CONSIDERATIONS ON DEPRESSIVE CONFLICT AND ITS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTENSITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TECHNIQUE

This article considers the problem of depressive conflict (DC) and the difficulties that arise in integrating aggression towards the object of libidinal cathexis. This conflict results, in particular, from the destructive omnipotence that infantile fantasies attribute to the aggression. In order to better clarify Klein's very broad concept of the depressive position, three levels of severity of depressive conflict are proposed, depending on the type of fantasies concerning the loss of the object that predominate in the individual. These are: fantasies of catastrophic and irreparable destruction of the object ('parapsychotic' DC); fantasies of death and serious damage of the object ('para-depressive' DC); and fantasies of rejection and loss of the love of the object ('para-neurotic' DC). Having looked at these theoretical hypotheses, their implications for technique will then be considered, particularly the importance of focusing the interpretation on guilt feelings rather than on drives in the transferential relationship. A clinical example drawn from the work of Klein and a clinical vignette of a particularly difficult analysis illustrate this technical hypothesis.     

Cognitive Skills as Predictor of Attitudes Toward Political Conflict: A Study of Polish Politicians

The relationship between cognitive development and attitudes toward a current political conflict was examined in a sample of 46 Polish politicians. This relationship was examined in a control group in a neutral condition and in an experimental group after participants were presented with a hostile attack on their position on the conflict. Politicians with less advanced cognitive skills tended to use competitive attitudes in both conditions. In contrast, those who possessed more advanced skills tended to use cooperative attitudes in the neutral situation; after the emotional attack, they tended to avoid further involvement in the conflict and sought to exit it. The key difference in participants' cognitive functioning was their ability to differentiate perspectives and to transcend their own point of view in the conflict.     

The Problem of Transfer from Confidential Interactive Problem‐Solving: What Is the Role of the Facilitator?

Interactive problem-solving workshops provide a relatively confidential atmosphere in which members of societies engaged in protracted social conflict can examine and share their assumptions and perceptions about the conflict and think creatively about the possibilities for de-escalation. Two sorts of workshop goals have generally been articulated: (1) creating change in participants' understanding, and (2) transferring participants' new ideas to political decision-making and public discussion. Although facilitators have tended to emphasize the role of the participants in generating and transferring new learning, this article expands our conceptions of change and transfer to include both participants and facilitators. A basic complementarity is postulated between the strengths and weaknesses of these two agents of transfer. If considered this way, the integrity of this confidential process—and thus of its potentially unique contributions to a peace process—can be maintained while increasing the opportunities for transfer.     

What We Know Now About Bias and Intergroup Conflict, the Problem of the Century

After nearly a century's study, what do psychologists now know about intergroup bias and conflict? Most people reveal unconscious, subtle biases, which are relatively automatic, cool, indirect, ambiguous, and ambivalent. Subtle biases underlie ordinary discrimination: comfort with one's own in–group, plus exclusion and avoidance of out–groups. Such biases result from internal conflict between cultural ideals and cultural biases. A small minority of people, extremists, do harbor blatant biases that are more conscious, hot, direct, and unambiguous. Blatant biases underlie aggression, including hate crimes. Such biases result from perceived intergroup conflict over economics and values, in a world perceived to be hierarchical and dangerous. Reduction of both subtle and blatant bias results from education, economic opportunity, and constructive intergroup contact.     

工作家庭冲突的初步研究

工作家庭冲突是一种特殊类型的角色交互冲突 ,它对于了解人的胜任特征模型和提高人力管理的效率有重要的意义。本研究通过在银行、科研单位和高新技术企业进行的有关工作家庭冲突的调查结果表明 ,较之家庭—工作冲突 ,工作—家庭冲突能较好预测员工的工作压力 ,它通过工作压力间接地对工作满意感起作用 ,女性员工的工作态度更容易受到工作—家庭冲突的影响。     

Young Children's Responding to Interparental Conflict: Associations with Marital Aggression and Child Adjustment

We designed this study to examine children's self-reported and observed emotional and behavioral responding to marital conflict as a potential mechanism linking marital physical aggression (as reported by the parents) and children's behavioral adjustment (as reported by their preschool teachers). In a sample of 48 preschoolers, parental marital physical aggression was positively associated with children's observed dysregulated responding to interparental conflict and negatively associated with children's self-reported behavioral disruption. Marital aggression and children's self-reported responding to marital conflict predicted teacher-reported behavior problems, with both variables adding unique variance. Our findings suggested a potential pathway linking exposure to marital conflict, children's regulatory strategies, and children's behavioral adjustment outside the home.     

Interpersonal Conflicts of Women in Nursing Homes: An Administrative Perspective

Older women may respond to conflicts by suppressing anger. Suppressed anger is associated with depression and hypertension. Research on the everyday conflicts of community-dwelling older women has begun to emerge. Such information is not available for women in nursing homes, and is necessary for developing interventions that can help protect women in nursing homes against anger-related illness. Nursing home administrators were surveyed to evaluate women's health promotion programming in general, and the incidence of and institutional response to conflicts of women residents. About 74% of residents were women; yet, women's health promotion programs were rare (offered in 1 out of 25 facilities, or 4%). Ninety percent of administrators identified depression as the most significant women's health problem, but tended to see it as warranting medical rather than programmatic attention. Eighty percent identified strained interpersonal relationships as a significant health problem for women, requiring programmatic attention. In particular, administrators identified the need for programming to help women residents resolve conflicts with roommates and family members. Formal mechanisms for managing conflicts of residents did not exist in sample nursing homes.     

Teaching Genesis: A Present-Day Approach Inspired by the Prophet Nathan

The prophets Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1–15) and John the Baptist (Mark 6:16–28) had comparable tasks before them: to convince their respective kings about the wrongs of taking somebody else's wife and marrying her. Nathan succeeded, while John failed and furthermore lost his life. What made the difference? One possible explanation is that Nathan proceeded in two steps: (1) Tell an interesting, nonthreatening story that nevertheless makes the point at issue; (2) transfer that message to the case at hand. In contrast, John used a direct approach, which raised apprehension, even fear (on the part of Herodias, the woman involved), and led to failure. That lesson has wider applications, as illustrated here for teaching the biblical Genesis narration. The other ingredient in this teaching is relational and contextual reasoning (RCR), the use of which is also indicated for other issues besides teaching Genesis.     

上级反馈对员工行为的影响

采用2×2(反馈方式、反馈对象)两因素组间实验设计,选取303名被试考察了上级反馈对员工积极整合行为倾向、冲突行为倾向和中立行为倾向的影响,以及个人主义-集体主义倾向对这种影响的调节作用。结果表明,Singelis、Triandis等人有关个人主义、集体主义的理论框架基本适合中国被试,个体的个人主义、集体主义倾向对反馈的效果起到一定的调节作用。领导的反馈方式、反馈针对的对象对员工的行为主效应都显著,上级的表扬会增加员工的中立行为倾向,针对个人的反馈会引起较强的冲突行为倾向。     

Marital conflict: Correlates, structure, and context

Marital conflict has deleterious effects on mental, physical, and family health, and three decades of research have yielded a detailed picture of the behaviors that differentiate distressed from nondistressed couples. Review of this work shows that the singular emphasis on conflict in generating marital outcomes has yielded an incomplete picture of its role in marriage. Recently, researchers have tried to paint a more textured picture of marital conflict by studying spouses' backgrounds and characteristics, investigating conflict in the contexts of support giving and affectional expression, and considering the ecological niche of couples in their broader environment.