Memory processes and hypochondriacal tendencies.
Students with high and low Scale 1 (hypochondriasis scale) responses on the MMPI reported health-related and nonhealth-related events about themselves or about a close friend and then listened to tapes of others doing the same. Memory after 1 week was identical for the two groups, but identification of the origin of a memory varied with Scale 1 responses. Low Scale 1 subjects made fewer confusions than high Scale 1 subjects when distinguishing between memories about their health and the health of a friend or of a stranger. However, high Scale 1 subjects were at least as able to determine the origin of a memory as were normal subjects when the discrimination did not involve a memory about themselves. Interestingly, it does not appear that high Scale 1 individuals are particularly poor at monitoring the origin of health-related memories, but rather that normals are particularly good monitors in this domain.
Durso
F T
FT
Department of Psychology, University of Oklahoma, Norman 73019.
Reardon
R
R
Shore
W J
WJ
Delys
S M
SM
D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006998:Hypochondriasis / Q000523:psychology*; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory