The Uncanniness of September 11th

Sigmund Freud's concept of the Uncanny can serve as a means by which we can more fully comprehend the depth of our individual and collective reactions to the tragic eventsof September 11th. Through the interplay of the familiar and the unfamiliar, life and death, as well as through the concepts of the twin, repetition, and the evil but powerful figure, Freud helps us to understand how deeply this day in our history made signficant inroads into our psyche. The person of faith, in turn, can utilize these concepts to help with the hermeneutical process of making sense of what otherwise cannot be fathomed.     

The impact of September 11 on dreaming

This study focuses on a set of dreams related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and their aftermath, using content analysis and cognitive psychology to explore the interweaving of external public catastrophe and internal psychological processes. The study tests several recent claims in contemporary dream research, including the central image theory of Hartmann [Hartmann, E., & Basile, R. (2003). Dream imagery becomes more intense after 9/11/01. Dreaming, 13(2), 61-66; Hartmann, E., & Brezler, T. (2008). A systematic change in dreams after 9/11/01. Sleep, 31(2), 213-218], the media exposure factor postulated by Propper [Propper, R. E., Stickgold, R., Keeley, R., & Christman, S. D. (2007). Is television traumatic? Dreams, stress, and media exposure in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Psychological Science, 18(4), 334-340], the continuity hypothesis of Domhoff [Domhoff, W. G. (1996). Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. New York: Plenum], the cognitive and metacognitive approach of Kahan [Kahan, T. L. (2001). Consciousness in dreaming: A metacognitive approach. In K. Bulkeley (Ed.), Dreams: A reader on the religious, cultural, and psychological dimensions of dreaming (pp. 333-360). New York: Palgrave], and the threat simulation theory of Revonsuo [Revonsuo, A. (2000). The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23(6), 877-901]. Our findings suggest the terrorist attacks had a tangible impact on the content of many people's dreams, but did not fundamentally alter the cognitive processing features of their dreaming. The 9/11 attacks affected what they dreamed about, but not the way they dreamed.     

Lebanese Muslim Views of September 11

This research note aimed at empirically assessing Lebanese Muslim views of the September 11 attacks. We proposed that young age and political Islam served as significant determinants of support for the attacks. Although we proposed that Sunni Muslim respondents would manifest more support for the attacks than Shi'is, we advanced that socioeconomic conditions should not affect the views of the respondents. The data came from a stratified random sample, consisting of 337 male and female Sunni and Shi'i respondents, conducted in the Greater Beirut area during the months of October and November 2001. The findings sustained the hypotheses that age and political Islam determined approval of the attacks, as well as the hypothesis that socioeconomic conditions did not predict the respondents' views. The results did not sustain the hypothesis that Sunni respondents exceeded Shi'is in their display of support for the attacks.     

Termination of psychoanalysis and September 11

In the United States, the last illusion of safety from problems in distant parts of the world was shattered on September 11, 2001. Psychoanalysts are in a unique position to both experience and examine how such a man-made social disaster becomes internalized and affects one's psychic reality by studying the effects of that day on patients already engaged in a psychoanalytic process. The author hypothesizes that in one such case, that of Mr. N, the termination phase was significantly affected. Furthermore, Mr. N's reaction to reading the analyst's clinical write-up further influenced the termination phase.     

September 11, 2001: The Clash of Competing Worldviews

The Life Era: Cosmic Selection and Conscious Evolution Eric Chaisson New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987. 259 pages.     

Flashbulb memory for 11 September 2001

The recollection of particularly salient, surprising or consequential events is often called ‘flashbulb memories’. We tested people's autobiographical memory for details of 11 September 2001 by gathering a large national random sample (N = 678) of people's reports immediately following the attacks, and then by contacting them twice more, in September 2002 and August 2003. Three novel findings emerged. First, memory consistency did not vary as a function of demographic variables such as gender, geographical location, age or education. Second, memory consistency did not vary as a function of whether memory was tested before or after the 1‐year anniversary of the event, suggesting that media coverage associated with the anniversary did not impact memory. Third, the conditional probability of consistent recollection in 2003 given consistent recollection in 2002 was p = .73. In contrast, the conditional probability of consistent recollection in 2003 given inconsistent recollection in 2002 was p = .18. Finally, and in agreement with several prior studies, confidence in memory far exceeded consistency in the long term. Also, those respondents who revealed evidence for consistent flashbulb memory experienced more anxiety in response to the event, and engaged in more covert rehearsal than respondents who did not reveal evidence for consistent flashbulb memory. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The emergence of emotions and religious sentiments during the September 11 disaster

Analyzing emotional states under duress or during heightened, life-and-death situations is extremely difficult, especially given the inability of laboratory experiments to replicate the environment and given the inherent biases of post event surveys. This is where natural experiments, such as the pager communications from September 11th can provide the kind of natural experiment emotion researchers have been seeking. We demonstrate that positive and pro-social communications are the first to emerge followed by the slower and lower negative communications. Religious sentiment is the last to emerge, as individual attempt to make sense of event. Additionally we provide a methodological discussion about the preparation and analysis of such natural experiments (the pager message content) and show the importance of using multiple methods to extract the broadest possible understanding.     

Character strengths before and after September 11

Did Americans change following the September 11 terrorist attacks? We provide a tentative answer with respect to the positive traits included in the Values in Action Classification of Strengths and measured with a self-report questionnaire available on-line and completed by 4,817 respondents. When scores for individuals completing the survey in the 2 months immediately after September 11 were compared with scores for those individuals who completed the survey before September 11, seven character strengths showed increases: gratitude, hope, kindness, leadership, love, spirituality, and teamwork. Ten months after September 11, these character strengths were still elevated, although to a somewhat lesser degree than immediately following the attacks.     

The Effect of September 11th on Job Attribute Preferences and Recruitment

This paper considers the effects of the September 11^th attacks on job attribute preferences and recruiting strategies. A survey was conducted with firms (n = 46) and college students (n = 138) in the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania area. Results indicate 91% of firms believe the attack changed the job attribute preferences of students. The corresponding survey given to college students indicates that 60% of the students say the attacks would not have an impact on their preferred job attributes.     

September 11 and the Role of the Theologian

As is the case with all “disasters” the nation is experiencing the various psychological stages to the September 11, 2001 disaster: threat, warning, impact, inventory, heroism, honeymoon, disillusionment, and reconstruction. In order for healing to occur from and within the religious community, theologians, pastors, and religiously–minded people must enter into these different stages of disaster and suffer–with the community. Instead of explaining September 11 from an abstract, removed stance, we ought to reveal our concerns and uncertainties about God in this situation and wonder with the rest of the community of grievers, “How has this happened?” From this place, true healing and reconstruction of the community will be possible.