Symbolic Objects as Sediments of the Intersubjective Stream of Feelings

Taking into account that feeling is “the critical mediating process of the person-world relationships” (Josephs, Theory & Psychology 10(6):815, 2000), this article focuses on the artistic symbolic object as constraints that direct someone’s feelings. Johansen (2010) states that the literary discourse “is designed to arousing and forming the feelings of listeners and readers” (p. 185). Distancing from strict literary production, I’ve used the testimony of the Brazilian songwriter, composer and performer, Tom Zé (2003), in order to discuss the intersubjective aspect of feelings articulation in his artistic work. Is proposed that the creative process of a symbolic object, which can be considered art, is a circumstance of a most general intersubjective-cultural process in which novel objects are built. If the specificity of art is to give a symbolic shape to human feeling (cf. Langer 1953), I argue that it is a sort of mediation which allows otherness to elaborate their affections through its objective guidance. In contrast with the scientific method of objective creation that is an effort for silencing contradictions (cf. Stengers 2002), the object of art remains open to multiple interpretations, stimulating the other to recursively speak and feel through it.     

Feelings,Imagination and Self-Understanding

Starting from some considerations about the text ‘Feelings in Literature’ by Johansen (2010), this article discusses the topic of emotions from the standpoint of moral psychology, namely the relationship between emotions and the conduct of our moral life. From this assumption, we will argue that literature, as an exercise of imagination, helps us understand and evaluate our own emotions, what is essential for establishing our uniqueness, distinguishing ourselves from others. In literature we can learn about emotions and we can understand our own feelings. Literature plays an important role in cultural experience, triggering emotional responses.     

Developing a Culturally Appropriate Depression Prevention Program: Opportunities and Challenges

This paper describes the experiences of the first author and his colleagues in the development and implementation of a depression prevention program that specifically targets Latina mothers. Building on the earlier papers that highlight the underutilization of mental health services by Latinos in general, this paper will make the case that the situation is particularly concerning with regards to depression. In addition to the fact that depression is a highly prevalent disorder among Latino adults, the potential consequences for children of parents with depression are significant. Thus, the underutilization of formal mental health services by Latinos makes depression a critical public health problem that calls for creative solutions. One possible solution is the careful development and implementation of prevention programs. Depression prevention programs have some advantages over formal mental health treatment in that they can be offered at a relatively low cost, can be packaged in ways that make them less stigmatizing, and if effective, can reduce the incidence of cases that develop into clinical depression.This paper will describe the process of developing a novel depression prevention program, with a particular focus on the attention paid to cultural sensitivity. We describe the complexity inherent in defining cultural sensitivity and illustrate in concrete ways its implementation in the development and evaluation of the prevention program. In addition, we explore some of the challenges that emerge when attempting to balance the creation of a program that is culturally sensitive with the demands of rigorous quantitative evaluation.     

Structuralism and the Applicability of Mathematics

In this paper I argue for the view that structuralism offers the best perspective for an acceptable account of the applicability of mathematics in the empirical sciences. Structuralism, as I understand it, is the view that mathematics is not the science of a particular type of objects, but of structural properties of arbitrary domains of entities, regardless of whether they are actually existing, merely presupposed or only intentionally intended.     

Pilot Evaluation of a Tablet-Based Application to Improve Quality of Care in Child Mental Health Treatment

Mental health systems need scalable solutions that can reduce the efficacy–effectiveness gap and improve mental health outcomes in community mental health service settings. Two major challenges to delivery of high-quality care are providers’ fidelity to evidence-based treatment models and children’s and caregivers’ engagement in the treatment process. We developed a novel, tablet-based application designed to enhance via technology the quality of delivery of trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). We piloted its use in four community mental health service organizations using a blocked randomized controlled trial to examine the feasibility of implementing tablet-facilitated TF-CBT versus standard TF-CBT with 13 providers and 27 families. Provider fidelity and child engagement in treatment were observationally measured via session audio recording. Parent and child perceptions of the tablet application were assessed using structured interviews and mixed-method analyses. Providers actively and appropriately used tablet TF-CBT to facilitate treatment activities. Providers and families expressed high satisfaction with its use, demonstrating acceptability of this approach. Youth and caregivers in both conditions reported high alliance with their providers. Overall, we found that tablet-facilitated treatment is accepted by providers and families and may be integrated into mental health treatment with minimal training. Further study is needed to examine the extent to which technology-based applications may enhance the reach, quality, and clinical outcomes of mental health treatment delivered to children and families.     

Psychophysiological Synchrony During Verbal Interaction in Romantic Relationships

Previous studies about romantic relationships have shown that the reciprocal influence between partners occurs not only at the behavioral and socio‐emotional levels, but also at the psychophysiological level. This reciprocal influence is expressed in a pattern of physiological synchrony between partners (i.e., coordinated dynamics of the physiological time series). The main aim of the present study was to explore the presence of a pattern of physiological synchrony in electrodermal activity (EDA) during a couple interaction task. A second objective was to compare the synchrony levels during a negative interaction condition versus a positive interaction condition. Finally, we analyzed the association between synchrony and self‐perception of empathy, dyadic empathy, and relationship satisfaction. Thirty‐two couples (64 individuals) participated in this study. Each couple performed a structured interaction task while the EDA of both partners was being registered. The quantification of synchrony was based on the cross‐correlation of both members' EDA time‐series. In order to control for coincidental synchrony, surrogate datasets were created by repeatedly shuffling the original data of spouses X and Y of a dyad and computing synchronies on the basis of the shuffled data (pseudosynchrony values). Our results confirmed the presence of significant EDA synchrony during the interaction. We also found that synchrony was higher during the negative interactions relative to the positive interactions. Additionally, physiological synchrony during positive interaction was higher for those couples in which males scored higher in dyadic empathy. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The impact of children’s lexical and morphosyntactic knowledge on narrative competence development: A prospective cohort study

The authors investigate the contribution of children's early comprehension of relational terms and morphosyntactic knowledge to the development of narrative competence in kindergarten and Grade 1. Narrative competence was assessed through the cohesion, coherence, and structure of children’s productions. The participants in this study were 714 Italian children. The authors measured their oral narrative competence through a storytelling task at the beginning and end of the kindergarten year. A total of 115 children were randomly selected and followed through Grade 1, and their narrative competence was measured again. According to the path analysis model, early morphosyntactic knowledge contributes to explain narrative competence in Grade 1. Early comprehension of relational terms contributes to narrative competence at the end of the school year. These findings confirm the importance of exploring the influence of early language skills on narrative competence development and suggests early intervention at the level of language antecedents of narrative competence.     

A Psychometric Examination of the Pathological Obsessive Compulsive Personality Scale (POPS): Initial Study in an Undergraduate Sample

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) has been subject to numerous definition and classification changes, which has contributed to difficulties in reliable measurement of the disorder. Consequently, OCPD measures have yielded poor validity and inconsistent prevalence estimates. Reliable and valid measures of OCPD are needed. The aim of the current study was to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Pathological Obsessive Compulsive Personality Scale (POPS). Participants (N = 571 undergraduates) completed a series of self-report measures online, including the POPS. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare the fit of unidimensional, five factor, and bifactor models of the POPS. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed in relation to other personality dimensions. A bifactor model provided the best fit to the data, indicating that the total POPS scale and four subscales can be scored to obtain reliable indicators of OCPD. The POPS was most strongly associated with a disorder-specific measure of OCPD, however there were also positive associations with theoretically disparate constructs, thus further research is needed to clarify validity of the scale.