Date of Award

5-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department/Program

Psychology

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Paul Amrhein

Committee Member

Ken Sumner

Committee Member

Danielle Martines

Abstract

Repressors are individuals who report low anxiety on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (Taylor, 1953) and high defensiveness on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). These individuals are largely out o f touch with their true feelings o f anxiety and general distress, as indicated by discrepancies between their self-reported emotions and objectively measured physiological symptoms. Prior research has indicated that repressors underreport behaviors that could be negatively perceived, such as substance and alcohol use. This study assessed risky behaviors and appraisals o f benefits and consequences among 50 classified repressors and 50 randomly selected nonrepressors from a university sample o f 401 participants. Analyses o f covariance were used with gender and ethnicity as covariates, as well as follow up /-tests. It was found that repressors reported significantly less engagement in illicit drug use, aggressive and illegal behaviors, risky sexual activities, heavy drinking, irresponsible school behaviors, as well as significantly less benefits from these activities. No significant differences were found for reporting o f engagement and appraisals o f high-risk sports between repressors and nonrepressors.

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