A microprocessor-based psychopathology laboratory: I. Why bother?

The greater than usual need for stimulus control, closed-loop design to control for organic state variables, and the acquisition of complex data on thought disorders makes on-line microprocessors especially important in psychopathology research.     

A microprocessor-based psychopathology laboratory: II. Research goals and design prerequisites

The design of a microprocessor-based psychopathology laboratory is influenced by (1) special procedures in many experimental paradigms and (2) some theoretical considerations about psychopathological data. In terms of design prerequisites, these are summarized as flexibility and power to control a spectrum of experiments, large data-processing capacity, ability to provide clinically relevant data on short notice, mobility, and simplicity of operation and programming.     

Multiphase mixed-effects models for repeated measures data

Behavior that develops in phases may exhibit distinctively different rates of change in one time period than in others. In this article, a mixed-effects model for a response that displays identifiable regimes is reviewed. An interesting component of the model is the change point. In substantive terms, the change point is the time when development switches from one phase to another. In a mixed-effects model, the change point can be a random coefficient. This possibility allows individuals to make the transition from one phase to another at different ages or after different lengths of time in treatment. Two examples are reviewed in detail, both of which can be estimated with software that is widely available.     

Constructive Thinking and Burnout among Secondary School Teachers

The present study investigated the relationship between Epstein’s (1998, Constructive thinking: The key to emotional intelligence. London: Praeger publisher.) components of constructive thinking and burnout as experienced by a sample of Dutch secondary school teachers. A postal questionnaire was sent to teachers from randomly selected secondary schools. The response rate was 54.1% (N=433). Four components of constructive thinking significantly contributed to the explained variance in emotional exhaustion (17%), depersonalization (21%), and personal accomplishment (20%). The results of the study suggest that secondary school teachers’ maladaptive thinking processes prevent them from rational thinking during their work, which significantly contributes to the onset of burnout. Burnout intervention programs for teachers are likely to be more effective when the participator’s maladaptive thinking system is taken into consideration. This stems from the idea that personality factors are a probably easier point of departure to tackle burnout symptoms than organizational factors.     

Die Handhabung der Übertragung

Zusammenfassung. Freud hat die Handhabung der übertragung als das schwierigste wie das wichtigste Stück der analytischen Technik bezeichnet. Mit Handhabung meinte er nicht den Umgang mit der übertragung im allgemeinen einschlie?lich der übertragungsdeutungen, sondern etwas Spezifischeres und Zupackendes, das sp?ter den Ruch des Nicht-Analytischen bekam. Der Autor zeigt den wichtigen Stellenwert des Terminus bei Freud und untersucht seine Entwicklung von der Ichpsychologie über Ferenczi und A. Balint bis hin zu Gill und Thom?. Er konstatiert eine erhebliche Bedeutungsverschiebung und -erweiterung. W?hrend Freud damit das energische Eingreifen des Analytikers an dramatischen Wendepunkten der Analyse gemeint hatte, schl?gt der Autor vor, die Handhabung der übertragung heute als eine ubiquit?re Dimension des analytischen Arbeitens zu betrachten. Sie bezieht sich auf den Handlungsaspekt des analytischen Tuns und nicht auf das Deuten im engeren Sinn. Damit wird der Beitrag des Analytikers zur Interaktion thematisiert. Wenn wir diesen Beitrag, d.h. alle Aspekte des Analytikerverhaltens, als Handhabung der übertragung qualifizieren, so erschlie?en wir sie als Elemente des intersubjektiven Geschehens und der übertragungsbeziehung und machen sie der Deutungsarbeit zug?nglich. Die Handhabung der übertragung ist der genuin Freud’sche Ausdruck für das, was Balint und Loch die psychoanalytische Beziehungskunst genannt haben – komplement?r zur Deutungskunst.

---

The handling of transference

Summary. In Freuds opinion the handling of transference is the most difficult and important part of psychoanalytic technique. By handling he did not mean dealing with transference and transference-interpretations in general but something more specific and grasping, that has been regarded as non-analytic later on. The author shows, how important the term was to Freud, and explores its development from ego psychology, Ferenczi and A. Balint to Gill and Thom?. He finds a lot of changes and conceptual clarification. Whereas Freud used the term for the vigorous interventions of the analyst at dramatic turning points of analysis, the author suggests to consider the handling of transference as a ubiquitous dimension of analytic work. It refers to the aspect of action in analysis, not to interpretation, and therefore means the contribution of the analyst to interaction. In qualifying this contribution, that is all aspects of the analysts be- haviour as a handling of transference, we make them accessible as elements of the intersubjective process and the transference relationship, and with that we become able to analyse them. The handling of transference is the genuine Freudian term for what Balint and Loch called the art of relating (Beziehungskunst) – complementary to the art of interpretation (Deutungskunst).

     

Time‐of‐day variation of visuo‐spatial attention

Time‐of‐day variation of visuo‐spatial attention in relation to body temperature and subjective arousal was assessed. At five different times of day, alertness, covert, and overt orienting of attention were assessed in fifteen healthy subjects. Based on previous studies reporting a tight coupling of alerting and orienting the present study investigates potential attentional asymmetries induced by diurnal variations of arousal. Both covert and overt orienting of attention improved in the course of the day. However, no asymmetries between left and right visual hemifields could be detected. Covert orienting additionally covaried with body temperature, indicating a quite close relation between the attentional arousal and orienting system. Conversely, overt orienting only improved due to repeated testing but did not correlate with body temperature suggesting a partial independence of both modes of attentional orienting. It can be assumed that due to limited diurnal variations of arousal in the participants and practice effects caused by repeated testing, no attentional asymmetries could be provoked.