Attitudes toward Interdependence among Persons and Psychological Health

Abstract

Although a variety of psychological theorists have posited that a central aspect of psychological health is the ability to join with other persons in cooperative efforts to achieve mutually desired goals, there is little direct evidence linking the social psychological literature on cooperation with the personality literature on psychological health. An exploratory study was conducted to examine the relationship between attitudes toward cooperation, competition, and individualism and psychological health as indicated by the MMPI. Subjects were 70 white, middle-class, high-school seniors in a midwestern suburban community. Attitudes toward cooperation were significantly negatively correlated with 8 of the 10 clinical MMPI scales and with a variety of the research MMPI scales. Attitudes toward competition were significantly negatively correlated with 7 of the 10 clinical MMPI scales and with a variety of the research MMPI scales. Attitudes toward individualism were positively correlated with 9 of the 10 clinical MMPI scales and with a variety of the research MMPI scales.