“AFTER THE EVENT”: FREUD'S UNCANNY AND THE ANXIETY OF ORIGINS

This essay aims to revise Freud's theory of the uncanny by rereading his own essay of that name along with the key material Freud drew on in formulating his theory: E. T. A. Hoffmann's short story “The Sandman” (1816a) and Ernst Jentsch's essay “On the Psychology of the Uncanny” (1906a). While arguing, initially, both that Jentsch's work is fundamentally misconstrued by Freud and that it offers a better account of what happens in Hoffmann's story, the essay moves beyond Jentsch's account to offer a more philosophically oriented theory of the uncanny, one more in line with Freud's ideas in Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920a).     

BAS Reward Responsiveness: A unique predictor of positive psychological functioning

Previous research on Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory has well-characterized the Behavioral Inhibition System in terms of its behavioral and emotional manifestations, but the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) is less well-defined, particularly regarding the prominence of reward sensitivity versus impulsivity. Furthermore, few researchers evaluate both systems in one model. We evaluated the relationship between Carver and White’s (1994) BIS/BAS Scales and areas of psychological functioning including internalizing, externalizing, affect regulation, and well-being. 497 undergraduates completed a battery of self-report measures. Two structural equation models indicate that the Reward Responsiveness subscale uniquely predicts adaptive functioning across all domains. Reward Responsiveness may be a more pure measure of BAS than other BAS traits and may be important for resilience from maladaptive psychological functioning.     

A Review of “Trauma and Human Existence: Autobiographical,Psychoanalytic and Philosophical Reflections”

Abstract

The author sets out to locate Bion's model of the mind within the developmental history of psychoanalysis, from Freud to Klein to Bion, using biographical material and clinical case examples, to illustrate Bion's concepts of container/contained, his understanding and use of projective identification, his extension of the use of the countertransference, and his differentiation between the psychotic and non-psychotic aspects of the mind. Links, and attacks against linking are discussed, as well as Bion's thoughts about learning versus knowing, being versus becoming and his emphasis on the essential importance of the development of the capacity to think.     

The impact of a rural or urban context in eating awareness and self‐regulation strategies in children and adolescents from eight European countries

Complex relationships exist between eating behaviour and personal and environmental factors. Rural and urban geographic contexts seem to play a role in eating behaviour, and therefore deserve a deeper study. A healthy eating behaviour and the conditions that promote it are a major issue in the promotion of adolescent health. The study aims to investigate the associations between the area of residence (urban vs. rural), self‐regulation strategies (TESQ‐E) and eating behaviours among children and adolescents. A total of 11,820 adolescents (50.6% girls) participated in the study, with a mean age of 13.30 years (SD= 2.13). Nine countries (The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Romania, Germany, Finland and Belgium) completed a questionnaire in the school context, asking about the use of self‐regulation strategies, eating behaviour awareness/care and sociodemographic questions such as age, gender and residential area. Both areas of residence (urban vs. rural) are associated with eating awareness/care in Romania and Portugal, controlling for age, gender and self‐regulation strategies. In some European countries at least, and most probably around the world, health promotion should focus on an ecological approach that includes the understanding of the effect of both environmental factors and personal skills on eating behaviour/awareness.     

ENTHEOGENS IN A RELIGIOUS CONTEXT: THE CASE OF THE SANTO DAIME RELIGIOUS TRADITION

This essay first draws upon the work of William James and others to propose a nonphysicalistic understanding of the relationship between the brain and consciousness in order to articulate a philosophical perspective that can understand entheogenic visionary/mystical experiences as something other than hallucinations. It then focuses on the Santo Daime tradition, a religious movement that began in Brazil in the early part of the twentieth century, to provide an example of the personal and social ramifications of taking an entheogen (ayahuasca) within a disciplined religious context. The essay claims that the Santo Daime is one example of a contemporary mystery school; gives a brief history of the development of this religion; discusses the key theological assumptions of this movement; investigates the important role played by visionary/mystical experiences within this religion; underscores the centrality of healing and spiritual transformation for members of this tradition; and ends with an examination of the crucial significance of spiritual discipline within this entheogenically based religion.     

Spanish version of the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women: Factorial structure,reliability and validity evidences

Background/Objective: The Dual Control Model suggests that sexual excitation and associated behaviors are the result of the balance between relatively independent excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms. Based on this theoretical model, the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) was developed to evaluate excitation and inhibition dimensions in women. The aim was to adapt and validate the SESII-W in the Spanish population. Method: A sample of 1,380 heterosexual women (aged 18 to 52) completed the Spanish SESII-W, together with other related instruments. After the translation and adaptation of the SESII-W, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed. Results: CFA resulted in a version consisting of 33 items divided into eight sub-factors, which were grouped into two higher-order factors (Sexual Excitation and Sexual Inhibition). The sub-factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency values except for Sexual Power Dynamics and Concerns about Sexual Function. Test-retest reliabilities were good. Their scores correlated with erotophilia, sexual sensation seeking, age at first intercourse, and number of sexual partners in the expected direction. Conclusions: The Spanish version of SESII-W has adequate psychometric guarantees for use in clinical practice and research, although it would be necessary to further revise factors that showed a lower level of reliability.     

Knowledge central: A central role for knowledge attributions in social evaluations

Five experiments (N?=?1710) demonstrate the central role of knowledge attributions in social evaluations. In Experiments 1–3, we manipulated whether an agent believes, is certain of, or knows a true proposition and asked people to rate whether the agent should perform a variety of actions. We found that knowledge, more so than belief or certainty, leads people to judge that the agent should act. In Experiments 4–5, we investigated whether attributions of knowledge or certainty can explain an important finding on how people act based on statistical evidence, known as “the Wells effect”. We found that knowledge attributions, but not certainty attributions, mediate this effect on decision making.     

中国大学生的记忆的自我参照效应

记忆的自我参照效应是指记忆材料与自我相联系时的记忆效果优于其它编码条件的现象,这种优势主要体现在以回忆经验为特征的R反应(“记得”)上。西方一些研究表明,自我参照的记忆成绩优于参照母亲的记忆。本研究以中国大学生为被试,得到参照父亲和母亲的记忆与自我参照有同样好的成绩,显著优于参照名人的记忆,并且父母之间无差异。这支持了独立型／依赖型自我概念模型中的东方文化下的自我概念包括父母的观点。     

辣食渴求者抑制控制能力的行为和ERP研究

采用事件相关电位(ERP)技术,探讨一般线索Go/Nogo和辣食线索Go/Nogo任务过程中,辣食渴求者和非辣食渴求者的抑制控制能力。（1）行为结果显示,两组被试辣食线索的反应时和错误率无显著差异,均在任务类型上有差异,即对辣食线索的反应更慢;（2）ERP结果显示,在辣食相关线索Go/Nogo任务中辣食渴求者的N2b和P3波幅都显著小于非辣食渴求者,N2a没有差异;在一般线索Go/Nogo任务中,ERP成分没有发现显著差异。结果提示,辣食渴求者只在辣食相关线索的抑制控制能力弱于非辣食渴求者,这可能意味着他们对辣食线索抑制反应的缺失。     

来源记忆中背景的情绪效价与唤醒对提取过程的影响

以往研究表明情绪背景对来源记忆存在影响,但背景的情绪效价和唤醒如何影响熟悉性及回想尚存争议。本研究以ERPs技术作为测量手段,采用来源记忆多键范式,操纵背景的情绪效价及唤醒强度,以探讨编码阶段背景情绪影响来源记忆提取的认知神经机制。学习阶段,呈现中性汉字及情绪图片（正性高唤醒、正性低唤醒、负性高唤醒、负性低唤醒）;测验阶段,仅呈现汉字,被试进行五键判断。行为结果发现：来源正确的比率比来源错误的比率更高,反应时更短;同时提取正性背景的辨别力更强,反应时更短;提取高唤醒背景反应时更短。脑电结果发现了分别代表熟悉性及回想的FN400及LPC新旧效应,且在500～700 ms,提取正性背景及高唤醒背景诱发显著更正的ERPs,但效价与唤醒没有交互作用。总体来说,来源记忆中背景效价及唤醒度对回想过程存在独立影响,体现为正性背景及高唤醒背景对来源提取的促进作用。