Domain specific effects of central traits in impression formation

In a procedure similar to that used in Asch's classic studies in 1946, 125 college students (54 men and 71 women, Mage=20.9 yr., SD=4.8) rated their impression of a hypothetical man or woman who was described by seven stimulus traits. This list included one of four central traits which appeared in the middle of the list: warm, cold, serious, or foolish. The dependent measures were factor scores derived from participants' ratings of 20 traits on social desirability and intellectual desirability. As hypothesized, warm and cold, prototypes of social desirability and undesirability, were associated with judgments of social but not intellectual desirability, and serious and foolish, prototypes of intellectual desirability and undesirability, were associated with judgments of intellectual but not social desirability. In addition, there was evidence of a subtle sex bias: ratings of "foolish" women were higher on social desirability than ratings of "foolish" men.     

Comparing the constructs of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy in a sample of incarcerated women

Our study examines the relationship between Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) and psychopathy among a sample of 137 female offenders. Drawing from a historical review of the evolution of these two concepts, we explore their differential relationship to patterns of criminal behavior, psychological adjustment, co-morbidity with other personality disorders, victimization, and institutional adjustment. Findings suggest that the two disorders share a common foundation of social norm violations and deception; however, APD is associated with impulsive, aggressive, and irresponsible behavior, higher rates of childhood abuse, and greater co-morbidity with Cluster A PDs, while psychopathy is better characterized by higher rates of property crimes, previous incarceration, and the manifestation of remorselessness. Results contribute to a further understanding of the etiology and phenomenology of these two disorders and suggest different types of treatment and intervention.     

Mourning and the symbolic process

Abstract: This paper describes the analysis of a patient whose difficulty symbolizing absence had prevented her from being able to mourn the loss of her father in her adolescence. Through a series of symbolic enactments and synchronistic events, she was eventually able to carry out a mourning ritual that enabled her to lay her father to rest. Some implications for symbolization are discussed, developing Segal's view of symbol formation as reparation: symbols are embedded in a context of communication and can only develop in the context of a relationship; they represent relationships as well as objects; and they are emergent in the sense that they exist within a complex web of interactive, multiple meaning and cannot be reduced back to any one object that they represent.     

Elements Influencing Peer Evaluation: An Examination of Individual Characteristics,Academic Performance,and Collaborative Processes

Collaborative learning has existed for some time, and instructional methods have been developed, such as cooperative learning, team learning, and problem‐based learning. The purpose of this study is to observe students in learning teams and how their observations of their team and team members are reflected in peer evaluations. We examine pre‐ and post‐team history elements, such as basic demographics, personality factors, exam scores, and observations of team process and team goal attainment. Pre‐ and post‐team history factors correlate with peer evaluations and are discussed. In our analyses, we take into account intraclass correlations and individual and group effects. Suggestions are given for future research.     

Learning fine-grained and category information in navigable real-world space

Spatial judgments are affected by both fine-grained and categorical knowledge. We investigated whether, and how, the two forms of knowledge are learned in real-world, navigable space, as well as the time course of learning each type of knowledge. Participants were Northwestern University undergraduates who estimated the locations of buildings and other landmarks on campus. The Northwestern campus is roughly divided into three regions whose borders are not easy to discern, either from a map or by navigation. Nevertheless, students often refer to these regions linguistically and use them when making housing decisions, choosing classes, and so forth. We found that knowledge of both the fine-grained configuration of locations and the regional distinctions increased with time. However, regional influences on judgments occurred later in students’ time on campus. Consequently, computed distances across the nonexistent border between north and south campus locations became more biased with time. The results have implications for understanding how spatial representations develop in navigable environments.     

Commentary on Paper by Michael Parsons

A range of clinical psychoanalytic approaches in the United States is considered as they may parallel Parsons's presentation of an “independent” orientation in Britain.

Attention is paid in particular to the analyst's sense of outsiderness and concern for otherness, along with their moral implications for clinical work. In addition, the limitations of theory and defensive misuse of theory are also addressed.     

Reflections on knowledge and experience

As analysts become more experienced, theoretical knowledge becomes more integrated and implicit and is gradually transformed into the practical wisdom (phronesis) described by Aristotle. While this leads to greater freedom in ways of working, it remains conditional on the consistent disciplined practice represented by the analytic attitude. In the context of my own development as an analyst, I suggest that increasingly the analyst works from the self rather than the ego and link this with Fordham's account of ‘not knowing beforehand’. Some implications for boundaries, enactment and the use of personal disclosure are discussed in relation to clinical material. I compare analysis with the wisdom traditions of religious practice and suggest that analysis is concerned with a way of living rooted in humane values of compassion and benevolence.     

James Astor in conversation with Warren Colman

In this interview with Warren Colman, James Astor speaks about his development as a Jungian analyst from his own experience of personal analysis in the 1960s to his recent retirement from clinical practice. The discussion covers his long association with Michael Fordham, the child analytic training at the SAP, the infant observation seminars with Fordham and Gianna Henry through which Fordham was able to make new discoveries about infant development, his experience of supervision with Donald Meltzer and the development of his own thinking through a series of papers on the analytic process, supervision and the relation between language and truth. The interview concludes with reflections about the legacy of Michael Fordham and the future of analytic work.     

The effect of very brief exposure on experienced fear after in vivo exposure

Two experiments tested the effect of exposure to masked phobic stimuli at a very brief stimulus onset asynchrony on reducing the subjective experience of fear caused by in vivo exposure to a feared object. In the main experiment, 35 spider-fearful and 35 non-fearful participants were identified with a questionnaire and a Behavioural Avoidance Test (BAT) with a live tarantula. One week later, they were individually administered one of two continuous series of masked images: spiders or flowers. They engaged in the BAT again immediately thereafter. They provided ratings of subjective fear at the end of each BAT (pre- and post-manipulation). Very brief exposure to images of spiders reduced the fearful group's and not the non-fearful group's experience of fear at the end of the BAT. This effect was replicated with another sample of 26 spider-fearful participants from the same population. Theoretical implications are discussed.