The curative fantasy in group psychotherapy

The concept of a curative fantasy includes patient's conscious and unconscious hopes and expectations of what is necessary for their relief of suffering. On entering group psychotherapy these elements emerge in the treatment matrix. This paper describes how patients with significant deficits in their intrapsychic organization express their curative fantasies through the development of selfobject transferences. The concept illuminates aspects of patients entering and forming a group as well as some elements in unanticipated terminations.     

The effects of feedback consistency and feedback favorability on self-perceived task competence and perceived feedback accuracy

The present study, employing a 2 × 2 true-experimental design and regression analyses assessed the main and interactive effects of feedback consistency (consistent vs inconsistent), and feedback favorability (acceptable vs superior), for feedback given at two time periods on measures of perceived feedback accuracy and self-perceived task competence. Among the study's findings were that (a) the perceived accuracy of feedback at the second period was a function of the favorability of feedback received at the first time period, (b) the self-perceived task competence levels of subjects were jointly determined by the favorability of feedback received at both time periods, and (c) the perceived accuracy of feedback was a function of its consistency. Organizational implications of the study's results are offered.     

Perceptual deprivation,extraversion—introversion and the autokinetic phenomenon

The present study examines the relationships between perceptual-deprivation tolerance and three variables: extraversion, the autokinetic (AK) phenomenon and field-dependence. In addition, the relationship between extraversion and autokinesis (AK) was investigated. Thirty-three male subjects were subjected to 3 hr of perceptual deprivation and, in addition, their scores on each of the three independent variables were obtained. It was found, as hypothesized, that perceptual-deprivation tolerance was negatively related to extraversion and positively related to the intensity of the AK effect. Field-dependence was not related to perceptual-deprivation tolerance. The correlation between extraversion and the autokinetic effect was significant but moderate. The nature of the relationship between these two variables is discussed.     

The relationship between the probability assessor and the outcomes of an event as a determiner of subjective probability

Two experiments were conducted in which 58 subjects assessed the probability of occurrence of positive and negative events. Two types of probabilities were assessed. The first was the probability that an event would occur, influencing the assessor him/herself (SPE). The second was the probability that the same event would occur to someone else, not influencing the assessor (SNPE). Six patterns of assessments were observed. Most of the subjects assessed SPE to be higher than SNPE for positive events and SNPE to be higher than SPE for negative events. In the first experiment SNPE was assessed in regard to someone very close and similar to the assessor while in the second experiment SNPE was assessed in regard to a less-defined “else”. In the latter case the differences between SPE and SNPE were more prominent than in the first. The explanation was given in terms of motivational factors and the availability heuristic.     

Remarks on certain unique conditions of human aggression (the hand, speech, and the use of fire).

I have tried to single out for study, from the limitless complexity of human physical and mental life, three decisively fundamental elements, which, individually and synergistically, in biological and psychological spheres, have contributed importantly to the distinctiveness of human aggressive behavior and psychology and their transformations. These are: (1) the remarkable development of the human hand; (2) the primordial role of human speech, especially in drive economy; (3) the purposive utilization of fire. The pervasive dynamic importance of human orality and its vicissitudes, in relation to its phylogenetic background, has been stressed throughout. In this connection, the revolutionary role of fire has been brought into drive-economic relationship with the other two critical human instrumentalities. It is suggested that in its myriad roles, ranging from cooking to the prodigious function of sacrifice in human history and psychology, the decisive position of the role of fire in the emergence and development of homo sapiens may conceivably include a significant "overdetermining" position among the multiple elements conditioning the appearance of human speech and language.