Reply to Shill (2004).

Shill's (see record 2004-11107-008) claim that the intersubjective perspective does not address conflict and defense is glaringly mistaken. In his article on signal anxiety, Shill (2004) declared that "the intersubjectivist approach does not address issues of conflict and defense at all" (p. 119). Astoundingly, he seems to have made this absurd pronouncement without being aware of any of the numerous articles and chapters my collaborators and I have written on the subject of psychological conflict and defense over the past three decades, one of which was published in this very journal (Stolorow & Brandchaft, 1987). Our aim has never been to defocus emotional conflict but rather to contextualize it-that is, to locate it within constitutive intersubjective systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Contexts of being: The intersubjective foundations of psychological life.

Reviews the book, Contexts of being: The intersubjective foundations of psychological life by Robert D. Stolorow and George E. Atwood (see record 1992-98615-000). In this book, the authors present a well-organized and systematic presentation of their intersubjective approach to psychotherapy. This book represents the culmination of at least the past thirteen years of Stolorow and Atwood's research program. They make good use of the limited space by addressing some of the most pivotal concepts in the field of psychotherapy. This work is likely to become a recognized contribution within the history of psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clarifying the intersubjective perspective: A reply to George Frank.

Replies to G. Frank's (see record 1998-10061-006) commentary on R. D. Stolorow's (see record 1997-38544-002) summary of the assumptions and implications of the intersubjective theoretical system of psychoanalysis. Clarifications are offered regarding the intersubjective perspective as it relates to (1) other "schools" of psychoanalysis, (2) objective reality, (3) invariant principles that unconsciously organize experience, (4) aim vs method of analysis, (5) the patient's history, (6) the intrapsychic world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Post-Cartesian thinking and the dialectic of doubt and belief in the treatment relationship: A discussion of Atwood, Orange, and Stolorow (2002).

Responds favorably to George Atwood's (G. E. Atwood, D. M. Orange, & R. D. Stolorow, 2002) article (see record 2002-12574-003) on his work with psychotic patients. This discussion begins, however, with the historical "case of Monsieur Rend Descartes" in the intersubjective context of his own times as a way of broadening our perspective on the Cartesianism versus post-Cartesianism issue. Dr. Atwood's ways of reaching and entering the psychotic experiential worlds of the 2 patients described early in his article are then addressed. His approach to the woman who feels she does not exist (i.e., has no self) is briefly characterized. His relationship with the woman who has special connections to God and Jesus is discussed in some detail because in his interaction with her we see a bit more of Dr. Atwood (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Self and object in the postmodern world": Response to Gene Bocknek’s letter.

Responds to Gene Bocknek's comments (see record 2009-17405-001) on the author's original article "Self and object in the postmodern world" (see record 1997-04589-001). While acknowledging Bocknek's comments in regard to his original article, the author maintains the position that he cannot find any disagreement between their viewpoints on the features of ego and the self. However, he does acknowledge that there is real disagreement between them on the subject of the intrapsychic versus interpersonal school or the ongoing discussion as to whether psychotherapy concerns a one-person or a two-person psychology. After restating his position on this matter, the author concludes by extending his appreciation to Bocknek for his comments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Personality dynamics.

Reviews the book "Personality dynamics," by Bert R. Sappenfield (see record 1954-05681-000). The text deals with the usual topics of personality dynamics--motivation; developmental aspects of personality; frustration and conflict; aggression and related problems; anxiety, guilt, and inferiority feelings; and repression and other ego-defense mechanisms. The author has attempted to clarify some of the classical formulations, such as those of id, ego, and superego. Of greater value is the author's probing consideration of the various explanations of anxiety. He considers the standpoints of orthodox analysis, neoanalysis, maturation, and learning theory, and attempts to integrate them into his own viewpoint. An impressive asset of the book is the carefully concise summaries at the end of each chapter, and a glossary consistent with textual terminology. There is no doubt that we have here a well thought out volume which is certainly among the best that this reviewer has seen in recent years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The liberating effect on the analyst of the paradigm shift in psychoanalysis": Comment to Rabin.

Comments on H. M. Rabin's (see record 1996-15142-001) article that discusses, from an intersubjective perspective, a paradigm shift from a one-person to a two-person psychology experienced in psychoanalysis. Baker contends that although intersubjectivity theory, which has had a separate line of development from self psychology, does not see all idealizing statements as defenses against aggression, defensive idealization is specifically addressed by the concept of the defensive self ideal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional conflict and neuroticism: Personality-dependent activation in the amygdala and subgenual anterior cingulate.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 121(6) of Behavioral Neuroscience (see record 2007-18058-033). There was an error in the text of Figure 1 on p. 250. Above the image of the third person, "×?6repetitions" should have appeared as "× 6 repetitions." The corrected figure is provided in the erratum.] The amygdala and subgenual anterior cingulate (AC) have been associated with anxiety and mood disorders, for which trait neuroticism is a risk factor. Prior work has not related individual differences in amygdala or subgenual AC activation with neuroticism. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate changes in blood oxygen level-dependent signal within the amygdala and subgenual AC associated with trait neuroticism in a nonclinical sample of 36 volunteers during an emotional conflict task. Neuroticism correlated positively with amygdala and subgenual AC activation during trials of high emotional conflict, compared with trials of low emotional conflict. The subscale of neuroticism that reflected the anxious form of neuroticism (N1) explained a greater proportion of variance within the observed clusters than the subscale of neuroticism that reflected the depressive form of neuroticism (N3). Using a task that is sensitive to individual differences in the detection of emotional conflict, the authors have provided a neural correlate of the link between neuroticism and anxiety and mood disorders. This effect was driven to a greater extent by the anxious relative to the depressive characteristics of neuroticism and may constitute vulnerability markers for anxiety-related disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Caveat lectorp.

A. G. Greenwald's (see record 1980-24373-001) analysis of the totalitarian ego presents an unrecognizable picture of men and women. Greenwald's world is one in which intrapsychic conflict has no place in normal people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychoanalytic treatment: An intersubjective approach.

Reviews the book, Psychoanalytic treatment: An intersubjective approach by Robert D. Stolorow, Bernard Brandchaft, and George E. Atwood (see record 1987-98240-000). This is an extremely interesting and well-argued book that, with its carefully chosen clinical cases, appears to demonstrate the value of the intersubjective approach and the integrative power of Kohut's ideas. However, in doing so it raises some fundamental issues in the study and understanding of psychoanalysis both as a theory and as a therapy, and it is these that the reviewer wants to examine in this review. These issues concern the relation of hermeneutics, science, and the scientific method to the practice, theory, and understanding of psychoanalysis. The reviewer argues that Stolorow and colleagues fail to present a hermeneutic case because psychoanalytic therapy goes beyond such confines, and they certainly make no scientific case for their claims. Their books falls uneasily between science and hermeneutics. Nevertheless, if we apply hermeneutic criteria to their case studies as they would wish, the reviewer thinks it is fair to say that they tell a convincing story and one that suggests that the intersubjective approach is, indeed, a useful one meriting considerable further study. What is needed is something that is truly difficult, to develop a scientific approach to a subjective world. If this could be done, then real progress could be made in the development of psychoanalytic ideas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Only a God can save us: reply to Slavin (2002).

Malcolm Stavin's (2002) understanding of "Shattered Worlds/ Psychotic States" (G. E. Atwood, D. M. Orange, & R. D. Stolorow, 2002) is both sympathetic and accurate (see record 2002-12574-003). His article (see record 2002-12574-004) makes an important contribution in its own right to the clarification of the role of Cartesian thinking in psychoanalysis. Only a God can save us. -Martin Heidegger (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict images, national narratives, and external realities.

Replies to comment by G. Rosenwald (see record 2008-05553-014) on the current author's original article (see record 2007-07130-002) which discusses the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and attitude theory. In his comment on my recent article, my erstwhile colleague at the University of Michigan, George Rosenwald, made one valid observation. In my writings and in my practice, I often dwell on the symmetries in the actions and perceptions of conflicting parties. For example, in my discussions of mirror images, I argue that mirror images arise out of the dynamics of the conflict interaction itself, particularly the motivational and cognitive contexts in which parties in conflict generally operate. The remainder of Rosenwald's (2008) comment, unfortunately, is largely irrelevant, because it is based on a misreading of my article and a misconception of the work to which I have dedicated myself since the early 1970s. I wish I could respond more constructively to Rosenwald's (2008) comment, as I tried to do at the beginning of my remarks in explaining my emphasis on symmetries in the actions and perceptions of the parties in conflict. But, unfortunately, most of what he wrote seems to be based on his theoretical model of my views rather than on the external realities of what I actually write, think, and do. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Couple therapy from the perspective of self psychology and intersubjectivity theory.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 25(2) of Psychoanalytic Psychology (see record 2008-03991-018). Throughout the article, "Couples therapy" should read as "couple therapy," and "self-psychology" should read as "self psychology."] Central tenets of self-psychology and intersubjective systems theory (e.g., Stolorow & Atwood, 1992) are applied to the understanding and treatment of couple. The concepts of selfobject needs, unconscious organizing principles, and learned relational patterns are used to conceptualize common couples difficulties. A treatment approach is outlined, involving: (1) listening from within each partner's subjective perspective; (2) establishing a therapeutic dialogue through which each partner's selfobject needs, ways of organizing experience, and patterns of relating can gradually be empathically illuminated and transformed; and (3) facilitating new relational experiences with the couples therapist and eventually between the partners. Four concepts of self psychology that are particularly useful with some of the most challenging aspects of couples work are then discussed. Finally, the judicious use of directive interventions with couples is discussed as consistent with this perspective. A case example is used throughout the paper to illustrate key points. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of anxiety reduction on children's school performance and social adjustment.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 43(2) of Developmental Psychology (see record 2007-02739-020). The byline and author note should have included the author's middle initial, J. Thus, the byline and author note should refer to "Jeffrey J. Wood." The correction is reflected in this record.] This study tested the effect of reductions in children's anxiety over time on improvements in school performance and social functioning in the context of participation in a cognitive-behavioral intervention program. Participants included 40 children with high anxiety (6-13 years of age). Independent evaluators, children, and parents rated child anxiety; parents rated school performance; and children and parents rated social functioning. Measures were completed at preintervention, midintervention, and postintervention. Fixed-effects regression analyses and random-effects regression analyses indicated that decreased anxiety was predictive of improved school performance and social functioning over the course of the intervention. These findings suggest that changes in anxiety influence trajectories of children's scholastic and social functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rejoinder to Kurtz.

Kurtz (1971; see record 1990-56874-001) is, of course, quite correct in noting that my comment (Schaeffer, 1970; see record 1990-56809-001) does not really answer my question; but this appears clearly indicated in the conclusions I draw in the final paragraph of my paper. His plea for the use of Psychometrika as a touchstone for the investigation of "favoritism" is also reasonable, but my data should be sufficient to answer his question here. In fact, for 1967, Psychometrika ranked second in terms of printing editors' contributions, and lowest (among the journals reviewed) in terms of printing outside contributions. Further, the correlation between my measure of "favoritism" and the Jakobovits and Osgood measure of "Rigor" (on which Psychometrika ranks second) also suggests this journal would be high on the measure of "favoritism." While it might then be possible to argue from these data (and Kurtz's premises) that almost all journals considered in this study are prejudiced in favor of outside contributors, such an argument would seem somewhat forced, and would minimally require more extensive sampling of this and related journals than I felt the question really deserved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Emotional conflict and neuroticism: Personality-dependent activation in the amygdala and subgenual anterior cingulate": Correction to Haas, Omura, Constable, and Canli (2007).

Reports an error in "Emotional Conflict and Neuroticism: Personality-Dependent Activation in the Amygdala and Subgenual Anterior Cingulate" by Brian W. Haas, Kazufumi Omura, R. Todd Constable and Turhan Canli (Behavioral Neuroscience, 2007[Apr], Vol 121[2], 249-256). There was an error in the text of Figure 1 on p. 250. Above the image of the third person, "×?6repetitions" should have appeared as "× 6 repetitions." The corrected figure is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-04812-002.) The amygdala and subgenual anterior cingulate (AC) have been associated with anxiety and mood disorders, for which trait neuroticism is a risk factor. Prior work has not related individual differences in amygdala or subgenual AC activation with neuroticism. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate changes in blood oxygen level-dependent signal within the amygdala and subgenual AC associated with trait neuroticism in a nonclinical sample of 36 volunteers during an emotional conflict task. Neuroticism correlated positively with amygdala and subgenual AC activation during trials of high emotional conflict, compared with trials of low emotional conflict. The subscale of neuroticism that reflected the anxious form of neuroticism (N1) explained a greater proportion of variance within the observed clusters than the subscale of neuroticism that reflected the depressive form of neuroticism (N3). Using a task that is sensitive to individual differences in the detection of emotional conflict, the authors have provided a neural correlate of the link between neuroticism and anxiety and mood disorders. This effect was driven to a greater extent by the anxious relative to the depressive characteristics of neuroticism and may constitute vulnerability markers for anxiety-related disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Trauma and human existence: Autobiographical, psychoanalytic, and philosophical reflections.

Reviews the book, Trauma and human existence: Autobiographical, psychoanalytic, and philosophical reflections by Robert Stolorow (see record 2007-07947-000). The author discribes his book as a “project (that) has occupied (him) now for more than 16 years” (p. 45) starting six months after the tragic death to metastatic cancer of his 34-year-old wife Daphne (“Dede”) Stolorow, on February 23, 1991. His book exemplifies a value, deeply shared by the author and his late wife, that of “staying rooted in one’s own genuine painful emotional experiences” (p. 46). The volume is very dense (50 pages of text, total), the product of 16 years of intense and sensitive reflection. It condenses in very short order the history of his intersubjective perspective on developmental trauma, (the outcome of invalidating malattunement in the “parent–child mutual regulation system” lending to unbearable affect states in search of a “relational home”), his theory of the phenomenology of trauma (the shattering of “absolutisms of everyday life”), trauma’s temporality (trauma freeze frames the past and the future into an eternal present), and, finally an analysis of the ontological or universally constitutive aspect of trauma in our lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

L'accessibilité à des traitements pour les troubles anxieux au Canada: Un commentaire.

Responds to Gauthier (see record 2004-17185-003) who commented on the two articles by Koerner et al (see record 2004-17185-001) and by Roberge et al (see record 2004-17185-002. The purpose of this response is to discuss the issue of limited availability of mental health services for anxiety disorders in Canada. From a public health perspective, the authors emphasize the importance of gathering Canadian empirical data on the organization of mental health services for anxiety disorders. Specifically more research is needed on care requirements, and the financial and structural barriers that restrict access to mental health services at the regional, provincial and national levels. The authors also discuss the role of psychologists in improving mental health care in Canada. Cost-effectiveness studies conducted in interdisciplinary practice environments could demonstrate the value added by psychology in the organization of mental health care for anxiety disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Expectancy": Sleight-of-hand mentalism, not mechanism or process.

Replies to comments by J. W. Fagen (see record 1994-08950-001) on the article by J. L. Gewirtz and M. Peláez-Nogueras (see record 1993-12989-001), which concerned reinforcement as a central principle of behavior change in infants. Gewirtz and Peláez-Nogueras state that they did not claim that all behavior is learned through operant reinforcement contingencies. Further, they question the necessity of moving beyond basic reinforcement and derivative principles to the realm of intrapsychic concepts such as the "violation of contingency expectancy" to explain behavior changes resulting from operant learning procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mowrer on "Sin".

Comments on the article "Sin, the lesser of two evils" by O.H. Mower (1960). In a recent issue of the American Psychologist, Hobart Mowrer (see record 1961-03555-001) argues that because "sin" is a stronger word than "wrongdoing" or "irresponsibility" it is better for the "neurotic" individual to admit his "sins" than accept his "wrongdoings." In upholding the concept of individual (if not original) "sin," Mowrer is contending that the "neurotic" individual must, if he is to get "well," accept the following syllogism: (a) sinning is unjustified; (b) I have sinned; (c) therefore, I must justify my existence by acknowledging my sins, changing my ways, and becoming a nonsinner. At first blush, this seems like a perfectly valid syllogism. But, as Mowrer himself suggests, it rarely works in practice. The author contends that with a more objective and realistic restatement of Mowrer's syllogism, the problem of the "neurotic" individual's changing his ineffective and self-defeating behavior is hardly automatically solved; but (by having the definitional concepts of deep worthlessness and severe ego "insult" removed from his philosophic premises) he becomes much more likely resolutely to tackle what Mowrer accurately describes as his moralpsychological difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)