Die Bindungstheorie und ihre Relevanz für die Psychotherapie

Zusammenfassung Die ursprünglich von John Bowlby entwickelte Bindungstheorie gewinnt zunehmend an Relevanz im Bereich der Psychotherapie(forschung). Diese übersicht beginnt mit einer Kl?rung der zentralen Begriffe und Annahmen dieser Theorie und fa?t einige Befunde zur Entwicklung und den Korrelaten von Bindung zusammen, die vornehmlich aus entwicklungspsychologischen Untersuchungen stammen. übertragen auf Erwachsene, bedürfen die Konzepte der Bindungstheorie einer Revision, die in dieser Arbeit skizziert wird. Schlie?lich werden auf dieser Basis einige heute übliche Methoden zur Erfassung von Bindungsstilen und Bindungsverhalten im Erwachsenenalter dargestellt, die bei Untersuchungen im klinischen Feld (Inhalt des 2. Teils der übersichtsarbeit) eine wichtige Rolle spielen.      

Internalized equality and protest against injustice: The role of disadvantaged group members’ self-respect in collective action tendencies

Recent research shows that self-respect (defined as seeing yourself as a person with equal rights) predicts assertive but not aggressive responses to injustice in interpersonal contexts. The present research focuses on the antecedents of self-respect and its consequences for collective action tendencies among members of disadvantaged groups. Across three studies (N = 227, N = 454, N = 131) using different contexts and samples (discrimination of Muslims in Germany; women regarding gender inequality), experiences with equality-based respect (defined as being treated as someone of equal worth) predicted self-respect. Moreover, across all three studies, self-respect predicted intentions for cooperative or normative but not support for hostile or non-normative protest. The results demonstrate the potential of self-respect for facilitating collective action in the face of injustice while still enabling positive intergroup relations.     

The two sides of competition: Competition‐induced effort and affect during intergroup versus interindividual competition

Competition strongly affects individual effort and performance for both individuals and groups. Especially in work settings, these effort gains might come at the cost of individual well‐being. The present study tested whether competition increases both effort (as indicated by task performance) and stress (in terms of cardiovascular reactivity and affective response), and whether this effect is further qualified by the type of competition (interindividual vs. intergroup), using a cognitive computer‐based task and a 2 (Group: Yes, No) × 2 (Competition: Yes, No) × 2 (Gender) factorial design (N= 147). All participants either worked as a representative of a group or as an individual, and were offered performance‐related incentives distributed in a lottery. In the competition conditions, participants were informed that they competed with someone else, and that only the winning person/team would take part in the lottery. Consistent with expectations, competition increased both individual effort and cardiovascular reactivity compared to non‐competitive work. Moreover, for female participants, intergroup competition triggered increased effort and more positive affect than interindividual competition. Aside from documenting costly side‐effects of competition in terms of stress, this study provides evidence for a stress‐related explanation of effort gains during intergroup competition as compared to interindividual competition.     

“Don't let the group down”: Facets of instrumentality moderate the motivating effects of groups in a field experiment

The motivating effects of group work as compared with individual work are not restricted to the research laboratory but have recently been documented in existing groups performing meaningful tasks. Freestyle swimmers at the 2008 Olympics were shown to swim faster in relay groups than in the individual competitions when their contribution was highly instrumental for the relay group (i.e., indispensable) because of their serial position in the group. The present study replicated and extended this work, aggregating a larger sample from major sports events (N = 199 freestyle swimmers) that also allowed for a competitive test between the instrumentality approach and explanations based on differences in the starting procedures of relay and individual competitions. Consistent with expectancy value models of effort expenditure in groups, swimmers were faster in the relay groups as compared with individual competitions only when (i) a swimmer's performance was highly instrumental for the group's performance (i.e., later serial position in the relay) and (ii) the group's performance was highly instrumental for a positive group outcome (i.e., the relay group had a good chance of winning a medal). The data were not consistent with an explanation of performance differences merely as a result of different starting procedures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of received and mobilized support on recipients' and providers' self-efficacy beliefs: a 1-year follow-up study with patients receiving radical prostatectomy and their spouses

From a proactive agentic perspective, social support is not just seen as a protective cushion against environmental demands. Rather, support may facilitate an individual's self-regulation by enhancing perceived self-efficacy (i.e., enabling hypothesis). In the present study, patient-reported indicators of mobilized and received spousal support as predictors of their own and their spouses' self-efficacy beliefs were investigated within 1 year following radical prostatectomy. During this time frame, postoperative sequelae such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunctions are still likely to interfere with couples' everyday activities. Seventy-two patients receiving radical prostatectomy and their spouses participated. Patients' and spouses' self-efficacy beliefs and patients' received and mobilized spousal support were assessed prior to and 12 months following surgery. Additional patient-reported covariates at 1 year post-surgery were degree of bother by urinary incontinence, overall sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. Results indicated that patients' received spousal support was associated with higher levels of patients' self-efficacy only cross-sectionally, but not longitudinally. Support mobilized by the patient prior to and 1 year after surgery, however, positively predicted spouses' levels and changes in self-efficacy. Results, thus, did not fully confirm predictions by the enabling hypothesis of social support; rather, associated aspects, such as the degree of being mobilized as a provider of support or being needed, seem to enhance agency beliefs in spouses.     

The ancestor effect: Thinking about our genetic origin enhances intellectual performance

The present research hypothesizes that thinking about one's genetic origin (i.e. ancestors) provides people with a positive psychological resource that increases their intellectual performance. To test this line of reasoning, we manipulated whether participants thought about their ancestors or not (manipulation of ancestor salience), and measured their expected as well as actual intellectual performance in a variety of intelligence tasks. Four studies supported our assumptions: participants show higher expected (Study 1) and actual intellectual performance (Studies 2–4) when they are reminded about their ancestors. We also have initial evidence that this effect may be fuelled by increased levels of perceived control and promotion orientation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. It is certainly desirable to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors. (Plutarch 46–120 AD) Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Terrorism as Collective Communication: The Collective Communication Model of Terrorism (CCMT)

This paper proposes that the psychological and behavioral effects of terrorist threat can be understood as a collective communication process that occurs between terrorists and their potential victims. Based on classic communication theory, terrorists are regarded as the senders of a specific collective message (such as ‘stop oppressing our culture’); a terrorist incident as the collective message itself (through its performance, modality and targets); and the potential victims as its collective receivers (who interpret the intention of the attack as a function of their pre-existing attributes, such as traits or salient social identities). The perception of terrorism as a dynamic and interactive process between collective senders, messages and receivers opens new theoretical perspectives regarding whether (a) terrorism can be successful in reaching its collective aim; (b) if it is interpreted as rational or irrational; and (c) how to counteract the vicious, cyclical relationship between terrorism and counter-terrorism. Previous findings on the psychology of terrorism can be organized within this theoretical framework, and the psychological impact of varying attributes of the perpetrators (senders), incident (message), and the reactions of the potential victims (receivers) systematically investigated. A series of self-conducted studies are also reviewed and found to provide direct support for the collective communication model of terrorism.