What an Ideal Is

What I intend to do in the following pages is to focus on what might be termed the most important turn in the very dimension of ideality throughout the history of Western culture: the introduction of the notion of ideal drawn from Plato’s notion of idea, and especially its singular contemporary destiny. In the first part of the article, I am going to analyze Kant’s introduction of the notion of ideal and Hegel’s reading of it, and I am going to argue that the former affirms a dualistic relationship which the latter negates. In the second part of the article, I am going to reason on the actual effects of both the affirmation and the negation of the dualism between the ideal and the real, especially focusing on the forms of totalitarianism and anarchism which characterized the twentieth-century history of Western culture. This will lead me to argue that we should try to avoid both the bad uses of the ideal (namely, the idealization of the real and the debasement of the real through the ideal) and the death of the ideal (namely, forms of epistemological and ethical anarchism) in order to work on a notion of ideal which could be an exceedingly promising tool for us to change and improve the real. This change and improvement can be achieved through the affirmation of the dualistic relationship between the ideal and the real, and more specifically through what I will call an evolutionary notion of ideal versus a revolutionary notion of ideal.     

Identity Statuses and Event-Focused Narratives at University Starting Point in Italy

The purpose of this study was to explore in greater depth the identity formation processes in Italian university students starting from previous studies that have provided support for a “postponed Identity”. Given the particular socio-economic difficulties of the Italian context, especially occupational uncertainty, this study assumes that the years of university for Italian students are rather like a time of standby, a period when students are allowed to remain in moratorium (institutionalized) or diffusion statuses and disengage from tasks related to personal and professional identity consolidation. For this purpose, the study focuses initially on the person-centred approach by measuring identity statuses in students attending the first 2 years of university and in students attending the fourth and fifth years of university. Subsequently, it focuses on the first 2 years of university through an event-focused approach, exploring narrative accounts of memorable daily life events perceived as important for identity construction, and to deepen our understanding of the subjective dimension of personal changes. Based on five identity dimensions, the cluster analysis indicated that six identity statuses could be extracted for both students groups: achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, diffused diffusion, carefree diffusion and undifferentiated. Each of these clusters revealed a distinct profile in terms of narrative universes of meaning. The study explored associations between narratives, reflecting a particular focus on the identity content and identity statuses. Suggestions for future research and limitations are discussed.     

The cognitive specificity of learned helplessness and depression deficits: The role of self-focused cognitions

Abstract

Four experiments assessed similarities and differences in learned helplessness and depression-related deficits in cognitive performance and self-focused cognitions. Subjects answered the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961), were exposed to no-feedback or failure in unsolvable problems, and their response time in a digit comparison task (with or without a memory component, with different number of digits, and different number of mental transformations) and self-focused cognitions were assessed. Learned helplessness and depression deficits were found in a memory task, and the deficits increased with the number of digits. Depression deficits also increased with the number of transformations, and were also found in the no-memory/two transformation condition. Finally, task-related worries were related to learned helplessness deficits, and task-irrelevant thoughts were related to depression deficits. Findings were discussed in terms of the cognitive specificity of learned helplessness and depression deficits.     

Recent developments in the experimental investigation of the illusion of control. A meta‐analytic review

The present study analyzes recent developments in the experimental investigation of the illusion of control by using the methods of meta‐analysis. The aim of the study was to estimate the effect sizes associated with different factors thought to induce the illusion of control considering different conceptualizations of the phenomenon. The overall weighted mean effect size (D) was.62, with the 95% confidence interval about the mean.49 to.75. Generally, experiments tend to obtain moderate to large effect sizes, and the illusion of control is constantly present as an effect of several situational and psychological factors. Nevertheless, the large heterogeneity of the studies in terms of dependent measures suggests that the underlying phenomena can be of a different nature.     

Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy With Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

This research wants to verify the effectiveness of couple's treatment, when a neurodegenerative disease affects one of the two partners. The disease affects not only the ailing individual, but also the dynamics within the couple. Fourteen patients affected by neurodegenerative diseases participated in an emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT) with their spouses. We collected a measure of the quality of life (SF-36) and relationship satisfaction (DAS) at the beginning and at the end of the treatment for both partners. The results show an improvement in quality of life and couple contentment, underlining the usefulness of such a psychotherapeutic intervention on the couple.     

Quantified Self as Epistemological Anarchism

Philosophia - The phenomenon of the quantified self, which is especially addressed by sociology and medical humanities, is still quite disregarded by philosophy. Yet, the philosophical issues it...     

The Perception of the Other in International Relations: Evidence for the Polarizing Effect of Entitativity

In an international relations context, the mutual images held by actors affect their mutual expectations about the Other's behavior and guide the interpretation of the Other's actions. Here it is argued that the effect of these images is moderated by the degree of entitativity of the Other—that is, the extent to which it is perceived as a real entity. Two studies tested this hypothesis by manipulating the entitativity of the European Union (EU) among U.S. citizens whose images of the EU varied along the enemy/ally dimension. Results of these studies yielded converging evidence in support of the hypothesized moderating effect of entitativity. Specifically, entitativity showed a polarizing effect on the relationship between the image of the EU and judgments of harmfulness of actions carried out by the EU.     

A Pilot Study Implementing Coping Power in Italian Community Hospitals: Effect of Therapist Attachment Style on Outcomes in Children

The study presented the initial report of a project regarding the implementation of the Coping Power Program in Italian community hospitals, and the program’s ability to reduce externalizing behavioral problems in children with a Disruptive Behavior Disorder diagnosis. Usually, interventions for children are implemented by a number of therapists with different personal characteristics, which therefore influence the implementation quality of an intervention. That said, the present study aimed to establish whether the insecure attachment styles of therapists predict unfavorable outcomes for children treated with the Coping Power Program. The sample included 80 children with a Disruptive Behavior Disorder diagnosis and 16 therapists. The results showed that the change in children’s aggressive behavioral problems was significantly related to the levels of the therapist’s preoccupation with relationships. Higher levels of change in aggression (where a higher value means that the aggression at the end of the treatment is higher than aggression at the baseline evaluation) are associated with higher levels of therapist’s preoccupied attachment style (anxious attachment style). This study provided some preliminary evidence that therapists need to be sensitive to their own attachment experiences when delivering therapy for children.     

Group psychodynamic counselling with final-year undergraduates in clinical psychology: A clinical methodology to reinforce academic identity and psychological well-being

Educational institutions should ensure that students develop a professional identity, as well as safeguarding their well-being and activating awareness and change processes. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a means of reinforcing academic identity – considered the forerunner of professional identity – and psychological well-being in a group of final-year undergraduates studying clinical psychology. Thirty-three final-year-students of clinical psychology who participated in six group psychodynamic counselling sessions were compared with sixteen final-year students of clinical psychology who had never participated in an intervention of this kind. The results suggested that group psychodynamic counselling made students feel more capable of managing their lives and more open to new experiences as well as encouraging them to perceive their relationships as more positive and satisfying, to believe that their life is meaningful, and to achieve greater self-acceptance. The in-depth exploration also prompted students to consider their commitment to their choice of career. Group psychodynamic counselling also reinforced students’ educational choice, as the likelihood of students becoming less committed to this choice was reduced after the intervention. Thus, the study confirmed the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a means of reinforcing both academic identity and promoting well-being and demonstrated that it is a tool clinical psychologists and university teachers could use to activate self-reflection and change within educational settings.