Some reflections on the links between psychoanalysis and literature

Abstract

I taught literature to students from overseas for a number of years before entering the world of student counselling. Both experiences helped to develop and clarify thoughts that I had long held, albeit in a rather vague fashion, about the ways that literature and psychoanalytic thought can reflect our inner worlds. In the first part of this article I look at certain ideas that I think they have in common, what they both can illuminate and how they can contribute to opening up a therapeutic relationship. Then I give an example, from my work experience, of how I was able to draw on some of these ideas in such a relationship with a student. The psychoanalytic process and the reading of a literary text touch at frequent points: both are ways of finding out about oneself, about one's inner and outer worlds, and how they interact. They enable us to ‘read’ our experiences. They have, therefore, a certain congruence of direction towards self-knowledge. They search for a particular kind of understanding. In exploring the literary text one is discovering oneself, gaining insight into the complexities of the multifarious self. Katherine Mansfield, commenting on the creative act of writing, said that a writer tries to go deep, to speak to the secret self we all have (Lee 1985: xv). Symington (1986: 15) speaks in terms of psychoanalysis occurring ‘at the centre of the individual’, but occurring only ‘through a personal act of understanding’.     

Multisensory self‐motion encoding in parietal cortex

Navigation through the environment requires the brain to process a number of incoming sensory signals, such as visual optical flow on the retina and motion information originating from the vestibular organs. In addition, tactile as well as auditory signals can help to disambiguate the continuous stream of incoming information and determining the signals resulting from one's own set of motion. In this review I will focus on the cortical processing of motion information in one subregion of the posterior parietal cortex, i.e., the ventral intraparietal area (VIP). I will review (1) electrophysiological data from single cell recordings in the awake macaque showing how self‐motion signals across different sensory modalities are represented within this area and (2) data from fMRI recordings in normal human subjects providing evidence for the existence of a functionally equivalent area of macaque area VIP in the human cortex.     

White Racism and Suboptimal Psychological Functioning Among White Americans: Implications for Counseling and Prejudice Prevention

This study examined the causal relationships between anxiety, racism, and self‐esteem in a sample of White graduate and undergraduate students (N = 169). The results indicated that level of anxiety had a direct effect on anti‐Black attitudes, which, in turn, had a direct effect on self‐esteem. Implications for counseling interventions aimed at preventing prejudice among Whites are discussed. Este estudio examinó las relaciones causales entre la ansiedad, el racismo, y el auto‐estima en un grupo de estudiantes graduados y estudiantes de bachillerato Blancos (N = 169). Los resultados indicaron que el nivel de ansiedad tuvo un efecto directo en las actitudes anti‐Negras, que en torno tuvo un efecto directo en el auto‐estima. Las implicaciones para las intervenciones de consejería dirigidas a prevenir el prejuicio entre los Blancos son discutidas.     

The equity restoring components of retaliation

Previous research has shown that retaliation can be an effective means of restoring equity to the relationship between a harm-doer and his victim The present study investigated the equity restoring properties of two components of retaliation the harm-doer “paying the price” for his harmful act, and the victim being given an opportunity to inflict harm Equity was restored to the relationship between the harm-doer and his victim when the harm-doer believed that his victim would be given an opportunity to inflict harm either upon the harm-doer or a neutral party When the harm-doer was led to believe that he would be retaliated against by someone other than his victim, equity restoration did not occur. The suggestion was made that the crucial factor in equity restoration may be the way in which the harm-doer thinks the relationship is viewed by his victim     

Dark Storm Clouds and Rays of Sunshine: Profiles of Negative and Positive Rumination About Daily Hassles and Uplifts

Daily negative events (hassles) and positive events (uplifts) have an impact on our subjective well-being, and how we react to those events (e.g., negatively ruminating by reflecting on the difficulties that come with hassles, positively ruminating by reflecting on the good aspects of uplifts) often has additional influence. However, little is known about the use of positive and negative rumination in combination. Using data from 469 adults, we examined retrospective accounts of negative and positive rumination about specific hassles and uplifts in reference to a 24-h period. Although differences in rumination were not observed across various domains (e.g., work, family, health), profiles emerged in relation to valence. Specifically, we identified four profiles of rumination: Non-Ruminators (39 %), Multivalence Ruminators (10 %), Positive Ruminators (26 %) and Negative Ruminators (24 %). Neither age nor gender systematically related to rumination profile. We further examined whether the associations among hassles, uplifts and well-being outcomes differed across these profiles. Results suggested few differences in the structural relations across the profiles, although the strength of associations was stronger for Negative Ruminators than Positive Ruminators. Results are discussed in terms of the robustness of effects of hassles and uplifts on subjective well-being across individual difference variables.     

Kinderpornografie

The quantity and distribution of child abuse material (“child pornography”) has substantially risen since the advent of the internet facilitated access. Due to the international character of the associated delinquency prosecution is confronted with several difficulties. In 2003 the European Union established a framework agreement to legally combat child pornography. The market for child abuse material is profitable, as production is comparably cheap. The number of convictions for relevant crimes varies but is generally still on a high level, even though reporting of relevant contents is decreasing. Providers and users might have switched to less controllable internet platforms. The physical and/or psychological sequelae for victims of child pornography are serious and ongoing. Studies show that compared to hands-on-offenders users of child exploitation material are generally younger, better educated and less often have a criminal record. Some of them (10–25?%) fulfill the diagnostic criteria of pedophilia. A child pornography offender’s risk of committing a hands-on-offence seems to be increasing with the diagnosis of pedophilia and antisocial personality traits. According to existing data, individuals whose only criminal record refers to illegal pornography seem to be at low risk for future offending with child abuse (0.2–6.6?%). Offenders who were already convicted for child abuse have a higher risk for re-offending when consuming (deviant) pornography. Several cognitive behavioral treatment manuals exist, however accurate diagnostic assessment and indication are required.