Zur experimentellen Grundlegung hypno-suggestiver Methoden psychischer Analyse

Ohne Zusammenfassung Mit 22 Abbildungen im Text     

The Relation of Pro‐Sociality to Self‐Esteem: The Mediational Role of Quality of Friendships

The present longitudinal study examined the role of quality of friendship in mediating the relation of pro‐sociality to self‐esteem over time. Participants were 424 Italian young adults (56% females) assessed at two waves (M_age = 21.1 at Time 1; M_age = 25 at Time 2). An autoregressive cross‐lagged panel model was used to test the mediational model. Self‐ and friend‐report measures of pro‐sociality, quality of friendship, and self‐esteem were included in the analyses. Results were in line with the hypothesized paths, with quality of friendship mediating the relation of pro‐sociality to later self‐esteem above and beyond its high stability. Self‐esteem, in turn, predicted pro‐sociality 4 years later. Overall, the present findings support the potential benefits of behaving pro‐socially for an actor in terms of increased perceived self‐worth and also expand previous work by outlining the specific mediational role of the quality of friendships. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Being positive despite illness: The contribution of positivity to the quality of life of cancer patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between Positivity (POS), defined as a stable disposition to view at experience under a positive outlook, and physical and psychological functioning in a sample of cancer patients immediately after diagnosis and one year later.

Methods: A total of 110 patients (40% males) with pulmonary, colorectal and breast cancer, aged 30–75 (M age = 59.62; SD = 10.33), have been prospectively enrolled between 2012 and 2013, at the S. Andrea Hospital in Rome. All patients were previously aware of their diagnosis. A follow-up one year after diagnosis was conducted. We used structural equation modeling in order to analyse the specific effects of POS on functioning impairment from diagnosis to follow up.

Results: POS was associated with less functioning impairment both at diagnosis and follow-up assessments. Furthermore, POS level at diagnosis continued to be associated with less functioning impairment one year later, after controlling for its stability.

Conclusions: Patients with higher level of POS tended to report less symptoms associated with negative affect such as anxiety and despondency and to preserve their habitual relationships and social roles. POS may act as a basic disposition that sustains patients’ efforts to deal efficaciously with severe illness, by complying with medical treatment and using cognitive strategies that enable individuals to cope with concurrent and prospective challenges of illness.     

A unifying view of the basis of social cognition

In this article we provide a unifying neural hypothesis on how individuals understand the actions and emotions of others. Our main claim is that the fundamental mechanism at the basis of the experiential understanding of others' actions is the activation of the mirror neuron system. A similar mechanism, but involving the activation of viscero-motor centers, underlies the experiential understanding of the emotions of others.     

Overcoming the emotion experience/expression dichotomy

We challenge the classic experience/expression dichotomous account of emotions, according to which experiencing and expressing an emotion are two independent processes. By endorsing Dewey's and Mead's accounts of emotions, and capitalizing upon recent empirical findings, we propose that expression is part of the emotional experience. This proposal partly challenges the purely constructivist approach endorsed by the authors of the target article.     

Realities in Dialogue: Commentary on Paper by Stephen Hartman

Stephen Hartman's paper is a very stimulating contribution to the psychoanalytic debate on the interpretation of cyber reality. In my commentary I address some of the conceptualizations introduced by Hartman: different realities (conventional, psychoanalytic, internal, external, Reality 1.0, 2.0, 1.1,1.2. … etc.), infinite access, cybermourning, and loss. Starting from the personal and clinical histories presented by Hartman (I refer to them as “names”), I discuss some more or less embodied aspects of virtual life, such as gender, online romances, betrayal, privacy, multiple settings. Leaning on the concepts of psychic retreat, transitional area, and psycho(patho)logical use of the object I try to put realities in dialogue, persuaded that different realities are always connected or embedded.     

Lateralized Hand Gesture during Speech

A group of individuals conversing in natural dyads and a group of lecturers were observed for lateral hand movement patterns during speech. Right-handed individuals in both groups displayed a significant right hand bias for gesture movements but no lateral bias for self-touching movements. The study provides external validity for previous laboratory studies of lateralized hand gesture. The results were interpreted as evidence of a central processor for both spoken and gestural communication.     

How do you Feel About this Goal? Goal-Related Affect,Positive Orientation,and Personal Goal Realization in the Family Domain

Past research on individual-level differences has revealed associations between affect, positive beliefs and goal realization. Goal realization, however, varies not only between individuals (the individual level) but also within individuals according to goal (the goal level). This study analyzed family-related personal goals at both levels, examining how positive affect, negative affect and positive orientation are related to personal goal realization. The participants were 205 adults (mean age = 35.74 years); they evaluated five personal goals related to family life and completed assessments of positive orientation. Multilevel structural equation modeling demonstrated that both at the individual level and at the goal level positive orientation and positive goal-related affect were positively related to personal goal realization in family domain. Negative goal-related affect was negatively related to personal goal realization at both levels. Positive orientation, both at the individual level and as a cross-level interaction, moderated the relationship between positive goal-related affect and personal goal realization.