Defense mechanism correlates of orality.

Although there has been a great deal of research assessing behavioral correlates of oral dependency, the defensive style of the oral dependent person remains unexplored. This paper describes two studies investigating the orality--defense mechanism relationship. In the first study, 154 undergraduate subjects (74 males and 80 females) completed the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI; Gleser and Ihilevich, 1969), and were administered the Group Rorschach test which was scored for oral dependent content in the standard manner (Masling, 1986). In the second study, 64 undergraduate subjects (30 males and 34 females) completed the DMI and the Lazare-Klerman Trait Scale (Lazare, Klerman & Armor, 1966, 1970). Results of both studies indicated that orality is positively related to the use of turning-against-self (TAS) defenses, and negatively related to the use of turning-against-object (TAO) defenses in male subjects. In both studies, orality scores were negatively related to scores on a DMI-derived index of outward-directed aggression (AGG) in males. In Study 2, neither obsessiveness nor hysteria scores were related to TAS, TAO or AGG scores in subjects of either sex. Findings are discussed in the context of previous research on oral dependence.

Parental representations and orality.

One hundred ninety-three undergraduate male subjects were administered a Rorschach orality measure (Masling, Rabie, & Blondheim, 1967), and completed copies of Blatt, Wein, Chevron, and Quinlan's (1981) Parental Representations measure. A significant correlation between orality and quality of parental representations was found, with high oral subjects giving more negative descriptions of the mother than low orals. No relationship between orality and the conceptual level of parental descriptions was found. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of psychodynamic formulations regarding the oral personality.