Simultaneous development of vocal and physical object combinations by a grey parrot (Psittaus erithacus): Bottle caps, lids, and labels.

On the basis of primarily behavioral data, researchers (e.g., P. M. Greenfield, 1991) have argued (a) that parallel development of communicative and physical object (manual) combinatorial abilities exists in young children; (b) that these abilities initially have a common neural substrate; (c) that a homologous substrate in great apes allows for similar, if limited, parallel development of these 2 abilities; and (d) that such abilities thus may indicate a shared evolutionary history for both communicative and physical behavior (J. Johnson-Pynn, D. M. Fragaszy, E. M. Hirsh, K. E. Brakke, & P. M. Greenfield, 1999). The authors of the present study found a comparable, if limited, parallel combinatorial development in a Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Given the evolutionary distance between parrots and primates, the authors suggest that the search for and arguments concerning responsible substrates and common behavior should be approached with care and should not be restricted to the primate line. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narcissistic issues in therapists: Diagnostic and treatment considerations.

Examines narcissistic issues with which therapists are likely to struggle, including extreme audience sensitivity, pathological parentification, perfectionism, and impostor feelings. It is suggested that many therapists were, as children, raised by narcissistic parents, and these children learned to respond to parental needs at the expense of their own development. Unresolved narcissistic issues may contribute to therapist burnout as well as to a tendency to vicariously gratify needs through one's clients. An object relations approach to treatment emphasizes resolving dependency conflicts and developing more resilient self-esteem. Clients are provided insight through interpretations and a corrective interpersonal experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicide in the Bible from the current psychodynamic viewpoint. "There Saul took a sword and fell upon it"

After a short introduction to psychoanalytical interpretation of literature in general and in the Bible, the stories of Samson and King Saul are examined on the basis of modern psychoanalytical aspects of suicidology (narcissistic theory, object relation theory, self psychology). Samson's beginning is hallmarked by the uncertainty of his parents, their megalomanic fantasies which are projected on the child. His relationships are characterized by violent emotions, intensive conflicts on intimacy and distance and also raging anger at insults and privation. In his suicide he fuses himself with the highly ambivalent primary object and destroys it at the same time he destroys himself. People with narcissistic personality are considered to be extremely suicidal especially in combination with the destructive potency of narcissistic anger.     

Trauma of illness--crises in self concept regulation by cancer patients

Oncological diseases often represent a psychic trauma, which leads affected patients into a narcissistic crisis. Starting from the concept of narcissistic regulation system (Deneke, 1989), the origins of the destabilisation of the self are described, and parallels to persecution trauma will be drawn. The longing of the patients for symbiotic relationships are investigated in their double sense. On the one hand they serve the patient to stabilise his self, on the other hand they involve the danger of traumatisation within an object relation. The consequences for the process of mourning and integration will be discussed.     

Assessing disharmony and disaffection in intimate relationships: Revision of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory factor scales.

Previous research has identified 2 broad components of distress in intimate relationships: overt conflict, or disharmony, and emotional distance, or disaffection. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors derived 2 broadband scales of disharmony and disaffection from the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (D. K. Snyder, 1997), building upon previous measures of these constructs (D. K. Snyder & Regts, 1982) derived from the original instrument. The new scales demonstrated high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as discriminative validity and convergent validity with independent criteria of relationship functioning. Distinct distributions of these scales in community and clinical samples suggested their complementary role in research on intimate relationships and assessment of couples in treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical utility of early memories as a predictor of early therapeutic alliance.

The present study aims to empirically explore the relationship between clinician-rated early memories (EMs) and patient ratings of alliance that were obtained after a therapeutic model of assessment (TMA; Finn & Tonsager, 1997; Fischer, 1994). This study utilizes the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS; Westen, 1995) to obtain information from early memory narratives about an individual's level of object representations. With data gathered from 57 participants, the authors examined whether an individual's EM narratives can provide insight into his or her object representations and how such material relates to the development of an intimate connection with the therapist. Results supported our hypotheses as meaningful correlations were found between certain SCORS variables and patient-rated therapeutic alliance. The clinical utility and research implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics and dangers of entitlement.

Excessive entitlement can accompany a range of other problems presented by patients encountered in psychotherapy. In its problematic form it is conceptualized here as having roots in emotional deprivation in childhood, especially when the child was used as a narcissistic extension by parents. This "special" role becomes a learned attitude and behavior and a refuge and defense against the hurt, shame, and fear resulting from this experience. Anger and vindictiveness provoked by this coercion and deprivation can reach dangerous, murderous proportions, with defensive entitlement demanding redress and revenge. A journalistic account illustrative of these unfortunate consequences is provided and interpreted. Psychodynamic treatment of excessive entitlement in an obsessive-compulsive patient, using an object relations approach, is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transsaccadic perception of saccade target and flanker objects.

To account for location-dependent and location-independent preview benefits in transsaccadic object perception, J. M. Henderson (1994) and J. M. Henderson and M. D. Anes (1994) proposed a dual-route model in which both episodic object representations and long-term memory representations store information across a saccade. Four experiments are reported in which the dual-route model was assessed. Preview benefits for saccade target objects were found to be location independent, whereas preview benefits for flanker objects were location dependent. These results support a single-route, 2-stage model of transsaccadic object perception. First, preattentive object files are set up to parse a set of attentional and/or saccade targets from peripheral vision, causing location-dependent preview benefits. Second, 1 object is attentionally selected for further processing, activating long-term memory representations and resulting in location-independent preview benefits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking and search measures of object knowledge in preschool children.

The same preschoolers were tested on an observation task and a search task involving the invisible displacement of an object. In the observation task, children watched an object roll behind a screen from which protruded the top of a solid wall. Analyses revealed significantly longer looking to impossible than to possible outcomes in all children. In search, the child was allowed to retrieve the rolled object. Most 3-year-olds but significantly fewer 2.5-year-olds completed the search successfully. An unexpected sex difference was found, with boys outperforming girls. Search performance was not associated with observation measures. The findings indicate that children visually discriminate violations of solidity but that this sensitivity is not associated with successful search performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group composition and group therapy for complicated grief.

This prospective study investigated the impact of group composition on the outcome of 2 forms of time-limited, short-term group therapy (interpretive, supportive) with 110 outpatients from 18 therapy groups, who presented with complicated grief. The composition variable was based on the patient's level of quality of object relations. The higher the percentage of patients in a therapy group who had a history of relatively mature relationships, the better the outcome for all patients in the group, regardless of the form of therapy or the individual patient's quality of object relations score. The findings have direct clinical implications for composing short-term therapy groups for outpatients with complicated grief and possibly for other types of group therapies and patient problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychoanalytic treatment of narcissism.

This paper discusses the need for change in emphasis from metapsychological debate to a sharp clinical focus on the complex nature of narcissistic pathology. Narcissism is viewed as a dimension of psychopathology found at all levels of psychic functioning, at the core of which are characteristic ego and superego deficits around self-cohesion, self-continuity, and self-esteem regulation. It is argued that, if the definition of conflict is not viewed too narrowly, traditional Freudian or ego-psychological techniques are applicable and that the treatment of narcissism does not require a new theory, separate from that of object relations. Clinical material is presented to illustrate that all psychological phenomena are over-determined and contain aspects of unresolved preoedipal and oedipal conflicts. There are critical selfhood aspects at each stage of development which must be understood and interpreted, in addition to the traditional structural conflicts. It is stressed that highly developed skills in listening and in interpreting are required in order to discern the narcissistic and object-relations aspects of the clinical material and that the countertransference around the analyst's own narcissism needs particular attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narcissism in two forms: Implications for the practicing psychoanalyst.

There has been a great deal of controversy expressed in the recent psychoanalytic literature as to the etiology and treatment of patients with narcissistic personality disorders. The most intense disagreement has been centered around the largely contradictory theories of Heinz Kohut and Otto Kernberg. The clinically important distinctions between these two theories are outlined in this article. They include the differential importance each theory places on aggression in the etiology of narcissism and resistance in the treatment of narcissistic patients. A basic difference between these theories is the model they adopt for the understanding of the development of narcissistic pathology generally; with Kohut advocating a developmental arrest point of view, and Kernberg advancing a theory more consistent with classical psychoanalysis, that of an instinctual or structural conflict. This article contends that the understanding of the narcissistic patient can be greatly aided by recognizing that each of these theories correctly assesses and treats a specific form of narcissistic pathology. Clinical data from the psychoanalytic treatments of two narcissistic patients are presented. As is indicated by this clinical material, cues that the practicing psychonalyst can employ in making... (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fitting objects into holes: On the development of spatial cognition skills.

The authors examined 14- to 26-month-old infants' understanding of the spatial relationships between objects and apertures in an object manipulation task. The task was to insert objects with various cross-sections (circular, square, rectangular, ellipsoid, and triangular) into fitting apertures. A successful solution required the infant to mentally rotate the object to be fit into the aperture and use that information to plan the action. The object was presented standing up in half of the trials; in the other half, it was lying down. The results showed that infants solved the problem consistently from age 22 months and that a successful solution was associated with appropriate preadjustments before the hand arrived with the block to the aperture. No sex differences were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple role relationships during internship: Consequences and recommendations.

Although the American Psychological Association's (1992) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct mandates that most types of multiple or dual relationships be avoided, such relationships have been found to be quite prevalent (R. D. Glaser & J. S. Thorpe, 1986; K. S. Pope et al, 1979; Pope et al, 1987). This article examines a variety of dual role relationships that occur specifically during the internship year between interns and staff members or supervisors. A variety of such multiple roles are explored including sexual, social, therapy, and business relationships. In addition, the impact of these relationships on the individuals involved, others in the agency, the agency itself, and the profession is considered. Recommendations regarding these issues are also provided for internship training sites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's use of mutual exclusivity to learn labels for parts of objects.

When teaching children part terms, adults frequently outline the relevant part rather than simply point. This pragmatic information very likely helps children interpret the label correctly. But the importance of gestures may not negate the need for default lexical biases such as the whole object assumption and mutual exclusivity. On this view, children initially assume that a novel label refers to a whole object. If the label for the object is familiar, mutual exclusivity blocks this assumption and frees children to look for a part referent. In this study, the authors taught children part terms by outlining a novel part of a real object. We made mutual exclusivity available by showing children familiar whole objects with novel parts and unavailable by showing unfamiliar whole objects with novel parts. During test, the object was oriented with the part facing away from the child to distinguish pointing to the object from pointing to the part. Both 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds learned more part labels when mutual exclusivity was available. Thus, mutual exclusivity is indispensable even when part labeling is accompanied by naturalistic communicative gestures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do chimpanzees seek explanations? Preliminary comparative investigations.

Notes that considerable effort has been devoted to understanding whether chimpanzees reason about unobservable variables as explanations for observable events. With respect to physical causality, these investigations have explored chimpanzees' understanding of gravity, force, mass, shape, and so on. With respect to social causality, this research has focused on the question of whether they reason about mental states such as emotions, desires, and beliefs. The studies reported here explored whether the chimpanzee's natural motivation for object exploration is modulated by a cognitive system that seeks explanations for unexpected events. The authors confronted both 7 chimpanzees and a total of 66 young children (aged 3–5 yrs) with simple tasks which occasionally could not be made to work. Their reactions were coded to determine if they appeared to be searching for an apparent cause (or explanation) of the task failure. The results of these preliminary studies point to both similarities and differences in how young children and chimpanzees react to such circumstances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two maternal representations: A study of Israeli adopted children.

Using an object relations perspective, the representations of birth and adopted mothers in a sample of 52 nonreferred adoptees were studied. To better understand the specific effects of adoption or, the construction of 2 maternal representations, birth and adoptive maternal representation of adopted children was compared with that of nonadopted children. In addition, the effect of incongruous representations of birth and adoptive mothers on adoptees' exteralizing and internalizing behaviors was explored. Compared with nonadopted children, adoptees' representations of the mothers appear as more concrete and less benign. Among adopted children, representations of the birth mothers were found to contain split negative aspects of the adoptive mothers. Moreover, the differences between birth and adoptive mother representations were found to associate with adoptees'externalizing behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manipulating and recognizing virtual objects: Where the action is.

In an earlier report (K. L. Harman, G. K. Humphrey, and M. A. Goodale, 1999), the authors demonstrated that Os who actively rotated 3-dimensional (3-D) novel objects on a computer screen later showed faster visual recognition of these objects than did Os who had passively viewed exactly the same sequence of images of these virtual objects. In Exp 1 of the present study, using 24 18–30 yr olds, the authors show that compared to passive viewing, active exploration of 3-D object structure led to faster performance on a "mental rotation" task involving the studied objects. They also examined how much time Os concentrated on particular views during active exploration. As found in the previous report, Os spent most of their time looking at the "side" and "front" views ("plan" views) of the objects, rather than the 3-quarter or intermediate views. This preference for the plan views of an object led to the examination of the possibility in Exp 2 that restricting the studied views in active exploration to either the plan views or the intermediate views would result in differential learning. 24 18–28 yr olds were used in Exp 2. It was found that recognition of objects was faster after active exploration limited to plan views than after active exploration of intermediate views. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of transference work in the context of therapeutic alliance and quality of object relations.

Objective: Transference interpretation is considered as a core active ingredient in dynamic psychotherapy. In common clinical theory, it is maintained that more mature relationships, as well as a strong therapeutic alliance, may be prerequisites for successful transference work. In this study, the interaction between quality of object relations, transference interpretation, and alliance is estimated. Method: One hundred outpatients seeking psychotherapy for depression, anxiety, and personality disorders were randomly assigned to 1 year of weekly sessions of dynamic psychotherapy with transference interpretation or to the same type and duration of treatment, but without the use of transference interpretation. Quality of Object Relations (QOR)–lifelong pattern was evaluated before treatment (P. H?glend, 1994). The Working Alliance Inventory (A. O. Horvath & L. S. Greenberg, 1989; T. J. Tracey & A. M. Kokotovic, 1989) was rated in Session 7. The primary outcome variable was the Psychodynamic Functioning Scales (P. H?glend et al., 2000), measured at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 1 year after treatment termination. Results: A significant Treatment Group × Quality of Object Relations × Alliance interaction was present, indicating that alliance had a significantly different impact on effects of transference interpretation, depending on the level of QOR. The impact of transference interpretation on psychodynamic functioning was more positive within the context of a weak therapeutic alliance for patients with low quality of object relations. For patients with more mature object relations and high alliance, the authors observed a negative effect of transference work. Conclusion: The specific effects of transference work was influenced by the interaction of object relations and alliance, but in the direct opposite direction of what is generally maintained in mainstream clinical theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)