Examining the factor structure of the Psychological Mindedness Scale in the Japanese population through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses

Psychological mindedness (PM) is a psychological construct that represents the tendency and ability to understand the relationships between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. This study examined the statistical properties, particularly the factor structure, of the Psychological Mindedness Scale (PMS) in a non‐clinical Japanese sample through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The relationship between PMS and depression was also examined for predictive validity. The results suggested that the PMS tested on a Japanese sample contains the following four factors: (a) belief in the benefits of discussing one's problems; (b) access to feelings; (c) openness to new ideas and capacity to change; and (d) interest in the meaning and motivation of own and others' behavior. Whereas the total PM score and Factors 2 and 3 had negative correlations with depression, there was a positive correlation between Factor 4 and depression. The 4‐factor structure of the scale is deemed to be applicable to the Japanese population.     

A systematic review of psychopathy in women within secure settings

The construct of psychopathy has been comparatively understudied in women, and to date there has been no attempt to systematically review the literature related to psychopathy in women. This review assimilates the existing evidence in relation to the prevalence and factor structure of psychopathy in women within secure settings. An extensive systematic search was performed using 11 electronic databases and four search engines; citation, author and reference list searching was also performed. After removing duplicates and appraising the study’s eligibility by title, 261 publications were appraised against minimum quality and eligibility threshold criteria, resulting in 28 remaining publications with data on 2545 participants. Quality appraisal was conducted by two raters, with excellent inter-rater reliability (kappas = .7−.9). A narrative synthesis was then performed. PCL-R based prevalence rates ranged from 1.05% to 31% (with a cut-off criterion of 30), with variations in multiple factors, such as geographical location and type of sample setting. The factor model with the most support from the reviewed studies was Cooke & Michie’s (2001) 3-Factor model. The apparent gender differences in the prevalence rates, factor structure and item expression of psychopathy, presents implications for the assessment and general conceptualisation of the construct in women within secure settings.     

The sense of the body in the dream: Diagnostic capacity in the meanings of dreams

The author investigates the oneiric representation of somatic states and the diagnostic capacity of dreams. He draws on Freud's hypotheses on the procedures by which somatic stimuli insert themselves in oneiric elaboration and restructures them according to the recent neurobiological discoveries and to analytical experiences. In the representations of certain dreams, with a psychic interpretation agreed upon by the patients, somatic alterations unknown to the analytical couple were discriminated and confirmed by radiological investigations. These representations were linked to the manifestation of one aspect of the bodily Self, neglected in the precocious maternal relation, that entered the organization of the Self consolidated in the relation with the paternal figure. This conjunction gave origin to the double meaning (somatic and psychic) of the dream. The entering of the somatic representation in the oneiric one did not appear to be the figurative effect, but of a condensation of diagnostic capacity into the meaning of the dream. This characteristic manifested itself in the particular styles of the dreamers, interpretable by an analyst countertransferentially oriented. The perception or scotomization of the condensation in the interpretation of the dream and of the moment had an effect on the evolution of the analysis.     

Adaptation of the Coping With Stress Course for Black Adolescents in Low-Income Communities: Examples of Surface Structure and Deep Structure Cultural Adaptations

Black adolescents in low-income communities are at increased risk of developing mental health problems due to the impact of cumulative poverty-related stressors and racial discrimination, yet Black youth have relatively low rates of mental health service utilization, resulting in significant unmet need. The Coping With Stress (CWS) Course is an evidence-based, cognitive behavioral intervention that has been shown to reduce the incidence of anxiety, mood, and conduct problems among predominantly White samples, as well as Asian and Latinx youth. In the past 25 years since the CWS Course was introduced, Black adolescents have either been severely underrepresented or conspicuously absent from program evaluation research on the CWS Course, with few exceptions. The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to justify the need for cultural adaptations to the CWS Course for Black adolescents from low-income communities, (2) to describe the scientific basis for the specific surface structure and deep structure modifications made to the culturally adapted version of the CWS Course, known as Resilient In spite of Stressful Events or RISE, and (3) to illustrate the deep structure adaptations with a vignette drawn from implementation of the RISE program with Black adolescents in a low-income, urban community.     

A grammar of action generates predictions in skilled musicians

The present study investigates shared representations of syntactic knowledge in music and action. We examined whether expectancy violations in musical harmonic sequences are also perceived as violations of the movement sequences necessary to produce them. Pianists imitated silent videos showing one hand playing chord sequences on a muted keyboard. Results indicate that, despite the absence of auditory feedback, imitation of a chord is fastest when it is congruent with the preceding harmonic context. This suggests that the harmonic rules implied by observed actions induce expectations that influence action execution. As evidence that these predictions are derived at a high representational level, imitation was more accurate for harmonically incongruent chords than for congruent chords executed with unconventional fingering. The magnitude of the effects of context and goal prioritization increased with musical training. Thus, musical training may lead to a domain-general representation of musical grammar, i.e., to a grammar of action.     

THE SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY AS AN ARGUMENT AGAINST INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Abstract. This paper examines the impact of two formalizations of evolutionary biology on the antiselectionist critiques of the Intelligent Design (ID) movement. It looks first at attempts to apply the syntactic framework of the physical sciences to biology in the twentieth century, and to their effect upon the ID movement. It then examines the more heuristic account of biological‐theory structure, namely, the semantic model. Finally, it concludes by advocating the semantic conception and emphasizing the problems that the semantic model creates for ID's negative and positive theses.     

Limitations to the capacity to love

This paper is a meditation on the potential and problems of establishing and maintaining loving and passionate relationships, drawn from a lifetime of struggling with these issues in the course of doing analysis. It describes interferences with the capacity for mature sexual love as reflecting various psychopathological conditions. These limitations include a variety of psychological restrictions determined most frequently by masochistic, narcissistic and paranoid personality features. Clinical case material illustrates both mature and disturbed capability for love relations.