Naming and categorization in young children: v. manual sign training

Following pre-training with everyday objects, 8 children aged from 2 to 4 years learned to produce one manual sign (fists placed one above the other, in front of body) to one stimulus and an alternative manual sign (shoulders touched with ipsilateral hands) to the other stimulus, with each of three pairs of different arbitrary wooden shapes (Set 1). The six stimuli then were presented in category match-to-sample tests, which all subjects passed. Three of the children were next trained to produce the manual signs (denoted as fist/shoulder) for an additional six arbitrary stimuli, Set 2. All 3 children went on to pass category match-to-sample tests for Set 2, and for Set 1 and Set 2 combined. In the final experimental phase, 2 of the children were trained, for one of the six stimulus pairs, to produce the vocal tact "zag" to one stimulus and "vek" to the other. Both children showed category transfer of these vocalizations in test trials with each of the remaining five stimulus pairs, and all the stimuli combined in a 12-stimulus array. In line with Horne and Lowe's (1996) naming account, manual sign naming was found to be as effective as vocal naming in establishing arbitrary stimulus categorization, measured in terms of category sorting and transfer of function. The findings also have implications for the training of verbal repertoires in people with learning disabilities.     

A mismatch of meaning and intentionality between analyst and analysand

In this paper, I will consider a type of misunderstanding in the analytical dialogue and the possible unconscious motivations underlying this. I will also make reference to the patient's use of the analyst's words for the purpose of narcissistic enactment and will explore the extent of the analyst's involvement in this. The subjects of misunderstanding and narcissistic enactment will be dealt with in relation to a patient's way of processing certain interpretations at the beginning of analysis and the concealment of her way of processing the analyst's words. By contributing dreams and other significant material in the sessions, the patient gradually revealed her phantasies which enabled the analyst to uncover the possible factors which determined her particular attribution of meaning to the analyst's words and her retention of information about how she had initially construed his interpretations.     

Object relations and real life relationships: A cross method assessment

This study examines the relationship between the psychoanalytic concept of object relations and real life behavior of being in an intimate relationship among heterosexual women. In a multi‐method approach we used two different measures; the self‐report Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI; Bell, Billington & Becker, 1986 ) and the performance based Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Social Cognition & Object Relations Scale‐ Global Rating Method SCORS‐G (Westen, 1995 ) to measure the object relations of 60 women. The Alienation subscale of the BORRTI and understanding of social causality subscale of the SCORS‐G explained 34.8% of variance of the intimate relationship variable. Thus, women involved in a romantic relationship reported lower rates of alienation on the BORRTI and produced TAT narratives that were more adaptive with regard to understanding of social causality as measured by the SCORS‐G than those not currently in a relationship. Results are discussed with reference to the relationship between object relations and real life measures of healthy individuals and in light of the need for a multi‐method approach of assessment.     

THE OBJECT‐PRESERVING FUNCTION OF SADOMASOCHISM

The terms sadism, masochism, and sadomasochism seem to have become increasingly, if loosely, associated with aggression in psychoanalytic discourse. This is due in part to the fact that Freud's changing ideas generated confusion about the relative contributions of libido and aggression. The author reviews Freud's variable usage and offers a clinical vignette to illustrate the importance of noticing how sadomasochism may maintain a tie to the object by controlling it. The author offers a developmental speculation for the role reversibility typical of sadomasochistic manifestations. He closes with a comment on the role of sadomasochistic aims in adult sexual perversion.     

词汇飞跃的本质:命名洞察力的实证研究

通过个案跟踪和控制实验探讨了词汇飞跃的本质。研究结果表明命名洞察力具有现实性,且词汇飞跃与命名洞察力的出现紧密相关,这在一定程度上解释了儿童词汇量快速增长的原因。命名洞察力的获得促进了词汇的快速增长,标志着儿童建立起词汇与指称之间的匹配关系。词汇飞跃之后,儿童很快建立起词语间的符号关系,并最终促进了儿童语法的发展。基于此实证结果,本研究还建构了诠释词汇飞跃本质的理论模型。     

Complex conditional control by pigeons in a continuous virtual environment

We tested two pigeons in a continuously streaming digital environment. Using animation software that constantly presented a dynamic, three‐dimensional (3D) environment, the animals were tested with a conditional object identification task. The correct object at a given time depended on the virtual context currently streaming in front of the pigeon. Pigeons were required to accurately peck correct target objects in the environment for food reward, while suppressing any pecks to intermixed distractor objects which delayed the next object's presentation. Experiment 1 established that the pigeons’ discrimination of two objects could be controlled by the surface material of the digital terrain. Experiment 2 established that the pigeons’ discrimination of four objects could be conjunctively controlled by both the surface material and topography of the streaming environment. These experiments indicate that pigeons can simultaneously process and use at least two context cues from a streaming environment to control their identification behavior of passing objects. These results add to the promise of testing interactive digital environments with animals to advance our understanding of cognition and behavior.     

W. R. D. FAIRBAIRN AND THE PROBLEM OF HOMOSEXUALITY: A STUDY IN PSYCHOANALYTIC PREJUDICE

W. R. D. Fairbairn believed that the psychoanalyst's motivations and theories must ultimately be rooted in a need to resolve personal conflicts. His self‐analytic and other records, now publicly available, indicate how his struggles with unacceptable sexual feelings and their symptomatic manifestations affected not only his theorizing, especially about sexuality, but also his clinical practice, as well as his personal and family life. Fairbairn's case affords a unique opportunity to document the effects of homophobia in a major psychoanalyst.     

Thoughts about the internalised speaking object: psychoanalytic psychotherapy with children of delayed verbal development

This paper discusses the meaningful effects of intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy on language development in children with verbal delay or disorder. Three clinical cases of children aged five to seven are presented; two of these display significant verbal delay and one exhibits unusually high verbal abilities. Following Meltzer, the author explores the concept of the ‘internalised speaking object’ – a good object speaking to the child, which has been internalised. This internal model is essential for the child’s development of language and speech. At times, these children experience this internal object as a persecutory object which must be warded off and avoided. Even more so, when the external object addresses the children verbally, language itself becomes a persecutor and they experience a fear of disintegration. During such times, the therapist must find new and creative ways for communication. The author describes his therapeutic efforts in dealing with these difficulties which stem both from the lack of a reciprocal verbal communication and from the therapist becoming a persecutory object to the child, and demonstrates the manner in which he facilitated gradual shifts in the patient, from an anxious and defensive position into a more relaxed one. These efforts set in motion a process of internalisation of a speaking object by the child and the development of internal language, that is, thinking along with expressive verbal language. The article furnishes some evidence to support the idea that verbal development relies significantly on establishing good, strong and healthy early object relations.     

Degrees of entrapment: living and dying in the claustrum

This paper explores Donald Meltzer’s concept of the claustrum, an unconscious phantasy of a space inside the body of the internal mother that has been forcibly entered and occupied. The author proposes that claustrophobic phenomena might be viewed on a continuum from the relatively ordinary to the severely pathological. Following a brief review of the characteristics of Meltzer’s claustral ‘compartments’, this continuum is explored through and illustrated by a psychoanalytic understanding of two films, Coraline, directed by Henry Selick and based on the novella by Neil Gaiman, and The Talented Mr. Ripley, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith and directed by Anthony Minghella. The degree of entrapment in a claustrophobic world and the possibility of emerging from it into a world of authentic intimate relationships is shown to be influenced by the internal relationship to a parental couple.     

多目标追踪中“线索”研究的贡献

多目标追踪范式是探讨动态情景下注意加工过程的成熟技术,其对不同阶段注意线索加工与利用的分析,对深入了解注意的动态信息加工过程具有重要意义。从注意线索的视角述评呈现阶段的内源性线索与外源性线索以及追踪阶段的目标数量动态变化和轨迹线索的研究成果及限制因素,提出多目标线索研究是客体档案理论与视觉索引理论之争的关键。虽然多目标追踪范式为内源性线索、外源性线索的提取与策略等研究提供很多便利,但目前该范式在线索的认知资源分配和加工策略上仍有研究留白,尚需进一步探索。