WAIS characteristics of non-pathological obsessive and hysteric styles

Tested traditional clinical hypotheses about the cognitive functioning of individuals (N = 16) with an obsessive or an hysteric style in a non-pathological population using selected subtests of the WAIS. Individuals identified as having an obsessive style displayed the predicted patterns (Information and Vocabulary greater than Comprehension), while their hysteric counterparts displayed only a trend toward certain predicted patterns (Comprehension greater than Information and Vocabulary). Predicted between-group differences were significant. Higher base rates of obsessive features in a college population may account for the weaker trends within the hysteric group. Generally, the results appear to support the likelihood that nonpathological forms of the two styles display patterns of cognitive functioning similar to those of their more pathological counterparts.