Empathy deficits and trait emotional intelligence in psychopathy and Machiavellianism

This study investigated the relationships between psychopathy (primary and secondary), Machiavellianism, trait emotional intelligence and empathy, using an image task that required an appropriate empathic response to the emotional displays of others (happy, sad and neutral). Results indicated that primary psychopathy and Machiavellianism were positively associated with the experience of positive affect from sad stimuli, while secondary psychopathy and Machiavellianism were positively associated with the experience of negative affect in response to neutral stimuli, and the opposite pattern was found for trait emotional intelligence. Regressional analyses demonstrated that secondary psychopathy, Machiavellianism, trait emotional intelligence and state anxiety are important predictors when stimuli are ambiguous.     

Who art thou? Personality predictors of artistic preferences in a large UK sample: The importance of openness

The present study examined individual differences in artistic preferences in a sample of 91,692 participants (60% women and 40% men), aged 13–90 years. Participants completed a Big Five personality inventory ( Goldberg, 1999 ) and provided preference ratings for 24 different paintings corresponding to cubism, renaissance, impressionism, and Japanese art, which loaded on to a latent factor of overall art preferences. As expected, the personality trait openness to experience was the strongest and only consistent personality correlate of artistic preferences, affecting both overall and specific preferences, as well as visits to galleries, and artistic (rather than scientific) self‐perception. Overall preferences were also positively influenced by age and visits to art galleries, and to a lesser degree, by artistic self‐perception and conscientiousness (negatively). As for specific styles, after overall preferences were accounted for, more agreeable, more conscientious and less open individuals reported higher preference levels for impressionist, younger and more extraverted participants showed higher levels of preference for cubism (as did males), and younger participants, as well as males, reported higher levels of preferences for renaissance. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Imre Hermann's Freudian theory of attachment

In this paper the author addresses some problems concerning the relation between attachment theory and psychoanalysis and sketches the outline of a Freudian theory of attachment, based on the ideas ofthe Hungarian psychoanalyst Imre Hermann. First, he elucidates the fundamental divergence behind the insults and misunderstandings that have dominated the debate between attachment theory and Freudian psychoanalysis: they differ radically in their conceptions of temporality and of the relation between psychopathology and human nature. Second, the author presents Hermann's work on 'Clinging–Going-in-search' (1976) as a theoretical model in which the findings of attachment theory can be integrated in a theory of psychopathology that is radically dimensional and that preserves the methodology of Freudian psychoanalysis. In the third part of the paper, the author discusses the question of whether Hermann's 'clinging instinct' is a primary instinct in the Freudian sense, and whether it is an interesting alternative for Freud's 'death instinct', as Hermann claims.     

Can small lesions induce language reorganization as large lesions do?

Shift of the cortical mechanisms of language from the usually dominant left to the non-dominant right hemisphere has been demonstrated in the presence of large brain lesions. Here, we report a similar phenomenon in a patient with a cavernoma over the anterolateral superior temporal gyrus associated with epilepsy. Language mapping was performed by two complementary procedures, magnetoencephalography, and electrocorticography. The maps, indicated right temporal lobe dominance for receptive language and left frontal lobe dominance for expressive language. These results indicate that a small lesion, associated with epilepsy, may produce selective shifting of receptive language mechanisms as large lesions have been known to produce.     

Nasal trigeminal chemosensitivity across the adult life span

Individuals can determine the side of the nose that receives an odorant during unilateral presentation (lateralize) if endings of the trigeminal nerve are stimulated. By using psychophysical methods, olfactory detection and trigeminal lateralization thresholds for 1-butanol were obtained from 142 individuals ranging in age from 20 to 89 year. Sensitivity in both chemosensory pathways declined with advancing age, especially in people older than 60 years.     

On shame,countertransference, and analytic style

Some analysands experience a restricted space in the analytic situation with special counter-transferential consequences. The author discusses how shame is involved in these situations, and projected on to the analyst. This leads to an important choice of direction for the analyst regarding counter-transference acting out or conditions for a real analytic situation. Shame plays a special rôle in these choices of direction. The author illustrates the problem with a clinical vignette and shows how integration of shame is accomplished clinically, and continues with a discussion of the connections between the analyst's analytic style, his own communicative style as a defense against shame and the analytic styles of different analytic “schools”. A discussion of Liberman's concept, of “asymmetrical dialogue” and its connection with countertransference acting out and analytic styles, forms a conclusion to the paper.     

Understanding communicative intentions and semiotic vehicles by children and chimpanzees

Developmental and comparative studies of the ability to understand communicative intentions using object-choice tasks raise questions concerning the semiotic properties of the communicative signals, and the roles of rearing histories, language and familiarity. We adapted a study by Tomasello, Call, and Gluckman (1997), in which a “helper” indicated the location of a hidden reward to children of three ages (18, 24, and 30 months) and to four chimpanzees, by means of one of four cues: Pointing, Marker, Picture and Replica. For the chimpanzees, we controlled for familiarity by using two helpers, one unfamiliar and one highly familiar. Even 18-months performed well on Pointing and Marker, while only the oldest group clearly succeeded with Picture and Replica. Performance did not correlate with scores for the Swedish Early Communicative Development Inventory (SECDI). While there were no positive results for the chimpanzees on the group level, and no effect of familiarity, two chimpanzees succeeded on Pointing and Marker. Results support proposals of a species difference in understanding communicative intentions, but also highlight the need to distinguish these from the complexity of semiotic vehicles and to consider both factors.     

Trait complexes and academic achievement: Old and new ways of examining personality in educational contexts

Background . Although recent research has provided evidence for the predictive validity of personality traits in academic settings, the path to an improved understanding of the nature of personality influences on academic achievement involves a reconceptualization of both criterion and predictor construct spaces. Aims . For the criterion space, one needs to consider student behaviours beyond grades and level of educational attainment, and include what the student does among other things outside of the classroom. For the predictor space, it is possible to bring some order to the myriad personality constructs that have been developed over the last century, by focusing on common variance among personality and other non‐ability traits. Methods . We review these conceptual issues and several empirical studies. Conclusions . We demonstrate the possible increments in understanding non‐ability determinants of academic achievement that may be obtained by focusing on areas where there is a theoretical convergence between predictor and criterion spaces.