Transference,triangles and trajectories

In this article the author addresses the issue of the need to lessen the likelihood of a regressive transference neurosis in short-term therapy. He examines the role that active interpretation of the transference can have in shaping the transference so that it remains at the level of the transference that is ubiquitous. He explores the relationship between such an active interpretative approach and the need for the therapist to be empathic and sensitive to the patient and to allow space for a patient's independent discoveries. The author describes the role of the Central Therapeutic Focus, as a constellation of the Triangles of Insight, in guiding the therapist to select those manifestations of the transference to interpret, and in enabling the therapist to retain a stance that is sensitive and empathic. The Central Therapeutic Focus is contrasted with the concept of the Central Issue, and with the latter's more specific attention to the contribution that it makes to the therapist's communication of their empathic understanding of the patient's difficulties. The nature of the relationship between the therapist and the patient in short-term therapy is explored further and the connections between companionable interaction, ego-relatedness and the matrix of the transference are outlined. The author proceeds to consider the nature of the process of working through in short-term therapy and of the need to attend to the patient's external world as the place in which this can occur. The contribution of the Central Therapeutic Focus in shaping the trajectory through which the patient and therapist attend to the external world is examined. This in turn is linked to the identification of a patient's ordinary solution to their problem as a means of resolving their Dilemma. The article concludes with a case example that illustrates these themes.     

一个中枢炎性免疫诱发长时程抑郁样行为的新模型

脂多糖(lipopolysaccharide, LPS)免疫激活模型是研究抑郁症细胞因子假说的重要动物模型, 目前国际上常用外周单次LPS注射诱发抑郁样行为, 但该模型中抑郁样行为持续仅有数小时。为建立诱发较长时程抑郁样行为的免疫激活动物模型, 本研究尝试侧脑室注射LPS激活大鼠中枢免疫炎性反应, 考察单次以及重复中枢LPS注射诱发抑郁样行为的效果, 以及中枢炎性免疫诱发行为改变的时程。结果显示：单次中枢LPS注射后24 h只能诱发旷场自发活动和探索行为下降等部分抑郁样行为, 未能诱导糖水偏好下降和悬尾不动时间增加; 3次重复注射则在末次LPS注射后24 h表现出显著的糖水偏好下降, 自发活动和探索行为减少, 悬尾不动时间增加等行为。且自发活动、探索行为减少和悬尾不动时间增加能够延续至末次LPS注射后72 h。这些结果表明脑室重复LPS注射可诱发较长时程的抑郁样行为, 这种新的中枢炎性免疫激活诱发的抑郁症模型, 为研究抑郁症炎性免疫机制提供了更为有效的动物模型, 有助于深入探讨行为和免疫功能间的复杂关系。     

Planning in young children: A review and synthesis

Research on the development of planning is reviewed in the context of a framework that considers the role of three types of cognitive flexibility in planning development: event-independent temporal representation, executive function, and self-projection. It is argued that the emergence of planning abilities in the preschool period is dependent upon the development of event-independent temporal representation. Research on the development of executive function suggests that its sub-components, in particular inhibitory control, may be linked to developmental improvements on planning tasks. Recently, new paradigms have established that self-projection to the future appears to develop over the preschool period. We consider how these different forms of cognitive flexibility may themselves be related in development.     

How long will it take? Power biases time predictions

People tend to underestimate the time it takes to accomplish tasks. This bias known as the planning fallacy derives from the tendency to focus attention too narrowly on the envisaged goal and to ignore additional information that could make predictions more accurate and less biased. Drawing on recent research showing that power induces attentional focus, four studies tested the hypothesis that power strengthens the tendency to underestimate future task completion time. Across a range of task domains, and using multiple operationalizations of power, including actual control over outcomes (Study 1), priming (Studies 2 and 3), and individual differences (Study 4), power consistently led to more optimistic and less accurate time predictions. Support was found for the role of attentional focus as an underlying mechanism for those effects. Differences in optimism, self-efficacy, and mood did not contribute to the greater bias in powerful individuals’ forecasts. We discuss the implications of these findings for institutional decision processes and occupational health.     

Planning for the near and distant future: How does temporal distance affect task completion predictions?

In everyday life people estimate completion times for projects in the near and distant future. How might the temporal proximity of a project influence prediction? Given that closer events elicit more concrete construals, we proposed that temporal proximity could enhance two kinds of concrete cognitions pertinent to task completion predictions: step-by-step plans and potential obstacles. Although these cognitions have opposite implications for prediction, and thus could cancel each other out, we hypothesized that temporal proximity would have a greater impact on cognitions that were relatively focal. Thus contextual factors that alter the relative focus on plans vs. obstacles should determine whether and how temporal proximity affects prediction. Six studies supported this reasoning. In contexts that elicited a focus on planning, individuals predicted earlier completion times for close than distant projects. In contexts that prompted a focus on obstacles, individuals predicted later completion times for close than distant projects.     

Working memory and mental arithmetic: A case for dual central executive resources

The current study was designed to examine the possible existence of two limited-capacity pools of central executive resources: one each for verbal and visuospatial processing. Ninety-one college students (M age = 19.0, SD = 2.2) were administered a verbal working memory task that involved updating numbers in 2-, 3-, and 4-load conditions. The task was administered in both single task (no-interference condition) and dual-task (verbal interference and visuospatial interference conditions) formats. Findings indicated main effects for both memory load and type of interference, as well as, a load × interference interaction. Verbal interference led to a steeper increase in errors on the primary verbal working memory task; whereas, there was a smaller increase in errors across load in both the non-verbal and no-interference conditions. The effect of verbal interference and the lack of a spatial interference effect on a primary task that utilized verbal working memory resources, suggests that the processing of verbal and spatial stimuli in a dual-task paradigm requires separate central executive resources.     

山东东周鼎簋制度初论——以中原地区为参照

鼎簋制度作为社会存在的一种反映,是一个动态的概念,把用鼎规格普遍、有序的提升归结为僭越有形而上学之嫌。春秋中期至战国中期,中原高级墓葬一般随葬数套列鼎,是鼎簋制度的套鼎时期,也是鼎簋制度的高峰期。以往多认为战国中晚期是鼎簋制度的瓦解、崩溃时期,实际上,这一时期随葬列鼎的现象仍然普遍存在,鼎簋制度并没有瓦解,其瓦解期应在秦汉。由于历史、地理等原因,山东地区的鼎簋制度与中原地区存在较大差异:一是山东多数地区没有严格推行鼎簋制度;二是山东地区鼎簋制度的基础较为薄弱,瓦解现象出现较早,瓦解速度也较快;三是春秋中晚期至战国早、中期普遍流行于中原的套鼎现象,山东地区基本没有发现。     

从楚与中原各国关系看屈原的爱国问题

对屈原的爱国问题的审视,研究者有不同的角度.本文试图从楚国与中原的关系这一角度看待屈原的爱国问题.楚国虽然具有相对的独立性,但在东周时代却还不具有一个独立国家的性质,而且受到周代礼乐文化的深厚浸染,屈原的思想也不会超越时代的局限,现代爱国主义的范畴并不适合屈原,热爱宗国是他所处时代的较为准确的表述,从宗庙社稷立场上看待屈原的爱国问题,屈原的＂存君兴国＂就更容易理解.     

Breaking and creating habits on the working floor: A field-experiment on the power of implementation intentions

Previous research has shown that implementation intentions are effective tools to promote new behavior. The present study aimed to provide the first evidence that conscious planning is an effective tool in replacing well-learned habits with new habits. This was tested in a field-experiment on repetitive behavior in the domain of recycling, using 109 employees of a tele-company as participants. Recycling behavior of the participants was observed by the actual amount of paper and the number of plastic cups in their personal wastebaskets. Following a pre-measure, participants were assigned to either implementation intention conditions, conditions in which an eye-catching facility was placed to promote recycling behavior, or control conditions. Recycling behavior was substantially improved in the facility as well as the implementation intention conditions in week 1 and week 2 and still 2 months after the manipulation. These data supported our hypothesis that planning breaks down unwanted habits and creates new ones.     

Effect of walking surface,late-cueing,physiological characteristics of aging,and gait parameters on turn style preference in healthy,older adults

Turning while walking is a crucial component of locomotion, often performed on irregular surfaces with little planning time. Turns can be difficult for some older adults due to physiological age-related changes. Two different turning strategies have been identified in the literature. During step turns, which are biomechanically stable, the body rotates about the outside limb, while for spin turns, generally performed with closer foot-to-foot distance, the inside limb is the main pivot point. Turning strategy preferences of older adults under challenging conditions remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine how turning strategy preference in healthy older adults is modulated by surface features, cueing time, physiological characteristics of aging, and gait parameters. Seventeen healthy older adults (71.5 ± 4.2 years) performed 90° turns for two surfaces (flat, uneven) and two cue conditions (pre-planned, late-cue). Gait parameters were identified from kinematic data. Measures of lower-limb strength, balance, and reaction-time were also recorded. Generalized linear (logistic) regression mixed-effects models examined the effect of (1) surface and cuing, (2) physiological characteristics of ageing, and (3) gait parameters on turn strategy preference. Step turns were preferred when the condition was pre-planned (p < 0.001) (model 1) and when the gait parameters of stride regularity and maximum acceleration decreased (p = 0.010 and p = 0.039, respectively) (model 3). Differences in turn strategy selection under dynamic conditions ought to be evaluated in future fall-risk research and rehabilitation utilizing real-world activity monitoring.