Personality Organizations, Psychiatric Severity, and Self and Object Representations.

This study examined the hypothesis that psychotic, borderline, and neurotic personality organizations (POs) present a progressive differentiation between self and object representations and an increasing integration of their bad and good aspects. Fifty patients participated in the study. Measures included scales of self and object representations (S. J. Blatt, S. A. Bers, & C. E. Schaffer, 1993; S. J. Blatt, H. Wiseman, E. Prince-Gibson, & C. Gatt, 1991), as well as the Personality Organization Diagnostic Form (L. Diguer & L. Normandin, 1997) and estimations of psychiatric severity. Results showed that PO groups differed in terms of the integration of the object and its valence. It was also observed that although object and self representations were closely intertwined, the latter showed more discrimination between POs than the former. Psychiatric severity was shown to correlate more with object representations than self representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to symposium on constructing self with others.

The notion that the self is interpersonally embedded can be found throughout psychology's history. This article presents convergent work from different areas of contemporary psychology that supports and elaborates this notion. M. Baldwin's (1997) experimental work in social cognition demonstrates that self-evaluation varies with the relational schema that is activated. C. R. Snyder and R. L. Higgins (1997) present a social–cognitive personality theory of how people maintain their self theories to satisfy internal and external audiences. S. J. Blatt, J. S. Auerbach, and K. N. Levy's (1997) object-relations theory of the role of mental representations of self and others in psychopathology is supported by research that changes in these representations are associated with improvement in psychotherapy. J. Martin and J. Sugarman's (1997) social–cognitive theory of counseling and psychotherapy as conversational reconstructions of self theories also has research support and raises the issue of whether the self is agentic if socially constructed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relational self: An interpersonal social-cognitive theory.

The authors propose an interpersonal social-cognitive theory of the self and personality, the relational self, in which knowledge about the self is linked with knowledge about significant others, and each linkage embodies a self-other relationship. Mental representations of significant others are activated and used in interpersonal encounters in the social-cognitive phenomenon of transference (S. M. Andersen & N. S. Glassman, 1996), and this evokes the relational self. Variability in relational selves depends on interpersonal contextual cues, whereas stability derives from the chronic accessibility of significant-other representations. Relational selves function in if-then terms (W. Mischel & Y. Shoda, 1995), in which ifs are situations triggering transference, and thens are relational selves. An individual's repertoire of relational selves is a source of interpersonal patterns involving affect, motivation, self-evaluation, and self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal relatedness, self-definition, and their motivational orientation during adolescence: A theorical and empirical integration.

The authors examined a theoretical model linking interpersonal relatedness and self-definition (S. J. Blatt, 1974), autonomous and controlled regulation (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985), and negative and positive life events in adolescence (N = 860). They hypothesized that motivational orientation would mediate the effects of interpersonal relatedness and self-definition on life events. Self-criticism, a maladaptive form of self-definition, predicted less positive events, whereas efficacy, an adaptive form of self-definition, predicted more positive events. These effects were fully mediated by the absence and presence, respectively, of autonomous motivation. Controlled motivation, predicted by self-criticism and maladaptive neediness, did not predict negative events. Results illustrate the centrality of protective, pleasure-related processes in adaptive adolescent development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of rigidity across relationships with symptoms and functioning: An investigation with the revised Central Relationship Questionnaire.

The belief that rigidity across relationships is related to greater symptoms and poorer functioning commonly informs the practice of many psychodynamic and interpersonal therapists. Using a profile correlation approach, the authors tested this hypothesis in a sample of 250 clients and 90 undergraduate control participants. Symptoms and functioning were assessed with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, L. E. Alden, J. S. Wiggins, A. L. Pincus, 2000), Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), and Brief Symptom Inventory (L. R. Derogatis, & N. Melisaratos, 1983). A revised version of the empirically derived Central Relationship Questionnaire (CRQ; J. P. Barber, C. Foltz, & R. M. Weinryb, 1998) was used to measure interpersonal patterns. Revisions were made to the CRQ to increase the interpersonal dimensions it captured, reduce its length, and model a higher order factor structure. The psychometric properties of the revised CRQ were found to be adequate. Rigidity, as measured with the CRQ, was not related to rigidity measured with the IIP (amplitude) and did not differ significantly among individuals with different interpersonal problems or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) diagnoses. Contrary to theory, however, greater rigidity across relationships was related to fewer symptoms and interpersonal problems. These relations did not appear due to the valence or the extremeness of the interpersonal patterns used in the estimation of rigidity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compensatory strategies for reducing interpersonal discrimination: The effectiveness of acknowledgments, increased positivity, and individuating information.

Previous research has revealed, across a number of contexts, that stigmatized individuals are the recipients of interpersonal discrimination (e.g., M. R. Hebl, J. B. Foster, L. M. Mannix, & J. F. Dovidio, 2002). Such discrimination has been linked to a number of negative outcomes in the workplace, both for stigmatized individuals and for organizations as a whole (see, e.g., E. B. King, J. L. Shapiro, M. R. Hebl, S. L. Singletary, & S. Turner, 2006; C. O. Word, M. P. Zanna, & J. Cooper, 1974). The current research examines 3 individual-level compensatory strategies aimed at reducing interpersonal discrimination. Results reveal that compensatory strategies are successful in reducing interpersonal discrimination in job application contexts and that such strategies uniquely benefit stigmatized individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between interpersonal schemas and depressive symptomatology.

Turkish university students (187 men and 191 women), 17–27 years old, participated in this study. They completed the Interpersonal Schema Questionnaire (C. Hill & J. Safran, 1994) and the Beck Depression Inventory (A. Beck, A. Rush, B. Shaw, and G. Emery, 1979). This study extended the research that was conducted by Hill and Safran (1994). The results of this study revealed that individuals in the high-depressive symptomatology group expected less complementary responses from significant others in friendly, dominant, and submissive situations. They expected more complementary responses from them in hostile situations. They also rated their expected responses from others as more undesirable than did individuals in the low-depressive symptomatology group. These findings seem to be congruent with cognitive and interpersonal theories of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationships between defenses and experiences of depression: An exploratory study.

This study examined the relationships between defenses and depressive experiences. Two questionnaires, in counterbalanced order, were administered to a community sample of 205 adults: the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; S. Blatt, J. D'Afflitti, & D. Quinlan 1976, 1979) and the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI; D. Ihilevich & G. C. Gleser, 1986). Although turning against self related significantly to both depressive experiences of dependency, especially the less mature neediness in comparison with the more mature connectedness, and self-criticism, other types of defenses, as measured by the DMI, differentiated between interpersonal and self-critical experiences of depression. Results are discussed from psychodynamic and developmental perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional availability and attachment representations in kibbutz infants and their mothers.

Three components of the attachment transmission model were examined in 48 kibbutz dyads from 2 kibbutz sleeping arrangements: communal and home-based. Concurrent assessments used the Strange Situation procedure (M. D. Ainsworth, M. C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) for infants' attachment relations, the Adult Attachment Interview (C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985) for mothers' attachment representations, and the Emotional Availability Scales (Z. Biringen, J. L. Robinson, & R. N. Emde, 1993) for emotional availability in the dyads. Security of infants' attachment relations as well as autonomy of mothers' attachment representations were associated with higher emotional availability scores. In addition, significantly poorer emotional availability was found in dyads in which infants were insecurely attached and mothers were nonautonomous. Results also indicate that in the ecology of collective sleeping, the associations between the experience of emotional availability in the dyads and infants' and mothers' attachment may have been disrupted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The secure-base hypothesis: Global attachment, attachment to counselor, and session exploration in psychotherapy.

This study explored J. Bowlby's (1988) secure-base hypothesis, which predicts that a client's secure attachment to the therapist, as well as the client's and the therapist's global attachment security, will facilitate in-session exploration. Volunteer clients (N = 59) and trainee counselors (N = 59) in short-term therapy completed the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998) as a measure of adult global romantic and peer attachment orientations; the Client Attachment to Therapist Scale (B. Mallinckrodt, D. L. Gantt, & H. M. Coble, 1995) as a measure of attachment to counselor; the Working Alliance Inventory (A. O. Horvath & L. Greenberg, 1989) as a measure of working alliance; and the Session Evaluation Questionnaire-Depth Subscale (W. B. Stiles & J. S. Snow, 1984) as a measure of session depth. In line with Bowlby's hypothesis, the findings suggest that session depth is related to the client's experience of attachment security with the counselor and that counselor global attachment moderates the relationship between client global attachment and session exploration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment, group attraction and self-other agreement in interpersonal circumplex problems and perceptions of group members.

Graduate students (N=76) fulfilling a class requirement for interpersonal group participation completed measures of interpersonal problems and adult attachment at pretest. At the midpoint and at termination they completed measures of interpersonal problems and group attraction and provided interpersonal circumplex ratings of each fellow group member. As predicted, selected attachment insecurities were significantly correlated with interpersonal problems and group attraction. Attachment anxiety and avoidance, also as hypothesized, were associated with discrepancies in self-other perceptions. Whereas members with attachment avoidance tended to overestimate hostile and hostile-submissive problems, members with attachment anxiety were likely to overestimate interpersonal problems in the "friendly" half of the circumplex. Implications for the conceptualization of attachment-based distortions and interpersonal learning in group therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender-linked personality traits predict mental health and functional status following a first coronary event.

Three gender-linked traits were examined with respect to adjustment to a coronary event: agency, a focus on the self, communion, a focus on others; and unmitigated communion, an extreme focus on others to the exclusion of the self. Participants (n ?=?65) were interviewed 1 week and 4 months after a 1st coronary event. Hypotheses were that agency should predict improved health, communion should be unrelated to health, and unmitigated communion should predict worse health over time. Outcomes included depression, anxiety, and well-being (as measured by the Profile of Mood States; D. McNair, M. Lorr, & L. Droppleman, 1971); mental and physical functioning (SF-36; J. E. Ware, K. K. Snow, M. Kosinski, & B. Gandek, 1993); and cardiac symptoms. Results confirmed hypotheses. In addition, unmitigated communion was linked with poor health behavior and negative social interactions, which partly explained the link of unmitigated communion with depression and cardiac symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapists’ attachment, patients’ interpersonal problems and alliance development over time in inpatient psychotherapy.

The focus of this study is the investigation of the relation between patients’ interpersonal problems, therapists’ attachment representations, and the development of the therapeutic alliance over time. The authors investigated weekly alliance ratings of 281 psychotherapy inpatients, treated by 12 psychotherapists. Alliance quality was measured with the Inpatient Experience Scale. Multilevel regression models showed that patients’ interpersonal problems were associated with the level of alliance quality. Therapists’ attachment security was not related to alliance development, but higher attachment preoccupation of therapists was associated with lower levels of alliance quality. In addition, an interaction effect between therapists’ degree of attachment preoccupation and patients’ interpersonal problems explained variations of the alliance development curve over time. Limitations of the study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding attachment security in family context.

Attachment theory (J.. Bowlby, 1969) is not just about how internalized models of relationships affect interpersonal outcomes; it is primarily a theory about how interpersonal processes affect social and cognitive development. This study tested 3 hypotheses about the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security: (a) attachment security is relationship specific, (b) characteristics of partners affect attachment security, and (c) security of attachment is reciprocated. Measures of attachment security were obtained from 2 parents and 2 children (adolescent or older) in 208 middle-class families. Results of social relations model analysis (D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984) supported all 3 hypotheses. The author concludes that internal working models of relationships may not be so "internal" after all and that greater emphasis on the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative affect and interpersonal rejection among prison inmates in a therapeutic community: A social relations analysis.

The authors used D. A. Kenny's (1994a) social relations model to examine J. C. Coyne's (1976b) interpersonal theory of depression among a clinical sample of well-acquainted prison inmates. Members of 12 therapy groups (N/&=/&142) diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder completed a self-report measure of depression and anxiety and indicated their desire to interact with other group members. There was both consensus about which group members were rejected and individual differences in the participants' reported desire for future interaction with other group members. Those reporting high levels of depressive negative affect were most likely to be rejected. Those lowest in positive affect indicated the least desire for future interaction with others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing two cognitive theories of insight.

Insight in problem solving occurs when the problem solver fails to see how to solve a problem and then-"aha!"-there is a sudden realization how to solve it. Two contemporary theories have been proposed to explain insight. The representational change theory (e.g., G. Knoblich, S. Ohlsson, & G. E. Rainey, 2001) proposes that insight occurs through relaxing self-imposed constraints on a problem and by decomposing chunked items in the problem. The progress monitoring theory (e.g., J. N. MacGregor, T. C. Ormerod, & E. P. Chronicle, 2001) proposes that insight is only sought once it becomes apparent that the distance to the goal is unachievable in the moves remaining. These 2 theories are tested in an unlimited move problem, to which neither theory has previously been applied. The results lend support to both, but experimental manipulations to the problem suggest that the representational change theory is the better indicator of performance. The findings suggest that testable opposing predictions can be made to examine theories of insight and that the use of eye movement data is a fruitful method of both examining insight and testing theories of insight. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A component analysis of cognitive-behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder and the role of interpersonal problems.

Clients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) received either (1) applied relaxation and self-control desensitization, (2) cognitive therapy, or (3) a combination of these methods. Treatment resulted in significant improvement in anxiety and depression that was maintained for 2 yrs. The large majority no longer met diagnostic criteria; a minority sought further treatment during follow-up. No differences in outcome were found between conditions; review of the GAD therapy literature suggested that this may have been due to strong effects generated by each component condition. Finally, interpersonal difficulties remaining at posttherapy, measured by the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scales (L. E. Alden, J. S. Wiggins, & A. L. Pincus, 1990) in a subset of clients, were negatively associated with posttherapy and follow-up improvement, suggesting the possible utility of adding interpersonal treatment to cognitive-behavioral therapy to increase therapeutic effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Continuity and change in art: The development of modes of representation.

Maintains that S. and E. Blatt's book is a monumental, awe-inspiring, and profoundly scientific work of great inner beauty. It explores the history of painting from the Paleolithic Period (15,000-10,000 B.C.) to contemporary art. With enormous erudition Blatt discusses parallel developments in art and science. The thesis of Blatt's book is that the development of culture in mankind is fundamentally parallel to the cognitive development of the child as described by J. Piaget. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How self-evaluations relate to being liked by others: Integrating sociometer and attachment perspectives.

What is the relation between self-evaluation and being liked by others? Does being liked by others lead to more positive self-evaluations (as in sociometer theory), or do positive self-evaluations lead to being liked more (self-broadcasting)? Furthermore, what might affect the extent to which self-evaluations are influenced by likability (and vice versa)? The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, it used a naturalistic design to test the direction of the effect between social self-evaluations and others' judgments of likability in real relationships. Second, it examined how individual differences in attachment avoidance and anxiety relate to self-evaluations and likability and whether attachment differences moderate the relation between the two. Social self-evaluations, actual interpersonal liking, and attachment were assessed in participants taking part in a longitudinal group study. The findings supported the sociometer theory: Being liked by others led to more positive self-evaluations. Both anxious and avoidant attachment predicted lower self-evaluations, and anxious attachment predicted stronger reactions to others' liking (i.e., potentiated the sociometer). These findings have several implications for research on selfevaluation, adult attachment theory, and the importance of integrating interpersonal processes and individual differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of ambivalent coping to depression symptoms and adjustment.

Objective: To assess the influence of mental distancing and venting emotions on depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Participants: Seventy-six individuals hospitalized with acute burn injuries. Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Measures: Beck Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck, E. Ward, M. Mendelson, J. Mock, & J. Erbaugh, 1961), COPE (C. S. Carver, M. F. Scheier, & J. K. Weintraub, 1989), and Short Form--36 Health Survey (J. E. Ware, K. K. Snow, M. Kosinski, & B. Gandek, 1993). Results: Ambivalent coping at baseline (i.e., using both mental distancing and venting emotions, relative to using only 1 or neither) led to more symptoms of depression at follow-up, even when baseline symptoms were controlled. Ambivalent coping was related to postburn psychosocial HRQOL, and baseline symptoms of depression only slightly attenuated this relationship. Conclusions: Ambivalent coping appears to result from vacillation between motives. Decreasing inconsistent coping or reducing antithetical motivation may reduce depression and improve adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)