Defend or repair? Explaining responses to in-group moral failure by disentangling feelings of shame, rejection, and inferiority

Research on shame about in-group moral failure has yielded paradoxical results. In some studies, shame predicts self-defensive motivations to withdraw. In other studies, shame predicts pro-social motivations, such as restitution. We think that this paradox can be explained by disentangling the numerous appraisals and feelings subsumed under the label "shame." In 2 studies, we asked community samples of Norwegians about their in-group's discrimination against the Tater minority. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the measures of the appraisals and feelings used in Study 1 (N = 206) and Study 2 (N = 173). In both studies, an appraisal of the in-group as suffering a moral defect best predicted felt shame, whereas an appraisal of concern for condemnation of the in-group best predicted felt rejection. In both studies, felt rejection best predicted self-defensive motivation, whereas felt shame best predicted pro-social motivation. Implications for conceptualizing and studying shame are discussed.     

Perseveration in congenitally blind children: Effects of luminous and acoustic targets on a modified A-not-B task

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not blind children perseverate during a modified Piagetian A-not-B reaching task, with conditions that employ luminous AB targets and acoustic AB targets. Ten congenitally blind children, ages 1–4 years, with residual vision for light, took part in this study. Behavioral and kinematic data were computed for participants’ reaches, performed in six A trials and in two B trials, in both stimulus conditions. All of the children perseverated in the luminous condition, and none of them perseverated in the condition using acoustic targets. The children tilted their heads in the direction of the target as they reached towards it. However, this coupling action (head-reaching) occurred predominantly in the A trials in the acoustic condition. In the luminous condition, in contrast to the acoustic condition, the children took longer times to initiate the reaching movement. Also, in the luminous condition, the children explored the target surroundings, unlike the acoustic condition, in which they reached straight ahead. For these blind children, sound was more relevant to reaching than was the luminous stimulus. The luminous input caused perseveration in congenitally blind children in a similar way that has been reported in the literature for typically-developing, sighted infants, ages 8–12 months, performing A-not-B tasks with visual inputs.     

Histamine reverses a memory deficit induced in rats by early postnatal maternal deprivation

Early partial maternal deprivation causes long-lasting neurochemical, behavioral and brain structural effects. In rats, it causes a deficit in memory consolidation visible in adult life. Some of these deficits can be reversed by donepezil and galantamine, which suggests that they may result from an impairment of brain cholinergic transmission. One such deficit, representative of all others, is an impairment of memory consolidation, clearly observable in a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task. Recent data suggest a role of brain histaminergic systems in the regulation of behavior, particularly inhibitory avoidance learning. Here we investigate whether histamine itself, its analog SKF-91844, or various receptor-selective histamine agonists and antagonists given into the CA1 region of the hippocampus immediately post-training can affect retention of one-trial inhibitory avoidance in rats submitted to early postnatal maternal deprivation. We found that histamine, SKF-91844 and the H2 receptor agonist, dimaprit enhance consolidation on their own and reverse the consolidation deficit induced by maternal deprivation. The enhancing effect of histamine was blocked by the H2 receptor antagonist, ranitidine, but not by the H1 receptor antagonist pyrilamine or by the H3 antagonist thioperamide given into CA1 at doses known to have other behavioral actions, without altering locomotor and exploratory activity or the anxiety state of the animals. The present results suggest that the memory deficit induced by early postnatal maternal deprivation in rats may in part be due to an impairment of histamine mediated mechanisms in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus.     

They Need to be Different, They Feel Happier in Authentizotic Climates

The study shows how the perceptions of six authentizotic climate dimensions (spirit of camaraderie, trust and credibility of the leaders, open and frank communication with the leaders, opportunities for learning and personal development, fairness/justice, and work-family conciliation) interact with the need for uniqueness (NFU) in predicting affective well-being (AWB) at work. Participants are 342 individuals, all young graduate engineers participating in a course on ethics and deontology. Both the perceptions of authentizotic climates and the NFU predict unique variance of AWB. Perceptions of authentizotic climates (excepting work-family conciliation) interact with NFU in predicting AWB: (a) the relationship between perceptions of authentizotic climates and AWB is stronger when NFU is greater; (b) the relationship between NFU and AWB is stronger when perceptions of authentizotic climates are more positive.     

Processing of representations in declarative and procedural working memory

The article investigates the relation between declarative and procedural working memory (WM; Oberauer, 2009). Two experiments test the assumption that representations in the two subsystems are selected for processing in analogous ways. Participants carried out a series of decisions on memorized lists of digits. For each decision, they had to select declarative and procedural representations. Regarding declarative representations, participants selected a memory set and a digit within this set as the input to each decision. With respect to the procedural representations, they selected a task set to be applied to the selected digit and a response within that task set. We independently manipulated the number of lists and the number of tasks to be switched among (one, two, or three; Experiment 1) and preparation time for a list switch (Experiment 2). For three effects commonly observed in task-switch studies, analogues in declarative WM were found: list-switch costs, mixing costs, and residual switch costs. List- and task-switch costs were underadditive, suggesting that declarative and procedural representations are selected separately and in parallel. The findings support the hypothesis of two analogous WM subsystems.     

A History Which Began to Be Told: A Clinical Case

This article aims to reflect on the possible contributions of psychoanalysis in relation to severely disturbed patients by means of the presentation of a clinical case. Beginning with the family history, the evolutionary process of the symptoms and identification movements of the patient are analysed. The observation of the transference dynamics is emphasised, showing how the desire of the analyst and his privileged listening will allow the patient some level of possible subjective structure.     

Psychometric properties of an experimental test for the assessment of basic arithmetic calculation efficiency / Propiedades psicométricas de una prueba experimental para la evaluación de la eficacia del cálculo aritmético básico

Abstract

In this article the ‘Arithmetic Calculation Efficiency Test’ (Test de Eficacia en el cálculo aritmético – TECA), a test for the assessment of arithmetic efficiency in terms of precision and speed in school-aged subjects, is introduced. The test aims to contribute to educational practices and the diagnosis of students who are at risk of Learning Difficulties in Calculations (LDC). Psychometric properties of the test items were analysed based on a sample of 331 subjects from grade 1 to 6 from Primary School. Analysis of content validity, item analysis, dimensionality and reliability have provided evidence of the validity of a one-dimensional structure consistent with the theoretical framework.     

The Mediator Role of Emotion Regulation Processes on Infertility-Related Stress

The objective of this study is to investigate gender differences regarding the mediator role of self-compassion and self-judgment on the effects of external shame, internal shame, dyadic adjustment, on infertility-related stress. One hundred and sixty-two women and 147 men with a primary infertility diagnosis completed the following set of self-report measures: Others as Shamer, Experience of Shame Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and Fertility Problem Inventory. Path analyses results revealed that in women self-compassion fully mediated the effect of internal shame on infertility-related stress and partially mediated the effect of dyadic adjustment on this variable, while external shame had only a direct effect. In men self-judgment fully mediated the effect of external and internal shame on infertility-related stress. Dyadic adjustment had only a direct effect on infertility-related stress. In conclusion, there is a distinct role of self-compassion and self-judgment on the relationship between shame and infertility-related stress in men and women. Such differences should be taken into account in psychological interventions with these patients. Future research is warranted to further support our results.     

From multimodal programs to a new cognitive–interpersonal approach in the rehabilitation of offenders

A considerable amount of meta-analytic research supports the effectiveness of cognitive–behavioral psychoeducational programs in reducing recidivism rates, in youths and adults with antisocial behavior. These same studies suggest that programs including a cognitive component are as twice as more effective in reducing recidivism rates. This paper reviews outcome studies sustaining the use of structured interventions in forensic settings. It introduces a new program, Growing Pro-Social (GPS), currently in use in several Portuguese youth rehabilitation centers and prisons. GPS is a multimodal structured group program designed for the rehabilitation of individuals with antisocial behavior. It includes 40 weekly sessions, organized into 5 sequential modules. Based on a cognitive–interpersonal theoretical framework, GPS focuses on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral change, assuming as an ultimate goal the modification of dysfunctional core beliefs underlying antisocial behavior.     

Working in the Metaphor Commentary on Paper by Stephen Seligman

This paper expands on Seligman's ideas about mentalization and the challenges of working with patients who cannot mentalize. Seligman's clinical presentation demonstrates that much valuable analytic work takes place without explicit reference to the transference. Drawing on Britton's notion of the triangular internal space that allows for reflective thought, we propose that analytic interest in an external object, discovered through the relationship and meaningful to both patient and analyst, helps create the same kind of space. The difference-within-sameness of shared contemplation can increase receptivity to divergent perspectives. Likewise, the “third object” can become a therapeutic metaphor, open to various meanings without being limited to any one interpretation. We trace how Seligman and his patient use a series of third objects in their work together. In this process, the patient moves from a transitional relationship of minimal differentiation to an increasingly secure sense of her own separateness, beginning to accept, and even enjoy, having a motivated mind of her own. Finally, we discuss how Ferro's concept of the analytic field offers a theoretical rationale for the effectiveness of this process.