WHOSE INTERESTS ARE THEY,ANYWAY?

This review both praises Richard Miller's book--a thoughtful, judicious, and comprehensive analysis of bioethics for the pediatric age group, notably the first effort worthy of the name--and points out the work still to be done in this area, work firmly based in and illuminated by Miller's ground-breaking thesis. Specifically, the book rightly compels us to recognize obligations of beneficence as primary and to refocus on the child's basic interests, rather than putative "best" interests. There remains much to be done in defining and discerning basic interests and in distinguishing whose interests are on the table when decisions are being made for seriously ill and dying children.     

Self- and cross-citations in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior: 1993-2003

Self- and cross-citations in JABA and JEAB from 1993 through 2003 were examined. Yearly mean levels of self-citation for JABA and JEAB were 34.9% and 33.2%, respectively. Overall, 7.8% of JABA citations were JEAB articles, and 0.6% of JEAB citations were JABA articles. The former value, but not the latter, is substantially higher than the cross-citation level reported for earlier years. The two JEAB articles most often cited in JABA were published over 20 years ago and are concerned with establishing operations and the matching law.     

试论中医基础研究中的创造性思维

创造性思维对于中医基础研究非常重要.在中医基础研究中过分依赖高新技术,或者不敢直面问题、遇到困难退缩将阻碍创造性思维.中医基础研究的创造性思维需要研究者在传统知识、现代知识、高新技术与仪器等方面作好充分的准备.为使研究保持正确的方向,在研究中要处理好"已知"与"未知"的关系并以"和"的态度对待学术争论.     

Breaking the Solid Ground of Common Sense: Undoing “Structure” with Michael Balint

Balint's great merit was to question what, in the classical perspective, was assumed as a prerequisite for analysis and thus located beyond analysis: the maturity of the ego. A fundamental premise of his work was Ferenczi's distrust for the structural model, which praised the maturity of the ego and its verbal, social, and adaptive abilities. Ferenczi's view of ego maturation as a trauma derivative was strikingly different from the theories of all other psychoanalytic schools and seems to be responsible for Balint's understanding of regression as a sort of inverted process that enables the undoing of the sheltering structures of the mature mind. Balint's understanding of the relation between mature ego and regression diverged not only from the ego psychologists, who emphasized the idea of therapeutic alliance, but also from most of the authors who embraced the object-relational view, like Klein (who considered regression a manifestation of the patient's craving for oral gratification), Fairbairn (who gave up the notion of regression), and Guntrip (who viewed regression as a schizoid phenomenon related to the ego weakness). According to Balint, the clinical appearance of a regression would depend also on the way the regression is recognized, is accepted, and is responded to by the analyst. In this respect, his position was close to Winnicott's reformulation of the therapeutic action. Yet, the work of Balint reflects the persuasion that the progressive fluidification of the solid structure could be enabled only by the analyst's capacity for becoming himself or herself [unsolid].     

Challenges in studying the effects of scientific societies on research integrity

Beyond impressionistic observations, little is known about the role and influence of scientific societies on research conduct. Acknowledging that the influence of scientific societies is not easily disentangled from other factors that shape norms and practices, this article addresses how best to study the promotion of research integrity generally as well as the role and impact of scientific societies as part of that process. In setting forth the parameters of a research agenda, the article addresses four issues: (1) how to conceptualize research on scientific societies and research integrity; (2) challenges and complexities in undertaking basic research; (3) strategies for undertaking basic research that is attentive to individual, situational, organizational, and environmental levels of analysis; and (4) the need for evaluation research as integral to programmatic change and to assessment of the impact of activities by scientific societies. This topic was initially discussed at the AAAS-Office of Research Integrity (ORI) meeting in Washington DC on the theme: “The Role and Activities of Scientific Societies in Promoting Research Integrity” held on April 10–11, 2000. Joyce Miller Iutcovich, PhD, is President of the Keystone University Research Corporation.     

An experimental analysis of social traps

Social traps, such as the overgrazing of pasturelands, overpopulation, and the extinction of species, are situations where individuals in a group respond for their own advantage in a manner damaging to the group. A laboratory analog was devised to simulate conditions that produce social traps. The traps were constructed by superimposing schedules of reinforcement. Single responses were followed by multiple consequences which were opposite in valence, with the negative consequence delayed. Subjects in groups of three could respond individually for points that applied toward class credit. Each ten presses of a button added one point to the subject's total and subtracted one point from a common pool. The pool was replenished with points at fixed rates. If subjects responded for points faster than the replenishment rates, the pool would empty and the experiment would terminate before subjects could accumulate maximum credit. In addition, the maximum pool size and the ability to communicate were varied. Main effects were found for both, which indicated the least effective resource management occurred when the pool was small and no communication allowed. An analysis of cumulative records showed differing response patterns across conditions.     

Prediction of valency and productivity: An empirical study of longterm group psychotherapy

With reference to W. R. Bion's theory about individual's reactions to group stimuli the main hypothesis was formulated thus: individual's Valency (V) and Productivity (W) undergo changes in certain (definable) directions under the influence of longterm group psychotherapy. The main hypothesis was refined into seven sub-hypotheses. These were measured by four projective tests: Reaction Group Situation Test (RGST), Self Perceptual Q-sort (SPQ), Q-SORT(overt) and Q-SORT(covert). 48.0% of the total number of modalities, 120 out of 252, developed in a predicted and eligible direction. 29.0%, 74 modalities out of 252, remained unchanged whereas 23.0%, 58 modalities out of 252, developed in an opposite to predicted and non-eligible direction. Group members' Productivity (W) developed most of all the modalities in a predicted (eligible) direction. Group members' Valency and Productivity pattern (VP) changed least of all the modalities. The group members Valency (V) for the basic assumption Dependency (baD) developed most of all the modalities in an opposite to predicted, i.e. non-eligible direction.     

I am I:A/M—The Therapist as Personification of Hopper's Fourth Basic Assumption

The group therapist often and perhaps necessarily personifies Incohesion and displays its predominant defenses of contact-shunning Aggregation, and merger-hungry Massification. Hence, I am I:A/M. In Hopper's group example, and in each of three of this author's groups, the therapist displayed aggregative and massified defenses, countertansferential duals of basic assumptive transferences. In any therapeutic interaction, it is possible to find elements of incohesion, dependency, pairing, and fight/flight. The incohesion concept has significant clinical utility. A theoretical question remains, whether Hopper's proposed axis of experience and defense merits the special status, basic assumption, or whether incohesion may be collapsed into the existing triad of basic assumptions.     

Scharffs' Application of Hopper's Concept: “Incohesion: Aggregation/Massification”

We begin by stating our understanding of the concepts presented in Hopper's paper, then comment on the clinical illustration, and conclude by describing two group situations in which we have applied the concepts we have taken from Hopper's paper. Hopper's fourth basic assumption applies to our work as individual psychoanalysts, family therapists, and group leaders because it integrates psychoanalytic and social understanding. We demonstrate how and why we find Hopper's idea to be a useful advance.     

Learning from experience in case conference: A Bionian approach to teaching and consulting

In case conferences as well as didactic seminars, the power of the group can bring psychoanalytic education to life. However, primitive anxieties activated by group dynamics may also interfere with teaching and learning. The authors offer the example of a stalemated private practice case conference that had unconsciously organized against learning as the members began to read Bion's work. The case conference leader, an analyst, presented her case conference, which was mired in basic assumption dependency dynamics, to our peer consultation group. Drawing upon Bion's early contributions on groups, as well as his later ideas about thinking and mental growth, the peer group facilitated the case conference's return to work-group functioning and learning from experience. Activated in the peer group, commensal container↔contained processes gradually spread throughout the entire relational system of peer group, case-conference leader, case-conference members, and patients. This example underscores the importance of promoting within our institutes a culture in which faculty view themselves as part of an evolving intersubjective matrix that works to foster the containing capacities of candidates, patients, and faculty alike.