An American and a liberal: John D. Caputo's response to Michael Zimmerman

Continental Philosophy Review -     

The susceptibility of the Rorschach to malingering: a critical review

Empirical studies of malingering on the Rorschach are reviewed. Results from these studies are to this point inconsistent and inconclusive. Although several indices are related to malingering in individual studies, no specific malingering pattern has been found that replicates across studies. A methodological problem specific to this literature is discussed and future research designs are recommended.     

Moral Responsibility and the Moral Community: Another Reply to Zimmerman

Michael Zimmerman has recently argued against the twofold Strawsonian claim that there can be no moral responsibility without a moral community and that, as a result, moral responsibility is essentially interpersonal. I offered a number of objections to Zimmerman’s view, to which Zimmerman responded. In this article, I respond to Zimmerman’s responses to my criticisms.     

关注儿童群体性癔病

什么是群体性癔病?简单一点讲,群体性癔病是一种由强烈情绪反应或心理暗示激发的急性流行性精神障碍,多见于情绪不稳定的青少年。在儿童中更易发生,这是因为,此年龄的人心理的适应能力与体格的发育明显不同步而很容易造成精神和心理上的异常。这种疾病是时有发生的,国外如此,在我国也不例外。例如,在我国湖北省某一小学校就曾发生过群体性癔病发作的事情:在这所学校,为了预防儿童的碘钙缺乏等,校方的一些人让学生们购买国内一家企业生产的碘钙营养片,并且,每天服用一片,一个疗程需要服用60天。全校共有140人服用了此药,均为3～4年级的小学生…     

Feigning not equal malingering: a case study

Researchers and scholars assert that feigning should not be equated with malingering. Some practicing clinicians doing the everyday work of forensic assessment may view this as merely an academic distinction. This case study illustrates that a high level of certainty about feigning must not be considered indicative of malingering. The case also contrasts two models for assessing malingering and highlights the need for forensic examiners to present assessment-of-malingering data clearly and cautiously.     

Argument versus dialogue: a response to Luepnitz, Madigan and other argumentative authors

In the context of family therapy's task of serving families, the purpose of theorizing is ultimately practical. It is a prevailing cultural practice among intellectuals to use up a vast amount of 'space' in our brains and in the pages of our journals theorizing at a great distance from the practical. One of the reasons for this distance from the practical may be the sophistic habit of argumentativeness. An alternative is proposed in which priority is given to the practical and dialogue is focused on the co-creation of meanings.     

Political goals versus scientific truths: a response to Jackson (2003)

Three fundamental issues separate Jackson's (2003) methodological views from mine. One, whereas he believes an absolute moral view can prevail in a democracy, I assume moral pluralism is an inevitable byproduct of an open society. Two, Jackson feels that psychology can identify a correct moral position, whereas I postulate natural science psychology is only capable of revealing the empirical consequences of competing social policies and their moral implications. Three, Jackson espouses a politically active psychology that from my perspective is antithetical to a democratic and scientific ethic. In sum, Jackson's coupling of science with political advocacy will lead to a mistrust of psychology that will deny a democracy the opportunity to base its social policies on reliable psychological information.     

Humiliation and the Cultural and Relational Structuring of Hysteria: Reply to Commentaries

In this reply to the discussions by Muriel Dimen and Richard Lasky of “Hysteria and Humiliation” I emphasize how historical theoretical conceptualizations of hysteria have always been informed by derogatory attitudes. I concur with Dimen's view that power is always invoked in gender and race relations and that these inevitably find their way into the clinical. I disagree with Lasky's view that the hysteric can be understood primarily through the operation of “autonomous mental events” and that too great a reliance on this concept obscures the role of cultural and developmental experiences of humiliation in the origins and maintenance of hysteric phenomena.     

Investigating the M-FAST: psychometric properties and utility to detect diagnostic specific malingering

This study examined the ability of the M-FAST to differentiate a group of undergraduate students simulating one of four DSM-IV diagnoses (n = 190; schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder) and a clinical comparison sample drawn from previous M-FAST studies comprising individuals with the same diagnosis (n = 142). Across all diagnostic conditions, the simulators obtained higher M-FAST total scores than the clinical comparisons, and the rare combinations scale was equal or superior to the total score at differentiating the groups. The M-FAST was most efficient at distinguishing feigned from bona fide schizophrenia. Although the internal consistency of the total score was high (alpha = 0.88), inter-item correlations were lower than values reported in previous research. Lastly, given the importance of base rate considerations in the evaluation of diagnostic instruments, it was notable that the M-FAST was able to identify malingerers even at relatively low base rates.     

The utility of the MMPI-2 malingering discriminant function index in the detection of malingering: a study of criminal defendants

This study examined the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2's (MMPI-2) malingering discriminant function index (M-DFI), recently developed by Bacchiochi and Bagby, in the detection of malingering in a forensic sample. Criminal defendants were divided into "malingering" and "not malingering" groups using the structured interview of reported symptoms (SIRS) criteria proposed by Rogers. Logistic regression analysis (LRA) revealed that the MMPI-2 infrequency (F) scale had the best predictive utility of the traditional infrequency scales. Although the M-DFI did significantly differentiate the malingering from the not malingering groups, it did not add significantly to the predictive utility of the MMPI-2 F scale. Receiver operating characteristics analyses demonstrated acceptable sensitivity and specificity for the MMPI-2 F scale, but poor sensitivity for the M-DFI scale. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of the M-DFI in detecting malingering and problems of extending the findings of simulation studies to the forensic context.     

Freud's "Project": a theory for Studies on Hysteria

The controversy about the place of Sigmund Freud's unfinished draft of 1895, "Project for a Scientific Psychology," in the history of his thought, is addressed. It is argued that the "Project" may be understood as a suppressed response to the theory of hysteria presented by Josef Breuer in his and Freud's joint work, Studies on Hysteria. It is suggested that the "Project" may be read, in part, as a substitute for Breuer's theory. The timing and circumstances of the "Project's" composition are discussed. Its substantive and formal congruence with Studies on Hysteria is brought out. Freud's comments on scientific hypotheses are discussed, and it is shown that they constitute an implicit criticism of Breuer's theory.     

Maximizing internal and external validity in MMPI malingering research: a study of a military population

The authors investigated the effectiveness of various commonly used Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) indices of exaggeration and malingering in detecting suspected malingering in a military sample of 121 enlisted men. To maximize external validity, only men undergoing psychological evaluation were used as participants. Forty-one participants were identified as suspected malingerers through multiple criteria and were contrasted with schizophrenic-spectrum and clinic outpatient groups. To improve internal validity, the 41 suspected malingering participants were asked to retake the test without exaggerating. Results revealed that there were many false positives and fewer, but nonetheless many, false negatives with standard malingering indices. It appeared that the Gough Dissimulation scale (Gough, 1947) might hold the most promise as a measure of malingering, but other scales are also useful. Individual comparisons between different samples and implications for MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 1989) are presented.     

Hysteria,A Century Later: Post-Kleinian Theory and Technique

ABSTRACT

Freud developed many of his theories and technique while attempting to help hysterical patients. This article approaches hysteria not just as a syndrome consisting of a group of signs and symptoms, but primarily as an inner world configuration that fuels object relations patterns. The internal world hysterical profile informs the transference/countertransference experience and the therapeutic process. I attempt to describe some of the technical problems psychoanalysts have to deal with while working with these patients. Hysterical object relations do not necessarily manifest themselves as somatic symptoms—epileptic-like, paralysis, blindness, etc.—even in patients that show the relational hysterical patterns. These object relations modes can appear in any analysis irrespective of the primary diagnostic conceptualization.     

Male Hysteria: Imagining a Case Through the Lens of Contextual and Clinical Change

ABSTRACT

Male hysteria in this article is viewed as a historical, developmental, theoretical, and clinical area of study. The article highlights the importance of contextualizing various views of male hysteria, and follows its ongoing struggle for recognition and legitimacy. Emphasis is placed on the importance of a contextually-nuanced clinical stance with the primary focus being the therapist’s listening perspective. The article describes shifts in my thinking and treatment of male hysteria over the past four decades. Conceptual shifts regarding treatment roughly parallel in time with the advances taking place in the broader field of psychoanalysis, and these shifts are illustrated in the case material provided.