La répression émotionnelle et son rôle en psychopathologie

In the context of studies on mechanisms of emotional treatment and regulation in affective blunting, this paper focalizes on those whose objective is to disminish awareness of subjective emotional experience. The cognitive mechanism of repression is first presented, defined as a coping strategy which, used in a habitual way, is conceptualised as a personality dimension. Its role on the whole panel of emotional components and the researches on its underlying cognitive mechanisms, in particular those which may explain the observed memory deficits for negative emotional events, are developed. The paper also presents models of maturation of emotional awareness, differentiating several hypothetic ways of emotional treatment which determine specific emotional subjective experiences. In regard of studies which have explored these modes of emotional treatment in alexithymia, hypotheses on their role in the blunting of affect process and on the quality of subjective experience are proposed.     

Compétences exceptionnelles en mathématiques

Some individuals have exceptional abilities in mathematics. They can either do fast calculations or understand problems, symbols and methods specifically used in mathematics, use them with other symbols and methods to solve other types of problems. Thus, great calculators and children gifted in mathematics are distinguished. This review of the literature presents studies about these abilities to expose the regular characteristics of these individuals, and the educational system that would be the more efficient for gifted children. Thus, this article would present the debates about the cognitive functioning and development of these individuals.     

Compréhension et appréciation de l’humour : approche cognitivo-émotionnelle

According to Suls (1972), humor relies on the simultaneous perception of a situation from the perspective of two self-consistent but normally incompatible frames of reference, namely incongruity. The subsequent resolution of the incongruity triggers positive emotional states such as mirth. The aim of the present question review is to highlight that Suls’ theory, though crucial, is insufficient, because it does not sufficiently allow to identify the various assessment processes and the range of emotion that may arise. The present question review is based on four parts. The first part presents the Incongruity-Resolution's model and the supporting research. The second presents four sets of results, which cannot be interpreted in the narrow framework of Suls’ theory. The third part presents empirical research on emotion, highlighting the importance of surprise, as well as positive and negative emotions triggered by humor process. Finally, in the fourth part, we propose a cognitivo-emotional model established on the main results described in this article in order to both complete Suls’ theory and to promote the study of the relationship between the cognitive and emotional aspects of humor.     

Modèles et méthodes d'étude de la production écrite

The purpose of the present introduction to this special issue is to provide readers with a general theoretical framework of the cognitive structures and processes involved in writing. The first part of this introduction browses the major lines of the evolution of the writing models, since the first cognitive architecture of the writing processes proposed by Hayes and Flower (1980). In parallel with advance in theoretical conceptions of writing, methods for studying writing also evolved. The second part briefly describes the methods that are most used in writing research. The final part of the introduction presents the different articles that compose this special issue.     

Projective identification: A theoretical investigation of the concept starting from ’Notes on some schizoid mechanisms’1

This paper submits passages from four papers‐‘Notes on some schizoid mechanisms’ (Klein); ‘On identification’ (Klein); ‘Analysis of a schizophrenic state with depersonalization’ (Rosenfeld); and ‘Remarks on the relation of male homosexuality to paranoia, paranoid anxiety and narcissism’ (Rosenfeld)‐to a critical reading, enabling the theoretical premises which have produced the current, differing views on projective identification to be traced. These views revolve both around the role assigned to identification in the process and around the meaning of the expression‘to identify oneself with’ which in ‘On identification’ goes from ‘to feel similar to, or identical to the other’ to ‘to take another person as a model’. This legitimizes the inclusion of very different phenomena into the concept of projective identification. The author describes some uses of the term ‘projective identification’ and proposes the hypothesis that the process constitutes a way for managing otherness and the separateness of the object (be it external or internal, real or imaginary) that can compromise its reality to a greater or lesser degree. Covering a large set of phenomena, the author poses the question of whether it is useful to retain the term ‘projective identification’. She proposes an answer in the last part of the paper.     

Selection of Patients for Group Psychotherapy

The concept of projective identification is reviewed, and its application to family and group systems is noted. Projective identification is then applied as a construct central to couples' groups, particularly useful in sorting out dynamics within couples, between couples, and toward the group-as-a-whole and its leader(s). Clinical examples are provided from a couples group co-led by the author, with indications of how this perspective on disavowal, interaction, and containment can be utilized therapeutically to provide a stimulus for intrapsychic and interpersonal change. The couples group offers a unique forum for working with projective identification, where this process presents a challenge to the therapist regarding the multiple levels from which to select appropriately and to “contain” skillfully.     

Haut potentiel intellectuel et développement social

The first part of this article presents a theoretical and empirical review on the issue of gifted children's social development. As a whole, data does not allow for straightforward conclusion as to whether gifted children may be socially at risk. Conflicting results may be due in part to heterogeneity across studies in sampling procedures and in assessing social adjustment. Next, we will examine how social skills development could be viewed as a potential domain for the expression of intellectual giftedness, in the light of theories that posit a multi-factorial view of intelligence or creativity. Accordingly, there may be a need to reconsider the notion of giftedness and thus take into account social giftedness, both for identification and education purposes.     

L’information et la gestion des risques dans le suivi de la grossesse lors du 1 trimestre : quelques réflexions sur le défi éthique et le cadre légal en Suisse

The progress in prenatal medicine raises complex questions with respect to the physician–patient relationship. The physician needs to reconcile medical aspects, ethical principles as well as judicial norms. Already, during the first trimester, the physician has to put into practice the schedule combining for each individual pregnancy physical, laboratory and other appropriate exams. Physicians are under the obligation to inform in a clear and comprehensive way without creating unnecessary anxiety for their patients. Legal requirements include informed consent, the respect for the patient's right to self-determination, and compliance with the Swiss federal law on genetic testing, especially with its articles on prenatal screening and diagnosis. This article discusses the complexity of obstetrical practice when it comes to delivering adequate information within the scope of ethical and legal requirements in Switzerland.     

Le paradigme de Jellison et Green : de la clairvoyance à la réactivité normative

This article questions congruence between the contents of the definition of the concept of normative perspicacity and Jellison and Green's paradigm to obtain its measurement. It centres the discussion on the capacity of the subjects to answer the changes of instructions and restores it in the study of complex mechanisms governing the relations of the individuals with the social standards.     

Agoraphobic and claustrophobic anxieties two problems in leaving university for some final-year students

Abstract

This article considers the way final-year students present with agoraphobic and claustrophobic symptoms which have caused them to break down academically before the end of their courses. It presents a brief theoretical discussion of these anxieties in students, and offers a way of thinking about them in terms of a particular understanding of projective identification. Fragments of casework with three students are used to show that the anxieties are brought about when the desire for invisibility for part of the self, the motive for projective identification in these cases, is more exposed by the arrival of the final months leading up to the end of the students' courses.     

Le rôle de la mémoire de travail dans la production écrite de textes

Integration of capacity (Just and Carpenter, 1992) and componentiel (Baddeley, 1986) conceptions of working memory in models of text composition (Hayes, 1996 ; Kellogg, 1996 ; McCutchen, 1996) has allowed studying several facets of the role of working memory in writing acquisition and in expert management of the writing processes. This article presents these two conceptions and examines their respective contribution in the field of writing research from two perspectives: The demands of the writing processes (in terms of processing and transient storage) and the influence of working memory capacity on the control of production. The conclusion underlines the importance of investigating the on-line management of text production, the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and to link strategies for allocating the working memory resources with text quality.     

Effets de l’expression écrite d’un événement positif et négatif sur le niveau d’anxiété d’étudiants de différentes disciplines

This study concerns the field of writing and its influence on the emotional state of writers (Pennebaker, 2002). In this field of research, participants are usually requested to express their feelings and emotions following the occurrence of negative events. It is thus important to collect data concerning the influence of positive experiences. By contrast, our study aimed at exploring the impact of expressive writing in two opposite contexts. One context concerns a negative experience (exam's failure) and the other context refers to a positive experience (exam's success). Expressive writing is usually studied in relation to mental (mostly depression) and physical health of the participants. The impact of expressive writing affect on the writers’ anxiety has more rarely been investigated. This is the reason why we have examined the effect of writing on the levels of anxiety of writers. Writing expertise has also been shown to depend on academic disciplines. To fulfill these different goals, undergraduate students (n = 119) belonging to three different university discipliones (arts, sciences and psychology students) responded to the S-Anxiety scale and when then required to write about their feeling concerning the positive or negative topics. The level of anxiety was again measured afterwards. The main question under investigation is to know if emotion regulation (in the sense of Lepore et al., 2002) would vary as a function of the nature of the described event. We hypothesize that variations in anxiety would depend on these events and that impact of emotional regulation would also differ according to the students’ curses. The results show that sciences students are not as verbose (measures in terms of verbal volume) than arts and psychology students. Moreover, emotional content of writing has been analyzed with Emotaix-Tropes (Piolat and Bannour, 2009a). Whatever the course, students produced both positive and negative lexicon for the two topics. However, positive lexicon was proportionally more important in the Success and an inverse result was observed in the Failure situation. The anxiety level was higher following the use of negative valence lexicon and was lower following the use of lexicon of positive valence. The short term beneficial effect of disclosure is thus not observed in case of a negative event. In addition, students with a scientific curse showed more variations in their emotional state.     

Contribution de la neuropsychologie développementale à l'étude des sujets à haut potentiel : une revue de questions

Developmental neuropsychology studies cognitive development in relation with brain maturation and cerebral plasticity. Some authors have reported physiological correlates of intellectual precocity with the purpose of demonstrating neural basis of intelligence. A part of the literature also reports various cognitive profile and specific talents in information processing in the clinical population of gifted children. Thus, the study of exceptional performances may contribute to our knowledge of functional brain organization taking into consideration individual differences.     

Adaptation française d’une version courte de l’Inventaire des rôles sexués de Bem pour enfants (Child Sex Role Inventory)

The main objective of this work is to propose a French adaptation of the Child Sex Role Inventory (CSRI; Boldizar, 1991) in a short form. This one will be called “Inventaire des rôles sexués de Bem-enfants” (IRSB-E). The validation of the new inventory followed the main recommendations of Vallerand (1989): (1) conception of a preliminary version; (2) evaluation of items’ clarity and concomitant validity of the questionnaire; (3) evaluation of its construct validity by the analysis of its factorial structure (Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses); (4) evaluation of internal consistency and fidelity test-retest of the instrument and (5) study of the correlates. On the whole, five studies implying 654 subjects were carried out. In its final version, the questionnaire comprises two sub scales called masculinity and femininity made up of nine and eight items respectively, gathering on three dimensions for the masculinity scale (i.e., self-affirmation, competition, leadership) and two dimensions for the femininity scale (i.e., sensitivity to others, tenderness). The construct validity of the questionnaire was attested by (a) exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and (b) correlates in conformity with the theory. This tool made it possible to reproduce data evoked in the literature, in particular positive correlations between masculinity and masculine-stereotyped activities (e.g., mathematics, sport practice) on the one hand, and self-esteem on the other hand; femininity being rather negatively correlated with self-esteem and sport practice but positively related to perceived competence in French.     

Processus et subjectivité dans l’addiction

Addictive behaviors point out difficulties in definition and conceptualization. Emotion in its different forms is one of the most important phenomenon in the dynamic of addictions. We question the nature of the act, its economical status and its adaptative value. Moreover, we question the individual vulnerability and behavior's effects. The most important difficulty is to propose a general model of addiction, which can put together and explain the different forms of addictive behaviours. Those have to describe behaviour and its relationships with the individual's functioning, like subjectivity. We tend to propose in this paper such a model and insist on a particular economical system in the addiction.     

Motivation et métacognition : les buts de compétence prédisent les processus métacognitifs en résolution de problèmes mathématiques

This study analyzes the effects of achievement goals on the metacognitive processes as 200 students solve two mathematical problems differing in complexity. Results show that the diverse achievement goals have significant effects both on metacognitive experiences and on metacognitive strategies, coherently across the two problems. Mastery-approach goals predict the feeling of liking the task, mastery-avoidance goals have an effect on the use of metacognitive strategies, whereas neither performance-approach nor performance-avoidance goals are significantly related to metacognitive processes. The results offer a rich picture of the interactions between goals and metacognitive processes, revealing the major role of mastery-avoidance goals.     

Produire et réviser la morphologie flexionnelle du nombre : de l'accès à une expertise

To understand how children and adults produce written text, you must first be able to describe how they acquire some basic mechanisms. This is the reason to study the acquisition and use of simple orthographic principles. Following this idea, the research of Largy, Fayol et al. concerns nominal and verbal agreement in French. This article proposes a synthesis of the recent development in this domain. Through the study of two competences to be acquired by the writer — (1) to produce the flexional morphology of number in written text and (2) to revise and judge the correctness of this production — this article presents and discusses in which way the learner access to a writing expertise, always relative.     

Perverse thought

Based on Bion's work on the 'psychotic and non-psychotic parts of the personality', the author hypothesises the existence of a special type of thought disorder known as 'perverse thought'. First the author presents an overview of the major contributions to the concept of perversion that have a bearing on 'perverse thought'. These include Freud's splitting and disavowal concepts, Klein's projective identification concept, Bion's - K link and Meltzer's transference perversion. Then, by means of a case study and some vignettes, the author illustrates how this thought disorder is configured within the analytic process. The author focuses on three main aspects of this pathology: the specific modality of projective identification in a perverse scheme, the lie and some important clinical events that reveal an attack against knowledge through the formation of the - K link. Perverse thought is an important resistance mechanism in the analytic process. Its clarification is essential, given that its main objective is to attack the knowledge process, and therefore truth, in order to pervert the analytic relationship.