Emotional mimicry of older adults’ expressions: effects of partial inclusion in a Cyberball paradigm

As intergenerational interactions increase due to an ageing population, the study of emotion-related responses to the elderly is increasingly relevant. Previous research found mixed results regarding affective mimicry – a measure related to liking and affiliation. In the current study, we investigated emotional mimicry to younger and older actors following an encounter with a younger and older player in a Cyberball game. In a complete exclusion condition, in which both younger and older players excluded the participant, we expected emotional mimicry to be stronger for younger vs. older actors. In a partial inclusion condition, in which the younger player excluded while the older player included the participant, we predicted that the difference in player behaviour would lead to a difference in liking. This increased liking of the older interaction partner should reduce the difference in emotional mimicry towards the two different age groups. Results revealed more mimicry for older actors following partial inclusion especially for negative emotions, suggesting inclusive behaviour by an older person in an interaction as a possible means to increase mimicry and affiliation to the elderly.     

Cognitive bias modification as a strategy to reduce children's fears and concerns about the secondary school transition

Background and objectives: Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) has emerged as an anxiety-reducing tool for children and adolescents, targeting maladaptive interpretations of everyday situations. This literature falls short of addressing whether the effects of CBM-I extend to worries about a real-life stressor, such as a school transition. Design: The study comprised a between-groups design comparing the effects of CBM-I to an active control (AC) intervention in children. Method: We recruited 38 children within two months of their primary–secondary school transition and investigated the capacity for multi-session, parent-administered CBM-I, compared to an AC condition, to modify cognitive style and reduce anxiety symptoms and school concerns. Results: While benign interpretations increased significantly and negative interpretations tended to decrease following CBM-I, both interventions significantly reduced anxiety symptoms and school concerns. Conclusions: These findings indicate that anxiety-reducing effects of CBM-I in children extend to a real life stressful event, but that equivalent anxiety reduction may be achieved through exposure to potentially worrying situations and parent–child interaction in the absence of bias modification.     

In Babel

In discussions on the plurality or the pluralism of different theoretical approaches in psychoanalysis there is often talk about “Babylonian” circumstances, at times connected with the hope of being able to leave language confusion and communication problems behind. The author takes up the metaphor “Babel”, describes constructive and destructive facets of the actual state inside the psychoanalytic Babel and illustrates with examples some problems but also the potentials of the analytic discourse. She pleads for giving the potentials inside Babel a chance before looking for solutions beyond Babel. In the field of tension between inside and beyond Babel approaches are described how to tolerate the diversity of other language games, to acknowledge it and to deal with it.     

Overshadowing and latent inhibition in nausea-based context conditioning in humans: Theoretical and practical implications

Volunteer participants underwent nausea-inducing body rotation in a distinctive context, and the acquired ability of the contextual cues to evoke nausea was subsequently assessed by a symptom rating scale. One group received prior exposure to the context (a latent inhibition procedure); a second consumed a novel flavour prior to rotation (an overshadowing procedure); a third group experienced both procedures; and a control group received neither. When tested in the context in the absence of rotation, all groups reported an increase in nausea-related symptoms at the time when rotation had previously occurred, an outcome consistent with the occurrence of conditioned nausea. The magnitude of this increase did not differ across the groups, but the overall level of responsiveness (the degree to which nausea-related symptoms were reported) was enhanced in the latent inhibition and reduced in the overshadowing condition. Cortisol levels showed the same pattern. The implications of these findings for the proposal that overshadowing and latent inhibition procedures might be used to control the development of anticipatory nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy is considered.     

Zur Psychodynamik der Langeweile

Zusammenfassung. Das Ph?nomen Langeweile wird als Ich-Zustand und als Beziehungsgeschehen in der analytischen Situation untersucht. Das in der psychoanalytischen Literatur vorherrschende Verst?ndnis der Langeweile als Abwehr libidin?ser und aggressiver Triebwünsche und als charakterologische Abwehr schwerer maligner Depression und psychosenaher Zust?nde wird um die Frage erweitert, unter welchen seelischen Bedingungen Langeweile toleriert werden kann und als übergangszustand kreative und regenerative M?glichkeiten in sich birgt. Diese Dialektik von Abwehr und kreativer Ich-Leistung bildet den Rahmen für das klinische Material. Drei exemplarische Fallsequenzen dienen der Darstellung sehr unterschiedlicher Qualit?ten und Schweregrade der Langeweile in der analytischen Beziehung. Die in der Langeweile abgewehrten Affekte und Beziehungsqualit?ten – Langeweile als übertragungswiderstand – werden untersucht: Langeweile als „geheimer Zuchtmeister der Triebe” dient der Abwehr inzestu?s-?dipaler Triebwünsche; sie schützt vor nicht tolerierbaren Leerzust?nden und depressiven Affekten, die mit traumatischen Erinnerungen verbunden sind; sie fungiert schlie?lich in Form von l?hmender, „t?dlicher” Langeweile als ein übertragungswiderstand, in dem der Patient die Beziehung zur Analytikerin vor destruktiver Bem?chtigung und sadistischen Triebwünschen zu schützen versucht. Die Arbeit wird durch einige philosophische und literarische Passagen (Oblomow) erg?nzt, die auf die Langeweile als kulturhistorisch interessantes Sujet verweisen.

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Psychodynamics of boredom

Summary. The phenomenon of boredom is examined as ego state and as reflection of the relationship within the analytic situation. In psychoanalytical literature boredom is predominantly viewed as defence against libidinal and aggressive wishes and as characterological defence against serious malignant depression and states close to psychosis; here the question is extended to the consideration under what psychological conditions boredom may be tolerated and may even constitute a transitional phase towards the development of creative and regenerative potential. The dialectics of repression and creative ego-achievement form the framework for the discussion of the clinical material. Three casework sequences illustrate vastly differing aspects of boredom both in its intrinsic qualities and its degree in the analytic relationship. The affects and relationship qualities which are repressed in boredom – i.e. boredom as transference resistance – are considered: boredom as ”secred tamer of the drives” serves the repression of incestuous/oedipal drives; it serves as a protection against intolerable emptiness and the depressive affects relating to posttraumatic memories; and, finally, as crippling ”deadly” boredom it may function as transference resistance whereby the patient attempts to protect the analytic relationship from destructive usurpation and sadistic wishes. The paper concludes with some philosophical and literary passages (Oblomov) which illustrate interesting cultural and historical facets of the subject.

     

Negative emotionality,attachment quality,and behavior problems in early childhood

Negative emotionality, as well as attachment security and disorganization, are seen as major contributors to social adjustment and maladjustment in childhood. However, relatively little is known about whether infant negative emotionality and attachment quality operate together to affect developing behavior problems. The present study thus aims to contribute to this question. Participants were 64 healthy firstborn children and their primary caregivers. Negative emotionality was assessed at the infant ages of 4, 8, and 12 months using laboratory routines. At 18 months, the Strange Situation procedure was conducted to assess infant attachment security and disorganization, and at 30 months, the child's behavior problems were assessed within a structured clinical interview. Attachment security and attachment disorganization were significantly associated with subsequent behavior problems. There was no significant relation between infant negative emotionality and behavior problems. However, there were indications of a stronger association between attachment disorganization and behavior problems in infants high in negative emotionality. The results underpin the importance of attachment quality as well as negative emotionality in social adjustment. Disorganized attachment precedes poor adjustment, especially in infants high in negative emotionality.     

Intergenerational potential: effects of social interaction between older adults and adolescents

The present study aimed to investigate the potentially facilitative effect of the interaction between older adults and adolescents. For older adults, the interaction was expected to compensate for age-related deficits (e.g., cognitive performance, cognitive-affective complexity). In case of the adolescents, an optimization of development was expected (e.g., prosocial behavior, communion goals). Ninety older women (70-74 years) and 90 adolescent girls (14-15 years) were randomly assigned to 3 experimental conditions. In each of the conditions, nonfamiliar dyads collaborated on 1 task. The conditions varied according to the age composition and the type of contextual demand (high vs. low support of generativity [older adults] and identity formation [adolescents]). Individual performance measures were assessed immediately after the interaction. As expected, intergenerational settings characterized by high support of generativity and identity formation resulted in more prosocial behavior in adolescents. Furthermore, the results lent partial support to the hypothesis that in older adults, this setting facilitated higher complexity of emotion regulation as well as higher levels of performance in measures of speed and word fluency.     

Perceived cultural importance and actual self-importance of values in cultural identification

Cross-cultural psychologists assume that core cultural values define to a large extent what a culture is. Typically, core values are identified through an actual self-importance approach, in which core values are those that members of the culture as a group strongly endorse. In this article, the authors propose a perceived cultural importance approach to identifying core values, in which core values are values that members of the culture as a group generally believe to be important in the culture. In 5 studies, the authors examine the utility of the perceived cultural importance approach. Results consistently showed that, compared with values of high actual self-importance, values of high perceived cultural importance play a more important role in cultural identification. These findings have important implications for conceptualizing and measuring cultures.