Overcontrolled hostility among prisoners and its relationship with denial and personality scores

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the significance of other-deception and self-deception in relation to overcontrol as measured by the Overcontrolled Hostility (O-H) Scale of Megargee, Cook and Mendelsohn (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 72, 519–528, 1967). The subjects were 74 Icelandic prisoners who had, in addition to the O-H Scale, completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Gough Socialisation Scale, the Arrow-Dot Test, and the deception questionnaires of Sackeim and Gur (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 213–215, 1979). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the deception questionnaires account for 44% of the variance in overcontrol. The personality tests did not add significantly to the variance after the deception scores had been controlled for. The importance of other-deception and self-deception to the concept of overcontrol and the implications for research are discussed.