The psychobiology of trait shame in young women: extending the social self preservation theory

OBJECTIVE: The social self preservation theory (SSPT) proposes that social evaluative threat evokes the emotion of shame, which then shapes a coordinated psychobiological response. While this is supported in acute stress studies, there is no data on chronic experiences of shame. DESIGN: We investigated the association of trait shame with activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and regulation of inflammation in n = 56 young women. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Daily profiles of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were assessed as indices of HPA axis and SNS activity, respectively. Inflammatory regulation was assessed by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated production and glucocorticoid inhibition of interleukin-6 in vitro. RESULTS: Trait shame was associated with SNS (r = .49; p = .001), but not HPA activity (r = .14; ns). Shame was associated with inflammatory activity (r = .35; p = .006) and glucocorticoid sensitivity (r = -0.43; p = .001). Relationships were not mediated by HPA and SNS activity. CONCLUSIONS: Results support SSPT predictions with respect to chronic shame experience and inflammation. Results further suggest the importance of SNS activation related to shame, and the possibility that HPA activation may be limited acute experiences of shame.     

Self-estimates of intelligence: culture and gender difference in self and other estimates of both general (g) and multiple intelligences

This review paper examines two related areas of research: studies dating back over 50 years on lay theories of the nature and measurement of intelligence, and more recent research on sex and culture differences on self-estimated intelligence. The latter focus is on the nearly 20 published papers on estimated intelligence. Studies have shown consistent sex differences with males rating themselves higher than females. There are also consistent generational effects with adult participants believing around a half standard deviation difference in intelligence with their grandparents being least intelligent and children most. Self-estimated and psychometric intelligence only correlates weakly. Studies looking at self and other estimates of multiple intelligence indicated that participants seemed to believe that intelligence was male normative in that it was specifically those types of intelligence (mathematical and spatial) that most differentiated between the sexes that were themselves more predictive of general overall intelligence. Implications of these findings for intelligence testing are considered.     

The concept of the self in psychoanalytic theory and its philosophical foundations.

Concepts of "the self" in psychoanalytic theory have important philosophic underpinnings which may not be adequately appreciated. Both self psychology and ego psychology, with their contrasting positions on the self as a mental structure, retrace paths taken by Western philosophy beginning at least with Hume and Descartes. They reflect traditional philosophic questions, notably of a homuncular self internal to consciousness and the isolation of the subject from other selves. Psychoanalysis has not utilized Hegel's conception of the intersubjective origins of the self, in which the self emerges only in an encounter with another subject, although this approach is implicit in the work of Winnicott on the mother-infant dyad. This movement from a one- to a two-person psychology also presents conceptual problems, as illustrated by the psychoanalytic theories of Sartre and Lacan, who take up opposing positions on the status of consciousness and on intersubjectivity in the formation of the self. Sartre's phenomenology, with its emphasis on the questing nature of the subject in search of an identity, resonates with contemporary theories of narcissism in which the painful isolation of self from self-affirming and mirroring objects is central to clinical practice. Lacan's insight into the role of acquisition of language helps us to understand the formation of the subject in pursuit of a virtual selfhood, as Sartre described, but embedded within an intersubjective matrix.     

Digit ratio (2D:4D) in twins: heritability estimates and evidence for a masculinized trait expression in women from opposite-sex pairs

The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is sexually dimorphic in humans, such that men on average have a lower 2D:4D than women. This somatic trait has been proposed as a biomarker for the organizational (permanent) effects of prenatal testosterone on the brain and behavior. Over the past few years, an accumulating research program has shown 2D:4D to be related to a multitude of sex-dependent, hormonally influenced psychological and behavioral traits. The present study investigated the 2D:4D ratio of 44 men and 70 women from 36 identical and 21 fraternal twin pairs. Both basic and advanced approaches for estimating heritability concordantly suggested that the trait is substantially heritable. The best-fitting structural equation model indicated that the contributions to individual differences in 2D:4D are 81% additively genetic, 19% nonshared environmental, and 0% shared environmental. Supplemental analyses showed that, consistent with a prediction from sex-hormone transfer theory, women from opposite-sex fraternal twin pairs had significantly lower (more male-typical) 2D:4D than women from same-sex fraternal twin pairs. Directions for research are discussed, such as investigating possible influences of the sex chromosomes on the expression of 2D:4D. Further family studies will be needed to test whether the transmission mode of 2D:4D is consistent with X-linked or Y-linked inheritance. The study of sex chromosome aberrations should indicate whether the presence of additional X or Y chromosomes is associated with 2D:4D levels.     

The psychotic personality: A psychoanalytic theory and its application in clinical practice

This paper presents and discusses aspects of Bion's theory of the psychotic personality. In particular, it focuses on the psychotic personality's attacks on the dependent and needy self. The paper considers how Bion's theory can be applied to understanding the schizophrenic patient. Examples are given to show its importance not only in analytic practice, but also within general psychiatry.     

An application of belief‐importance theory with reference to trait emotional intelligence,mood, and somatic complaints

Petrides, K.V. (2011). An application of belief‐importance theory with reference to trait emotional intelligence, mood, and somatic complaints. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 161–167. This article describes the basic principles of belief‐importance (belimp) theory and tests them in two empirical studies. Belimp theory hypothesizes that personality traits confer a propensity to perceive convergences and divergences between our belief that we can attain goals and the importance that we place on these goals. Belief and importance are conceptualized as two coordinates, together defining the belimp plane. Four distinct quadrants can be identified within the belimp plane (Hubris, Motivation, Depression and Apathy), broadly corresponding to the personality dimensions of trait emotional intelligence, conscientiousness, neuroticism and introversion. Study 1 (N = 365) defines the four quadrants in relation to goals about financial security and shows that they score differently on trait emotional intelligence, mood and somatic complaints. Study 2 (N = 230) defines the quadrants in relation to goals about appearance and, separately, in relation to goals about popularity, and replicates the findings of the first study. Strategies and requirements for testing belimp theory are presented, as are a number of theoretical and practical advantages that it can potentially offer.     

Paranoia and narcissism in psychoanalytic theory. Contributions of self psychology to the theory and therapy of the paranoid disorders

Many factors go into a choice of a therapeutic focus: the patient's psychopathology; the therapist's training, countertransference reactions, and ideological beliefs; and, importantly, a decision about what seems most amenable to treatment and change. As a theory, self psychology describes one aspect of the paranoid process; as such, it is an incomplete theory that complements rather than invalidates more classical theories. As a technique, however, it suggests a style and focus conducive to working with paranoid patients, one that is markedly supportive, nonconfrontational, yet also interpretive. In this context, it must be remembered how difficult it is to treat paranoid patients psychotherapeutically, much less to keep them in treatment. The strategies discussed above do not wholly replace other dynamic approaches (e.g., counterprojective techniques), nor are they universally applicable. Some patients may be more amenable than others. However, the techniques provide a very supportive framework that may help the therapist to be more available to and in contact with the paranoid patient. More broadly, this paper's application of self psychology to the theory and therapy of the paranoid disorders further illustrates the practical utility of this approach. Attention to the narcissistic developmental line, interpersonal selfobject relationships, intrapsychic conflicts and deficits, and empathic immersion in the patients's world are important adjuncts to the psychotherapy of paranoid patients. Rather than an either/or dichotomy, the principle of overdetermination suggests a both/and relationship between self psychology and traditional theory, such that the self psychological approach complements rather than contradicts the classical psychoanalytic theory. The vicissitudes of the self simply add another perspective or vantage point from which to understand and respond to the patient, one which has perhaps more applicability for preoedipally disordered patients.     

Episodic future thought and its relation to remembering: evidence from ratings of subjective experience

The goal of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that the ability to construct vivid mental images of the future involves sampling the contents of memory. In two experiments, participants envisioned future scenarios occurring in contextual settings that were represented in memory in varying degrees of perceptual detail. In both experiments, detailed contextual settings were associated with more detailed images of the future and a stronger subjective experience. Our findings suggest that the contents of memory are routinely sampled during the construction of personal future scenarios.     

The importance of theory: response to Brenner (2000)

L. Brenner's (2000) critique of I. Erev, T. S. Wallsten and D. V. Budescu (1994) focuses on their (a) use of a model to explain the paradox of the same data appearing to suggest over- and underconfidence, depending on how they are analyzed; (b) definitions of true judgment and error; and (c) specific use of judgments transformed to log-odds and a model formulated in those terms. The authors of the present article strongly disagree with the first point and discuss the importance of using models to interpret data. With regard to the second, the authors admit that the constructs of true judgment and error are poorly named but dispute L. Brenner's specific criticisms. Concerning the third, the authors had not claimed that the log-odds metric has any special status in judgment research and thus agree with L. Brenner's basic point.     

Antecedents of self identity and consequences for action control: An application of the theory of planned behaviour in the exercise domain

ObjectivesTo study whether exercise action control profiles should be usefully extended to include exercise identity. Further, this study investigated theory of planned behaviour antecedents of exercise identity.DesignProspective data from 413 undergraduate students (M age = 21.4; 73.5% females).MethodValidated questionnaires were used at baseline and follow-up two weeks later to assess exercise behaviour, intention, self-identity, and theory of planned behaviour concepts. Research questions were analysed using chi-square analysis, discriminant function analysis and structural equation modelling. Results were interpreted using p-values and effect sizes.ResultsThere was a higher proportion of exercise intenders in the strong exercise identity group than in the weak exercise identity group (81.9% vs. 14.5%) and a higher proportion of successful intenders in the high exercise identity group than in the low exercise identity group (45.5% vs. 18.2%). Affective attitude and perceived behavioural control (PBC) were the most important predictors of exercise action control. Regarding the antecedents of identity, results showed significant and small-sized associations for baseline affective attitude and perceived behavioural control and large-sized association for baseline self-identity.ConclusionExercise identity should be usefully employed to understand exercise motivation and action control. Affective attitude and perceived behavioural control facilitate action control and exercise identity development and are suggested to be taken into account when developing exercise interventions.     

Escapable conclusions: Toomela (2003) and the universality of trait structure

A. Toomela (2003) concluded that personality structure may be shaped by a cultural mechanism, word meaning structure, and that the apparent universality of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) was the result of inadequate sampling of concrete thinkers. A reanalysis using targeted rotation showed that the intended structure was generally replicated; small deviations in the most concrete thinkers were probably due to measurement error. The reanalysis authors found no evidence of structural differences in a second sample of adults classified as concrete or abstract thinkers. The FFM structure has been replicated in many samples containing individuals with cognitive or educational limitations; observer ratings may be preferred if these limitations are severe. To date, there is no compelling evidence that culture affects personality structure.     

Correlational and exploratory factor analyses (EFA) of commonly used empathy questionnaires: New insights

Empathy is a concept whose history has been marred by conceptual inconsistencies. Dispositional measures of empathy have varied in constituent subscales and have been suggested to conflate with other related constructs. The current investigation consists of correlational and exploratory factor analyses with self-report empathy measures to assess the commonalities between these measures. Four hundred ninety-seven university undergraduates completed a battery of self-report dispositional empathy measures, along with situational and dispositional sympathy measures. The novel findings include moderate correlations between scales purporting to measure empathy, an interpretable six-factor structure which represent subcomponents of these empathy scales, and the modest ability of existing questionnaires to contribute to these factor structures. The retained factor structure is not consistent with previous definitions of empathy, and it appears that self-report empathy measures do not adequately measure a uniform, consistent construct.     

Decay theory of immediate memory: From Brown (1958) to today (2014)

This work takes a historical approach to discussing Brown's (1958) paper, “Some Tests of the Decay Theory of Immediate Memory”. This work was and continues to be extremely influential in the field of forgetting over the short term. Its primary importance is in establishing a theoretical basis to consider a process of fundamental importance: memory decay. Brown (1958) established that time-based explanations of forgetting can account for both memory capacity and forgetting of information over short periods of time. We discuss this view both in the context of the intellectual climate at the time of the paper's publication and in the context of the modern intellectual climate. The overarching theme we observe is that decay is as controversial now as it was in the 1950s and 1960s.     

Potential performance theory (PPT): a general theory of task performance applied to morality

People can use a variety of different strategies to perform tasks and these strategies all have two characteristics in common. First, they can be evaluated in comparison with either an absolute or a relative standard. Second, they can be used at varying levels of consistency. In the present article, the authors develop a general theory of task performance called potential performance theory (PPT) that distinguishes between observed scores and true scores that are corrected for inconsistency (i.e., potential scores). In addition, they argue that any kind of improvement to task performance, whatever it may be, works by influencing either task strategies, which comprise all nonrandom components that are relevant to the task, or the consistency with which strategies are used. In the current study, PPT is used to demonstrate how task strategies and the consistencies with which they are used impact actual performance in the domain of morality. These conclusions are extended to other domains of task performance.