Identity theft1

Abstract

Psychoanalysis has almost disappeared from the curricula of most American universities, which I illustrate by the case of the department of psychology at my own university, Harvard. Courses on psychoanalysis are very rare there and it is mostly seen as a part of history of psychology and not as a set of ideas that can be useful nowadays. Personality models developed by Freud or Melanie Klein, as well as many more contemporary psychoanalysts, are, however, still very relevant for the humanities. This is particularly the case for Shakespeare studies and I am trying to show that despite the fact that psychoanalysis can enrich this field, less and less students show interest in it or are willing to admit that they themselves may have unconscious reactions. I focus on the usefullness of the concept of projective identification and propose the thesis that is another name for the activities of theater, and indeed for theater itself.     

The impact of perceived effort–reward imbalance on workplace bullying: also a matter of organizational identification

Work environments characterized by inadequate work conditions have been widely recognized as being particularly prone to the occurrence and exacerbation of bullying behavior. Accordingly, this longitudinal study aimed to explore whether the impact of effort–reward imbalance (ERI) on workplace bullying was mediated by a lower perception of organizational justice, and whether the association between ERI and perceptions of justice was moderated by organizational identification. In the current study, a sample of N = 195 Spanish employees from different occupational sectors filled in an online questionnaire at two different times with a time lag of 8 months. In line with the hypothesized moderated mediation model, results showed that organizational justice mediated the impact of ERI on workplace bullying. Moreover, the effect of perceived ERI on organizational justice was stronger for employees with low organizational identification. Overall, this study can contribute to better understanding how and when ERI boosts the risk of workplace bullying. Accordingly, early intervention designed to buffer the negative effects of ERI should focus on increasing individual levels of organizational identification.     

On the dynamics of work identity in atypical employment: setting out a research agenda

Starting from the notion that work is an important part of who we are, we extend existing theory making on the interplay of work and identity by applying them to (so called) atypical work situations. Without the contextual stability of a permanent organizational position, the question “who one is” will be more difficult to answer. At the same time, a stable occupational identity might provide an even more important orientation to one’s career attitudes and goals in atypical employment situations. So, although atypical employment might pose different challenges on identity, identity can still be a valid concept to assist the understanding of behaviour, attitudes, and well-being in these situations. Our analysis does not attempt to “reinvent” the concept of identity, but will elaborate how existing conceptualizations of identity as being a multiple (albeit perceived as singular), fluid (albeit perceived as stable), and actively forged (as well as passively influenced) construct that can be adapted to understand the effects of atypical employment contexts. Furthermore, we suggest three specific ways to understand the longitudinal dynamics of the interplay between atypical employment and identity over time: passive incremental, active incremental, and transformative change. We conclude with key learning points and outline a few practical recommendations for more research into identity as an explanatory mechanism for the effects of atypical employment situations.     

Scene congruency biases Binocular Rivalry

Contextual regularities, that is, objects’ tendency to appear with certain other objects, facilitate the processing of visual scenes and confer contextually incongruent objects with a special attentional status. This study was aimed at investigating the mechanisms underlying this attentional advantage using Binocular Rivalry (BR). In two experiments, congruent and incongruent images (e.g., a man drinking from a glass vs. a man “drinking” from a hairbrush) were pitted against each other, yielding a version of BR in which two objects rival within a given scene. Incongruent objects predominated in awareness longer than congruent ones. This effect stemmed from the fact that their dominance epochs lasted longer on the average than those of congruent objects, suggesting a difficulty to disengage attention from such objects. On the other hand, no support was found for the notion that incongruent objects also attract attention.     

Variation among developmental dyslexics: evidence from a printed-word-learning task

A word-learning task was used to investigate variation among developmental dyslexics classified as phonological and surface dyslexics. Dyslexic children and chronological age (CA)- and reading level (RL)-matched normal readers were taught to pronounce novel nonsense words such as veep. Words were assigned either a regular (e.g., "veep") or an irregular (e.g., "vip") pronunciation. Phonological dyslexics learned both regular and exception words more slowly than the normal readers and, unlike the other groups, did not show a regular-word advantage. Surface dyslexics also learned regular and exception words more slowly than the CA group, consistent with a specific problem in mastering arbitrary item-specific pronunciations, but their performance resembled that of the RL group. The results parallel earlier findings from Manis, Seidenberg, Doi, McBride-Chang, & Petersen [Cognition 58 (1996) 157-195] indicating that surface dyslexics and phonological dyslexics have a different profile of reading deficits, with surface dyslexics resembling younger normal readers and phonological dyslexics showing a specific phonological deficit. Models of reading and reading disability need to account for the heterogeneity in reading processes among dyslexic children.     

Auditory repetition priming is impaired in pure alexic patients

Alexia without agraphia, or "pure" alexia, is an acquired impairment in reading that leaves writing skills intact. Repetition priming for visually presented words is diminished in pure alexia. However, it is not possible to verify whether this priming deficit is modality-specific or modality independent because reading abilities are compromised. Hence, auditory repetition priming was assessed with lexical decision and word stem completion tasks in pure alexic patients with lesions in left inferior temporal-occipital cortex and the splenium. Perceptually based, modality-specific priming models predict intact auditory priming, since auditory association cortex is spared in the patients. Alternatively, modality-independent models, which suggest that priming reflects the temporary modification of an amodal system, might predict impairments. Baseline performance was matched in the patients and controls, although lexical decision priming measures showed an interaction between group and repetition lag. The patients showed intact immediate priming but significantly less priming than controls at longer delays. Furthermore, word stem completion priming was abolished in the patients. One explanation for the deficit is that left inferior temporal-occipital cortex supports amodal aspects of priming, as suggested by recent neuroimaging results. Another possibility is that long-term auditory priming relies on covert orthographic representations which were unavailable in the patients. The results provide support for interactive models of word identification.     

A Beautiful Mind

It is often difficult to discern the line between creativity and madness. This presents a particular hazard for the analyst, whose failure to recognize real potential can result in undermining the individual's developmental strivings. This dilemma is explored through a case illustration of a woman whose creativity was undermined by a lack of recognition. To vivify the dilemma, the author invites the reader to look through her eyes into the lens offered by the film A Beautiful Mind, which portrays the struggles of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash to maintain his sanity while also testing the limits of his mind and imagination. These illustrations encourage us to consider the dilemma of the gifted individual when excessive tension arises between absorption in one's medium versus needs for recognition.     

Physical and conceptual priming effects on picture and word identification

In the study phase of these experiments, subjects were asked to think of an item suggested by the omission in an incomplete sentence, and then look at a picture or word describing an item and say whether it was the same as theirs. In the test phase, they were asked to identify studied and nonstudied items presented briefly in either picture or word form. Subjects were then required to recall the words or pictures shown in the study phase. Experiment 1, with a within-subjects design, revealed that the studied pictures were identified more readily than studied words and nonstudied pictures. This indicates a physical priming effect. In word identification, studied words were identified more readily than nonstudied words; however, there was no difference between studied words and studied pictures, and the performance for studied pictures and nonstudied items were largely the same. The physical priming effect on picture identification was also shown in Experiment 2, with a between-subjects design. Different processing mechanisms in picture and word identification are discussed.     

Head Start Children at Third Grade: Preliminary Special Education Identification and Placement of Children with Emotional, Learning, and Related Disabilities

Although children in Head Start are at risk for emotional or behavioral problems, little is known about their later need for special education. There is evidence that children at risk for emotional disturbance are underidentified or misidentified in other special education categories. We examined special education identification rates for Head Start children at risk for emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, and mental retardation as they complete third grade. Two cohorts of 4136 children across 30 sites were followed as part of a larger study on transition. Diagnosis of each child as being at risk for emotional disturbance or related disabilities was made using clinical cut-offs on teacher ratings and individual testing completed in the spring of third grade. Special education eligibility of these children was determined from school records. Only 31.8% of children considered to be at risk, based on research diagnostic criteria, were actually identified by the schools, and fewer than 6% of children at risk for ED were identified in the school category of ED. Comparisons were made between school-identified and nonidentified children in gender, ethnicity, and school variables; and findings were discussed in relation to underidentification or misidentification of children with emotional disturbance.