Transcending the caesura: the reading effects of Borges's fiction

This essay explores the assumption that the sense of perplexity and surprise that characterizes the reading of many of Borges's works of fiction is related to these stories' direct and explicit exposition of transitive thoughts transcending caesurae (Bion, 1977). Borges presents a world in which diverse and even contradictory points of view or interpretations coexist. These texts allow for paradox to be acknowledged and to remain unresolved. The author suggests that Borges's writing style, the form of his stories and essays, allows for the containment of the anxiety that the possibility of evolutionary change may create. Borges's works of fiction symbolize the paradoxical nature of the caesura: inner continuity where there appears to be a break After reviewing Bion's concepts of caesura and transcendence of caesura, the stylistic devices that Borges uses in relation to the coexistence of different perspectives or interpretations will be discussed. A psychoanalytical reading of Borges's Theme of the Traitor and the Hero and The South enriches the understanding of processes of failure and success in transcending caesurae. The relevance of the transcendence of the caesura for analytic listening is underscored.     

To a young basic scientist, about to embark on a program of translational research

From recent commentaries about the role of basic behavior scientists in translational research, I distill some advice to young investigators who seek to apply their basic science training to translational studies. Among the challenges are (a) devising use-inspired research programs that complement, and are not redundant with, existing efforts in basic and applied behavior analysis; and (b) making tactical decisions, such as the selection of methods and collaborators, based on the research topic rather than, necessarily, the existing traditions in behavioral research. Finally, it must be recognized that although use-inspired basic research has the potential to attract support to basic laboratories and contribute to "saving the world," neither of these outcomes is guaranteed. I discuss the relative risks for basic scientists who proceed with use-inspired basic research rather than ignore such translational questions.     

Translational research in behavior analysis: historical traditions and imperative for the future

"Pure basic" science can become detached from the natural world that it is supposed to explain. "Pure applied" work can become detached from fundamental processes that shape the world it is supposed to improve. Neither demands the intellectual support of a broad scholarly community or the material support of society. Translational research can do better by seeking innovation in theory or practice through the synthesis of basic and applied questions, literatures, and methods. Although translational thinking has always occurred in behavior analysis, progress often has been constrained by a functional separation of basic and applied communities. A review of translational traditions in behavior analysis suggests that innovation is most likely when individuals with basic and applied expertise collaborate. Such innovation may have to accelerate for behavior analysis to be taken seriously as a general-purpose science of behavior. We discuss the need for better coordination between the basic and applied sectors, and argue that such coordination compromises neither while benefiting both.     

Treating chronic worry: Psychological and physiological effects of a training programme based on mindfulness

The present study examines psychological and physiological indices of emotional regulation in non-clinical high worriers after a mindfulness-based training programme aimed at reducing worry. Thirty-six female university students with high Penn State Worry Questionnaire scores were split into two equal intervention groups: (a) mindfulness, and (b) progressive muscle relaxation plus self-instruction to postpone worrying to a specific time of the day. Assessment included clinical questionnaires, daily self-report of number/duration of worry episodes and indices of emotional meta-cognition. A set of somatic and autonomic measures was recorded (a) during resting, mindfulness/relaxation and worrying periods, and (b) during cued and non-cued affective modulation of defence reactions (cardiac defence and eye-blink startle). Both groups showed equal post-treatment improvement in the clinical and daily self-report measures. However, mindfulness participants reported better emotional meta-cognition (emotional comprehension) and showed improved indices of somatic and autonomic regulation (reduced breathing pattern and increased vagal reactivity during evocation of cardiac defense). These findings suggest that mindfulness reduces chronic worry by promoting emotional and physiological regulatory mechanisms contrary to those maintaining chronic worry.     

A pilot randomized trial of metacognitive therapy vs applied relaxation in the treatment of adults with generalized anxiety disorder

Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) and Applied Relaxation (AR) were compared in a pilot treatment trial of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Twenty outpatients meeting criteria for DSM-IV-TR GAD were assessed before treatment, after treatment and at 6 m and 12 m follow-up. The patients were randomized and treated individually for 8-12 weekly sessions. There was no drop-out from MCT and 10% at 6 m follow-up from AR. At post-treatment and at both follow-up points MCT was superior to AR. Standardized recovery rates for MCT at post-treatment were 80% on measures of worry and trait-anxiety compared with 10% following AR. At 6 m follow-up recovery rates for MCT were 70% on both measures compared with 10% and 20% for AR. At 12 m follow-up recovery rates for MCT were 80% (worry) and 60% (trait-anxiety) compared with 10% and 20% following AR. The recovery rates for MCT are similar to those obtained in an earlier uncontrolled trial (Wells & King, 2006). The effect sizes and standardized recovery rates for MCT suggest that it is a highly effective treatment.     

箱庭疗法缓解初中生考试焦虑的有效性

以18名考试焦虑初中生为被试,采用等组前后测设计,以考察箱庭疗法缓解考试焦虑的效果,并与放松训练进行比较。结果表明:箱庭疗法与放松训练一样能够有效地缓解初中生的考试焦虑情绪,但其干预效果的保持性要优于放松训练。     

Further evidence for score reliability and validity of the Anxiety Depression Distress Inventory-27 scale

We conducted several analyses with data from undergraduate students (N = 309) and active duty US Air Force Security Forces personnel (N = 273) to examine the utility of scores on the Anxiety Depression Distress Inventory-27 (ADDI-27). The three specific dimensions of the ADDI-27 include Positive Affect, Somatic Anxiety, and General Distress, each composed of nine relevant and representative items. Internal consistency reliability estimates for scores on the scales were strong across the study groups (coefficient-α values ≥ .80). Results of analyses using differential item functioning showed that the groups interpreted the contents of the ADDI-27 items similarly. At the scale-level analyses, the undergraduate student sample reported higher somatic and general distress symptoms compared to the Air Force sample. Evidence for concurrent validity was adequate. Examples of the concurrent measures were the meaning in life, mental health functioning, and sources of social support self-report instruments. Taken together, results support the use of the ADDI-27 for assessing clusters of somatic anxiety, depression, and general distress in the current study samples.     

A review of behavioral interventions to enhance sports performance

Research on applied behavior analysis and sports performance has become an increasingly popular subject. It involves using behavioral measures to assess the utility of numerous interventions to enhance athletic performance. We identified 101 studies published since the late 1960s focusing on behavioral interventions to enhance sports performance. To determine the breadth of the current research, we identified each sport and the different interventions used to improve performance. Of the studies included in this review, research has investigated 23 interventions with 21 sports. The purpose of this paper is to review the current literature regarding what procedures have been evaluated, the results of this research, some of the limitations, and future directions of behavioral research on sports performance enhancement. In doing so, this review will allow readers to easily browse the current literature by the sport or intervention of interest.     

略论应用伦理学的对象、任务和方法

应用伦理学以道德与实践的关系为对象。其任务主要有：1．为提高人的道德素质服务;2．为促进社会明发展服务;3．为协调人与自然的关系服务;4．为培育人的理想信念服务。其研究方法有：依托实践,归演理念;一无为主,综合创新;以人为本,德福并举。     

Some aspects of the psychoanalytic psychology of physicians

An earlier publication ( Halpert, 1994 ) dealt with patients' magical expectations of physicians. In this presentation, aspects of physicians' expectations of themselves as doctors will be explored. This exploration will include material from the history of medicine, a series of interviews with non-patients and the analyses of two physicians. One element in the psychology of physicians not previously appreciated that can be drawn out of this material is the role and importance of knowledge and knowing and their relation to illness, death, rescue fantasies and reality in the psychology of physians.