Pastoral psychotherapy and the symbolic

The author points out and illustrates the interrelatedness of the capacity to think symbolically and a sense of self. Through a case study he describes the disclosure of hidden and unresolved personal concerns by symbolic references and the correspondence between personal myth and emotional concerns. A perspective of therapy is suggested—that it is a process of clarifying and demythologizing self-perceptions, conscious and unconscious, so that a person can move on to other representations of self and be liberated from restrictions imposed by undisclosed myths. Finally, the author examines what is pastoral or religious about a psychotherapeutic process and offers questions for further study.     

Self-Compassion and Need Frustration Moderate the Effects of Upward Appearance Comparisons on Body Image Discrepancies

Abstract

Drawing from diverse theoretical frameworks, we examined predictors of discrepancy between current and ideal body image in a sample of 396 Greek adolescents. The participants completed assessments of the frequency of comparing oneself with someone of perceived better appearance, appearance evaluations, frustration of basic psychological needs, and appearance self-compassion. We found that upward appearance comparisons negatively predicted appearance evaluation, which in turn was a negative predictor of body image discrepancy. Moderated mediation analyses showed that appearance self-compassion buffered, whereas psychological need frustration augmented the negative effects of upward comparisons on appearance evaluation. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on body image discrepancies in adolescence by examining moderating factors that amplify or buffer such discrepancies, hence identifying viable intervention pathways.     

Does classroom social comparison bias students’ evaluation of their own competence?

Social Psychology of Education - Overestimation and underestimation of students’ own competence result from social comparison in the classroom. There is some evidence that secondary school...     

Is there an effect of handedness on the position of the egocentric reference?

Forty normal subjects (20 left-handed; 20 right-handed) were submitted to a proprioceptive straight ahead pointing task while blindfolded to study the effect of the hand used and of the hand preference on the estimation of the subjective sagittal middle. Results showed that left-handed and right-handed subjects both deviated to the left of the objective sagittal middle and presented an effect of the hand used and of the starting point affecting their straight ahead performance in a similar way. In all subjects whatever their manual preference, using the left hand and starting 30 degrees to left induced a tendency to deviate to the same side, whereas using the right hand and starting 30 degrees to right induced a tendency to place the subjective middle to the right of the objective middle. These results are interpreted with regard to the hypothesis of a cortical control of the position of the egocentric reference.     

Inhibition of return in children with Tourette's syndrome and comorbid forms: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the nature and functioning of the visual-spatial inhibition of return (IOR) phenomenon in children with "pure" Tourette's syndrome (TS), and those with comorbid forms of TS. METHOD: Children with TS-only and "TS + comorbid" (TS + ADHD +/- OCD) and matched controls performed the inhibition of return (IOR) task, which involved responding to left and right visual targets appearing on a computer screen that were preceded by congruent or incongruent exogenous visual cues. RESULTS: The TS-only group performed similarly on the IOR task to the controls. When the TS-only group was subdivided into children with mild and severe TS symptoms, a post hoc comparison between the controls and severe TS symptom children revealed that these TS children had a reduced magnitude of IOR for targets appearing in the right visual field. The comparison between the TS + comorbid and controls revealed an atypical IOR pattern for the TS + comorbid group. They displayed a loss of normal facilitatory and inhibitory effects for right visual field targets. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest abnormalities in attentional "disengage" and "move" mechanisms in TS when directing attention to the right visual field, which may reflect left posterior parietal, superior colliculus, and midbrain pathology.