In defense of a psychological constructionist account of emotion: Reply to Zachar.

Comment on an article by Peter Zachar (see record 2007-10982-007) An account of emotion must include categories and dimensions. Categories because humans categorize reality, and a person's categorization of their own state influences aspects of that state. Dimensions because humans are always in some state of Core Affect, which varies by degree along dimensions of valence (feeling good or bad) and activation (feeling lethargic or energized). In Psychological Construction, Core Affect and a host of other "components" are separate on-going processes, always in some pattern. Occasionally the pattern resembles a prototype of a category of emotion sufficiently to count as an instance of that category. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prognosis of dangerousness in adolescent psychiatry expert assessment

The clinical assessment and prediction of violent behavior are two of the most important, but also most difficult tasks for child and adolescent psychiatrists who work in the forensic psychiatric area. The purpose of this article is to give an overview about the most prominent aspects of this problem. Therefore the judicial, methodological and methodical basis of the prediction of dangerous behavior is discussed as well as different methods that are used to predict dangerous behavior. It is shown that "dangerousness" is in most cases the result of an interaction between the individual dispositions of a person and a violence-prone situation. Furthermore it is put emphasis on the fact that many psychiatrists are not aware of their own cognitive processes that lead them to a conclusion concerning the dangerousness of a person and also do not use the bulk of the information that is available to them; so many studies showed that dangerousness is judged in the first line in the light of former delinquency and much less in the light of other anamnestic data or the actual behavior. Finally some proposals are made concerning the improvement of the quality of the clinical prediction of dangerousness.     

Human behavior between instinct, feelings and responsibility

The paper deals with the fundamental problem: How does the brain (in the way it is and the way it functions) influence human experience, behaviour and social interaction? Deriving from this question, there's the matter of how all this influences people as road users. After some epistemological considerations the following subjects are dealt with the article: the human perception and human "reality", the limits of human imagination, the basis of human learning, the complexity of processes within the brain, the reaction to changes and the ability to concentrate as well as McLean's theory of the triune brain. The subjects are complemented by aspects of biological and socio-cultural evolution of man, starting from evolutionary ethics going right up to the problem of responsibility.     

Women and gender in research on work and family stress.

Research on work-related stress has tended to focus on males and to neglect gender as a variable; often, findings from studies of men are incorrectly generalized to women. The failure to "build women in" to conceptual models has impaired our understanding of both work and family role stressors. This article focuses on assumptions, gaps, and biases in the literature; the home, for example, has been viewed as a stress-free sanctuary, whereas workplace stress has been overemphasized and seen as particularly dangerous for women. To better understand the costs and benefits of employment and of multiple roles for women, and the stressfulness of family roles, more attention to the qualitative aspects of roles is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Common dances, uncommon therapies: Response to Ryder.

Comments on the article by Robert Ryder (see record 1989-01372-001). In an article titled "The Common Dance," Ryder offers two fundamental truths about the nature of all human relationships. He also provides an epistemological position that limits the validity (i.e., universality) of these claims. It is the intention of this response to comment both on the reality/truth (i.e., ontological) claims themselves and on the epistemological (i.e., limits of knowledge) framework in which they are propounded. Ryder evidently adopts the "antirealist" or "subjective" epistemology fashionable in many disciplines, including the family systems movement. Having adopted this epistemology, Ryder goes on to assert his two truths about human relationships-truths which, he cautiously argues, are to be taken only as relative to his stand, that is, relative to his definition of the term relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

加强液化石油气贮运、供应等环节的安全管理

针对液化石油气这种危险化学品所具有的易燃、易爆特性,从贯彻落实《危险化学品安全管理条例》入手,围绕组织机构设立、建立规章制度、证照管理、教育培训、登记注册等方面,讨论加强危险化学品的安全管理工作。     

Psychology's reality debate: A "levels of reality" approach.

For different reasons, some modern and postmodern psychologists are skeptical about the reality of psychological phenomena as irreducible, influential entities. Nonetheless, much psychological inquiry presumes precisely such a reality. The authors present a "levels of reality" approach to psychological reality that they believe can assuage some of the concerns of psychological skeptics. This approach treats psychological reality as inseparably embedded in sociocultural, biological, and physical levels of reality, without being reducible to any of these other levels. The authors develop their "levels of reality" approach in relation to four different doctrines of realism, and elaborate its implications for understanding psychological phenomena. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental illness stigma and the fundamental components of supported employment.

Purpose/Objective: The success of supported employment programs will partly depend on the endorsement of stigma in communities in which the programs operate. In this article, the authors examine 2 models of stigma--responsibility attribution and dangerousness--and their relationships to components of supported employment-help getting a job and help keeping a job. Research Method/Design: A stratified and randomly recruited sample (N=815) completed responses to a vignette about "Chris," a person alternately described with mental illness, with drug addiction, or in a wheelchair. Research participants completed items that represented responsibility and dangerousness models. They also completed items representing 2 fundamental aspects of supported employment: help getting a job or help keeping a job. Results: When participants viewed Chris as responsible for his condition (e.g., mental illness), they reacted to him in an angry manner, which in turn led to lesser endorsement of the 2 aspects of supported employment. In addition, people who viewed Chris as dangerous feared him and wanted to stay away from him, even in settings where people with mental illness might work. Conclusions/ Implications: Implications for understanding supported employment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"To eat or be eaten: Two complementary compensatory solutions to premature separation in 'The Three Little Pigs' ": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by A. Blum (Psychoanalytic Psychology, 1994[Sum], Vol 11[3], 375–381). On page 378, the reference to Khan and Masud (1963/1974) should refer instead to Khan (1963/1974). On page 381, the full bibliographic reference should be corrected. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1995-04825-001.) The fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs' is looked at through a psychoanalytic lens. It is suggested that each of the 3 pigs is dealing with the consequences of a disruption in the mother–child relationship (e.g., impingements in the holding environment, failures in the good-enough mother, breaches in the protective shield, or some failure in the mother's role vis a vis the developing separating/individuating child). The 1st 2 pigs manifest their fragility and lack of cohesiveness, perpetually acting on their primitive wishes, such as fusion, devouring, and/or higher level dependency wishes. On the other hand, the 3rd pig hides his fragility by erecting rigid barriers between himself and the world, defending against the dangerous wishes and maintaining an illusory self-sufficiency. These 2 different character structures represent complementary, compensatory solutions to premature separation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of seclusion in psychiatry: a literature review

This article reports on a literature review of the practice of seclusion in psychiatric inpatient facilities. Attention is paid to the moral debate on seclusion. Most publications consider seclusion as a necessary intervention to manage problem behavior. The first part of the article deals with definitional aspects leading toward concept clarification. The review shows differences in definitional aspects, motives for seclusion, hospital characteristics, and patient characteristics. Data on frequency, incidence, and duration appear to be widely divergent. The experiences of patients who have been secluded are mostly negative, but positive reactions are also reported. In the publications of the last decade, there is emphasis on the contribution of hospital characteristics to trends in use of seclusion. Finally, it is concluded that seclusion is an effective way to manage (potentially) dangerous behavior and that seclusion is an intervention that may create therapeutic possibilities for care.     

The deprofessionalization of civil commitment.

Replies to comments made by Page (see record 2007-09054-001) on the original article "Indigenous Paraprofessional and Involuntary Civil Commitment: A Return to Community Values" (see record 1985-10551-001). The suggestions I offered for the reform of existing civil commitment laws are, clearly, "liberal," in so much as the intention was to curtail the medical prerogative in civil commitment procedures. Based on this proposal Page seems to have made the assumption that if I espoused such a reform I must be, naturally, politically liberal, which I am. Page errs, however, when he states that my policy suggestions rest on the belief that the community is also liberal and as such will exert a "liberalizing influence upon the social control and 'person-blaming' aspects of establishment psychiatry." I made no such assumption, however, I did indicate that the layperson may, in fact, have a potentially "corrective" influence in the accurate prediction of dangerous behaviour in civil commitment procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aspects of dysphoria and symptoms of schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: In the past it has been postulated that dysphoric emotions may be related to positive and/or negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The results of several recent studies have suggested that composite dysphoria indices are more strongly related to positive than negative symptoms. In the current study we use part correlation techniques to examine the possible unique contributions of two aspects of dysphoria--depression and anxiety--to three syndromes of symptoms (reality distortion, disorganization and psychomotor poverty) within schizophrenia. METHODS: Data were obtained from 60 patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia. Symptoms of schizophrenia were assessed using the SAPS and SANS and dysphoria was assessed using both self-report (BDI and BAI) and observer ratings (HRSD and HARS). Assessment of schizophrenia symptoms and ratings of depression and anxiety were completed by different observers. In addition, drug induced extrapyramidal side effects were rated. RESULTS: Part correlations showed that unique aspects of anxiety (particularly physiological arousal) were correlated with reality distortion while unique aspects of depression (including psychomotor slowing and loss of social interest) were related to psychomotor poverty. At least part of the latter relationship may be due to extrapyramidal side effects of neuroleptic medication. CONCLUSIONS: Although there is considerable overlap between anxiety and depression, it appears that the unique arousing or activating aspects of anxiety are related to the experience of reality distortion symptoms in schizophrenia and the unique slowing and withdrawal aspects of depression are particularly related to psychomotor poverty. Possible reasons for these relationships are discussed.     

Reality matters: The shadow of trauma on African American subjectivity.

Few psychoanalytic theories accord social, political, and cultural realities a role in the development of the psyche. This silence distorts and constricts our understanding of all subjects, but is particularly pernicious for the nondominant, as it renders significant aspects of their subjectivities invisible. African American subjectivity is an instance of such omission. The trauma of slavery critically shaped our subjectivity, yet this impact is rarely acknowledged. In fact, the subjugation, cruelties, and deprivations of slavery have given a traumatic cast to African American subjectivity. Through the intergenerational transmission of trauma this wounding has endured. This article examines the effect of African American historical reality on subjectivity. In particular, transmission of slavery’s essential characteristic—a relationship of domination—is explored. A clinical case manifesting instances of these issues is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial microaggressions and worldviews.

Comments by on an article entitled "Racial microaggression? How do you know?" by Rafael S. Harris Jr. (see record2008-05553-011). The author states that in our original article we asserted that the racial reality of POC was generally different from the racial reality of White Americans and that often times interpretations of situations and events are the result of worldviews or racial identity. When references are made to POC, or to “visible racial/ethnic groups,” reference is being made not only to the shared cultural characteristics, norms, values, and attitudes of the group (African American, Asian American, American Indian, and Latino/Hispanic American) but to a self-designation of racial identity formed from sociopolitical experiences of unequal social, economic, legal, and political power in U.S. society that are based on visible racial characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The application of postmodern thought to the clinical practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy

The purpose of this article has been to acquaint psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapists with some of the most current ideas in philosophy and psychology, which have crucial implications for our professional organizations and our clinical work. The basic stance of this postmodern thinking constitutes a challenge to what is called foundationalism, which dominated scientific and philosophical thought until recently. In place of foundationalism, even in the production of scientific or philosophical works, we could hope for an ongoing dialogue between a king or queen who states the basic theoretical orientation, the loyal opposition that looks for inconsistencies and kinks in it, the jester who deconstructs the whole thing and introduces parenthetical digressions, and finally, a secret society of organization that functions to hold the adherents of the theory together and provide them with a unifying ego ideal. Postmodern thought is described and there is some discussion of its "four horsemen," Derrida, Rorty, Foucault, and Lyotard, who in general question the possibility of whether any form of interpretation can be thought of as related to reality or the truth. My own point of view is that an intermediate position is necessary rather than a binary opposition between nihilism and foundationalism or more specifically, postmodernism and traditional psychoanalysis. That is to say, within certain horizons and with an understanding of the cultural and historical referents that always affect and delimit both the patient and the therapist, it is still possible to reach conceptions about what is going on both in the psychoanalytic process and the psyche of the patient that have at least a tentative "truth." Careful attention to the patient's material following an interpretation can provide clues about the validity of our conception at the time. But the horizons and historicity that delimit all "truth" reduce the authority and the stature of the analyst, make the analyst less of an arbiter of what is "reality," and focus greater attention on the therapist-patient dyad, which is consistent with the modern trend in psychoanalytic treatment anyway. The notion of social constructions as constituting the psychoanalytic process was discussed and it was suggested that this notion suffers from the lack of sufficient attention to the historical determinants of how a given individual reacts in a given situation. A patient will react differently to different therapists, depending on the transference or projective identifications that the patient brings to the treatment, regardless of the interpersonal interaction. This is in opposition to the idea that transference is primarily an effect of the therapist-patient dyad, and preserves a major aspect of traditional Freudian theory. The dangers of postmodern thought disintegrating into nihilism are described, and the limitations of so-called postmodern thought are discussed, including the intrinsic paradoxical nature of any postmodern proposition. At the same time, postmodern thought is useful in calling attention to the "space of the Other" in human affairs, to the tendency to form binary oppositions in which the second element in each binary pair is part of the Other and is depreciated, and to remind us that there are always further interpretations of the narrative that emerges from the psychoanalytic situation. The feminization of psychotherapy and its relationship to feminism are important current issues. Postmodern thought is valuable in responding to the common complaint of feminists about Nietzsche's attitude toward women; postmodernist approaches emphasize the ambiguous and the allegorical aspects of Nietzsche's thought, to the extreme orf Derrida's contention that Nietzsche is not really interpretable at all. At the same time feminists legitimately object to postmodernist erosion of the grounds for political action. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)     

To eat or be eaten: Two complementary compensatory solutions to premature separation in The Three Little Pigs..

The fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs" is looked at through a psychoanalytic lens. It is suggested that each of the 3 pigs is dealing with the consequences of a disruption in the mother–child relationship (e.g., impingements in the holding environment, failures in the good-enough mother, breaches in the protective shield, or some failure in the mother's role vis a vis the developing separating/individuating child). The 1st 2 pigs manifest their fragility and lack of cohesiveness, perpetually acting on their primitive wishes, such as fusion, devouring, and/or higher level dependency wishes. On the other hand, the 3rd pig hides his fragility by erecting rigid barriers between himself and the world, defending against the dangerous wishes and maintaining an illusory self-sufficiency. These 2 different character structures represent complementary, compensatory solutions to premature separation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A multivariate model for predicting rape and physical injury outcomes during sexual assaults": Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by S. E. Ullman and R. A. Knight (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1991, Vol 59[5], 724–731). On page 730, column 2, line 9, the authors erroneously indicated that nonforceful verbal resistance was a dangerous strategy because it "increased the probability of physical injury and was ineffective at avoiding sexual abuse.' The correct interpretation is that nonforceful verbal resistance was a dangerous strategy because it "increased the probability of sexual abuse and was ineffective at avoiding physical injury.' (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1992-05865-001.) The relation of situational factors, offender aggression, and victim resistance to women's sexual abuse and physical injury during sexual assaults was analyzed using police reports and court testimonies of 274 women who either avoided rape or were raped. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that after situational factors were partialed out, (a) women's screaming/yelling was related to less severe sexual abuse, and (b) offender physical aggression was related to increased physical injury… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aesthetic emotions and reality.

Comments that K. S. Walter's (see record 1990-09071-001) response to N. H. Frijda's (see record 1988-28577-001) article on laws and emotions brings up an important issue: The mystery that emotions can be evoked by imaginary events. Frijda thinks the solution is to be found in part in the complexities of the concept and the conception of "reality" and "unreality." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sickness and wickedness: new conceptions and new paradoxes

This article is a discussion of the conceptual relationship between wickedness and (mental) illness, quite apart from their uses in the criminal law. One of the these defended in the article is that in ordinary language illness has lost much of its power to mitigate and excuse, so that "sickos" are treated as if they were some strange minority or political sect.