped didn't they (laughs). You think you're having fun with me don't you? All right, this girl's trying to make the move on this guy (laughs). I don't know what they were doing before. They probably just met or some- thing. Well maybe not just met but they were just talking or something and she's trying to, she's got that look like she wants to, you know, make the move on him and stuff. She wants him to like him, like her. And he looks like he's interested in somebody else. He's trying to take off. GO see someone who's more 15 186F 96F 170 important. But she's involved with him. And so I think that she'll lose. And he'll go to whoever he's looking at. He'll make up an excuse and take off. Um. This is really bizarre. This is an evil picture. OK. This is a cemetery and uh, this guy just um, um, maybe hm, I don't know what he was doing before he came here. He looks evil to me. Maybe he just did something and then he came to the cemetery. Maybe he just likes cemeteries. I don't know, but a cemetery. And he does look like he's praying to me. Maybe he's thinking about dying. Yea. Think he's come here and he's thinking about dying. And so then he will die (laughs). It's hard. I couldn't make up anything. All right. These two ladies here were having an argument over this guy. The one that's like married to him or whatever, to her boyfriend or whatever is getting mad because this other girl is. She thought they were messing around. And everything. Such they got in a big fight and everything and they couldn't control their anger and they were just screaming at each other and so this one went for this. The one. That's the one that likes the guy, is strangling the other lady (laughs) you know what I mean. So she's going to Strangle her and kill her and then, and then She'll just dispose of the body somewhere and that'll be all. That women'll die. Don't you have any pleasant pictures (laughs). These two girls were on the beach. I don't know what they were doing. Think they were, I think where they first Started out they were probably were just on the beach for the day. And just watching the waves or something. But I think they did something. They uh, maybe they went and peeked on somebody or I don't know. And this girl hid in the tree. And the other girl went and did whatever she did and then She's running and this girl's going to jump out of the tree and they're going to run away. So the person will never find out what they did. I think they were coming there to study (laughs) the beach. 111041an STATE UNIV. LIBRRRIES WWI"H"!“WWW"!"WWUHIlIMIUIWI 31293106639739