Searching for Transcendence: Drives,Emotions, and Infinity

There seems to be a need to theorize about transcendence in the actual relational literature. This may be related to the abandonment of drive theory. Emotions conceived by Matte-Blanco as infinite sets seem to recover that transcendence. In the clinical situation references to God seem to point many times to this infinity of emotionality. In these cases the emergence of art in the clinical dialogue—as long it can provide symbols of the infinite—seem to be able to unfold in our finiteness the infinite. These symbols can fill the infinity of potential space, so as not to experience an infinite and silent void that terrifies.     

Putting the ‘app’ in Happiness: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Smartphone-Based Mindfulness Intervention to Enhance Wellbeing

Smartphones are revolutionizing approaches to wellbeing investment. Those seeking greater happiness can engage with thousands of downloadable self-help applications instantly, yet their effectiveness remains largely unknown. This investigation explored the viability of delivering a positive psychological intervention in application format to authentic happiness seekers. A smartphone-based randomized-controlled trial was conducted with a diverse self-selecting pool, randomly assigned to engage with an empirically supported mindfulness intervention (n = 57) or a control intervention (n = 64) for 10 days. The study explored smartphone methodology, the importance of empirically based content for wellbeing enhancement and the extent to which user experience related to wellbeing gains. Results of repeated measures ANOVAs showed statistically significant increases in positive affect with a medium effect size and reduced depressive symptoms with a small effect size, although no statistically significant differences in satisfaction with life, flourishing or negative affect were found. No statistically significant gains were observed in the control condition. Ratings of task enjoyment were positively correlated (Pearson’s r) with positive affect increase. Findings support the viability of smartphone-based interventions to significantly enhance elements of wellbeing, underscoring the importance of application content and the role of person-activity fit. This investigation presents implications for happiness seeking strategies in the real world whilst showcasing a dynamic method of intervention delivery that can benefit future research and practice. If the greatest mission of positive psychology is to enhance global flourishing, the potential of smartphone-based interventions may play a vital role.     

Do Pro-environmental Behaviors and Awareness Contribute to Improve Subjective Well-being?

In this paper, we study the influence of both environmental awareness and behaviors on subjective well-being (SWB). By using ordered logit techniques in a sample from Granada, a city in southern Spain, we find that concern about the environment and voluntary work actions to preserve it are relevant for SWB. When both are combined, namely when a person is concerned and volunteers, the influence on SWB is greater. These results introduce the SWB dimension in the knowledge-concern-action paradox, which states that even if the individual is concerned about the environment, this concern does not always translate into personal action to preserve it. Actions such as habits related to water saving inside the household are not significant in explaining SWB, but using devices that save water increases it. In summary, our results suggest that actions and awareness have either a positive or no significant influence on SWB, but never a negative influence.     

HAROLD SEARLES: LIFELONG WORK OF A MASTER CLINICIAN

Harold F. Searles was one of the most gifted and innovative clinicians of psychoanalysis. His clinical work arouses interest on its own merit, as well as for the ways in which it shaped his highly innovative thinking. We can only imagine what special processes were developing in Searles’s inner world under the everlasting impact of his experience with psychotic patients and from his life in general. Searles focused extensively on how the psychotic individuals’ mental distortions impacted their capacity to form personal relationships in general, and the role of the analyst and countertransference in treatment. This unique viewpoint helped him sustain a creative commitment to psychotic patients, regarded by many as unsuitable for psychoanalysis.     

Motion as a Concept,an Insufficient Element in the Kantian Philosophy

Axiomathes - This article examines the Kantian ideas on motion in his work Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science. In that essay, Kant holds that motion as a concept—from its connotation...     

Using Intergroup Contact Theory to Reduce Stigma Against Transgender Individuals: Impact of a Transgender Speaker Panel Presentation

Sexual minorities experience significant stigma and prejudice. Much research has examined sexual stigma and prejudice impacting gay and lesbian individuals, but limited research has examined other sexual minorities, such as transgender persons or individuals whose gender identity or expression is incongruent with their assigned gender or anatomical sex. Research has found that interpersonal contact with sexual minorities is associated with lower sexual stigma and prejudice. Intergroup contact theory predicts that interaction between groups can reduce stereotyping and improve intergroup relationships. Using a randomized crossover design, this study compared the impact of exposure to a transgender speaker panel vs. a traditional transgender lecture presentation on transphobia. Results indicated greater immediate reductions of transphobia following the transgender speaker panel than traditional lecture.     

An evaluation of progressively increasing intertrial intervals on the acquisition and generalization of three social skills

We evaluated the effects of different intertrial intervals (ITIs; time between programmed learning opportunities) on the acquisition and generalization of 2 preschoolers' social skills. Independent and generalized skills were observed only when the daily ITI was gradually increased from short to progressively longer intervals.     

Reconstructing an Open Order from Its Closure, with Applications to Space-Time Physics and to Logic

In his logical papers, Leo Esakia studied corresponding ordered topological spaces and order-preserving mappings. Similar spaces and mappings appear in many other application areas such the analysis of causality in space-time. It is known that under reasonable conditions, both the topology and the original order relation ${\preccurlyeq}$ can be uniquely reconstructed if we know the “interior” ${\prec}$ of the order relation. It is also known that in some cases, we can uniquely reconstruct ${\prec}$ (and hence, topology) from ${\preccurlyeq}$ . In this paper, we show that, in general, under reasonable conditions, the open order ${\prec}$ (and hence, the corresponding topology) can be uniquely determined from its closure ${\preccurlyeq}$ .     

Conflict Transformation, Stigma, and HIV-Preventive Structural Change

Over the prior decade, structural change efforts have become an important component of community-based HIV prevention initiatives. However, these efforts may not succeed when structural change initiatives encounter political resistance or invoke conflicting values, which may be likely when changes are intended to benefit a stigmatized population. The current study sought to examine the impact of target population stigma on the ability of 13 community coalitions to achieve structural change objectives. Results indicated that coalitions working on behalf of highly stigmatized populations had to abandon objectives more often than did coalitions working for less stigmatized populations because of external opposition to coalition objectives and resultant internal conflict over goals. Those coalitions that were most successful in meeting external challenges used opposition and conflict as transformative occasions by targeting conflicts directly and attempting to neutralize oppositional groups or turn them into strategic allies; less successful coalitions working on behalf of stigmatized groups struggled to determine an appropriate response to opposition. The role of conflict transformation as a success strategy for working on behalf of stigmatized groups is discussed.     

Dopamine modulation affects the performance of parkinsonian patients in a precision motor task measured by an antropomorphic device

Several parameters related to the timing, grip force and load force involved in a precision grasping task were studied in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) at different moments of medication and healthy controls, using a sensorized anthropomorphic device which was totally adapted to the human hand. The aim of this work was to carry out an accurate study of the reach-load-grip-hold-place-release subtasks to identify any physical motor impairment, its relation to medication and Parkinsonian strategies. Twenty seven patients in ON and OFF-like medication moments, and twenty seven age-matched controls took part in the experiment, which consisted of using the index finger and the thumb to perform a precision motor task involving different experimental objects. Visual cues were used as distracting elements. Results showed several motor parameters impaired in OFF-like medication moment but attenuated in ON state, suggesting a medication effect on the performance of the task.