Dis-Identity: New Forms of Identity and Psychopathology—Socioanthropological Changes and Self-Development

The passage from modernity to postmodernity deeply upset the group dimension, and, consequently, personal identity itself. Transformations involving the entire planet, socioanthropological changes our society had to cope with, are producing a change in the dynamics of identity formation and the appearance of new psychopathological figures. The loss of cohesion of the sense of belonging and the weak internalization process of the elements that form the individual identity (cultural, linguistic, religious traditions, etc.) draw an essentially uncertain and temporary existence. Drawing on some themes of subjectual group analysis theory of personality, the article proposes the concept of dis-identity as key to read ongoing psychic changes.     

The impact of the new wine common market organization (CMO) on behavioural loyalty towards product attributes: A case from Italy

This paper explores the changes in consumers' loyalty towards wine after the launch of the new common market organization (CMO) (European Council Regulation (EC) No. 479/2008) in 2008. The analysis of wine purchases in the AC Nielsen Consumer Panel in 2009 and 2010 was compared to analogous work conducted in 2003–2005 and 2006–2008. Loyalty towards wine attributes— price, quality designation and packaging format—was measured using standard brand performance measures together with a newer metric, the polarization index, which has not been used before to highlight or explain the factors behind shifts in loyalty. The analysis revealed that post‐CMO reform increases in consumer loyalty towards the following: (i) standard 0.75‐L wine bottles; (ii) quality‐classified, protected designation of origin wines; and (iii) higher‐price‐point wines. The paper elaborates these findings, explaining how changes in consumers' loyalty patterns can be used to quantify the success of recent policy changes, which can be tracked in a reasonably short time frame thanks to the polarization index. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parkinson’s disease disrupts both automatic and controlled processing of action verbs

The problem of how word meaning is processed in the brain has been a topic of intense investigation in cognitive neuroscience. While considerable correlational evidence exists for the involvement of sensory-motor systems in conceptual processing, it is still unclear whether they play a causal role. We investigated this issue by comparing the performance of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) with that of age-matched controls when processing action and abstract verbs. To examine the effects of task demands, we used tasks in which semantic demands were either implicit (lexical decision and priming) or explicit (semantic similarity judgment). In both tasks, PD patients’ performance was selectively impaired for action verbs (relative to controls), indicating that the motor system plays a more central role in the processing of action verbs than in the processing of abstract verbs. These results argue for a causal role of sensory-motor systems in semantic processing.     

Measurement of External Shame: An Inside View

The aims of this study were to investigate the construct validity of the Other as Shamer scale (OAS) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and to examine the psychometric properties of its Italian version in a sample of 687 nonclinical individuals. The CFA results indicated that the hypothesized hierarchical model (with 1 higher order factor and 3 first-order factors) was the best fitting solution. Cronbach's alpha indexes, as well as test–retest stability, provided satisfactory results. Correlations of the OAS total score and its subscales with the Beck Depression Inventory–II (rs = .30–.48) and the Teate Depression Inventory (rs = .32–.45) were both substantial and significant (p < .01). Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to indicate sensitivity and specificity of the OAS and its subscales when determining those nonclinical subjects who met clinical thresholds for depression symptoms. A series of cutoff scores for the OAS scale and its subscales was developed, with sensitivity values between .70 and .62, and specificity values between .71 and .62, indicating good to fair discrimination between the 2 groups (depressed vs. nondepressed). The theoretical and practical implications of these results were discussed.     

Individual differences in the influence of time of day on executive functions

Previous research has documented the impact of time of day on vigilance and memory and the moderating influence of circadian typology (morningness-eveningness) on the relationship between time of testing and cognitive processes. This study examined the impact of circadian typology and time of testing on executive functions. Morning-type and evening-type people were randomly assigned to a morning or afternoon testing time, and their performance on neuropsychological tests, including the Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the Digit Span test, the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) was compared. No interactions between circadian typology and time of day were observed on the CPT or Digit Span test. A time of day effect was found on the letter generation portion of the COWAT. More words were generated in the afternoon than in the morning. In contrast, performance on the WCST was best when morning-type participants were tested at their optimal time of day. These findings suggest that circadian typology should be considered when scheduling neuropsychological assessments, rehabilitation training, and critical job tasks.     

Interpretation and the Problem of Domination: Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics, or the science of interpretation,is well accepted in the humanities. In thefield of education, hermeneutics has played arelatively marginal role in research. It isthe task of this essay to introduce thegeneral methods and findings of Paul Ricoeur'shermeneutics. Specifically, the essayinterprets the usefulness of Ricoeur'sphilosophy in the study of domination. Theproblem of domination has been a target ofanalysis for critical pedagogy since itsinception. However, the role of interpretationas a constitutive part of ideology critique isrelatively understudied and it is here thatRicoeur's ideas are instructive. Last, theessay radicalizes Ricoeur's insights in orderto realize their potential to disruptasymmetrical relations of power in education. To this extent, the author contributes to thebuilding of a critical brand of hermeneutics,or the interpretation of domination.     

Mafia Perception in Relation to Sicilian Teenagers' Moral Disengagement and Value Orientation the Role of Educational and Family Contexts

This article aims at providing a critical review of the main studies about Mafia in a theoretical psychological and socio-anthropological framework, and investigating the perception of the phenomenon in relation to moral disengagement and values orientation in two groups of Sicilian teenagers, living in contexts with different Mafia density. Today Mafia is represented as a socio-psychological phenomenon, which has managed to make culture, community, family, and individuals coincide; it is founded on an individualistic social conception according to which violence is the strongest form of self-achievement.