Extended Life

This paper reformulates some of the questions raised by extended mind theorists from an enactive, life/mind continuity perspective. Because of its reliance on concepts such as autopoiesis, the enactive approach has been deemed internalist and thus incompatible with the extended mind hypothesis. This paper answers this criticism by showing (1) that the relation between organism and cogniser is not one of co-extension, (2) that cognition is a relational phenomenon and thereby has no location, and (3) that the individuality of a cogniser is inevitably linked with the question of its autonomy, a question ignored by the extended mind hypothesis but for which the enactive approach proposes a precise, operational, albeit non-functionalist answer. The paper raises a pespective of embedded and intersecting forms of autonomous identity generation, some of which correspond to the canonical cases discussed in the extended mind literature, but on the whole of wider generality. In addressing these issues, this paper proposes unbiased, non-species specific definitions of cognition, agency and mediation, thus filling in gaps in the extended mind debates that have led to paradoxical situations and a problematic over-reliance on intutions about what counts as cognitive.

Personality types and self-reported aggressiveness

Applying a person-centered approach, three personality types based on the NEO-FFI scales were identified in a sample of N = 141 participants by means of clustering methods. They were described as a resilient (low N, high E), a non-desirable (high N, low E, A, and C), and a reserved overcontrolled prototype (low E and O, high A and C). The prototypes were related to the level of aggressiveness, assessed by the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). Results indicate that the three clusters differ mainly in their levels of hostility, verbal aggressiveness, and with respect to anger. With respect to total aggressiveness, the non-desirable prototype displayed the highest and the reserved prototype the lowest AQ scores. The results are discussed in relation to studies based on a variable-centered approach. Possible implications for treatment and research are addressed.     

When Stereotypes Become ‘Scientific’ Statements: Dealing with Gender Issues

The theoretical analysis by Watzlawik (Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science 2009) demonstrates the scientific fragility of the constructs of masculinity and femininity based on the oversimplification and overlapping between three levels of analysis: group differences, inter-individual differences and intra-individual differences. Watzlawik presents fresh and relevant contributions in terms of methodological issues, especially about the construction of scientific generalizations. Here I focus on issues related to the transformation of stereotypes in statements about gender differences that claim to be ‘scientific’—outlining the socio-political agendas of such statements.

Interpreting the WPPSI subtests scores of language impaired children--a structural approach

The problem of characterising more specifically the cognitive requirements involved in subtests from standardised measures of intelligence represents a main problem in the research on exceptional populations. Seventy-five specifically language impaired (SLI) preschool children and 49 normally developing children were administered the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI). The scaled scores on the WPPSI were categorised according to Bannatyne's suggested regrouping to determine whether the pattern Spatial > Conceptual > Sequential could be observed in the data. The predicted pattern was only partially confirmed for language impaired children. The scaled scores on the WPPSI were then recategorized according to their structural complexity. Since structurally complex tasks contain more categories than the structurally simpler tasks, the pattern structurally Simple > Moderate > Complex was predicted and confirmed for language impaired children. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that the structurally Complex categories would discriminate better between language-impaired children and normally developing children than any other recoded categories. This hypothesis was confirmed. The low scores obtained by language impaired children on structurally Complex categories were interpreted as the result of capacity limitations in information processing rather than a deficit of any particular mental ability.     

Behavioral Approach System (BAS) Sensitivity and Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: A Retrospective and Concurrent Behavioral High-Risk Design

In this article, we tested the vulnerability hypothesis of the behavioral approach system (BAS) hypersensitivity model of bipolar disorders. We examined whether self-reported BAS sensitivity predicts lifetime bipolar spectrum diagnoses as well as symptoms and personality characteristics associated with bipolar disorder using a retrospective and concurrent behavioral high-risk design. Participants with high (HBAS; n=28) or moderate (MBAS; n=24) BAS sensitivity were selected and given a lifetime psychiatric diagnostic interview and self-report measures of proneness to bipolar symptoms, current symptoms, and personality characteristics relevant to bipolarity. HBAS participants were significantly and substantially more likely to have a lifetime bipolar spectrum disorder diagnosis than were MBAS participants, but did not differ from MBAS participants in their likelihood of a unipolar depression diagnosis. Also, the HBAS group exhibited higher impulsivity and proneness to hypomanic symptoms than the MBAS group, and BAS-reward responsiveness predicted hypomanic personality characteristics. Finally, high behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity was associated with proneness to and current depressive symptoms.

Predictors and outcomes of sports coaches’ athlete-invested contingent self-worth

Some sports coaches not only invest considerable time and energy in their athletes, but also attach their self-worth to the successes and failures of their athletes. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present study aimed to examine the theoretical predictors and outcomes of such Athlete-Invested Contingent Self-worth (AICS). Results from a cross-sectional study (Study 1; N = 740, M_age = 34.37 years) and an experimental vignette-based study among youth sports coaches (Study 2; N = 318, M_age = 38.94 years) indicated that AICS was positively related to a controlling coaching style and negatively related to a structuring style. Study 1 showed that a perceived evaluative club board was positively related to AICS, and Study 2 further demonstrated that poor performance was negatively associated with AICS and that an evaluative climate was related to AICS through experiences of need frustration. The discussion focuses on the pitfalls of coaches’ contingent self-worth for the development of their athletes.     

Yoga-integrated psychotherapy for emotion dysregulation: A pilot study

Aims & Objectives

Yoga has been evidenced as beneficial for physical and mental health. This study sought to pilot the acceptability and feasibility of a yoga-integrated psychotherapy (YiP) intervention, aimed at alleviating difficulties in emotion regulation. A further aim was to explore the perceived effectiveness of YiP in alleviating depression, anxiety and improving well-being.

Methods

Seven participants who scored significantly on the Difficulties in Emotion Dysregulation Scale (DERS) took part in a psychological assessment session followed by six weekly one hr therapy sessions. Participants completed self-report measures in each session to quantify the effects of each YiP session on emotion regulation, well-being, depression and anxiety. Following seven sessions, five participants completed qualitative follow-up interviews to explore subjective experiences of YiP and any perceived impacts.

Findings

An ANOVA that contained data from seven participants who completed all six sessions revealed that DERS scores were significantly lower, and well-being scores were significantly higher, at both mid and end-points than at baseline. Thematic analysis of qualitative interviews identified five themes: “YiP assists the client's psychological and emotional processing,” “YiP improves insight and focus,” “YiP is culturally sensitive,” “the body facilitates regulation and resilience” and “YiP is acceptable & impactful.”

Conclusion

The study presents promising findings for the integration of yoga into psychotherapeutic practice and indicates that YiP may have beneficial effects on emotion regulation and psychological well-being. Future research should use randomised controlled methodologies to examine the ability of YiP to alleviate a wide range of affective symptoms using a larger sample of participants.     

The experience of psychological therapies for people with multiple sclerosis: A mixed-methods study towards a patient-centred approach to exploring processes of change

Psychological therapies are effective for managing multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms such as depression, pain and fatigue. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mindfulness and other theory-led approaches have been applied and were found to have moderate effects. The present study adopts a patient-led approach to investigate people with MS' (PwMS) experiences of psychological therapies and the change processes they identify. In this naturalistic, mixed-methods design, semistructured interviews were conducted and three questionnaires were administered to 20 PwMS at two different times. Qualitative data collection and analysis followed the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) guidelines, and quantitative data were analysed using paired t tests. Four superordinate themes described the participants' experiences of change as related to their psychological therapy: from despair to relief; from feeling their body as alien to becoming acquainted with an unpredictable new body; from helplessness to empowerment; and from punishment to forgiveness. Quantitative results showed that physical function and general health perception improved, and anxiety was significantly reduced. Despite seeking help from diverse psychological therapy modalities, the analysis revealed common themes that the participants found significant in their therapy stories. Following a patient-centred approach, the development of psychological therapies for PwMS should focus on their relationships, everyday lives, body perception, losses, shame and guilt. PwMS also need to be understood and acknowledged beyond their condition.     

Two efficient selection methods for high-dimensional CD-CAT utilizing max-marginals factor from MAP query and ensemble learning approach

Computerized adaptive testing for cognitive diagnosis (CD-CAT) needs to be efficient and responsive in real time to meet practical applications' requirements. For high-dimensional data, the number of categories to be recognized in a test grows exponentially as the number of attributes increases, which can easily cause system reaction time to be too long such that it adversely affects the examinees and thus seriously impacts the measurement efficiency. More importantly, the long-time CPU operations and memory usage of item selection in CD-CAT due to intensive computation are impractical and cannot wholly meet practice needs. This paper proposed two new efficient selection strategies (HIA and CEL) for high-dimensional CD-CAT to address this issue by incorporating the max-marginals from the maximum a posteriori query and integrating the ensemble learning approach into the previous efficient selection methods, respectively. The performance of the proposed selection method was compared with the conventional selection method using simulated and real item pools. The results showed that the proposed methods could significantly improve the measurement efficiency with about 1/2–1/200 of the conventional methods' computation time while retaining similar measurement accuracy. With increasing number of attributes and size of the item pool, the computation time advantage of the proposed methods becomes more significant.     

L’accueil en santé mentale,si on en parlait ! Une revue de littérature

ObjectiveThis narrative literature review aims to present the studies on the concept of welcome in the field of health. The concept of reception remains difficult to define by healthcare professionals and their beneficiaries. This is a fruitful concept but whose outlines are still poorly defined. This paper aims to identify the intrinsic dimensions of reception?MethodA narrative synthesizes systematic reviews was conducted using 4 search engines: PubMed, PsychINFO, Cairn and Science Direct. A total of 17 publications was selected.ResultsSeven dimensions of the welcome have emerged: (1) relational approach; (2) singular and iterative process; (3) conditions of the reception; (4) risks of the encounter; (5) personal qualities of healthcare professionals; (6) gestures at the reception; (7) needs of people welcomed. These results highlight the importance of integrating these dimensions within an integrative model.ConclusionIt appears that reception must be perceived as a complex iterative process enroll in a relational approach. The major issues to the establishment of a sufficiently good welcome are to be perceive in a reflexive attitude for all the protagonists.