Living by the manual: Ego-oriented social character – pathogenic effects of globalization

Abstract

According to Erich Fromm and a relational psychoanalytic approach, changing economic and social requirements always impact human beings and their psychic structure. Because globalization leads particularly to a blurring of boundaries and limitations, the formation of a new character orientation that is driven to construct reality anew without limitations can be observed as a reaction in progress. The pathogenic effects of globalization can be studied through the analysis of this new character formation and the uncovering of repressed, unconscious feelings that characterize the new personality type, especially in regard to their sense of identity, their way of relating to others, and their de facto loss of ego strength – in contrast to the enacted “ego unlimited.” Finally, some aspects of transference and countertransference, as well as some particular defense reactions with which we psychoanalysts are confronted in the treatment of patients suffering from the pathogenic effects of globalization, will be discussed.     

Predicting physical activity in adolescents: The role of compensatory health beliefs within the Health Action Process Approach

Objective: Compensatory health beliefs (CHBs), defined as beliefs that healthy behaviours can compensate for unhealthy behaviours, may be one possible factor hindering people in adopting a healthier lifestyle. This study examined the contribution of CHBs to the prediction of adolescents’ physical activity within the theoretical framework of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA).

Design: The study followed a prospective survey design with assessments at baseline (T1) and two weeks later (T2).

Method: Questionnaire data on physical activity, HAPA variables and CHBs were obtained twice from 430 adolescents of four different Swiss schools. Multilevel modelling was applied.

Results: CHBs added significantly to the prediction of intentions and change in intentions, in that higher CHBs were associated with lower intentions to be physically active at T2 and a reduction in intentions from T1 to T2. No effect of CHBs emerged for the prediction of self-reported levels of physical activity at T2 and change in physical activity from T1 to T2.

Conclusion: Findings emphasise the relevance of examining CHBs in the context of an established health behaviour change model and suggest that CHBs are of particular importance in the process of intention formation.     

How Implicit–Explicit Consistency of the Intelligence Self‐Concept Moderates Reactions to Performance Feedback

At present, it is not well understood which individual characteristics determine whether individuals will benefit or suffer from feedback about suboptimal performance. Three separate studies tested the idea that individuals' reactions to (neutral versus negative; positive versus negative) feedback as either improving or deteriorating performance in intelligence tests depended on their explicit and implicit self‐concept of intelligence (eSCI and iSCI). In all studies (Study 1, N = 177; Study 2, N = 165; Study 3, N = 132), persons with low eSCI/high iSCI showed a boost in performance after negative feedback, whereas persons with any other combination showed a decline in performance. The studies also provide an explanation for these effects in terms of mediating mechanisms. Whereas the performance boost of individuals with low eSCI/high iSCI can be best explained by achievement‐related reactance (Studies 2 and 3) and decrease in ruminative thinking (Study 3), the performance declines in the other configurations were mediated by decreased achievement motivation, increased frustration and increased outrage (Study 3). All these mediating mechanisms proved independent and incremental in a bootstrapping‐based moderated meditation analysis. The results are discussed in light of the construct validity of our Implicit Association Test (IAT) and IATs in general. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional processing and emotional memory are modulated by interoceptive awareness

The ability to perceive interoceptive signals plays a central role in many theories of emotions. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between interoceptive awareness and the conscious processing and memory of emotional information. Heart-rate changes were recorded during baseline and affective picture presentation in two groups of participants, differing in cardiac awareness. After a 60-minute break, a recognition task was conducted. Statistical analyses revealed significantly stronger heart-rate deceleration to pleasant and unpleasant stimuli in participants with high interoceptive awareness. In the subsequent picture recognition task, participants with high interoceptive awareness demonstrated a superior recall of pleasant and unpleasant pictures, while no differences were found between interoceptive awareness groups for pictures of neutral content. Our results demonstrate a strong relationship between the perception of cardiac signals and both the processing as well as the recognition of emotional stimuli. High interoceptive awareness was related to increased physiological responses to emotional stimuli and is therefore an important mediating variable when investigating cardiovascular reactivity both in healthy subjects as well as in clinical populations.     

The genetic links between the big five personality traits and general interest domains

This is the first genetically informative study in which multiple informants were used to quantify the genetic and environmental sources of individual differences in general interests as well as the phenotypic and genetic links between general interests and Big Five personality traits. Self-reports and two peer ratings from 844 individuals, including 225 monozygotic and 113 dizygotic complete twin pairs, were collected. Multiple-rater scores (composites) revealed that the averaged levels of genetic and environmental effects on seven broad interest domains were similar to those on personality traits. Multivariate analyses showed that about 35% of the genetic and 9% of the environmental variance in interests were explained by personality domains, in particular by Openness. The findings suggest that interests cannot easily be considered as a byproduct of the interactions between personality genotypes and the environmental influences but rather as an internal regulation of behavior with an own genetic basis.     

Mehr als Intersubjektivit?t

Erich Fromm (1900?C1980) was one of the forerunners of the intersubjective tradition in psychoanalysis. Trained at the Berlin Institute and emigrated to the US he started in the 1930s to reformulate psychoanalytic theory by focusing on man??s need to be related on reality, on others and on himself and herself. Similar to Sullivan, Fromm looked at man primarily as a social being but in contrast to Sullivan, Fromm much more stressed man??s being molded by societal requirements and by an intersubjectivity that is determined by strivings originating in his social character structure. The impact the respective social character orientation has on the patient??s being related to others and to himself and herself is to be recognized in the analysis of the therapeutic processes between analyst and analysand. In principle sociality plays a much bigger role for changing intrapsychic processes. Because of Fromm??s ??societal?? orientation his approach to psychoanalysis is still of relevance to understand how the intersubjective and intrapsychic is interwoven in each individual. Beyond that his approach enables insights into what is going on psychically in society and how these changes are influential to the individual??s welfare or suffering.     

Patientensuizid im psychiatrischen Fachkrankenhaus

Suicide prevention especially with psychiatric inpatients is traditionally a very important aspect of psychiatric treatment. During the 1970s and 1980s there was a noticeable increase in so-called hospital suicides in Germany, especially suicides of schizophrenic inpatients. The number of psychiatric inpatient suicides has currently decreased again and a shift to more depressive suicides has also been observed. Furthermore questions which are asked in court are presented and discussed.     

Sources of Variance in Personality Facets: A Multiple‐Rater Twin Study of Self‐Peer,Peer‐Peer,and Self‐Self (Dis)Agreement

ABSTRACT This study considered the validity of the personality structure based on the Five‐Factor Model using both self‐ and peer reports on twins' NEO‐PI‐R facets. Separating common from specific genetic variance in self‐ and peer reports, this study examined genetic substance of different trait levels and rater‐specific perspectives relating to personality judgments. Data of 919 twin pairs were analyzed using a multiple‐rater twin model to disentangle genetic and environmental effects on domain‐level trait, facet‐specific trait, and rater‐specific variance. About two thirds of both the domain‐level trait variance and the facet‐specific trait variance was attributable to genetic factors. This suggests that the more personality is measured accurately, the better these measures reflect the genetic structure. Specific variance in self‐ and peer reports also showed modest to substantial genetic influence. This may indicate not only genetically influenced self‐rater biases but also substance components specific for self‐ and peer raters' perspectives on traits actually measured.     

Is it adaptive to disengage from demands of social change? Adjustment to developmental barriers in opportunity-deprived regions

This paper investigates how individuals deal with demands of social and economic change in the domains of work and family when opportunities for their mastery are unfavorable. Theoretical considerations and empirical research suggest that with unattainable goals and unmanageable demands motivational disengagement and self-protective cognitions bring about superior outcomes than continued goal striving. Building on research on developmental deadlines, this paper introduces the concept of developmental barriers to address socioeconomic conditions of severely constrained opportunities in certain geographical regions. Mixed-effects methods were used to model cross-level interactions between individual-level compensatory secondary control and regional-level opportunity structures in terms of social indicators for the economic prosperity and family friendliness. Results showed that disengagement was positively associated with general life satisfaction in regions that were economically devastated and has less than average services for families. In regions that were economically well off and family-friendly, the association was negative. Similar results were found for self-protection concerning domain-specific satisfaction with life. These findings suggest that compensatory secondary control can be an adaptive way of mastering a demand when primary control is not possible.