The authors attempt to test the hypothesis that persons who develop manic-depressive reactions in adulthood experienced excessive parental expectations for conformity and achievement as children, to which they reacted by adopting the prevailing values of their parents and other authority figures in order to placate and win needed approval from them. The study investigates the extent to which chronic dependence on others for guidance and approval was manifested in the opinions, attitudes, and social convictions of manic-depressives. A group of manic-depressives and controls were tested with four psychological scales. Remitted manic-depressive patients varied significantly from the control group, which supports