Key issues in the pastoral supervisory relationship

The supervisory relationship in pastoral counseling is examined with special focus on (1) the person of the supervisor; (2) the person of the student; (3) the learning contract; (4) the focus of the material presented in the supervisory session; (5) various supervisory models; (6) the dynamics of role modeling; and (7) the pastoral dimension of the relationship.     

The supervisory relationship in psychotherapy over time

This study investigated changes in the supervisors' and supervisees' perceptions of the supervisory relationship and the extent to which their perceptions were congruent. Salient dimensions of supervision were identified which predict the quality of the relationship. Twelve supervisory dyads involved in predominantly ongoing supervisory relationships completed an adapted Vanderbilt Psychotherapy Process Scale after each supervisory session for 10 consecutive weeks. The participants' perceptions of the supervisory relationships were relatively stable and positive. However, supervisees felt less dependent over time. With that exception, agreement among participants did not change significantly. Supervisors viewed supervisees' participation and increased assertiveness as significant positive elements in assessing the quality of the relationship. Supervisees' greater exploration and dependency was associated with negative ratings by supervisors. Since supervisors selected the supervisees for the study, the results primarily validate their judgments of the components of a positive continuing supervisory relationship.     

Narcissism, solitude, friendship: notes on the therapeutic alliance in the context of the Freud-Jung relationship

This paper deals with friendship and therapeutic alliance as a transformation of the libidinal love that structures the Oedipal complex. The author considers the relationship between Jung and Freud as a formidable test that may shed light on their personalities and on the relevance of the Oedipal complex for both of them and for their particular theories and practices. The author discusses the possibility that the Oedipal complex may be seen under a finalistic frame of reference and discusses which implicit goals it may express. Such a goal has not been reached by either Freud nor Jung, but might be the key to underline and recognize the fundamental importance of the 'therapeutic alliance' within the analytical situation, seen as a potential relationship between the selves of the patient and of the analyst springing from a transformation of libidinal love into 'friendship' as it was described by Friedrich Nietzsche.     

Narcissism, Pride, and Humility

It is theorized by the author that Post-Biblical Jewish Religious Text should contain many practical psychological insights, given the fact that the authors of such literature were expected to be involved in the life of their communities, to be married with children, and be engaged in an occupation in order to function as religious authorities who were to be taken seriously. Many were physicians. As an exploration of this idea, some of the writings regarding the subjects of pride and humility are explored. A picture of a Jewish religious approach to pathological narcissism appears to emerge from this examination.     

Narcissism, variability in self-concept, and well-being

The present research examined whether narcissism is related to higher variability in self-concept across roles and time points. Three indices of self-concept variability across roles were formulated based on the participants’ self-ratings for personality attributes. A probabilistic sample in Study 1 as well as a student sample in Study 2 revealed that the narcissistic personality inventory (NPI) positively correlated with the variability indices, except for the self-concept differentiation (SCD), while well-being measures were only related to SCD. The student sample also showed a significant correlation between NPI and longitudinal variability in self-concept within a month-long interval. Implications for the instability of the narcissistic self-concept and its relationship with psychological well-being are discussed.     

Social identity, status envy and Jesus'Abba

The historical Jesus grew up as a fatherless son. The aim of this article is to focus on two issues. It is argued that Jesus' fatherlessness should be taken into account when one considers his social identification. Secondly, a social-scientific explanation is given of his a-patriarchal ethos, his behavior towards endangered women and children, and especially his trust in God as his “Abba.” The theory of identification which is regarded as a model for interpretation of the data is the so-called “status envy hypothesis.” This paper was presented at the SBL International Meeting, Dublin, July 21–24, 1996.     

Narcissism,confidence, and risk attitude

The present research addresses whether narcissists are more overconfident than others and whether this overconfidence leads to deficits in decision making. In Study 1, narcissism predicted overconfidence. This was attributable to narcissists' greater confidence despite no greater accuracy. In Study 2, participants were offered fair bets on their answers. Narcissists lost significantly more points in this betting task than non‐narcissists, due both to their greater overconfidence and greater willingness to bet. Finally, in Study 3, narcissists' predictions of future performance were based on performance expectations rather than actual performance. This research extends the literature on betting on knowledge to the important personality dimension of narcissism. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Narcissism,sex roles,and self-functioning

This study examined the relationship between gender, sex role, and narcissism. Two hundred and three students completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Scale, along with several measures of self-esteem and depression. Overall, the data indicated that males and masculine individuals were not higher in their levels of maladaptive narcissism, that an adjusted narcissism was more obvious in males and in masculine subjects, and that femininity appeared to inhibit the display of an unhealthy exploitive self-concern. Androgyny failed to appear as the healthiest sex role, although multiple regression analyses suggested that future research may need to further explore this possibility.     

Arbitrary social comparison,malicious envy,and generosity

Existing work on the effects of social comparison on envy and generosity typically involves manipulation of social comparison with respect to dimensions that carry personal meaning and reflect upon the self, for example, performance, ability, or achievement. In the current work, we examine the effects of social comparison based on a purely arbitrary, manipulated situation. We measure malicious envy via monetary decisions that have real consequences for the target of comparison, in place of a self-reported questionnaire. In addition, we test the effects of the preliminary social comparison on generosity in a subsequent and ostensibly unrelated situation. In Experiment 1 we demonstrate the effect of randomly manipulated upward social comparison on a monetary allocation decision, and we establish the link between this allocation decision and malicious envy. In Experiment 2 we show that upward comparison affects not only malicious envy towards the target of the comparison but also decreases generosity towards a third party in a subsequent, ostensibly unrelated situation. Experiment 3 shows the effect of this type of social comparison, beyond a specific direction, on reducing generosity towards a third party.     

On Loneliness,Narcissism, and Intimacy

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

The relationship of supervisor and trainee gender match and gender attitude match to supervisory style and the supervisory working alliance

Background: Gender‐related events have the potential to impact the supervisory relationship. Gender events might be related to the match between supervisors and supervisees on variables such as gender or gender attitudes. Method: In this study, we sought to determine whether gender match and gender attitude match were related to supervisory style and the supervisory working alliance in 94 supervisory dyads using four instruments: the Gender Attitude Inventory; Operationalisation of Gender Match; Supervisory Styles Inventory; and the Working Alliance Inventory/Supervision. Results: Progressive dyads (in which supervisors have more liberal attitudes about societal issues and culturally defined roles for women than their supervisees) were perceived by supervisors as more task‐oriented than parallel‐high dyads (in which supervisors and supervisees both had liberal attitudes). Implications for counselling supervision are discussed.