.— Interpersonal behaviour of individuals in five tasks (individual performance, two dyadic tasks, two small-group tasks) was videotaped and coded on 11 psychomotor categories concerning (a) movements regulating interaction, (b) indications of tension, and (c) temperamental acts. The individual consistencies were examined on the basis of correlational analyses and task similarities. The consistency of individual psychomotor behaviour across all the tasks was highest in the number of selfinitiated acts (psychomotor activeness). Consistency was also found in the total tension score and the utilization of large/narrow space, while the effect of the particular tasks was clearly demonstrated in the other categories of psychomotor style. Both communication and disposition interpretations of psychomotor styles were considered in the explanation of the results, and some methodological factors reflected in the interpretations were presented.

Consistencies of psychomotor styles in interpersonal tasks

.— Forty 14-year-old boys were selected on the basis of peer ratings to represent characteristic aggressive, controlled extravert, anxious, and controlled introvert patterns of behaviour. Each boy was asked to play the role of either a son or a chum with the corresponding father's or chum's role played by the male E in four tape recorded dialogues. The topics were “getting more pocket money”, “holiday making”, “choosing a TV channel”, and “agreeing on a favourite make of car”. The boys' ability to persuade the opponent and to express their disagreement in a socially acceptable manner was studied. In accordance with the hypotheses the results showed that the controlled extraverts were sensible negotiators while the aggressive belittled the other's proposals and showed disagreement and indifference. The controlled introverts conformed passively and the anxious had signs of blocking in their speech. A discriminant analysis revealed that the differences were also very clear on the individual level.

Social skills of aggressive and nonaggressive adolescents.

.— The subjects comprised two, matched, extremely aggressive (experimental ExG and control) groups of twelve 8–year-old boys, and one criterion group of extrovert, well-controlled boys. The ExG was submitted to a treatment of eight lesson? with the aim of making an individual realize non-aggressive, constructive ways of coping with situations. Video-tape recording was used. The results showed that (1) aggressively extrovert children were more impulsive and utilized more space than the constructively extrovert, (2) psychomotor characteristics were more stable over situations than aggressive and constructive coping strategies, and (3) no changes in the psychomotor characteristics of the ExG, attributable to the experimentally induced increase of constructive behaviour and decrease of aggression, could be found. The results were more in favour of the disposition interpretation of expressive movements than of the communication theory of psychomotor expression.

Anneli Turunen

Papers

Psychomotor reactions of aggressive and non‐aggressive extrovert children