Dekonstruktion der ?Ambivalenz��

Focusing on the relation between discourse and subject formation, the poststructuralistic reiterations and resignifications within the concept of ambivalence provide important aspects for a contemporary conceptualization of ambivalence, especially within the framework of educational theory (Bildungstheorie). From this point of view the paper explores firstly the notion of ??ambivalence?? in the context of Derrida??s theory and practice of deconstruction and secondly the relation between ??ambivalence?? and ??ambiguity?? considering Derrida??s theory of ??différance?? and Butler??s theory of ??performativity??. Finally the article outlines the meaning of ??ambivalence?? in Butler??s theory of the subjectivation process.     

?Omnipr?senz��

Excessive urge for free individual development even beyond moral law and social rules is discussed as part of the aftermath of severe political repression and traumatization. It is proposed to describe these phenomena which have not yet been sufficiently considered in the scientific literature as ??omnipresence??. In terms of psychoanalytic understanding these mechanisms result from specific unconscious defense activities. The relationship to other defense mechanisms, e.?g. of anal, phobic, paranoid and manic nature, is outlined, and illustrated by a short case vignette. The article ends with a differentiation between omnipresence as described above on the one hand and the phenomena of media-moderated expansion of individual development and acceleration typically and generally found in postmodern societies, on the other hand.     

How to Accommodate to the Invisible? The ��halo�� of ��nano��

Nanotechnologies produce many different types of images but are characterized by the ones that allow us to ??see the atoms?? despite the fact that objects at the nanoscale are smaller than the wavelength of light and hence are ??invisible??. Images from scanning probe microscopy (SPM), like ??The Beginning??, have played an emblematic role in the constitution of the field and are also more likely to be used in communication outside the scientific field. These images are made, selected, modified and evaluated with respect to the information that they communicate. The ??life cycle?? of these images implies the transduction of this information. Outside of the scientific field, however, they are no longer defined by this information, nor according to technical and scientific criteria, but by their aesthetic power, and they become associated with other images from other fields (art, advertisement, entertainment). This process creates a psycho-social ??halo?? about ??nano?? in the public perception, and raises ethical issues about nanotechnological communication via images. We will analyze the halo of the nano in this respect and propose a strategy for a reflexive ??accommodation?? to the images at the nanoscale.     

What does Fodor��s ��anti-darwinism�� mean to natural theology?

In the current dialogue of “science and religion,” it is widely assumed that the thoughts of Darwinists and that of atheists overlap. However, Jerry Fodor, a full-fledged atheist, recently announced a war against Darwinism with his atheistic campaign. Prima facie, this “civil war” might offer a chance for theists: If Fodor is right, Darwinistic atheism will lose the cover of Darwinism and become less tenable. This paper provides a more pessimistic evaluation of the situation by explaining the following: Fodor’s criticism of adaptationism (as the backbone of Darwinism), viz., his refutation of any counterfactual-supporting laws on the macro-evolutionary level, implies that a law-maker is dispensable on this level. This will either encourage skepticism against the omniscience (at least that concerning the future of macro-evolution) of the Creator, or render the notion of God less appealing.     

?Psychische St?rung�� als Begr��ndung f��r staatliche Eingriffe in Grundrechte des Individuums

When dealing with ?old cases?? of preventive detention as well as retrospectively ordered preventive detention, a continuation of confinement should be possible if the offender involved suffers from a ??mental disorder?? which constitutes the danger of future serious violent or sexual crimes. In this psychiatric article it will be explained that the terms ??mental illness?? and also ??mental disorder?? must retain an empirical scientifically definable psychiatric content in order not to instigate deception. They must also be functionally defined in each judicial environment (police law, social law, civil law and criminal law) with respect to the capabilities of the individual which are impaired by the mental disorder. Such an approach could prevent a misuse of psychiatry for purely political security purposes.     

Are there ��His�� and ��Her�� Types of Decisions? Exploring Gender Differences in the Confirmation Bias

Research on biased information seeking demonstrates that after decisions, people show a preference for supporting rather than conflicting information (confirmation bias). In a laboratory study (N?=?86 German undergraduates), we examined the interactive effects of different decision types and gender on the confirmation bias. Our study revealed that women showed less confirmation bias when the decision concerned themselves and their mate (interdependent decision) compared to a decision concerning only themselves (independent decision). In contrast, men showed less confirmation bias when they made an independent compared to an interdependent decision. Results were discussed in terms of self-construal differences between men and women leading to different motivations (defense vs. accuracy) during the information seeking depending on the decision type.     

Identität und die Ambivalenz gegenüber Fremdem

Zusammenfassung   Anhand der Erz?hlung Ein altes Blatt und des Films Easy Rider wird die Ambivalenz gegenüber Fremdem aufgezeigt: Liebe (Xenophilie) und Hass (Xenophobie) markieren die beiden Pole. Es geht dann um die Entwicklung eines psychoanalytischen Begriffs des allt?glich-lebensweltlichen Selbstseins, der diese Ambivalenz abbildet. Dazu wird das Konzept der Identit?t herangezogen. über Eriksons Verst?ndnis hinausgehend wird Identit?t nicht nur von ihrer Leistungsseite her gesehen, der Schaffung einer einigerma?en als geordnet und sinnhaft erfahrenen Welt (Positivit?t der Identit?t). Diese Leistung wird zugleich als Abwehr verstanden, wobei das Abgewehrte als der Identit?t ebenfalls zugeh?rig betrachtet wird (Negativit?t der Identit?t). Identit?t ist durch eine konflikthafte Dynamik von Selbsterhaltung und Selbstaufhebung gepr?gt. Im allt?glich-lebensweltlichen Kontext dominiert die Selbsterhaltungstendenz. In der Ambivalenz gegenüber Fremdem spiegelt sich die Dynamik von Selbsterhaltung (Ablehnung) und Selbstaufhebung (Anziehung). Genauer noch ist die Anziehung durch das Fremde als M?glichkeit zu verstehen, das Last- und Zwanghafte der Identit?tspositivit?t zu ver?ndern, d. h. ein Anderer werden zu k?nnen. Auf der Grundlage dieser überlegungen werden zwei Aspekte der Identit?t in der Postmoderne dargestellt: die Entwicklung einer adoleszent anmutenden Identit?tsstruktur und die Bedeutung der enormen Fülle von Fremdem, die die Globalisierung mit sich bringt. Ein Fallbeispiel zeigt, wie sich eine Angstsymptomatik als Ausdruck eines Identit?tswiderstands gegen die durchgreifende ?konomisierung der Arbeitsumgebung verstehen l?sst. Das klinische Material macht deutlich, dass die vorangehenden überlegungen auch für den klinischen Diskurs von Relevanz sind.

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Identity and ambivalence towards the stranger

Abstract   On the basis of the tale An Old Leaf and the movie Easy Rider, it will be shown that people have a deep-seated ambivalence towards what they recognize as extraneous to their own way of being. Xenophilia (attraction, love) and xenophobia (repulsion, hatred) are the two poles of the ambivalence. A psychoanalytic concept of being in one’s own everyday life-world in a way which comprehends the ambivalence of xenophilia and xenophobia is formulated. For this purpose the concept of personal identity is used. In contrast to Erikson identity is not restricted to its function of constituting an inner world for the subject, which is at least to a certain degree ordered and meaningful (positivity of identity). Rather, the positivity of identity is functioning defensively as well. What is fended off is not annihilated mentally, but it belongs to the subject’s identity (negativity of identity). Personal identity is thus conceptualized as a dynamic structure with two opposing forces, viz. identity-maintenance (mirrored in xenophobia), and identity-suspension (mirrored in xenophilia). In postmodernity the structure of identity resembles an adolescent one with the centre of identity shifting from the positivity of identity in the direction of its negativity. Due to processes of globalization there is a growing burden of influences on the subject’s identity that come from beyond the everyday life-world. Case material is presented that shows the clinical relevance of the ideas that have been developed. Severe symptoms of anxiety could be understood as an identity-maintaining resistance by opposing the transformation of the patient’s working conditions for the purpose of short-term economic goals only.

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überarbeitete Fassung eines Vortrags, gehalten anl?sslich der DPG-Jahrestagung „Psychoanalyse in Zeiten der Globalisierung. Struktur und Identit?t im Wandel“, 22.–25. 5. 2008 in München     

Eine Technik f��r alle St?rungen?

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is helpful for patients, if it is modified according to the disorder. The dichotomy between concentration on the symptom on the one hand and concentration on conflicts and regulation disturbances on the other does not come up to the requirements of treatment for many disorders. Combining the symptom orientation with the work on conflicts, regulation disturbances, transference and resistance can not only promote insights oft emotional impact but often solely make them possible. Modifications of technique are to be reflected concerning their impact on the therapeutic relationship, the dynamics of transference and countertransference, the experience of conflict and the regulation problems and to be directed at in the therapy as far as possible. General principles of technique are illustrated by the example of the treatment of a patient with anorexia nervosa.     

?Symbolisierung�� als intersubjektive und intrapsychische Dynamik

Igor A. Caruso (1914?C1981), one of the founders of the International Federation of Psychoanalytic Societies (IFPS) in 1962, began to discuss questions of the interplay of biological, social and evolutional realities and intrapsychic development in the early 1950s with the early Vienna Circle of Depth Psychology. Caruso understood that the specific human ability to transcend the overdetermined biological constitution into a development of consciousness, care and self-awareness is basic for the need and lifelong activity of intersubjective relationship. Sexual and survival drives as the biological basis contain their own transformation as cultural potency within the subject-object relationship. Each act of relationship to things and living objects creates a new reality which is a meaningful symbol for both parts of the relationship in their own individual reality. This new, third, reality gains full effectiveness for both actors as ??symbolic realism?? and initiates the ongoing development. In this understanding psychic development is a process of changing interactive creation and effectiveness, following biological drive dynamics as well as its inherent future transformations by attachment. Symbolization is therefore the main intrapsychic and intersubjective activity of development of object-awareness and self-awareness. Caruso emphasized the meaning of symbol and symbolization as an act of relationship to and within the world and consequently understood psychoanalytical theories as well as a changing symbolization of relationship.     

On Gilmore��s Definition of ��Dead��

Gilmore proposes a new definition of ??dead?? in response to Fred Feldman??s earlier definition in terms of ??lives?? and ??dies.?? In this paper, I critically examine Gilmore??s new definition. First, I explain what his definition is and how it is an improvement upon Feldman??s definition. Second, I raise an objection to it by noting that it fails to rule out the possibility of a thing that dies without becoming dead.     

R��ckf?lligkeit nach nichtangeordneter nachtr?glicher Sicherungsverwahrung

Since 2001 under certain circumstances German courts have the right to order prisoner detention for preventive purposes retrospectively. As courts set limits to new facts after conviction more than 100 prisoners were released, although they were regarded as being very dangerous. The actual delinquency relapse of these persons was investigated in a study of the Ruhr University Bochum. The results are presented in this paper.     

?Du sollst dir kein Bildnis machen��

??The Progress in Spirituality??, a short section of Freud??s last major work ??Moses and Monotheism?? (1939) received special attention when his daughter read it on his behalf in 1938 at the last International Psychoanalytical Congress before the Second World War in Paris: it was almost like reading the will of the founder of psychoanalysis. ??The Progress in Spirituality?? is an implicit reflection on the core of psychoanalysis and its technique of eliminating vision. The image of God reflected there??the establishment of Jewish monotheism, of a nameless, aniconic, abstract God and the ethical demands imposed by him??exhibits all the characteristics of a cultural revolution in which all the existing traditions were thrown away. In it seems hidden what was for Freud the mysterious feature in the Jewish tradition. Through the prohibition of images Mosaic monotheism enforced a higher level of intellectuality and encouraged introspection. In the psychoanalytical setting the prohibition of images seems to reappear in the form of the ??cultural memory??. The denial demanded of the patient and the renunciation of instincts demanded from both corresponds to ??The Progress in Spirituality?? in which Freud??s Moses finds his culmination point.     

��Does Plagiarism Mean anything? LOL.�� Students�� Conceptions of Writing and Citing

This study focuses on the intersection of research ethics and academic writing, i.e. the use of sources, assignment of credit to the contributors in the research, and the dissemination of research findings. The study utilized a set of semi-structured and open-ended questions. The sample consisted of 269 undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MA) students at a U.S. university department of psychology including major and non-major students. The data showed that although an overwhelming number of the students’ examples related to ethical issues in citation dealt with plagiarism, a broad range of examples of other types of issues were also provided. Understandably, students tended to view the questions about both the assignment of credit to those involved in conducting the research and the dissemination of research findings from the research participant’s perspective, which is more familiar to them than the researcher perspective. In order to help the students to expand their notions beyond the immediate own experience to a broader understanding for the ethical principles that ought to guide a researcher in his or her work, it is desirable that students be provided with opportunities to participate in authentic research projects. With a deeper understanding of the students’ conceptions of ethics in research and academic writing, we can become more attuned to the common limitations and misconceptions that students harbor, and thus better equipped to support students in their learning process.     

zu: Ist die logik eine deduktive Wissenschaft?

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

��bertragung und Gegen��bertragung

The article presents a modern concept of transference and countertransference in the context of psychodynamic psychotherapy. The concept of transference is contrasted with the therapeutic relationship and the work relationship. The main part of the article discusses the concept of countertransference with the typical countertransference complications and considerations about countertransference and interpretation technique. The advantages of a countertransference-focused interpretation technique, especially in the case of seriously disturbed patients, are described in detail.     

Nachsorge nach station?rer Psychotherapie f��r Essst?rungen

Background

Despite high relapse rates there is a lack of feasible, effective and efficient interventions to provide aftercare support to patients who complete treatment for an eating disorder. A program based on the short message service (SMS) and text messaging has been developed in order to provide such additional support to patients who undergo inpatient treatment for an eating disorder.

Materials and methods

A total of 165 patients with bulimia nervosa or an eating disorder not otherwise specified were randomly assigned either to the intervention group (n?=?82) with access to the text messaging intervention for 4 months following discharge from hospital or to the control group (n?=?83). The efficacy of the intervention was determined via the three eating disorder related subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2) at 4 and 8 months follow-up and via the frequency of self-reported binge eating and compensatory behaviors (vomiting and abuse of laxatives) in the Short Evaluation of Eating Disorders (SEED) at 8 months follow-up.

Results

Participants in the intervention group reported significantly lower impairment on the EDI scales drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction both at 4 and 8 months follow-up. They also reported significantly fewer episodes of binge eating and vomiting. No differences were found for the EDI subscale bulimia and for the frequency of the use of laxatives.

Conclusion

The intervention based on text messaging proved efficacious in the aftercare treatment of patients with eating disorders. Chances and limitations concerning its use in the clinical routine as part of a stepped care model are discussed.     

Helfen die Neurowissenschaften, besser zu „verstehen“?

Science-oriented psychotherapy researchers in particular like to stress that neuroscientific “explanations” are able to contribute to “understanding” mental disorders. In these statements the classical epistemological distinction between “explanation” and “understanding” is, however, not appropriately considered. This could lead to a flattening of the concept of understanding and ultimately undermine the demand of interpersonal communication in psychotherapy. Nevertheless, explanatory approaches to therapy can be valuable and may even play a beneficial role with regard to understanding—but only if they are correctly located epistemologically and used in the interest of the emancipation of the patient.     

Kontroverse zu Beschwerdenvalidierungsverfahren bei der Begutachtung psychischer St?rungen

The value of symptom validity tests in a forensic context is currently the subject of a controversial debate in Germany. The discussion primarily focuses on neuropsychological symptom validity tests, however, tests specific for mental disorders are neglected. Unfortunately, no assessment tools for symptom validation of mental disorders of German origin are available and adaptations of available English state of the art instruments have not yet been tested. Further research of assessment development and qualitative analysis of the decision-making process in medicolegal evaluation is needed in German speaking countries.