Conservation learning and the differential impact of visual information available during and after modeling

In order to investigate the nature of the processes that promote the observational learning of conservation, nonconservers were allowed or not visual access to the conservation stimuli while an adult model verbalized the conservation rule. In addition, after each demonstration the subjects were submitted to one of four conditions. The first three conditions involved a short pause during which the observers respectively kept seeing the stimuli, had to visualize them mentally, and had to visualize mentally some irrelevant stimuli; no interruption occurred in the fourth condition. As predicted, the withdrawal of visual information at the time of rule exemplification was accompanied with lower learning scores. However, equivalent acquisition was found with respect to each of the conditions in which the subjects were invited to examine specific stimuli after rule modeling. Altogether these data were discussed in terms of the greater and lesser extent to which the conditions permitted the children, during the observational training, to practice covertly the modeled solution.     

Jungian socioanalysis,social dreaming and the emerging complexity of Europe1

This paper presents central elements of what we have termed Jungian socioanalysis – an emerging theory combining analytical psychology, complexity theories, sociological theories, socio- and psychoanalysis, social dreaming, group analysis and affect theories consisting of five assumptions (see also Odde & Vestergaard 2021). Jungian socioanalysis develops a process approach, as opposed to a systems approach, to sociality. In this paper we focus mostly on one of the five assumptions, namely that Jungian socioanalysis explores social fields ‘from within’ through smaller groups, treating group processes as a vehicle to gain a psychosocial and cultural understanding of larger social entities. We give an example of this approach with a presentation of two local social dreaming experiences in Denmark, focusing on Europe in transition. We show that the most significant outcome doesn't rely on the specific content of the dreams, but rather on the engagement in the social dreaming process itself, resulting in transformative image-affects. The paper ends with reflections on how these social dreaming experiences inform a Jungian socioanalysis, pointing to enabling intersubjective meetings, or present moments, opening for a deeper understanding from within the group as opposed to a systems approach. The paper is a revised version of a presentation at the 2018 European Congress in Avignon.     

Editorial

This paper is a response to William Meredith-Owen’s paper presented at the inaugural joint conference on ‘Alchemy, a bridge to Jung’s objective psyche’, for The Society of Analytical Psychology and the West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy in autumn 2020. The paper presents a way of understanding the collective unconscious through the functioning of the core self, and thus offers a bridge which addresses the indivisibility of the personal and collective psyche/unconscious, referencing Mary Williams’ (1963) classic paper. Specifically, this is applied to Winnicott’s dream of destruction that he had after reviewing Memories, Dreams, Reflections, as well as to parts of the psyche that were dissociated due to significant early deprivation – the primary narcissistic wounds. Alchemical metaphors are shown to relate to the analytic process, which allows the primitive core self (with its identificatory, participatory, connecting nature), when integrated through relationship, to sink back into the unconscious and function as the Self.     

Essential anxiety: COVID-19 in analytic practice

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on my relationship with analysands and my inner world. I reflect on the role of the archetypal Self during times of existential anxiety that may lead to an experience of ‘essential anxiety’. This term refers to a meeting by a fearful ego with an inward recognition of the Self, when faced with threat. The efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic changed our ways of life, while the virus itself threatened our existence in debilitating or outright destructive ways. But what also came into view, in sessions of analysis and supervision, was the creative instinct, and a celebration of life. The soul-to-soul relationship, and the connection with images of the archetypal Self, made the experience of existential anxiety at times an essential experience that facilitated psychological growth. I discuss some advantages of on-line Jungian analysis where, despite distance and partial view, the body still serves as container to hold important psychological material, conferring a sense of wholeness for analyst and analysand. The COVID-19 crisis is terrible and terrifying but it also provides an opportunity for self-regulation and individuation.     

Jungian theory of dreaming and contemporary dream research – findings from the research project ‘Structural Dream Analysis’

The research method ‘Structural Dream Analysis’ (SDA) is described which allows for systematic and objective analysis of the meaning of dreams produced by patients in Jungian psychotherapies. The method focuses especially on the relationship between the dream ego and other figures in the dream and the extent of activity of the dream ego. Five major dream patterns were identified which accounted for the majority of the dreams. The clients’ dream series were dominated by one or two repetitive patterns which were closely connected to the psychological problems of the dreamers. Additionally, typical changes in the dream series’ patterns could be identified which corresponded with therapeutic change. These findings support Jung's theory of dreams as providing a holistic image of the dreamer’s psyche, including unconscious aspects. The implications for different psychoanalytic theories of dreaming and dream interpretation are discussed as well as implications for the continuity hypothesis.     

Un modèle neurobiologique de la perception et de l'estimation du temps

Frontal-striatal circuits provide an important neurobiological substrate for timing and time perception as well as for working memory. In this review, we outline recent theoretical and empirical work to suggest that interval timing and working memory rely not only on the same anatomic structures, but also on the same neural representation of a specific stimulus. In the striatal beat-frequency model, cortical neurons fire in an oscillatory fashion to form representations of stimuli, and striatal medium spiny neurons detect those patterns of cortical firing that occur co-incident to important temporal events. Information about stimulus identity can be extracted from the specific cortical networks that are involved in the representation, and information about duration can be extracted from the relative phase of neural firing. The properties derived from these neurobiological models fit well with the psychophysics of timing and time perception as well as with information-processing models that emphasize the importance of temporal coding in a variety of working-memory phenomena.     

L'identification des enfants à haut potentiel : Quelles perspectives pour l'approche psychométrique ?

The identification of gifted children is a paradoxical issue in the scientific literature. This topic is largely underrepresented, in spite of the complexity of the questions it raises. The concept of identification of giftedness is a multifaceted topic. From a theoretical point of view, the definitions of giftedness diverge. From a methodological point of view, the domains of measurement, the techniques of evaluation and the criteria used are also extremely variable. The limits of the “traditional” psychometric approach to giftedness are presented starting from the example of the WISC. Several questions are addressed: the value of the identification threshold, the relevance of available norms and psychometric qualities of this test. Finally, prospects offered by Item Response Models to renew the psychometric approach to the identification of giftedness are considered.