Repression-sensitization and clinical judgment.

Only Gordon (1959, 1957) has classified both Ss and judges for repression-sensitization. Represser judges make more accurate predictions largely because of assumed similarity. Represser Ss are more easily predicted possibly due to rhe greater clarity of cues and socially desirable responses in their behavior. The cue basis for accurate judgment has not been determined but may be contained in personality correlates present in biographical data and used in the judgment process. This study is concerned with replication of Gordon's findings and with the cue basis for judgment. The repression-sensitization scale was administered to 256 undergraduate psychology students; means and sigmas by sex were almost identical with Bryne's data (1961) . Four male judges were selected to represent scale extremes and six female Ss were quasi-normally distributed with one at each scale extreme and rwo medium-high and medium-low Ss at one sigma above or below the obtained means, respectively. Each S completed a 20-item quesrionnaire with four questions from each of the following cue areas: demographic, occuparional, social, emotional, family. These questionnaire responses were converted, without editorialization, into one page of biographical data per S. Judges were given these data in random orders with five-word definitions of sensitization and repression and asked to locate each S o n a six-point repression-sensitization scale and to list, in descending order of importance, the five most useful cues for this judgment. Absolute Z-score discrepancies berween Ss' actual scores and judges' estimates were analysed by a one-way analysis of variance for rwo treatment conditions. A non-significant F ratio indicated that neither repressers nor sensitizers were superior predictors. In order to separate subject variables, c tests were used. Represser judges predicted represser Ss wirh greater accuracy than sensitizer Ss ( p < ,0025). Sensitizer judges predicted with equal accuracy regardless of S classification. When sensitizer and represser judges are compared, represser Ss were more accurately predicted by sensitizer judges ( p < .05) while sensitizer Ss were more accurately predicted by represser judges ( p < .01) . Cue utilization was analysed by weighring cues in order of importance, 5 for first choice, 4 for second choice, etc., across the four cue areas, since demographic cues were not used by any judge. Sensitizer and represser judges use these four kinds of cues differently ( x? , p < .05). The cue areas were analysed for differential usage by comparing observed with expected or equal frequencies ( p < .01) . Emotional cues accounted for 48% of the total number utilized by both, sensitizer and represser judges. Sensitizer judges used more occupational cues while represser judges used more family and emotional cues. Social cues were utilized equally by both groups of judges. These results diverge from Gordon's findings because of a different task and individual differences among judges. Only one represser judge had a perfect rank-order agreement wirh the actual order of Ss. The other represser judge was in perfect rank agreement with one sensitizer judge. Individual differences among judges are responsible for the finding that sensitizer judges are relatively more accurate with represser Ss since the most accurate represser judge is more accurate for both sensitizer and represser Ss. Represser and sensitizer judges d o use substantially different cues and assign different import to these cues.