The narcissistic therapist meets a narcissistic patient

The presence of narcissism in both therapist and patient results in a collusion that preserves the narcissistic integrity of the therapist and validates the narcissistic injury of the patient. Not only is the narcissistic behavior of the patient condoned, but narcissistic excesses in the therapist are tolerated. The unconscious identification on the part of the therapist with the patient produces anxiety in the therapist which results in treatment that intensifies the pathology of the patient.     

Research on irrelevance,helplessness, and immunization against helplessness in Spain: Past,present, and future

The main contribution to helplessness research in Spain was on immunization against helplessness and how it was modulated by predictability in animals or attributions in humans. Recent research have focused on factors determining the perception of non-contingency during learned irrelevance and the illusion of control during an uncontrollable experience. Its subsequent effects on covariation learning and the detection of controllability showed the influence of prior beliefs and attentional factors on covariation learning and learned helplessness whose influence should be integrated into current new learning models. This research was supported by a Spanish DGICYT (Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica) grant (PB94-0801).     

Predictability,controllability, and inoculation against learned helplessness

Nondepressed human subjects were divided into seven groups. On a series of discrimination problems, a helplessness group received insoluble problems, a solvable group received contingent feedback, and a no treatment control group received no feedback. For two other groups insoluble problems were preceded by success feedback on a different task presented according to a fixed ratio (FR) or variable ratio (VR) schedule of reinforcement. Two control groups received either FR or VR schedules of success but were not examined on the discrimination problems. All groups were tested for escape/avoidance performance on a human shuttle box. Both FR and VR schedules produced an inoculation against learned helplessness; escape performance by the helplessness group was significantly worse than that of FR and VR inoculation groups. These latter groups performed similar to the solvable and three control groups. Significantly worse than that of FR and VR inoculation groups. These latter groups performed similar to the solvable and three control groups. Significantly fewer subjects in the VR inoculation group exhibited avoidance responses than their counterparts in the FR inoculation group. despite similar escape performance. The findings indicate that learned helplessness can be prevented in humans and suggest different sources of interference produced by unpredictable and uncontrollable events.     

Achievement motivation,psychological reactance,and learned helplessness

Two experiments are reported in which the behavior of subjects classified as high or low on achievement motivation was studied following experience of uncontrollable, nonaversive outcomes, using a triadic design. In both experiments, subjects high on achievement motivation displayed facilitation, whereas subjects low on achievement motivation displayed slight interference or no effect. In the second experiment it was shown that the experimental treatment was successful in inducing the expectation of response-outcome independence without associated perceptions of failure. It differed in this respect from manipulations used in most reported studies of human helplessness. The results are discussed in relation to theories of achievement motivation, psychological reactance, and learned helplessness.The first experiment was conducted by the first author under the supervision of the second author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the B.A. Honors degree in psychology at the University of Adelaide. The authors wish to thank J. M. Innes and E. E. Rump for their helpful comments.     

Neediness and narcissistic defensive action

Action-prone patients are difficult for most analysts to treat. The author describes patients who act in treatment by pressuring themselves and the analyst to get rid of what is wrong, to change the imperative, life-and-death qualities of need into something else. Viewing neediness in treatment as narcissistic defensive action helps the analyst address the patient's pressured flight away from focusing on the need of the analyst and toward action aimed at riddance. Ghent's (1992, 1993) views on neediness are discussed and seen to be complemented by a view of action as protection against narcissistic vulnerability. Analysts' intolerance, vulnerabilities, and needs with such patients are considered.     

Father hunger and narcissistic deformation

The author advances the hypothesis that paternal availability and the relationship between the mother and father are crucial components of evolving character structure in children. He proposes that a kind of narcissistic pathology featuring perverse sexuality may eventuate in the absence of paternal availability and in the presence of a disordered relationship between the parents. He also suggests that the ways in which aggression is or is not modulated and organized are crucial components of this evolving disorder, and that boys are more susceptible to its full manifestation and expression than are girls.     

Anger,aggression and road rage behaviour in Malaysian drivers

This study tested the four factor structure of the Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) in a sample of young Malaysian drivers and the relationship these factors had with several other variables. Confirmatory Factor Analysis broadly supported the four factor solution of the DAX, being: Personal Physical Aggressive Expression, Use of a Vehicle to Express Anger, Verbal Aggressive Expression and Adaptive/Constructive expression. The short version of the Driving Anger Scale was positively correlated with the three types of aggressive responses and not surprisingly with a variable comprised of all three types of aggressive responses (Total Aggressive Expression). Total Aggressive Expression was higher for males and negatively related to age, years licensed and slower preferred driving speed. All three of the aggressive forms of expression had significant relationships with crash-related conditions, such as: loss of concentration, losing control of their vehicle, having received a ticket and involvement in near-misses. In particular, all three of the aggressive forms of expression had significant relationships with losing control of the vehicle and Total Aggressive Expression was correlated with all crash-related conditions. In addition, Personal Physical Aggressive Expression and Total Aggressive Expression were both significantly related to crash involvement.     

An inventory to measure helplessness, hopelessness, and haplessness

Using a sample of 69 undergraduates, scales were devised to measure helplessness, hopelessness, and haplessness and shown to have good reliability. Briefer scales were also developed whose scores were independent of one another in a factor analysis. Scores for 19 male and 50 female undergraduates on the 4-item scales of Helplessness and Hopelessness were associated with two different measures of depression, but scores on Hopelessness provided the stronger correlate.     

Learned helplessness,depression and the perception of reinforcement

Depressed and nondepressed subjects were given escapable, inescapable, or no noise. Then, their perceptions of reinforcement contingencies in skill and chance tasks were assessed. Depressed-no noise and nondepressed-inescapable noise subjects exhibited smaller decreases in expectancy following failure in skill, but not in chance, than nondepressed-no noise subjects. So, depression and inescapable noise both produced perception of failure in skill as response-independent. Contrary to predictions, neither depression nor inescapable noise had a significant effect on increases in expectancy after success. These results partially support the learned helplessness model of depression which claims that a belief in independence between responding and reinforcement is central to the etiology and symptoms of depression in man.