C. G. Jung and intuition: from the mindscape of the paranormal to the heart of psychology

Intuition is central in the work, practice, and philosophical legacy of C. G. Jung. In this paper, I will first discuss the importance of intuition for Jung in the paradigm usually designated the ‘paranormal’. Jung was attracted to intuition as an extra‐ordinary gift or function in the traditional sense, and this is considered here in relation to his 1896‐1899 Zofingia Lectures and 1902 On the Psychology and Pathology of So‐called Occult Phenomena: A Psychiatric Study. A significant development then occurred in 1913, when esotericist intuitions were turned toward psychological use with Jung's Red Book. There, his personal and private use of intuition – and we know how extraordinarily intuitive he was – led Jung to fully incorporate intuition at the core of his psychology. Not only in his practice, in the crucial intuitive form of empathy, but as we will see, also at the very heart of his theory. In 1921, Jung wrote Psychological Types, where intuition became one – the first – of the four fundamental functions and types of the psyche next to thinking, feeling, and sensation. In 1921, Jung proved to the world in rational argument that intuition was no longer a psychologist's hobby for table turning, but the most significant function of the psyche.     

“There's more love between us”: The parental experience of attending Mellow Babies,a targeted,early intervention program for parents and their babies

It is recognized that parenthood in the context of psychosocial adversity can have negative implications for infant development. Parenting programs are the first line of intervention to improve outcomes for families; however, evidence for the effectiveness of group-based, targeted early interventions is still scarce. Preliminary findings indicate Mellow Babies (MB) as a promising group-based parenting program for families at risk for parenting difficulties. Using thematic analysis, we aimed to understand: (i) the aspects of the intervention that enabled parents to complete the program and (ii) the relational and behavioral changes perceived as valuable for parents and their babies post-intervention. In total, 68 parents residing in the United Kingdom were interviewed after completing MB (49 mothers and 19 fathers; 88% self-identified as British). Three themes and six subthemes were generated from the data. Parents identified several intervention components as beneficial, including the facilitators' interpersonal skills and multi-dimensional, group-based approach. Participant reflections highlighted three underlying mechanisms that enabled positive change: (i) the sense of community cultivated within the group, (ii) the process of formulating and re-conceptualizing one's difficulties, and (iii) the opportunity to reshape interpersonal interactions. Findings are discussed within the context of perinatal and infant mental health.     

Psychotherapie und Pharmakotherapie

Zusammenfassung Psychotherapie und Pharmakotherapie verk?rpern jeweils eigenst?ndige Zugangsweisen zu psychisch kranken Patienten. Eine Kombination in einem integrativen Behandlungsmodell tr?gt der multifaktoriellen ?tiopathogenese von psychischen St?rungen Rechnung. Sie verlangt eine besondere Beachtung der Psychologie der Medikamentenverschreibung und -einnahme. Bewu?te und unbewu?te Bedeutungen der Medikamente für und in der aktuellen psychotherapeutischen Beziehung sind grundlegend für eine sichere Pharmakotherapie. Sie vermitteln aber auch entscheidende übertragungs- und Gegenübertragungsmuster im psychotherapeutischen Proze?. Für diagnostisch definierte, nicht-psychotische St?rungen (depressive, Angst-, Zwangs- und Pers?nlichkeitsst?rungen) werden vorliegende empirische Studien zur Pharmako- und Psychotherapie referiert und im Hinblick auf eine Kombinationsbehandlung reflektiert.      

Shock preexposure and the reduced effectiveness of shock

In three experiments experience with shock was shown to reduce the effectiveness of shock as a reinforcer or motivator. In Experiment 1 rats were given signaled shock in a box separate from the runway where they were subsequently punished. These rats were less suppressed by shock punishment than rats that had no previous shock experience. In Experiment 2 preshocked rats were less suppressed by punishment and were slower to learn an escape-avoidance response than nonpreshocked rats, whether the preshock was signaled or unsignaled. In Experiment 3 as number of CS-shock pairings increased, fear of the CS decreased as did fear of the context. These results suggest that some central adaptation process produced by experience with shock reduces the effectiveness of shock as a reinforcer whenever shock is used repeatedly. This is independent of other effects, such as context blocking, that can affect responding after shock preexposure.     

The prevalence of mental retardation: Cross-cultural considerations from Sweden and the United States

Recent reports from Sweden and other European countries have shown a sharp disparity between their incidence and prevalence figures on mild mental retardation and similar figures in the U.S. (Grunewald, 1979; Martin, Blodgett, Edwards, Geer, & Melcher, 1974; Robinson & Robinson, 1976).The purpose of this paper is to provide a model of intellectual performance that might explain such disparities and predict future levels of occurrence of mild mental retardation. Such explanations should have relevance for our views on the development of intellectual ability as well as, on a practical level, planning the allocation of treatment resources. Such planning clearly depends upon the number of children having the condition in question.Over the past few decades we have progressed substantially in our ability to describe mental retardation and to differentiate it from conditions that superficially resemble it; such as, autism, learning disabilities, schizophrenia, etc., (Baroff, 1974; Robinson & Robinson, 1976). Our ability to identify variables that relate to mild mental retardation also has developed substantially, but correlation does not necessarily lead to understanding. One of the large set of variables that often is associated with mild mental retardation in the U.S. is poverty. But “poverty” is too broad a variable to be explanatory. Such a dimension is a surrogate factor standing in the place of other variables, not yet understood, that control, in part, the actual process, by which the child develops the condition of mild mental retardation (Kirk & Gallagher, 1983). A series of papers has been presented by psychologists in Sweden that allow us to address this issue.The ability to observe two cultures, Sweden and the U.S., that have both substantial similarities and differences provides a natural comparison of the prevalence of mental retardation that would be impossible to achieve through experimental manipulation. Prevalence is used here as the total number of cases present in a population group during a specific interval of time (Kramer, 1975).     

Relations between mental performance and reaction time: New aspects of an old problem

The relation between simple and complex reaction time and psychometrically determined mental performance was reexamined with 486 subjects of above-average intelligence. Various standardized tests measuring aspects of cognitive ability, memory and ability to concentrate were used. Simple and complex reaction times were measured using the Klebelsberg modification of the Mierke apparatus. Correlations between complex reaction time and mental performance as observed by other investigators were mostly confirmed. We found, however, the strongest and most consistent correlations with tests measuring short-term memory; ability to concentrate and spatial ability. On the other hand, tests known and shown again in this paper to load highly on Spearman's general factor g, such as verbal abilities; combinatoric thinking; abstraction; or calculation gave only trivial, and, in most cases, nonsignificant correlations with complex reaction time. We even observed a negative (though, for our data, not significant) correlation between g-loadings of subtests and their correlations with complex reaction time for the only complete standardized intelligence test used in this study, the “Intelligenz-Strukturtest (Amthauer).” Therefore, this study does not support the hypothesis that fast processing of complex information as measured by complex reaction time is the decisive component of the general factor of intelligence g.     

Assessing familiality of cognitive ability

In a recent paper in this journal, Benbow, Zonderman, and Stanley (1983) conclude that intellectually precocious children resemble their parents to a lesser extent than do children of lesser ability. In reply, Vining (1985) asserts that Benbow, Zonderman, and Stanley's results are artifacts of selection and their statistical methodology, and that a more appropriate statistical methodology yields quite the opposite conclusion. The present study has two purposes: (1) To show that Vining's criticism is misdirected, stemming from a misunderstanding of how Benbow, Zonderman, and Stanley selected their subjects, and (2) to point out some problems in the model, indices of familiarity, and design used by Benbow, Zonderman, and Stanley that need to be addressed before future comparative studies of familiality are attempted.     

Right hemispheric specialization for mental imagery: A review of the evidence

An implicit assumption in the literature on functional hemispheric asymmetry is that the right hemisphere plays a special role in mental imagery. Using a definition of mental imagery as quasi-perceptual experience, we draw distinctions among visual imagery, visual recognition memory, and visuospatial abilities. We then review the research literature to evaluate the hypothesis that mental imagery is a specialized function of the right cerebral hemisphere, and find that it receives little unambiguous support. Case reports of loss of imagery are no more frequent with right than with left unilateral brain damage. Systematic studies of brain-injured patients provide some support for the hypothesis, but are also consistent with the alternative hypothesis of bilateral representation of imagery. Commissurotomized patients report dreaming and being able to form visual images. Behavioral and psychophysiological studies of non-brain-injured patients either fail to provide evidence in favor of the hypothesis or can be interpreted as compatible with the alternate hypothesis of bilateral hemispheric involvement in imagery. We conclude that there is, presently, insufficient empirical basis for considering imagery a right hemispheric function. We then discuss implications of this conclusion for future research.     

Rivers of milk and honey ‐ an exploration of nurturing the self in a Russian context

This paper is an exploration of the relationship between nurturing in all its contexts ‐ among them, the nursing couple and the therapeutic relationship ‐ and the evolution of an individual self. The ideas are illustrated by a case vignette of a Russian patient. An attempt is made to show that when the self as an integral unity of body and soul is addressed in the analytic setting, ‘nutritional dreams’ emerge as expressions of the self‐in‐action. Certain psycholinguistic features of the Russian cultural context are described which suggest a link of meaning between development of the self and secure parenting. This linguistic association may facilitate the process of self‐centering.     

Edward said: Identity,politics and history 1

Abstract

This paper draws on the work of Edward Said in order to extend understandings of the social and historical roots of identity, and to introduce possible new insights into the inextricable relationship between the West and the Rest. Edward Said, a critical thinker and exponent of postcolonial theory, was profoundly concerned with a range of political, historical and literary matters. His concerns focused on elucidating and analysing the social and political conditions that he argued are shot through culture. For Said nothing and no-one is immune from history, ideology or the political and social conditions that we inhabit. Said's preoccupation focused on illuminating that which is irreconcilable and he emphasized the tensions and contradictions in texts and in societies (especially America and the Middle East). His political and literary writing is ethical as it emphasizes the psychoanalytic endeavour to continually think anew and to investigate one's projections and illusions. There is no place for complacency in Said's work.