An investigation of person/environment congruents in a psychiatric treatment milieu

The interbehavioral field of individuals in an inpatient treatment setting was assessed for purposes of (l) gaining original data about psychological events, i.e., the complexity of interacting organisms and environmental factors; (2) understanding conditions of the field which render it stable (i.e., predictable); and (3) providing information as to how behavioral changes might be facilitated within the context of the total field.

Organismic variables and stimulus variables were derived from 191 subjects in a psychiatric treatment milieu. . Using Moos' Ward Atmosphere Scale, three components of perceived atmosphere were identified through factor analysis. These were labeled (1) "Evaluation," (2) "Affective Expression," and (3) "Control." Personality variables (including diagnoses and factor pure MMPI dimensions) were correlated with environmental variables to yield a single, primary interaction effect which may be defined in terms of a formula for interbehavioral fields.