Silence and survival: Working with strategies of denial in families of traumatized pre-school children

Silence and denial about previous traumatic experiences are common features in families exposed to organized violence. Mutual protection between family members, and especially between parents and children, is seen as the fundament for the silencing of traumatic experiences. This strategy is suggested to have adaptive advantages in dangerous situations in general, where it serves the function of saving the child's internal representations of his/her parents as secure bases. If, however, the dangerous situation escalates and a psychic trauma cannot be avoided, the strategy of mutual silence concerning the event(s) becomes an obstacle for giving traumatized children parental support and professional treatment. It is argued that clinicians need to take seriously the strong reasons families have for upholding their strategy of denial, if they want to help traumatized families to a better functioning. A case presentation is made to illustrate how it is possible to use refugee children's re-enacting play as a source of information about past traumatic events in order to change destructive post-traumatic family dynamics and improve parental support to the child.     

Neutrality,tenderness and the analyst's subjectivity

Addressing the rôle of the analyst in the psychoanalytic relationship, the author takes issue with the emphasis on acknowledging the analyst's subjectivity and the critique of concepts like neutrality and abstinence as these issues are presented in the relational tradition. He advocates a better articulation and emphasis of these concepts in the service of understanding the impact of the analyst's subjectivity, and demonstrates how the mere loosening up of analytic neutrality and abstinence and an acceptance of the analyst's self-disclosure make transference analysis more difficult to handle. Such an attitude also increases the risk for ethically dubious conduct, since there is a close link between clinical methods and ethical standards in psychoanalysis. In conclusion, the author points to the importance of the analyst's continuous self-reflection and countertransference analysis.     

The Emergence of Logical Formalization in the Philosophy of Religion: Genesis,Crisis, and Rehabilitation

The paper offers a historical survey of the emergence of logical formalization in twentieth-century analytically oriented philosophy of religion. This development is taken to have passed through three main ‘stages’: a pioneering stage in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (led by Frege and Russell), a stage of crisis in the 1920s and early 1930s (occasioned by Wittgenstein, logical positivists such as Carnap, and neo-Thomists such as Maritain), and a stage of rehabilitation in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s (led by the Cracow Circle and Quine).     

A Goal‐Activation Framework of True and False Intentions

We propose a novel cognitive framework to distinguish between statements of true and false intent based on research on goal‐directed behaviour. A true intention comes with a commitment to carry out the stated intention. This commitment activates the behavioural goal of a true intention. In contrast, a false intention does not come with a commitment to carry out the stated intention. Hence, the behavioural goal of a stated false intention should be inactive. Active goals have profound and predictable influences on human behaviour. For instance, active goals influence planning, future thought and evaluations. Such influences are functional—they aid in goal attainment. Insofar as true intentions activate goals, but false intentions do not, the expected influences of active goals should be weaker or non‐existent for those stating a false intention. The framework parsimoniously accounts for previous intention‐focused deception studies while generating new directions for future research.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Witnesses stumbling down memory lane: The effects of alcohol intoxication,retention interval,and repeated interviewing

Intoxicated eyewitnesses are often discredited by investigators and in court, but few studies have examined how alcohol affects witnesses’ memory. The primary aim of the present study was to examine how intoxication (alcohol vs. control), retention interval (immediate vs. one week delay), and number of interviews (one vs. two interviews) affect witnesses’ memory. The participants (N?=?99) were randomly assigned to consume either orange juice or alcohol mixed with orange juice, and they all witnessed a filmed mock crime afterwards. The recall took place either (a) immediately and after a one week delay or (b) after a one week delay only. No main effect of alcohol was found on the quantity or quality of the witnesses’ statements. Both intoxicated and sober witnesses recalled more details, and were more accurate, during immediate compared to delayed recall. For witnesses interviewed twice, an average of 30% new details were provided in the second compared to the first interview, and these were highly accurate. In sum, contrary to what one can expect, intoxicated witnesses with a low to moderate blood alcohol concentration (below 0.10%) were reliable witnesses.     

Working memory and attention are still impaired after three years in patients with stress‐related exhaustion

Cognitive impairment is one of the most pronounced symptoms reported by patients with stress‐related mental health problems. Impairments related to executive function and to some extent speed and attention are therefore common in patients with stress‐related burnout/exhaustion. In this paper we present a follow‐up of cognitive performance in patients with stress‐related exhaustion several years after they initially sought medical care. Thirty patients and 27 healthy controls, mean age 49 years (SD 6.5) and 55 years (SD 6.7) respectively, were included, all of whom had undergone baseline measurements of neuropsychological functioning. The mean follow‐up time was three years. Half of the patients still reported mental health problems at follow‐up and over time no major changes in cognitive performance were noted. The patients still performed significantly poorer than controls with regard to cognitive functions, mainly related to speed, attention and memory function. Long‐lasting impairment of cognitive functions related to speed, attention and memory function noted in patients with stress‐related exhaustion should be acknowledged and taken into consideration during treatment and when discussing a return to work. Follow‐up periods longer than three years are needed to explore the persistence of the cognitive impairment.     

Dual support in contract workers' triangular employment relationships

This study investigated the interplay between perceived investment in contract worker development by the client organization and contract workers' perceived organizational support from their temporary employment agency. A study among 2021 contract workers from three temporary employment agencies in Norway showed that the relationships between perceived investment in contract worker development and task and contextual performance were moderated by contract workers' perceived organizational support from the agency. The form of the moderations revealed no positive relationships between perceived investment in contract worker development and performance unless the perceived investment by the client organization was accompanied by higher levels of perceived support from the temporary employment agency. These findings suggest that client organizations, which hire from temporary employment agencies that provide support to their contract workers, will get the most out of their investments in these contract workers' development.     

Motivational sources of confirmation bias in criminal investigations: the need for cognitive closure

In two experiments, criminal investigators (N = 50) and undergraduate students (N = 68) read a set of facts from the preliminary investigation of a homicide case. Participants' initial hypothesis regarding the crime was manipulated by providing background information implying that the prime suspect had a jealousy motive or that there might be an alternative perpetrator. Students displayed a framing effect, such that guilt was ascribed to the prime suspect only when a potential motive was presented, whereas investigators did so regardless of hypothesis, thus being less sensitive to alternative interpretations. Investigators' need for cognitive closure (NFC) moderated the effect of the hypothesis on perceptions of the strength of the evidence against the prime suspect; high (v low) NFC investigators were less likely to acknowledge inconsistencies in the material when presented with a potential motive, but were more likely to do so when made aware of the possibility of an alternative perpetrator. Interpretations are somewhat clouded by the fact that dispositional NFC did not seem to affect in a consistent manner participants' motivation toward the experimental task. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.