Transformations of unconscious fantasy in art

Unconscious fantasy is conceptualized as a representation for drive-related, conflict-laden, wish-fulfilling views of human experience. These are usually related to sexuality, and refer to birth, intrauterine existence, primal scene, castration, and seduction. Unconscious fantasy may be transformed into works of art through a variety of artistic means. The employment of formal means for the representation of fantasy may be the product of an endopsychic perception. Thus, structural attributes of the psyche may also find representation. An example is used from the creative process in the construction of a novel by Henry James, The Spoils of Poynton. In the process of fulfilling artistic purposes in the construction of his plot, the author made use of derivatives of unconscious fantasy which surface in the process of creation. The work of art is the integration of unconscious derivatives which become transformed into artistic structure.     

Psychophysiological outcome of cognitive, behavioral and psychophysiologically-based treatments of agoraphobia

Psychophysiological process and outcome phenomena were analyzed to examine differential temporal patterns within and across cognitive, behavioral and physiologically-based treatments of agoraphobia. Eighty-eight severe and chronic agoraphobics with panic attacks (DSM-III) were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: Paradoxical Intention, Graduated Exposure or Progressive Deep Muscle Relaxation Training. Protocol therapists, whose treatment integrity was objectively monitored, conducted 12 two-hour weekly sessions. All subjects received programmed practice instructions concurrent with their primary treatment. Analyses revealed numerous significant reductions on in vivo psychophysiological measures for the relaxation condition, a few improvements for the exposure treatment and no effects for the paradoxical intention modality. The mediating role of pretreatment physiological reactivity in treatment outcome and follow-up status was examined and revealed no significant associations. Synchrony-desynchrony patterns were found to vary widely according to both treatment phase and the time interval between assessments. No between-group differences were observed on the proportion of synchronizers. However, synchronizers exhibited superior outcome and follow-up compared to desynchronizers on all domains except the physiological measures. Conceptual, methodological and clinical implications of these findings are discussed with recommendations for future research.     

Psychoanalytic observation

The recent focus on empathy as the essential activity in psychoanalytic data gathering has underemphasized the complexity of psychoanalytic observation and has failed to identify what truly makes it unique among modes of psychological investigation. It is a process that includes introspection and empathy. However, it also includes the analyst's observation of the patient's behavior, and particularly verbal behavior, in a way that is not necessarily empathic. The psychoanalytic use of introspection and behavioral observation together, as they are modified by the analysand's free association and the analyst's evenly hovering attention, provides a unique method of data gathering. The transient, mutually related regressions of analyst and analysand which partly constitute the analyzing instrument modify the field of observation available to both, providing better access to derivatives of the analysand's unconscious mental functioning. This more complex concept of psychoanalytic observation, as opposed to that in which empathy is predominant, has important implications for psychoanalytic training, clinical work, and theory.     

The old homeless and the new homelessness in historical perspective

In the 1950s and 1960s homelessness declined to the point that researchers were predicting its virtual disappearance in the 1970s. Instead, in the 1980s, homelessness increased rapidly and drastically changed in composition. The "old homeless" of the 1950s were mainly old men living in cheap hotels on skid rows. The new homeless were much younger, more likely to be minority group members, suffering from greater poverty, and with access to poorer sleeping quarters. In addition, homeless women and families appeared in significant numbers. However, there were also points of similarity, especially high levels of mental illness and substance abuse.     

Processing distinctions between stems and affixes: evidence from a non-fluent aphasic patient

In this paper, we study the ability of a non-fluent aphasic patient, BN, to comprehend morphologically complex words when they appear in utterance contexts. We first establish that he is insensitive to the contextual appropriateness of both derived and inflected words. In a further experiment we show that he has no difficulty processing the stems of complex words and conclude that his problem is with the bound morphemes themselves. We then ask whether this problem is due to his inability to access either the phonological form of a morphologically complex word or its semantic and/or syntactic content. We find that only the access of semantic and syntactic content is impaired. We conclude from these six studies that: (a) BN presents a counter-example to the claim that non-fluent patients have particular difficulty with those aspects of morphology which have a syntactic function; (b) BN processes both derived and inflected words by mapping the sensory input onto the entire full-form of a complex word, but the semantic and syntactic content of the stem alone is accessed and integrated into the context. The semantic and syntactic implications of the suffix are never evaluated. This implies separate representation of the stems and suffixes of some types of morphologically complex words.     

Towards a theory of algorithm-determined cognitive test construction

A rationale for, and data from, a trial of a theory of item generation by algorithms whose origins are cognitive models of task performance are presented. Since Spearman (1904), intelligence has been operationally defined and assessed in human subjects by administering identical test items whose content and order have been fixed only after empirical iterations. In our approach, intelligence is ostensively defined by theoretically determined algorithms used for item construction and presentation. Knowledge of what cognitive factors limit human performance makes it possible to vary within tightly specified parameters those features of the tasks that contribute to difficulty, which we call radicals, to let those components of the tasks that do not contribute to difficulty vary randomly, and to counterbalance aspects of answer production that might induce biases of response. Empirical data are based on the generation of five different short tests demanding only functional literacy as a prerequisite for their execution. Four parallel forms of each test were administered to young male Army recruits whose scores were collated with their Army Entrance Test results, which were not previously known to us. Results show that the parallel, algorithm-generated item sets are statistically invariant, which item generation theory demands; and that the individual tests differentially predict Army Entrance Test scores. We conclude that IQ test performances are parsimoniously explained by individual differences in encoding, comparison and reconstructive memory processes.     

CULTURE AND WORK ALIENATION: WESTERN MODELS AND EASTERN REALITIES

This paper argues that the existing theoretical explanations of work alienation and corrective management practices developed in the Western world have limited cross-cultural applicability. This argument is supported first by identifying the cultural bias inherent in the Western explanatory models of alienation and then by indicating how such a bias fails to adequately explain work alienation and its opposite work involvement phenomena in Eastern societies like India. Finally, the paper probes into the role of some critical indigenous variables responsible for the development of alienation among workers in India. The case of Indian workers provides an illustrative example of what is needed for alienation research in a developing country context: to avoid the folly of uncritically accepting the Western explanatory models and to encourage the discovery of indigenous explanations.