Throwing spatial light: on topological explanations in Gestalt psychology

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - It is a well-known fact that mathematics plays a crucial role in physics; in fact, it is virtually impossible to imagine contemporary physics without it....     

Linguistic Reflections on Psychotherapy: Change in Usage of The First Person Pronoun in Information Structure Positions

Aim of present study was to understand changes in speech of clients with regard to certain linguistic features from 5th to 15th session of psychotherapy. First person pronoun use in information structure positions were analyzed in speech of clients. Participants of this study were 11 psychotherapists (clinical psychology master and doctorate students) and 16 clients (applicants to AYNA Psychotherapy Unit). In present study word count results of clinets’ speeches were analyzed by ANOVA method. According to results, use of first person pronoun changed significantly in preverbal position from 5th to 15th sessions of psychotherapy. Findings of this study suggest that, psychotherapy leads to certain linguistic changes, and these changes discussed to be means of understand change of clients during psychotherapy     

Human Health and Christianity in the Context of the Dilemma of Forgiveness

Journal of Religion and Health - This article argues that Christianity has the potential to strengthen people’s health when solving the forgiveness dilemma....     

From Body to Language: Gestural and Pantomimic Scenarios of Language Origin in the Enlightenment

Topoi - Gestural and pantomimic accounts of language origins propose that language did not develop directly from ape vocalisations, but rather that its emergence was preceded by an intervening...     

Self-concept clarity and religious orientations: prediction of purpose in life and self-esteem

The present study concerns the relationship between self-concept clarity, religiosity, and well-being, as well as the mediating influence of religiosity on the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of meaning in life and self-esteem. Self-concept clarity was found to be a significant predictor of sense of meaning in life and self-esteem; intrinsic religious orientation was found to be a predictor of sense of meaning in life, while the quest religious orientation was a predictor for self-esteem. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and intrinsic religious orientation were found to be related to the sense of purpose in life, which would point to religiosity being a mediator of the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of purpose in life. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and quest religious orientation were found to be a predictor of self-esteem, which indicates a mediating effect of this religious orientation in the relationship of self-concept clarity and self-esteem.     

Superstars “like” me: The effect of role model similarity on performance under threat

Past work has shown that in‐group role models buffer stereotyped targets from stereotype threat. What is less clear is what makes an effective in‐group role model. Accordingly, we conducted a study to examine whether increasing the similarity of in‐group role models will enhance their effectiveness in stereotype threat situations. Female participants in this study were either exposed to a more or less similar (on the basis of school affiliation, life experiences, and interests) female job candidate who was either high or low in math competence. Afterwards, participants took a math exam under stereotype threat conditions. Results revealed that similarity moderated the effect of job candidate math competence: Female participants' math performance improved more after exposure to a more similar compared with a less similar, high math‐competent candidate. No effects of similarity occurred for the low math‐competent candidates. We further found that feelings of intimidation partially mediated the performance effects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Collective regret versus collective guilt: Different emotional reactions to historical atrocities

A distinction between guilt and regret in reactions to in‐group atrocities is proposed. Four studies (total N = 1249) support the notion that guilt and regret are distinct emotional reactions. Whereas guilt is a self‐focused, aversive emotional reaction following from appraisals of responsibility and associated with the intention to make amends, regret follows from an empathic victim perspective, is less aversive, and is more strongly associated with positive attitudes towards the victim groups and the intention to engage in intergroup contact. These findings suggest that less aversive emotions like regret are more likely to improve intergroup attitudes after a common history of conflict, but the aversive experience of guilt might be more potent in motivating reparations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The association between dopamine D4 receptor exon III polymorphism and intensity of PTSD symptoms among flood survivors

Abstract

Thanks to the development of molecular genetics methods it is now possible to look for the genes which may contribute to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Polymorphism located in exon III of dopamine receptor type 4 (DRD4) gene was related to maladaptive stress responses as well as temperament traits related to PTSD. This study analyzed the association between the variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) DRD4 exon III polymorphism and intensity of PTSD symptoms in 107 (57 women and 50 men) survivors of a flood aged 14–62. Intensity of PTSD symptoms was measured using PTSD-F and PTSD-C questionnaires. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to test the main and interactive effects of genotype and level of trauma exposure. Participants with at least one copy of the DRD4 long allele (seven or eight repetitions) had more intense PTSD symptoms on the Avoidance/Numbing scale (Cohen's f = .22) and the Total Scale (Cohen's f = .2) of the PTSD-F than participants who did not have these alleles in genotype. The results must be treated with caution, however, due to methodological restrictions and they need to be replicated on a larger sample.