Existential Confrontation Research Articles

Gender, sex-role identity and avoidance-confrontation of existential issues for psychiatric inpatients.

Viewing at least the beginnings of personality development beyond culturally stereotypic sex-roles as theoretically related to the openness to confront existential issues in general, the confrontation-avoidance of existential issues for 32 male and 32 female psychiatric inpatients was investigated. Subjects were grouped for analysis of variance by gender and by median splits of Bern Sex-role Inventory scores for masculinity and femininity. Although both male and female stereotypic sex-role groups evidenced the greatest avoidance of existential issues, the only statistically significant trend was found for the interaction of gender by masculinity which was attributable to the endorsement of masculine adjectives by females being associated with the most existential confrontation. Discussed in view of Bern's similar findings regarding flexibility and females' scores for masculine adjective endorsement, the results were viewed as supporting our model for female patients but not for males.

Some Indices of Existential Confrontation from a Sample of Maximum Security Inmates

Mean responses on measures of avoidance of existential confrontation, avoidance of ontological confrontation of death, and avoidance of ontological confrontation of loneliness from 35 maximum security inmates were compared with normative data established in earlier studies predominantly of college students. Statistically significant differences were found for both the death and loneliness measures; the inmates' groupings scored higher than the normative samples, indicating there is less confrontation of death and loneliness among maximum security inmates than among typical college students. Groups with high and low scores on these existential-ontological scales were compared for differences on several measures of psychological distress. High scorers on the loneliness measure recorded higher scores on the psychological distress indicators. Results are discussed in terms of implications to an existentially oriented theory of communication.

Acceptance of Self and others and the Existential Persuasion

This paper examined the dimensions of self and other acceptance in the context of an existential-ontological perspective. A divergent view of conventional conceptualizations of acceptance of self and others is discussed and some research documentations are presented. Correlations among scores on the Thauberger Avoidance of Existential Confrontation Scale, the Eysenck Neuroticism Scale, the Berger Acceptance of Self, and the Acceptance of Others Scales obtained from 428 university students and staff were consistent in magnitude with those obtained on a similar sample of 116. As predicted, a significant correlation was found between Acceptance of Self and Acceptance of Others (.50 and .57), each of which was also significantly and negatively correlated with Neuroticism (Self: —.62 and —.66; and Others: —.34 and — .37). While Avoidance of Existential Confrontation correlated low with Neuroticism (.18 and .34), little relationship was noted between Avoidance of Existential Confrontation and both the Acceptance of Self (—.10 and —.23) and the Acceptance of Others (—.01 and —.03). The pattern of correlations suggests that the Avoidance of Existential Confrontation Scale possesses some psychometric distinctiveness from the Eysenck Neuroticism Scale as well as both of the Berger Acceptance Scales and that the existential-ontological dimension warrants further study.

The Relationship Between an Avoidance of Existential Confrontation and Neuroticism: a Psychometric Test

The Relationship Between an Avoidance of Existential Confrontation and Neuroticism: a Psychometric Test

Thanatos and Eros: Kate Chopin's the Awakening

undeserved state of neglect; now, partly as a result of new feminist criticism, pendulum has swung in quite other direction, and Chopin has been hailed as an early advocate of women's rights. Edmund Wilson sees Awakening as an anticipation of D. H. Lawrence in its treatment of infidelity.' Kenneth Eble maintains that the novel is an American Madame Bovary, though such a designation is not precisely accurate. Its central character is similar: married woman who seeks love outside a stuffy, middle-class marriage,2 Jules Chametzky is even more explicit: does surprise one is modernity . .. of Mrs. Chopin's insights into 'the woman question.' It is not so much that she advocates woman's libidinal freedom or celebrates force of body's prerogatives.. . . What Kate Chopin shows so beautifully are pressures working against woman's true awakening to her condition, and what that condition iS.3 There are differences, of course, among these evaluations, but underlying similarity is unmistakable: all see power of novel as growing out of an existential confrontation between heroine and some external, repressive force. Thus, one might say that it is woman against stifling sexual standards or that it is woman against tedium of a provincial marriage. Chametzky offers, perhaps, most detailed explanation: The struggle is for woman to free herself from being an object or possession defined in her functions, or owned, by others.4 Certainly elements of

The auspicious moment.

I N Ar~CmNT GREECe, in the city of Olympia, a sanctuary to Zeus was erected. That complex of buildings contained a stadium where the first Olympiad was held in 776 B.C. "Quite close to the entrance to the stadium are two altars; one they call Hermes of the Games, the other is the altar of Opportunity. I know that a hymn to Opportunity is one of the poems of Ion of Chios (b. 490 B.C.}; in the hymn, Opportunity is made out to be the youngest child of Zeus. 'u (Pausanias F1. 150 A.D.) Kalros personified opportunity, also translated as "psychological moment? '~ The uniqueness of Kairos' position is reflected in his being a child of the gods of Zeus, father and protector of the family; a son with its many significances; and the youngest with its unique implications. His specialness is further enhanced by the fact that his father Zeus was the youngest son of Cronos, who in turn was the youngest son of Heaven (Ouranos) and Earth (Gaea) who emerged from chaos, the Void, that existed before there was anything. Chaos comes from the Greek root, to gape, simply meaning open space. Kalros was a favorite subject in art, especially from the time of Lucippus of Sicyon. (FL about 328 B.C.) ~ He was later shown with a long forelock, while being bald behind. (Description of him in a poem by Possidippus of Pella F1. 270 B.C.) ~ Hence by a gross mistranslation of his name, we have the expression "to take time by the forelock. ''2 Kairos as the youngest is the newest, a beginning, what is most immanent, an opportunity, a chance, a psychological moment, an auspicious, a right time, llfe itself as it unfolds moment to moment. As you approach the stadium and the contests to take place there, you encounter and confront Kairos as he encounters and confronts you. The concept of Begegnung is evident as well as that we are dealing with an existential situation and one of deep importance. The audience were not univolved spectators but active participants, an aspect of the totality, as evidenced by the crucial role of the chorus in the Greek drama. These contests involved many dimensions of human being and creativity, not only athletics but poetry, drama and the dance. The setting and circumstances were dramatic, their import to honor and venerate the gods, while considerably affecting and influencing one's position and status in the polls. A person's whole existence was at stake in its individual, collective and cosmic aspects. These many dimensions of the coming events determined how essential it was that you know who Kalros was, what he looked like, and that you respond totally to the existential confrontation and seize him by the forelock where your grip was firm. One moment later as you passed him and he passed you, it was too late. To turn around for a second chance would put you in an almost ineffectual position of moving forward and backward at the same time; you would be in a very unbalanced condition and much worse, with your now limited resources available to you, you would face the bald back of his head and with no place to grab hold. What about "Hermes of the Games" opposite to Kairos? Also son of Zeus and of Maia, daughter of Atlas, "cunning from birth, the first day of his life Hermes invented the lyre, stole Apollo's cattle, impudently denied the theft and was reconciled to his older brother. ''2