Interpersonal Perceptions and Metaperceptions in Dialogic Action Therapy: A Relational Methodological Approach to Theory Construction

Abstract

Two forms of understanding in theories of therapy are identified: empathic understanding rooted in individualism, and reality-based understanding that acknowledges the relational character of human existence. We argue for regarding these two forms of understanding as complementary. This requires a paradigmatic shift from methodological individualism to methodological relationalism, which asserts that the analysis of role relationships precedes that of individuals and situations. Informed by methodological relationalism, dialogic action therapy accords prominence to the creation of a therapeutic relationship between therapist and client, between whom bidirectionality of perceptions is inherent. We develop a formal analytic scheme for theory building. Six major constructs, degrees of perception, directionality, agreement, reciprocity, accuracy, and congruence, are employed to facilitate the analysis of therapist and client perceptions and metaperceptions of trust in depth. The implications for therapy and methodology of measurement are discussed.     

On Grief and Mourning: Thinking a Feeling,Back to Bob Solomon

The paper considers various ruminations on the aftermath of the death of a close one, and the processes of grieving and mourning. The conceptual examination of how grief impacts on its sufferers, from different cultural perspectives, is followed by an analytical survey of current thinking among psychologists, psychoanalysts and philosophers on the enigma of grief, and on the associated practice of mourning. Robert C. Solomon reflected deeply on the 'extreme emotion' of grief in his extensive theorizing on the emotions, particularly in his essay 'On Grief and Gratitude', commenting that grief is 'often described as a very private, personal emotion, characterized by social withdrawal and shutting oneself off from the world' (2004: 73). While dialoguing with the spirit of Solomon by way also of a tribute to his immense insights, the paper engages in critical reflections on recent thinking in this area elsewhere - notably, in Heidegger, Freud, Nussbaum, Casey, Gustafson, and Kristeva - and offers a refreshing critique toward an alternative to the received wisdom.     

On Being Poor and Feeling Poor: Low Socioeconomic Status and the Moral Self

Persons of low socioeconomic status generallyexperience worse health and shorter lives thantheir better off counterparts. They alsosuffer a greater incidence of adversepsychosocial characteristics, such as lowself-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-masteryand increased cynicism and hostility. Thesepopulation data suggest another category ofharm to persons: diminished moral agency. Chronic socioeconomic deprivation can createenvironments that undermine the development ofself and capacities constitutive to moralagency – i.e., the capacity forself-determination and crafting a life of one'sown. The harm affects not only the choicesa person makes, but the chooser herself. Thismoral harm is particularly salient in modernWestern societies, especially in the UnitedStates, where success and failure is attributedto the individual, with little notice of thelarger social and political realities thatinform an individual's circumstances and choices.     

Thinking and Feeling: A Buddhist Perspective

The work ‘Thinking and Feeling’ edited by Robert C. Solomon may be considered as a landmark in the history of the philosophy of the emotions. The work also has assembled together some of the best minds in the Anglo American Traditions. The central focus in this work is to mediate between the physiological arousal theories of emotions and the cognitive appraisal theories of emotions. My article is an attempt to mediate from my Asian background and in specific terms using the Buddhist perspectives on emotion studies, to find answers, a subject on which I have worked over several decades. The Buddha has discouraged people in attempting to find ultimate answers to the body- mind relationships, but use pragmatic and practical perspectives for a two way interactionism. Thus, in the Buddhist analysis the mental and the cognitive, as well as bodily and the physiological are recognised, thus giving room for a holistic understanding of emotions concepts. In fact, Buddhism expects the body, feelings, perceptions, interpretations, and evaluations as facets of emotion concepts. The second point is the domination of the metaphor of reasons as the charioteer in managing unruly emotions in the West. But Buddhism introduces the factor of ‘mindfulness’ as an important ally in the management of emotions. My personal work in therapy and counselling has helped me to explore new dimensions for managing emotions through mindfulness practice.     

Feeling nothing: Numbness and emotional absence

I argue that it is possible for a subject to undergo experiences of emotional absence, during which she becomes aware of her own failure to be moved by the world around her. Just as a part of one's body feels numb when it manifestly fails to incur the ordinary sensory consequences of transactions at the surface of the skin, so an individual feels emotional absence when her affective condition manifestly fails to vary in predictable ways as she navigates her surroundings. Experiences of emotional absence, such as feeling numb with shock or grief, feeling unamused, or feeling fearless, are not simply flat or neutral states of awareness, but can bear psychological and epistemic significance for the agent.     

Minding Feeling

In this commentary on Jørgen Dines Johansen’s paper, ‘Feelings in Literature’, an expanded approach to feeling is sketched, relying on the work of Susanne Langer. Without challenging the central and valuable insights presented by Johansen, this commentary attempts to develop and refine the notion of feeling beyond that found in Johansen and to focus on the heuristic power of images, especially artistic images, to reveal the deep structures of minding. Langer’s work is rooted in a nuanced philosophical psychology and biology, but she looks for her guide to exploring these domains to the ‘import of art.’ Her approach to the semiotics of art offers a set of powerful analytical tools that reveal the universal scope of aesthetic reflection and its relevance for the sciences of mind.     

Feeling Stares: Places,Persons, and Pets

The belief that one can feel others staring without actually seeing them look is a common social phenomenon. From a comparative viewpoint, staring is associated with dominance behavior or aggression. In humans, staring is often viewed as a negative behavior. Thus, being the object of a stare is potentially dangerous. We predicted that persons in vulnerable circumstances (e.g., an unfamiliar situation) or with strangers rather than with friends would be sensitized to detect signals or stimuli associated with danger. We also hypothesized that persons high in self-consciousness or who were in a negative mood would have an increased bias toward detecting stares. The situational-context hypotheses received higher support than did the dispositional hypotheses. Beliefs concerning animals and stare perception were explored.     

共同体:一种想象出来的安全感——鲍曼对共同体主义的批评

共同体主义是以批判自由主义而著称的一个政治哲学流派,而鲍曼却从经验层面质疑共同体主义本身的意义。共同体是安全和谐的象征,但被现代民族国家摧毁和置换之后,成为一种人们想象出来的安全感。当代社会对共同体的强烈向往是人们对自由与安全失衡的心理反应,是由于人们在民族国家衰微之后拥有更多的自由但却又陷入社会的不稳定状态中。共同体主义并不能解决自由主义面临的危机,二者都无法解除当今全球化进程中人们遭遇的困境。     

Being and Feeling Unique: Statistical Deviance and Psychological Marginality

ABSTRACT Two studies tested the hypothesis that people with culturally stigmatized and concealable conditions (e.g., gays, epileptics, juvenile delinquents, and incest victims) would be more likely to feel unique than people with culturally valued or conspicuous conditions (e.g., the physically attractive, the intellectually gifted, the obese, and the facially scarred). In Study 1, culturally stigmatized individuals with concealable conditions were least likely to perceive consensus between their personal preferences and those of others. In Study 2, they were most likely to describe themselves as unique and to make these self-relevant decisions quickly. Marginality is a psychological reality, not just a statistical one, for those with stigmatized and concealable "master status" conditions.     

道德焦虑:一种不可或缺的道德情感

道德焦虑在本质上是一种道德情感.道德焦虑与羞耻感以及内疚感相比是更为基本的道德情感,它所需的条件更少.根据人类在远古时期以及幼年时期的情形,我们发现道德焦虑在产生与维持伦理秩序的过程中有重要作用.当进入伦理世界之后,道德焦虑则在主体行为净化和人格升华等方面具有重要的价值.