A comparative study of novice nuns and college females using the response set approach.

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Abstract
The vastly different type of life chosen by novice nuns and college females suggested personality differences which were thought likely to be reflected in response style. Accordingly, 40 Ss in each group were asked to rate each of the Rorschach inkblots on 21 semantic differential scales. It was found that the nuns generally rated the inkblots toward the more positive extreme of the evaluation scales and at times toward the more potent extreme of the potency scales. The generality of this tendency was assessed by comparing the social desirability (SD) ratings of 28 nuns to those of 28 college females. It was again found that the nuns tended toward more extreme ratings. The introduction of the SD dimension resulted not only in more positively extreme ratings on adjectives ordinarily rated positively, but also more negaitvely extreme ratings on adjectives ordinarily rated as negative. Nuns were more variable than college females in rating nearly neutral adjectives. It was concluded that these tendency differences might be used as a basis for later prediction studies. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

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