Integrative study in physiology and medicine: Obstacles on the road to integration

A recent report of the Long-Range Planning Committee of the American Physiological Society identifies physiology with “integrative biology” and urges that physiologists make their field “a unique branch of biology that deals with synthesis and integration.” However, certain institutional, procedural, and psychological obstacles lie in the way of those who would embark upon this task. The hurdles to be overcome include the following: the erroneous belief that biomedical scientists are already integrative; the inapplicability of the powerful methods of areas of specialization to integrative study; the fear of failure; the identification of integrative biology with the study of function; the disregard of hierarchy; the undervaluation of the abstract; and the loss of a sense of mystery. These obstacles, though insidious, pervasive, and powerful, can be surmounted.     

Transference as a religious phenomenon in psychotherapy

An analysis is presented of the conventional and far-reaching existential interpretations of the concept of transference. Analogies are drawn between the deepest meanings of transference and interpersonal and religious (man-and-God) dialogue. By way of case illustrations, it is shown that transference from patient to therapist can have implications for the patient's real relationship with God.     

The Emancipation of Time from Autistic Encapsulation: A Study in the Use of Countertransference

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

In these pages

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Using emotional cues in a discrimination learning task: Effects of trait emotional intelligence and affective state

Individuals may differ in their ability to learn the significance of emotional cues within a specific context. If so, trait emotional intelligence (EI) may be associated with faster cue learning. This study (N = 180) tested whether trait EI predicts faster learning of a critical cue for discriminating “terrorists” from “non-terrorists”, using virtual-reality heads as stimuli. The critical cue was either facial emotion (positive or negative), or a neutral feature (hat size). Cognitive ability and subjective state were also assessed. Participants were faster to learn with an emotive cue. Surprisingly, high trait EI was correlated with poorer performance, especially early in learning. Subjective distress was also associated with impaired learning to emotive cues.     

Gender differences in loss of psychological resources following experimentally-induced vicarious stress

The present research focuses on gender differences in resource loss, perceived threat, and negative affective reactions induced by experimental manipulation of vicarious stress. Israeli students (54.7% women) were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: (1) Threat Condition (n=98), in which participants were exposed to a video film depicting terror attacks and (2) Control Condition (n=30), in which participants viewed a video film depicting a series of non-emotive news broadcasts. Participants also completed measures of mastery, optimism, and self-esteem. The data indicated that whereas under the Threat Condition women scored lower on psychological resources and higher on perceived threat than men, no significant gender differences were observed under the Control Condition. A path analysis revealed that gender was directly related to perceived threat and resource loss, which, in turn, were related to negative affect. In addition, a greater sense of mastery was related to lower resource loss. Overall, these experimental findings suggest that gender and mastery bear prominent effects on cognitive and emotional reactions to vicarious life threat.     

Assessing the associative deficit of older adults in long-term and short-term/working memory

Older adults exhibit a deficit in associative long-term memory relative to younger adults. However, the literature is inconclusive regarding whether this deficit is attenuated in short-term/working memory. To elucidate the issue, three experiments assessed younger and older adults' item and interitem associative memory and the effects of several variables that might potentially contribute to the inconsistent pattern of results in previous studies. In Experiment 1, participants were tested on item and associative recognition memory with both long-term and short-term retention intervals in a single, continuous recognition paradigm. There was an associative deficit for older adults in the short-term and long-term intervals. Using only short-term intervals, Experiment 2 utilized mixed and blocked test designs to examine the effect of test event salience. Blocking the test did not attenuate the age-related associative deficit seen in the mixed test blocks. Finally, an age-related associative deficit was found in Experiment 3, under both sequential and simultaneous presentation conditions. Even while accounting for some methodological issues, the associative deficit of older adults is evident in short-term/working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Effects of an experimental social stressor on resources loss,negative affect,and coping strategies

This experimental study, grounded in Hobfoll's conservation of resources (COR) theory, assessed the effects of manipulating a social stressor on loss of psychological resources, negative affect, and coping strategies. Israeli student volunteers were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: (1) social stressor (n = 66) and (2.) nonstressor (n = 59). The social stressor, aimed at reducing participant's personal resources, was experimentally induced via the Trier Social Stress Test protocol. The protocol consisted of a mock job interview administered under evaluative conditions, followed by performing a difficult arithmetic calculation task. The nonstressor condition involved a neutral interaction with an experimenter, followed by performing a relatively easy mental calculation task. Consistent with our hypotheses, the social stressor, compared to the nonstressor condition, resulted in statistically significant lower mean levels of psychological resources, higher levels of negative affect, and increased emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping. Furthermore, under the social stressor condition, compared with the nonstressor condition, negative affect was more strongly related to loss of psychological resources and various coping strategies. Overall, the data provide experimental support for key tenets of COR theory     

Culture,religion, ethnicity and the meaning of work: Jews and Muslims in the Israeli context

The work values of Arabs in general, and of Muslims in particular, have not yet been studied in Israel. This study examines the meaning of work (MOW) of 1201 Jews and 219 Muslims, who work in the Israeli labour market. The findings reveal significant differences in the MOW dimensions and demonstrate different perceptions and internalisation of work values between the two ethno-religious groups. While the Jews have a higher economic and intrinsic orientation and a higher need for interpersonal relations than the Muslims, the Muslims have higher work centrality. The findings attributed to cultural differences, ethnic conflict, occupational discrimination and high degree of segregation.     

Is Rape-Related Self Blame Distinct From Other Post Traumatic Attributions of Blame? A Comparison of Severity and Implications for Treatment

Rape treatment generally takes the form of standard trauma intervention, which may limit its ability to resolve rape-specific symptoms. For the sake of optimizing such treatment, the present study seeks to distinguish specific post-rape symptoms from those observed following other forms of trauma, particularly in respect to self-blame and related PTSD. Given typical societal victim-blaming following rape, self-blame is expected to be considerably more extreme among survivors of rape than in other victims, and predictive of relatively elevated post-trauma symptoms. Three hundred and four participants completed measures of blame attribution and PTSD, substantiating the hypotheses. Implications for rape treatment and social change are discussed.