Limits and lessons of constructivism some critical reflections

Abstract

Despite their diversity, the articles in this special issue generally bear on three key problems facing constructivist theorists and therapists: (1) the relation between knowledge and reality, (2) the construction of self in social relationships, and (3) the facilitation of change in the clinical context. In this article I critically evaluate the recommendations and challenges of the contributors regarding these problems and clarify the implications for the practice of constructivist psychotherapy.     

Constructivist psychology of child abuse and implications for psychotherapy

Abstract

This paper reviews constructivist and related literature on child abuse and psychotherapy. Constructivist psychology, with its emphasis on the personal, socially embedded construction of meaning, is uniquely situated to contribute to humanistic psychotherapy for child victims and adult survivors. Conversely, work with abused clients deepens our understanding of developmental meaning‐making processes and the social ecologies of meaning within which they unfold.

Constructivist approaches to child abuse are inherently humanistic, focusing on the child victim's and adult survivor's attempts to make meaning of their experiences, including the often traumatic experiences of abuse and the relational contexts in which it occurs. This paper first discusses how constructivist psychology may deepen our understanding of the impact of abusive experiences, the reverberation of those experiences through subsequent living, and the role of constructivist therapies in the healing process. Secondly, this paper explores reflexive aspects of work with abuse survivors that may challenge our cultural and professional assumptions and deepen our commitment to constructivist, humanistic, and feminist psychotherapies.     

A Review of: “International Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology”

Abstract

Constructivism is a relatively new development in the Brazilian psychological community. The dissemination of constructivist theory is difficult to trace, but can perhaps be best understood by looking at the development of Brazilian psychology and through tracing related theoretical movements like the cognitive-behavioral movement, which appears to have prepared the intellectual climate for constructivist principles. The growth of constructivism in Brazil is illustrated through the formation of constructivist organizations, a consideration of educational opportunities related to the theory, and a review of recent conferences where South American professionals could be exposed to constructivist ideas.     

Understanding adolescent type 1 diabetes self-management as an adaptive process: A grounded theory approach

Objective: To develop a conceptual understanding of the process of adapting to the self-management of type 1 diabetes during adolescence.

Design: Participants were recruited from a National Health Service paediatric diabetes service within the south-west of England which runs six countywide diabetes clinics. Thirteen interviews were conducted using a social constructivist grounded theory approach.

Results: The findings illustrate how self-management can be understood in terms of a continuum-based framework, ranging from difficulties with, to successful self-management. Adaptation within the continuum can further be understood by specific transitional phases and process mechanisms, providing further depth to individuals’ experiences of adaptation.

Conclusion: This investigation provides a conceptual understanding of the complex issues adolescents encounter while adapting to and integrating a diabetes self-management regime into their lives. It provides an invaluable framework for exploring psychological mechanisms and contextualising them within a self-management continuum. Implications for healthcare professionals are discussed and further research proposes whether the model could be applicable to other chronic illnesses.     

The body matters: Psychophysical impact of retiring from elite sport

ObjectivesThe purpose of the present study was to assess the relation between the perception of bodily changes after retirement from elite sport and physical self and global self-esteem, in retired elite athletes.MethodsSixty-nine French retired elite athletes answered the 6-item Physical Self Inventory, and questions related to bodily difficulties experienced after retirement, and reasons, moment and nature of retirement.ResultsCorrelation analysis revealed that the difficulties experienced with the body were negatively related to global self-esteem, physical self-worth, perceived physical condition, sports competence, and bodily attractiveness. Regression analysis revealed the mediating role of physical self-worth between the difficulties experienced with the body and global self-esteem.ConclusionAs well as social and professional changes, bodily changes might also be a source of potential distressful reactions. These findings complete existing knowledge, having a particular emphasis on the potential difficulties resulting from the bodily dimension among former elite athletes.     

Functioning of Epigenetically Evolved Emotion Systems: A Constructive Analysis

Abstract

The theory of emotions outlined in this paper follows a general theory that psychological processes maintain an adaptive equilibrium between one's construction system and sensory input from one's world. Persons build constructions to match any class of sensory data, and also build standards for (construe) varied levels of input which accompany the arousal-related activity associated with standard/input mismatch. Conscious identification of different emotional states reflects the use of constructions assigned to different standard/input relations. A constructivist may regard different emotional states or experiences as idealized configurations of attributes; and these configurations can be treated as prototypes, applying the same analyses which have been developed by cognitive scientists who have offered models for discussions of categorization processes. A model for discussing emotional development is provided, and directions of future constructivist investigations are suggested     

Reconstructing An Erection and Elaborating Ejaculation: Personal Construct Theory Perspectives on Sex Therapy

Abstract

Personal construct psychotherapy has rarely been applied to sexual disorders. In this paper a constructivist approach is contrasted with alternative methods of treating such problems on three related dimensions concerning whether it (1) is introspective or extraspective, (2) views the complaint as representing a personal construction or faulty mechanism, or (3) aims toward personal or normative goals. It will be illustrated by reports of the treatment of two men presenting with sexual complaints, and its technical eclecticism will be compared with integrative trends in sex therapy.     

Treatment preference and acceptability: Epistemology and locus of control

Abstract

Treatment preference and acceptability were investigated in 397 female university students. Three audiovisual vignettes depicting a client and therapist discussing a body image disturbance problem were presented to subjects. Predictions were that subjects would prefer one of three therapy approaches—behavioral, cognitive—rational, or cognitive—constructivist—as a function of personal epistemology and locus of control. Overall, subjects rated the constructivist therapy approach more favorably than either the cognitive—rational or behavioral approach. Similarly, subjects evaluated the constructivist therapist more positively than either the rational or behavioral therapist. After degree of subject identification with the target problem was controlled, results indicated that matching subjects who had an external locus of control orientation to a behavioral or cognitive-rational therapist resulted in more favorable assessments of that therapist. Matching subjects who had an internal locus of control orientation to a constructivist therapist resulted in more positive assessments of that therapist. Implications for matching in clinical practice are discussed.     

Depression in South Asian women: Asian women's beliefs on causes and cures

A qualitative, grounded theory approach within a constructivist paradigm is employed to explore perceptions of causes and cures of depression in South Asian women. Ten Asian women suffering from depression and three of their carers were interviewed about their beliefs around the cause of their own and their relative's depression, and the implications of these beliefs for treatment. Findings suggested that understanding their experience of conflicting cultural expectations, distinctions between psychosocial, spiritual, physical health problems and communication problems (general and culture specific) were central to these women's experiences of depression The implications of results for services are discussed and limitations of the study considered in line with criteria developed for constructivist research.     

Effects of an early reading intervention based on grapho-syllabic decoding and fluency training in French elementary schools

IntroductionStudies conducted in recent decades have led to the development of instructional interventions to help prevent or eliminate a large proportion of reading difficulties. However, few experiments have been conducted in French schools.ObjectiveAims for this research were to create, implement and evaluate a remediation program for French students with reading difficulties up to the end of elementary school.MethodThis paper examines the effects of a decoding-skills and fluency-based intervention on 133 struggling readers in second- to fifth-grade. Depending on the nature of their reading difficulties, students were given a year-long training based either on grapho-syllabic conversion — focusing on syllable units, rather than phonemic units, is considered a promising way of helping French-speaking beginning readers — or on repeated reading techniques, used to improve fluency.ResultsIncreases in written-word identification scores were greater for students who followed the program than they were for a control group of 184 students with reading difficulties who did not follow the program.ConclusionThe results show that programs combining early evaluation of written-word identification abilities followed by a year-long series of remediation sessions focusing on specific difficulties can help students progress in written-word identification. However, further research is needed to examine why our program was less effective with children from disadvantaged (“éducation prioritaire”) areas.     

Nietzsche on creating and discovering values

ABSTRACT

This article considers Friedrich Nietzsche’s claims about value creation alongside his proclamation that ‘nature is always value-less’ (GS 301), assessing their implications for his metaethics. It begins by weighing the evidence for a recent constructivist interpretation of Nietzsche’s metaethics, arguing that despite several apparent interpretive advantages, Nietzschean constructivism ultimately fails. Through a close reading of GS 301 and related passages, the constructivist interpretation is shown to be misguided in taking Nietzsche’s talk of value creation as expressing (or playing a significant role in) a metaethical view according to which the evaluative attitudes of philosophers ground what is valuable. Against this, it is argued that GS 301 should be understood as an assertion of the status of philosophers as the causal sources of new evaluative outlooks that shape the held values of their respective cultures, a claim developed through analysis of passages in which Nietzsche discusses his ideal of the ‘genuine philosopher’ and contrasts this figure with ‘critics’ or ‘philosophical laborers’ (BGE 210–211). It is next argued that, insofar as it is best understood as describing a social or anthropological phenomenon rather than a metaphysical one, GS 301 is a poor piece of evidence not only for the constructivist interpretation, but in fact for any account of Nietzsche’s metaethical position—including radical anti-realist interpretations informed by his statement that ‘nature is always value-less’. The paper then concludes by appealing to another passage, GS 55, which hints towards a very different—and plausibly realist—picture of Nietzsche’s metaethics     

A champion out of the pool? A discursive exploration of two Australian Olympic swimmers' transition from elite sport to retirement

BackgroundThe transition out of elite sport can be distressing and many athletes experience a range of transition difficulties. However, the socio-cultural and discursive contexts which shape experiences remain largely unexplored in the transition literature.ObjectiveTo explore retirement and transition difficulties in a cultural context through an analysis of Australian newsprint media.Design and methodsA discursive analysis of 121 media articles reporting on post-retirement experiences of two Australian swimmers 7 and 5 years (respectively) into retirement. Data were analysed for repeated representation of transition difficulties, specifically how the cause of difficulties was attributed. The identities that were ascribed to athletes and what these functioned to accomplish were also examined.ResultsThe identities of both individuals were repeatedly constructed in terms of an athlete identity, to the exclusion of other identities. The responsibility for transition difficulties was depicted as located solely within the individual and, thereby, the sport setting and the broader socio-cultural context were overlooked.ConclusionsIn this cultural context (Australian news media), the repeated construction of limited identity positions for retired athletes and the construction of former athletes as the sole locus of transition difficulties have implications for their psychological well-being. Despite this, the role of the sporting and cultural context is rendered invisible in these accounts and more broadly, and interventions remain targeted at the individual level.     

Lexical orthographic knowledge acquisition in adults: The whole-word visual processing impact

IntroductionOne of the most persistent difficulties in French written language acquisition is lexical orthographic memorization. Both theoretical models and behavioral studies have suggested that simultaneous visual processing of all the letters of a word could be important for the acquisition of its orthographic form.Main goalTwo experiments are conducted to test this whole-word visual processing hypothesis.MethodThe paradigm used in both experiments is a self-teaching paradigm in which adult participants had to read orthographically complex bisyllabic pseudowords in isolation. In one reading condition, all the letters of the item are available at once, in the other the first and second syllables are seen successively. After reading, participants had to spell under dictation and to recognize the written items.ResultsGlobally, the results showed that participants better recall the orthographic form of a word after having read it in the whole-word reading condition. The result of the recognition task, in the second experiment, was in line with the result of the spelling under dictation task.ConclusionThese results, although they should be interpreted with caution, are in line with the whole-word visual processing hypothesis. Applied consequences for orthographic learning and teaching, as for remediation of specific orthographic disabilities, are discussed.     

Difficulties in emotion regulation differentiate depressive and obsessive–compulsive symptoms and their co-occurrence

Background and Objectives: Depressive and obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms are frequently comorbid, and the combination of these may result in additional impairment compared to the difficulties of experiencing one of these symptom groups. Emotion regulation difficulties underlie many forms of psychopathology symptoms, and this study examined whether aspects of emotion regulation could differentiate clinical levels of depressive and OC symptoms, and their co-occurrence. Design and Method: College students (N?=?199; M_age?=?19.47 years; 59.8% female) were grouped based on the presence of clinical levels of OC and depressive symptoms. Using a multinomial logistic regression approach, differences in odds ratios for emotion regulation difficulties were examined. Results: The co-occurring clinical-symptom group was differentiated from the single clinical-symptom groups on several aspects of emotion regulation. Impulse-control difficulties and limited access to emotion regulation strategies differentiated clinical levels of depressive from OC symptoms. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of conducting a nuanced emotion assessment to best inform prevention and treatment of depressive and OC symptoms, and their comorbidity.     

The Virtual Kitchen Challenge: preliminary data from a novel virtual reality test of mild difficulties in everyday functioning

ABSTRACT

Background: Efficient, objective measures of mild functional difficulties are lacking. Preliminary data from a novel, non-immersive virtual reality, performance-based task (Virtual Kitchen Challenge; VKC) were obtained to address this gap.

Methods: 14 older and 21 younger adults completed cognitive tests and two everyday tasks (breakfast, lunch) in the VKC with virtual objects and a touch-screen and in the Real Kitchen with real objects (order counterbalanced). Automated performance measures were obtained from the VKC program and human coders scored VKC and Real Kitchen videos for errors.

Results: Older adults made more errors than younger adults on the VKC and Real Kitchen, with similar error patterns across measures. VKC automated measures were significantly related to measures from human coders, performance on the Real Kitchen, and cognitive test scores.

Conclusion: The VKC is a valid and highly efficient performance-based measure of subtle functional difficulties with great potential for future clinical and research applications.     

Constructs to describe individual knowledge / Constructos para describir el conocimiento individual

Abstract

The basic unit of any cognitive model that attempts to describe individual knowledge and its manifestations must be chosen carefully, as the resulting position on learning, teaching and, in general, of the psychological research subject depends largely on this choice. The objective is to assess and contrast two constructs of enormous significance in cognitive psychology that have been used as cognitive units under different theoretical contexts: the concept in its classical sense, and the scheme in its organismic version. Arguments are presented to show that the latter is more consistent with constructivist assumptions and is more respectful of psychological data such as the Gestalt and prototype effects or the existence of procedural and implicit knowledge.     

Emplotting the traumatic self: Narrative revision and the construction of coherence

Abstract

In this article we provide a constructivist‐narrative conceptualization of the origins and psychotherapeutic methods for treating trauma. We believe that the experience of trauma ensues when lived events outpace peoples’ abilities to emplot or narrate these events from the perspective of dominant life narratives. The sights, sounds, and smells associated with traumatic events preclude such emplotment. The therapeutic objectives of narrative therapy include finding ways to develop meanings for the trauma and subsequently to integrate these with the dominant narrative. Two case studies are provided to illustrate our conceptualization and therapeutic approach.     

Assessment of job stress factors in a context of organizational change

IntroductionResearch consistently showed that stress and organizational change are closely related.ObjectiveThis study was conducted to identify the psychosocial job characteristics that are responsible for psychological stress in a context of organizational change.MethodAn expanded 30-item version of the Job Content Questionnaire was used to measure psychological demands, decision latitude, supervisor support, coworker support, and organizational difficulties. Online survey responses from 973 employees from the university of Strasbourg were analyzed.ResultsConfirmatory Factor Analyses indicated a poor fit of the five-factor model based on 30 items but an acceptable to good fit of a reduced five-factor model based on 26 items. Results from a stepwise regression showed that the organizational difficulties dimension was the second most important predictor of psychological stress.ConclusionThe implications of these findings for further work on health outcomes of organizational changes closed this study.     

Living with depression: Coping strategies used by South Asian women,living in the UK,suffering from depression

This brief study employed a qualitative, grounded theory approach within a constructivist paradigm, to explore the coping strategies used by Asian women suffering from depression. Ten Asian women were interviewed about their choice of coping strategies, factors affecting this and how this relates to treatment. The patients were interviewed individually using a brief semi-structured interview. The data were gathered and analysed according to the grounded-theory approach. Findings revealed that coping strategies included religion and prayer, talking, crying and self harm. The strategies were mediated by the individual's perception of the problem as depression, motivating factors and access to help. A distinction is made between general and culture-specific coping strategies and clinical implications for mental health services are also briefly discussed. Limitations of the study were also presented in line with qualitative research guidelines.