The current study replicated a previous one concerned with relations of chronic marijuana use, cognitive functioning, personality traits, and social values. A larger sample of subjects was used and several additional measures designed to assess field dependence were also administered. 24 heavy cannabis users were more field independent and had better control of attention processes than 24 nonusers. They also performed slightly better on tasks designed to measure originality, cognitive flexibility, and general cognitive functioning. There was no evidence of brain damage or impaired cognitive functioning. Most previously noted differences having to do with personality and social values were replicated, although some failed to reach significance in the current study. Implications of both studies are discussed, with special reference to self-selection.
References
1.
AdornoT. W.Frenkel-BrunswikE.LevinsonD. J.SanfordR. N.The authoritarian personality. New York: Harper, 1950.
2.
AllportG. W.VernonP. E.LindseyG.Study of values: Manual of directions. (Rev. ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1951.
BlockH. H.HaanN.SmithM. B.Sociological correlates of student activism. Journal of Social Issues, 1969, 25, 143–177.
5.
BlumR. H.Society and drugs. Vol. 1. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1969.
6.
BowmanM.PihlR. O.Cannabis-psychological effects of chronic heavy use. Psychopharmacologia, 1973, 29, 159–170.
7.
BrauchtG. N.BarakarshD.FollingstadD.BerryK. I.Deviant drug use in adolescence: A review of psychological correlates. Psychological Bulletin, 1973, 79, 92–106.
8.
BrombergW.Marijuana: A psychiatric study. Journal of American Medical Association, 1939, 113, 4–12.
9.
CampbellA. M. G.EvansM.ThomsonJ. L. G.WilliamsM. J.Cerebral atrophy in cannabis smokers. Lancet, 1971, 7736, 1219–1225.
10.
Canadian interim report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-medical Use of Drugs. Ottawa: Information Canada, 1970.
11.
ChorpaI. C.ChorpaR. N.The use of cannabis drugs in India. Bulletin of Narcotics, 1957, 9, 4–29.
12.
ClydeD. J.Manual for the Clyde Mood Scale. Coral Gables, Fla.: Univer. of Miami, Biometric Lab., 1963.
13.
CohenM.KleinD. F.Drug abuse in a young psychiatric population. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 1970, 40, 448–455.
14.
EysenckH. J.The psychology of politics. London: Routledge-Kegan-Paul, 1954.
15.
FrenchJ. W.EkstromR. B.PriceL. A.Manual for Kit of Reference Tests for Cognitive Factors. Princeton: Educational Testing Service, 1963.
16.
GalstonI.Psychiatry and the human condition. New York: Brunner-Mazel, 1976.
17.
GeisserS.GreenhouseW. W.An extension of Box's results on the use of F distribution in multivariate analyses. Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1958, 29, 885–891.
18.
GetzelsJ. W.JacksonP. W.Creativity and intelligence: Explorations with gifted students. New York: Wiley, 1962.
19.
GoldsteinJ. W.KornJ. H.AbelW. H.MorganR. M.The social psychology and epidemiology of student drug use: Report on phase one. Pittsburgh: Carnegie-Mellon Univer., 1970. (Tech. Rep. No. 70–18).
20.
GoodeE.The marijuana smokers. New York: Basic Books, 1970.
21.
GoodenoughD. R.The role of individual difference in field dependence as a factor in learning and memory. Psychological Bulletin, 1976, 83, 675–694.
22.
GoughH. G.Manual for the California Psychological Inventory. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1957.
23.
GravesM.Design Judgment Test manual. New York: Psychological Corp., 1948.
GuilfordJ. P.HoepfnerR.Sixteen divergent-production abilities at the ninth-grade level. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1966, 1, 43–66.
27.
GuilfordJ. P.ZimmermanW. S.The Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey: Manual of instructions and interpretations. Beverly Hills: Sheridan, 1949.
28.
HaagenC. H.Social and psychological characteristics associated with the use of marijuana by college men. Mittletown, Conn.: Wesleyan Univer., 1970.
29.
HoganR.MankinD.ConwayJ.FoxS.Personality correlates of undergraduate marijuana use. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1970, 35, 58–63.
30.
HollingsheadA. B.The two factor index of social position. New Haven, Conn.: A. B. Hollingshead, Yale Univer., 1957.
31.
HollisterL. E.Marijuana in man, three years later. Science, 1971, 172, 21–29.
32.
JacksonD. N.A short form of Witkin's Embedded-figure Test. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1956, 53, 254–255.
33.
KingF.Marijuana and LSD usage among male college students: Prevalence, rate, frequency, and self-estimates of future use. Psychiatry, 1969, 32, 265–276.
34.
KingF.Users and non-users of marijuana: Some attitudinal and behavioral correlates. Journal of American College Health Association, 1970, 18, 181–185.
35.
LevinsonD. J.HuffmanP. E.Traditional family ideology and its relation to personality. Journal of Personality, 1955, 23, 251–273.
36.
LuchinsA. S.Mechanization of problem solving: The effect ofEinstellung. Psychological Monographs, 1942, 54, No. 6 (Whole No. 30).
37.
MausnerB.GrahamJ.Field dependence and prior reinforcement as determinants of social interaction in judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1970, 16, 486–493.
38.
McGlothinW. H.WestL. J.The marijuana problem: An overview. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1968, 125, 370–378.
39.
MeierN. C.The Meier Art Tests: 1. Art judgment: Examiner's manual. Iowa City: Univer. of Iowa Press, 1940.
40.
MirinS. M.ShapiroL. M.MeyerR. E.PillardR. C.Casual versus heavy use of marijuana: A redefinition of the marijuana problem. Paper presented at the 123rd Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, San Francisco, May, 1970.
41.
MorrisC.Varieties of human value. Chicago: Univer. of Chicago Press, 1956.
42.
NaditchM. P.Acute adverse reaction to psychoactive drugs, drug use, and psychopathology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1974, 83, 394–403.
43.
OrnsteinR. E.The psychology of consciousness. San Francisco: Freeman, 1972.
44.
PalermoD. S.JenkinsJ. J.Word association norms: Grade school through college. Minneapolis: Univer. of Minnesota Press, 1964.
45.
RapaportD.GillM.ScraperR.Diagnostic psychological testing. Chicago: Year Book, 1945.
46.
RobinsL. N.DarvishH. S.MurphyG. E.The long-term outcome for adolescent drug users: A follow-up study of 76 users and 146 nonusers. In ZubinJ.FreedmanA. (Eds.), Psychopathology of adolescence. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1970. Pp. 159–178.
47.
RokeachM.Beliefs, attitudes and values. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1968.
48.
RubinV. A.ComitasL.Ganja in Jamaica. Hague: Mouton, 1975.
49.
ShermanM. H.A brief, objective test for the measurement of mental impairment. Journal of General Psychology, 1955, 52, 258–296.
50.
StroopJ. R.Studies of interference in serial verbal reaction. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1935, 18, 643–661.
51.
SuchmanE. A.The “hang-loose” ethic and the spirit of drug use. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 1968, 9, 146–155.
52.
TalbottJ. A.TeagueJ. W.Marijuana psychosis: Acute psychosis associated with the use of cannabis derivatives. Journal of American Medical Association, 1969, 210, 299–302.
53.
TreismanA. M.Verbal cues, language and meaning in selective attention. American Journal of Psychology, 1964, 77, 206–219.
54.
TyldenE.A case for cannabis. British Medical Journal, 1967, 3, 556.
55.
U.S. Department of Health, Education, & Welfare, National Institute of Mental Health. Marijuana and health: A report to the Congress from the Secretary. Washington: U. S. Gov't Print. Office, 1971.
56.
U.S. Department of Health, Education, & Welfare, National Institute of Mental Health. Marijuana and health: Second annual report to the Congress from the Secretary. Washington: U. S. Gov't Print. Office, 1972.
57.
WapnerS.An organismic-developmental approach to the study of perceptual and other cognitive operations. In ScheererC. (Ed.), Cognition. New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Pp. 6–44.
58.
WapnerS.WernerH.An experimental approach to body perception from an organismic-developmental point of view. In WapnerS.WernerH. (Eds.), The body percept. New York: Random House, 1965. Pp. 9–25.
59.
WechslerD.A standardized memory scale for clinical use. Journal of Psychology, 1945, 19, 87–95.
60.
WeckowiczT. E.JanssenD. V.Cognitive functions, personality traits, and social values in heavy marijuana smokers and nonsmoker controls. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1973, 81, 264–269.
61.
WelchB. L.The significance of the differences between the means when the population variances are unequal. Biometrika, 1938, 29, 350–362.
