The interaction of synesthetic and print color and its relation to visual imagery

Synesthetic color induced by graphemes is well understood to be an automatic perceptual phenomenon paralleling print color in some ways, but also differing in others. We addressed this juxtaposition by asking how synesthetes are affected by synesthetic and print colors that are the same. We tested two groups of grapheme–color synesthetes using a basic color-priming method in which a grapheme prime was presented, followed by a color patch (probe), the color of which was to be named as quickly and accurately as possible. The primes induced either no color, print color only, synesthetic color only, or both forms of color (e.g., a letter “A” printed in red that also triggered synesthetic red). As expected, responses to name the probe color were faster if it was congruent with the prime color than if it was incongruent. The new finding (Exp. 1) was that a prime that induced the same print and synesthetic colors led to substantially larger priming effects than did either type of color individually, an effect that could not be attributed to semantic priming (Exp. 2). In addition, the synesthesia effects correlated with a standard measure of visual imagery. These findings are discussed as being consistent with the hypothesis that print and synesthetic color converge on similar color mechanisms.     

Stigma and Barriers to Mental Health Care in Deployed Canadian Forces Personnel

Mental disorders are prevalent on deployed operations, but only a small fraction of those with problems access care due to a range of barriers. A survey measuring need for care, perceived barriers, and care-seeking propensity was administered to Canadian Forces personnel during deployment in Afghanistan. Complex characteristics of barriers to care on deployment were found: stigma had no association with care-seeking propensity; perceived structural barriers were associated with greater care-seeking propensity; and perceived structural barriers were greater in more isolated locations. Only negative attitudes toward care had the expected negative association with care-seeking propensity. Research and practical considerations are discussed.     

Politics on the Couch? Psychotherapy and Society—Some Possibilities and Some Limitations

The ideas and practices of psychotherapy, together with fresh thinking from many other sources, can help to revitalize Western politics which seem broken and moribund. The author describes various professional experiences of his own at the interface of politics and psychotherapy. These include consulting with mainstream and activist politicians and groupings. He discusses how politics in the West is changing in the general direction of what he calls “transformative politics.” He also asks if psychotherapists can make a difference in the political world today, explaining that, though enthusiastic about the prospect, he is also skeptical about it because the record of psychotherapists' involvement in politics is not very good. The paper includes an experiential and personally oriented section (“The Inner Politician”) that looks at how the political self is formed in culture, family, and the inner world. The notion of differing political styles as a source of conflict is explained and explored. The author concludes with some reflections on the relations between psychotherapy, politics, and spirituality.     

Disillusionment and Change: A Cognitive-Emotional Theory of Gang Exit

Exit from street gangs has received increased attention in recent years; however, a number of important questions regarding the process of leaving remain unanswered. Relying on identity theory, we present a cognitive-emotional theory of gang exit that emphasizes functional dimensions of anger in terms of motivating individuals to pursue identity change related to gang membership. Specifically, anger provides gang members with an opportunity to identify the gang as a major source of their problems. According to identity theory, anger is generated when there is an inability to meet an identity standard. This article argues that an inability to meet identity goals produces disillusionment and anger, which reduces the relative importance of the gang identity and facilitates exit from gangs.     

Communication Styles,Cultural Values,and Counseling Effectiveness With Asian Americans

This study examined counseling intervention designed for Asian Americans. Participants (N = 158) rated session effectiveness after viewing a videotape of a counselor using a culturally congruent or incongruent communication style. Analyses of variance showed that the incongruent style was viewed as more satisfying and credible than the congruent style. Factor analysis showed that participants perceived “being direct” and “maintaining harmony” styles, and multiple regression analyses revealed that these perceptions had a positive relationship with effectiveness.     

Overcoming Obstacles to Empathy: The Use of Experiential Learning in Addictions Counseling Courses

Empathy is associated with positive outcomes in addictions counseling. The moral model of addiction and unresolved countertransference issues may hinder counseling students’ development of empathic understanding for clients with substance use disorders. Counselor educators must structure courses in such a way as to help students overcome obstacles to empathy. We provide examples of several experiential activities framed within the context of Kolb’s experiential-learning cycle that are designed to deconstruct obstacles to student empathy development.     

Political and clinical developments in analytical psychology, 1972‐2014: subjectivity,equality and diversity—inside and outside the consulting room

Utilizing Jung's idea of theory as a ‘personal confession’, the author charts his own development as a theorist, establishing links between his personal history and his ideas. Such links include his relationship with both parents, his sexuality, his cultural heritage, and his fascination with Tricksters and with Hermes. There follows a substantial critical interrogation of what the author discerns as the two main lines of clinical theorizing in contemporary analytical psychotherapy: interpretation of transference‐countertransference, and the relational approach. His conclusion is that neither is superior to the other and neither is in fact adequate as a basis for clinical work. The focus then shifts to explore a range of political and social aspects of the clinical project of analytical psychology: economic inequality, diversity within the professional field, and Jung's controversial ideas about Jews and Africans. The author calls for an apology from the ‘Jungian community’ for remarks about Africans analogous to the apology already issued for remarks about Jews. The paper is dedicated to the author's friend Fred Plaut (1913‐2009).     

Presentism: Foreigner-Friendly or Xenophobic?

I argue that, for all we know, there are perfectly ordinary actual entities that are temporal in the usual sense and yet never present, past, or future. This epistemic fact requires us to modify the theses of presentism and eternalism. More importantly, it generates three new and quite serious objections to presentism, which I formulate and partially evaluate in this paper.     

Parallel associative processing in the dorsal striatum: segregation of stimulus-response and cognitive control subregions

Although evidence suggests that the dorsal striatum contributes to multiple learning and memory functions, there nevertheless remains considerable disagreement on the specific associative roles of different neuroanatomical subregions. We review evidence indicating that the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) is a substrate for stimulus–response habit formation – incremental strengthening of simple S–R bonds – via input from sensorimotor neocortex while the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) contributes to behavioral flexibility – the cognitive control of behavior – via prefrontal and limbic circuits engaged in relational and spatial information processing. The parallel circuits through dorsal striatum interact with incentive/affective motivational processing in the ventral striatum and portions of the prefrontal cortex leading to overt responding under specific testing conditions. Converging evidence obtained through a detailed task analysis and neurobehavioral assessment is beginning to illuminate striatal subregional interactions and relations to the rest of the mammalian brain.