Beliefs about the origins of human psychological traits

The development of children's reasoning about the origins of human psychological traits was investigated across 4 studies with a total of 316 participants ranging in age from kindergartners to 5th graders and adults. The primary methodology was a switched-at-birth task (L. A. Hirschfeld, 1995), which poses a hypothetical nature-nurture conflict. Two major issues were addressed: (a) the extent to which psychological traits are viewed as a product of environmental influence and (b) whether individuals can be primed to think about the origins of psychological traits in particular ways. Results suggest that there is an age-related increase in the tendency to make distinctions among different psychological traits and that over time, individuals come to believe that psychological traits are determined primarily by nurture. Results also show that young children's beliefs about trait origins are subject to subtle priming effects before an adultlike response pattern is seen.     

Reciprocal relationships between personality traits and psychological well-being

This study used an American sample collected over a period of approximately 2 decades (at 3 time points) to examine the temporal relationships between psychological well-being and personality traits (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience). The random-intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to separate between-person and within-person sources of variation. Between-person correlations were comparable to those of previous studies. New insights were gained at the within-person level. There were reciprocal relationships between psychological well-being and openness and extraversion, suggesting the joint development of plasticity-related traits and well-being over time. The relationships between psychological well-being and conscientiousness and agreeableness were unidirectional, with psychological well-being preceding these traits. Despite a strong between-person association between neuroticism and psychological well-being, the two were not related at the within-person level.     

Schizotypal and hypomanic traits,creativity, and psychological health

There are both theoretical and empirical linkages between the functioning of creative and eminent individuals and a variety of forms of psychopa‐thology, in particular schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. Thought disorder is conceptually and empirically related to creative Divergent Thinking; schizophrenics and their relatives sometimes show evidence of highly creative adaptations; and psychiatric symptoms, notably manic and impulsive behaviors, are observed in creative and eminent individuals. Recent work has studied both psychopathological and creative functioning as continua rather than as categories or classes. The present study is unique in its use of a population that is both nonclinical and noneminent and examines the relationship between pencil and paper measures of psychotic‐like experiences, creativity, and psychological health. Results indicate that unusual perceptual experiences and beliefs, Hypomanic traits, and Impulsive Nonconformity are associated with creative attitudes and activities. Deficits in experiencing pleasure are negatively correlated with creativity scores. These findings point to the importance of affective, motivational, and behavioral factors in creative functioning especially hypomania and impulsiv‐ity. Subclinical “positive”; symptoms are associated with higher levels of measured creativity; deficit symptoms are associated with lower levels. This research suggests that creativity tests should be included in the assessment of psychological health and personal resourcefulness.     

Experiential avoidance as a generalized psychological vulnerability: comparisons with coping and emotion regulation strategies

Extending previous work, we conducted two studies concerning the toxic influences of experiential avoidance (EA) as a core mechanism in the development and maintenance of psychological distress, and disruption of pleasant, engaging, and spontaneous activity. Of particular interest was whether EA accounted for relationships between coping and emotion regulation strategies on anxiety-related pathology (Study 1) and psychological distress and hedonic functioning over the course of a 21-day monitoring period (Study 2). In Study 1, EA mediated the effects of maladaptive coping, emotional responses styles, and uncontrollability on anxiety-related distress (e.g., anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety, suffocation fears, and body sensation fears). In Study 2, EA completely mediated the effects of two emotion regulation strategies (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) on daily negative and positive experiences and was associated with diminished daily positive affective experiences and healthy life appraisals, diminished frequency of positive events and more frequent negative life events, and greater negative affective experiences. The present data show that cognitive reappraisal, a primary process of traditional cognitive-behavior therapy, was much less predictive of the quality of psychological experiences and events in everyday life compared with EA. Further consideration of experiential avoidance as a generalized diathesis and toxic process will be useful in improving our understanding of the etiology, phenomenology, and treatment of anxiety conditions, general human suffering, and disruptions in hedonic capacity.     

Experiential psychotherapy

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy -     

Experiential Learning

SUMMARY

The following article is about three things: my impressions of Virginia Satir's work, my personal experience of her, and the profound connection between the work of Virginia Satir and Dr. Eugene T. Gendlin's Focusing work.

My attraction to both of these great teachers is not surprising. They both share a type of wisdom which in metaphysics is often described as “intelligence lovingly applied.”

In this article I hope to convey what I see as an organic and compatible overlap between Satir and Gendlin which will hopefully be useful to the readers of this publication.     

Experiential Research

ABSTRACT: This paper reports a research project that has focused on the inner experience of suicidal depression and its relationship to the social milieu. Adopting a suicidal identity, a clinical anthropologist lived in a psychiatric hospital, and then, along with a clinical psychologist, in several posthospital care facilities for periods from two weeks to a month in each setting. The evidence indicates the researchers were able to establish identities closely resembling those of genuinely suicidal persons. Their experiential accounts along with their observations of the social settings in which they lived provide the core material for analysis. Additional data from hospital records and posttreatment meetings with staff members and fellow patients supplemented the researchers' observations. Data are presented on social situational variables that support and/or undermine feelings of self-worth, the social presentation of a suicidal self, and introspective accounts of suicidal “world views” and styles of thinking. Suggestions are made for suicide prevention in institutional settings on the basis of life-supporting relationships and appropriately designed social-structural features.     

孔子思想中的君子人格：心理学测量的探索

君子人格是中国文化(尤其是儒学思想)中的理想的人格特质, 对于理解中国文化心理具有重要意义, 但鲜有实证研究。通过经典文本的理论分析与心理测量的实证分析相结合的方法, 选取《论语》中孔子对君子的论述编制初测条目, 通过探索性和验证性因素分析、效标关联效度分析等实证研究方法(总样本量 = 1916), 对孔子思想中的君子人格的内在结构进行了探索, 并编制了具有良好信效度的测量工具。结果表明, 孔子思想中的君子人格包含了智仁勇、恭而有礼、喻义怀德、有所不为、持己无争5个因素。此外还考察了其与大五人格、中国人价值观、自我和谐、合作与竞争人格倾向、亲社会倾向等效标变量的相关关系。     

Personality traits moderate the relationships between psychological needs and enjoyment of physical activity

One of the most important factors of maintaining regular and long-term physical activity is the enjoyment an individual experiences from engaging in the activity. If basic psychological needs are fulfilled, the likelihood that someone enjoys being physically active increases. However, it is unclear whether the impact of psychological needs is influenced by personality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if personality traits (BIG 5) moderate the relationships between basic psychological needs and enjoyment of physical activity. We conducted an online survey with N = 399 participants (M_age = 35.82 years). Physical activity enjoyment, basic psychological needs (autonomy, perceived competence, social relatedness), and the BIG 5 were assessed. Analyses show that personality moderates the relationships between psychological needs and enjoyment of physical activity: Extraversion moderates the relationship between social relatedness and enjoyment, conscientiousness and neuroticism moderate the relationship between perceived competence and enjoyment, and agreeableness, but not openness, moderates the relationship between autonomy and enjoyment. Our findings suggest that the BIG 5 play an important role regarding the experience of physical activity enjoyment. Therefore, personality should be considered to design interventions more tailored to individual needs in order to promote enjoyment of physical activity effectively.     

Associations between personality traits and psychological well-being across time in middle adulthood

Associations of personality traits with psychological well-being (PWB) were analyzed across ages 33–50 as part of an ongoing Finnish longitudinal study (initial N = 369). Bivariate latent growth curve analyses indicated that a low initial level of neuroticism (.75) and high extraversion (.55) correlated strongly with a high level of PWB. Moreover, a high level of conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness also correlated significantly with PWB. The change factor was significant only for openness: the higher the initial level of PWB, the higher the increase in openness from age 33–50. In comparison with emotional well-being, indicated by general life satisfaction, the associations of the personality traits with PWB were significantly stronger for neuroticism, extraversion, and openness.     

An examination of self-compassion in relation to positive psychological functioning and personality traits

This study examined the relation of self-compassion to positive psychological health and the five factor model of personality. Self-compassion entails being kind toward oneself in instances of pain or failure; perceiving one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience; and holding painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness. Participants were 177 undergraduates (68% female, 32% male). Using a correlational design, the study found that self-compassion had a significant positive association with self-reported measures of happiness, optimism, positive affect, wisdom, personal initiative, curiosity and exploration, agreeableness, extroversion, and conscientiousness. It also had a significant negative association with negative affect and neuroticism. Self-compassion predicted significant variance in positive psychological health beyond that attributable to personality.     

Adult attachment styles and psychological disease: examining the mediating role of personality traits

The aim of the present study was to examine differences in anxiety and depression related to differences in attachment models of the self and of others and whether personality traits mediate this relationship. The authors assessed attachment styles, anxiety, depression, and personality traits among 274 adult volunteers. Participants were classified into 4 attachment groups (secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing-avoidant) according to K. Bartholomew's (1990) model. The present authors found significant differences among attachment groups on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attachment styles involving a negative self-model showing higher scores than attachment styles characterized by a positive self-model. The authors also found that differences between attachment styles in anxiety and depression remained significant when personality factors related to attachment prototypes were entered as covariates. Results indicate that secure attachment in adults was associated with better mental health, while insecure attachment styles characterized by negative thinking about the self were associated with higher depression and anxiety scores. Our findings seem to evidence that attachment and personality are only partly overlapping and that attachment cannot be considered as redundant with personality in the explanation of psychological disease.     

The structuring of Vicarious Sex

This paper proposes a change in the typing of a form of sexual deviance: voyeurism (watching persons who are undressing, undressed, or in the act of sexual intercourse). The analysis focuses on a suggested change in what is thought to prompt voyeurism. Voyeurism is presently regarded as pathological deviance by some researchers. This paper suggests that some voyeurism can be better understood if considered within the context of sociological deviance. Support for this change is offered from a review of relevant literature and data collected from two groups of voyeurs.     

Experiential Group Psychotherapy Supervision

Following a review of various traditional models of supervising group therapy, an experiential model of supervising group in a group setting is presented. The model stresses the group aspect of the supervisory process, encourages group interaction, here-and-now responses and associations, and employs concepts from both object relations and group-as-a-whole theory to understand what is taking place. The model's premise is that case material presented in a supervision group stimulates parallel material in supervisees, which is then used to elucidate what has taken place in the therapy group being presented. Excerpts from one supervisory group are used to illustrate major features of the model.