The other side of Oedipus

The Oedipus complex has been understood as a series of conflicts between feelings of love and hate (sexuality and aggression) in the relationship between the child and his/her parents. This article presents a different view, defining oedipal struggles as conflicts between love and care, sexual desires and self- and object-preservative needs. The crucial conflict the child has to deal with is: to love the one and nevertheless to preserve the other (the rival). Further, the author distinguishes between monolithic conflicts, which are conflicts between different objects of one drive's strivings, and binary conflicts, which involve the objects of both basic drives. In three illustrative examples, she shows that monolithic conflicts can indicate a regressive movement, while binary conflicts tend to foster a progression in the analytic work.     

The other side of the coin: Cognitive properties of nonreward

In this comment, I examine Amsel’s theory in the light of rats’ reaction not to frustrative non-reward per se, but to the more complicated case in which frustrative nonreward is part of a rule-based sequence of reward quantities. The discussion goes beyond Amsel’s emphasis on dispositional memory to consider cognitive and representational memory—the signaling properties of reinforcement and nonreinforcement. The strengths and weaknesses of Amsel’s theory are discussed with the fresh perspective that this viewpoint provides, and some issues emerge that may be fruitful for further study.     

The other side of false belief: Constructing the objectivity of reality

Young children appear not to grasp the independence between objective reality and subjective beliefs, as evidenced by their errors on false belief tasks. Whereas decades of research have examined children's developing understanding of the subjectivity of beliefs, however, almost no research has examined the other side of the issue: How do humans come to understand the objectivity of reality, and why is this understanding important? To help address this gap, this article proposes an evolutionary-developmental account of how the understanding that reality is objective may have emerged in human thinking. Three key steps are highlighted: (i) phylogenetic foundations in great ape competitive mindreading, (ii) ontogenetic foundations in preverbal infant joint attention, and (iii) key experiences of perspectival conflict in linguistic humans. Functionally, the concept of an objective reality facilitated collaborative reasoning and joint decision-making. To arrive at good joint decisions, individuals needed to recognize that both their own beliefs and others' beliefs could be wrong—with respect to the objective reality.     

The other side of we: when outgroup members express common identity

Previous research on the common ingroup identity model has focused on how one's representations of members of the ingroup and outgroup influence intergroup attitudes. Two studies reported here investigated how learning how others, ingroup or outgroup members, conceive of the groups within a superordinate category affects intergroup bias and willingness to engage in intergroup contact. Across both studies, high school students who learned that other ingroup members categorized students at both schools within the common identity of "students" showed less intergroup bias in evaluations and greater willingness for contact. However, consistent with the hypothesized effects of identity threat, when participants read that outgroup members saw the groups within the superordinate category, they exhibited a relatively negative orientation, except when ingroup members also endorsed a superordinate identity (Study 1). This result occurred even when the relative status of the groups was manipulated (Study 2).     

Perversion on the other side of the couch

Abstract

Taking as his starting point the fact that, according to Freudian theory, perversion is inherent to the human being, the author focuses upon an aspect of perversion that has been little discussed: perversion on the other side of the couch, and thereby questions of how, in psychoanalytic theoretical and clinical practice, perverted drive motions may be presented. Such a phenomenon takes various forms: actually being enacted with patients; using psychoanalytic theory as a normative rule; the individual choice of profession and so forth. To exemplify his point of view, the author presents four different expressions of sexuality in Freudian theory: genital sexuality, perverted sexuality, the sexuality of the Ideals and narcissistic sexuality. After differentiating these four sexual expressions, the author shows how each of them may generate perversion in both clinical and theoretical psychoanalysis.

Ceccarelli P Perversion auf der anderen Seite der Couch

Indem er als Ausgangspunkt die Tatsache nimmt, daß entsprechend der Freudianischen Theorie Perversion dem menschlichen Sein inhärent ist, fokussiert der Autor auf einen Aspekt der Perversion, der wenig diskutiert wurde: Perversion auf der anderen Seite der Couch und damit Fragen, wie in der psychoanalytischen und klinischen Praxis pervertierte Triebbewegungen dargestellt werden können. Ein solches Phänomen zeigt sich in verschiedenartigen Formen: tatsächlich mit Patienten in Szene gesetzt; im Gebrauch psychoanalytischer Theorie als einer normativen Regel; die individuelle Wahl des Berufs und so weiter. Um seinen Standpunkt zu exempifizieren, stellt der Autor vier verschiedene Ausdrücke von Sexualität in der Freudianischen Theorie dar: genitale Sexualität; perverse Sexiualität; die Sexualität der Ideale; und narzißtische Sexualität. Nach einer Differenzierung dieser vier Ausdrücke für Sexualität zeigt der Autor, wie jeder von ihnen Perversion in klinischer und theoretischer Psychoanalyse generieren kann.

Ceccarelli P. Perversión del otro lado del diván.

Tomando como punto de partida el hecho de que de acuerdo a la teoría Freudiana la perversión es inherente al ser humano, el autor se enfoca en un aspecto de la perversión que ha sido muy poco discutido: la perversión del otro lado del diván, se pregunta cómo en la práctica psicoanalítica clínica y teórica, algunos impulsos pervertidos pueden estar presentes. Un fenómeno así puede tomar diversas formas: pasos al acto con pacientes, usar la teoría psicoanalítica como regla normativa, la elección individual de profesión y así. Para ejemplificar su punto de vista, el autor presenta cuatro diferentes expresiones de la sexualidad en la teoría freudiana: la sexualidad genital, sexualidad pervertida, la sexualidad de los Ideales, y la sexualidad narcisista. Además de diferenciar estas cuatro expresiones sexuales, el autor demuestra como cada una de estas formas puede generar perversión en el psicoanálisis clínico y teórico.     

Probing the visual representation of faces with adaptation: A view from the other side of the mean

Sensory adaptation and visual aftereffects have long given insight into the neural codes underlying basic dimensions of visual perception. Recently discovered perceptual adaptation effects for complex shapes like faces can offer similar insight into high-level visual representations. In the experiments reported here, we demonstrated first that face adaptation transfers across a substantial change in viewpoint and that this transfer occurs via processes unlikely to be specific to faces. Next, we probed the visual codes underlying face recognition using face morphs that varied selectively in reflectance or shape. Adaptation to these morphs affected the perception of "opposite" faces both from the same viewpoint and from a different viewpoint. These results are consistent with high-level face representations that pool local shape and reflectance patterns into configurations that specify facial appearance over a range of three-dimensional viewpoints. These findings have implications for computational models of face recognition and for competing neural theories of face and object recognition.     

Positive affect and the other side of coping

Although research on coping over the past 30 years has produced convergent evidence about the functions of coping and the factors that influence it, psychologists still have a great deal to learn about how coping mechanisms affect diverse outcomes. One of the reasons more progress has not been made is the almost exclusive focus on negative outcomes in the stress process. Coping theory and research need to consider positive outcomes as well. The authors focus on one such outcome, positive affect, and review findings about the co-occurrence of positive affect with negative affect during chronic stress, the adaptive functions of positive affect during chronic stress, and a special class of meaning-based coping processes that support positive affect during chronic stress.     

From trainee to trainer: crossing over to the other side of the fence

This article discusses the authors' experiences of the transition from trainee to trainer on a psychotherapeutic training programme, and some of the challenges involved. Using the framework offered by Rizq (2009), the article examines the many parallel processes implicit in the roles of trainee, trainer and therapist. We explore these using examples from personal experience and psychodynamic theory and concepts. We believe our experience illustrates one of the transitions that are inevitable throughout the process of training, qualifying and practising as therapeutic practitioners. These transitions, whilst often fraught with difficulty, are invariably paramount to the process of reflection and development as a practitioner and teacher. Therefore, this article hopes to formulate a deeper understanding of this edifying, yet challenging transition.     

On the other side of the mean: the perception of dissimilarity in human faces

We created a 'face space' using a laser-scan representation of faces. In this space, a caricature can be made by moving a face away from the average face, along the line connecting the particular face to the average face. Here, we move the face along this line in the other direction, proceeding through the mean and 'out the other side'. This results in a face that is 'opposite', in a computational sense, to the original face. We morphed several faces into their anti-faces and sampled the morph trajectory in five discrete steps. We then collected similarity ratings from human participants for all possible pairs of morphed faces to determine how the distances in the 'physical face space' related to the distances in the 'psychological face space'. The data indicate that there is a perceptual discontinuity of face identity as the face crosses over to the 'other side of the mean'. We consider these results in the context of face-space models of human face processing.     

The other other: when the exotic other subjugates the familiar other

In this paper, the theme of the other will be examined and it will be argued that it is important to differentiate between two distinct types of other--the 'exotic' other which is distant and very different from the subject, and the 'familiar' other which is closer to the subject. The dynamic relationship between these two others will be investigated, and emphasis will be given to the process through which the exotic other tends to subjugate the familiar other. This relationship will then be discussed in its various applied forms, in the contexts of clinical practice and socio-political dimensions. In particular, a new reading of Jung's approach to the 'primitive' will be developed, based on the subjugation of the 'familiar' other by the 'exotic' other. A similar line of investigation will be followed to examine the concept of psychological trauma. In addition, Freud's 'narcissism of minor differences' and Bion's distinction between 'narcissism' and 'socialism' will be considered in the light of this differentiation between these two others.     

Mad enough to see the other side: anger and the search for disconfirming information

The current research explored the effect of anger on hypothesis confirmation-the propensity to seek information that confirms rather than disconfirms one's opinion. We argued that the moving against action tendency associated with anger leads angry individuals to seek out more disconfirming information than sad individuals, attenuating the confirmation bias. We tested this hypothesis in two studies of experimentally primed anger and sadness on the selective exposure to hypothesis confirming and disconfirming information. In Study 1, participants in the angry condition were more likely to choose disconfirming information than those in the sad or neutral condition when given the opportunity to read more about a social debate, and reading the disconfirming information affected their subsequent attitude. Study 2 measured participants' opinions and information selection about the 2008 US Presidential Election and their desire to "move against" a person or object. Participants in the angry condition reported a greater tendency to oppose a person or object, which resulted in the attenuation of the confirmation bias.     

The other side of the coin: Vocational interests,interest differentiation and annual income at the occupation level of analysis

This research examined the effects of vocational interest levels and differentiation on annual income. Following the environmental perspective, we investigated whether relationships existed at the occupation level of analysis. Using data from 665 occupations in the U.S. obtained from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*Net, we demonstrated that certain vocational interests – namely investigative, enterprising, and realistic interests – were most critical in predicting annual income for occupations. Controlling for interest levels, differentiation not only positively predicted annual income but also moderated each interest's relationship with income. In addition, occupations' education and training requirement partially mediated the effects of interest profiles on income. Our findings reveal the need for a better understanding of how characteristics of an occupation's interest profile may shape the experiences of its workers.     

Mad enough to see the other side: Anger and the search for disconfirming information

The current research explored the effect of anger on hypothesis confirmation—the propensity to seek information that confirms rather than disconfirms one's opinion. We argued that the moving against action tendency associated with anger leads angry individuals to seek out more disconfirming information than sad individuals, attenuating the confirmation bias. We tested this hypothesis in two studies of experimentally primed anger and sadness on the selective exposure to hypothesis confirming and disconfirming information. In Study 1, participants in the angry condition were more likely to choose disconfirming information than those in the sad or neutral condition when given the opportunity to read more about a social debate, and reading the disconfirming information affected their subsequent attitude. Study 2 measured participants' opinions and information selection about the 2008 US Presidential Election and their desire to “move against” a person or object. Participants in the angry condition reported a greater tendency to oppose a person or object, which resulted in the attenuation of the confirmation bias.     

The other side of rumination: reflective pondering as a strategy for regulating emotions in social situations

Recent studies have questioned the idea of rumination as a unitary dysfunctional process and identified an adaptive subcomponent: reflective pondering. We tested whether reflective pondering could represent an adaptive strategy of regulating emotions, and contrasted it with reappraisal and acceptance, strategies linked to major psychotherapeutic approaches. Participants (103 students) received training in one of these and were exposed to a negative mood induction consisting of social scenarios, both in the presence and in the absence of the specific emotion regulation instruction. Acceptance was more useful than reflective pondering in impacting negative emotions and anxiety. Reappraisal was more efficient than pondering for anxiety. However, moderation analysis showed that social anxiety (SA) levels influenced the comparative efficiency of reappraisal and acceptance as contrasted to reflective pondering for negative emotions and anxiety. Participants low in SA made equal use of all strategies, while for those high in SA reappraisal and acceptance were more efficient than pondering. Our results provide preliminary evidence that reflective pondering can, in some circumstances, be an adaptive regulation strategy.