Validation of the Self-Discrepancies Scale (S-DS). A tool to investigate the self in clinical and research settings

Introduction

Self-discrepancies (the distances between the perceived self and the ideal or the socially prescribed selves) are a hallmark in psychological distress. However, a clinical tool evaluating these discrepancies is lacking.

TOP‐DOWN AND BOTTOM‐UP: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL INFORMATION PROCESSING AND MINDFULNESS AS PREDICTORS IN MATERNAL–INFANT INTERACTION

The cross‐generational transmission of attachment appears to reflect a complex interplay of factors, which have been challenging to identify. The current longitudinal study explored the maternal cognitive model of relationships through language use, maternal mindfulness, and attachment style assessed prenatally, as predictors of maternal response to distress and infant behavior at 6 months’ postpartum. Infant behavior to the mother also was examined to provide an understanding of the evolving relationship. Thirty‐two females were interviewed prenatally regarding social and family experiences. At 6 months’ postpartum, each mother participated in a video‐recorded session where she was asked to teach her infant a developmentally appropriate task. Videos were analyzed using the NCAST Teaching Protocol. Language use prenatally as well as the mindfulness facets (acting with awareness and describing) predicted the mothers’ ability to respond to infant distress, indicating greater attunement. Infant's response to mother and clarity of cues also were predicted by maternal pronoun use. The study highlights the role of internal working models reflective of interpersonal beliefs, cognitive models, and current‐moment awareness in maternal behavior. The effect of maternal language on infant behavior arguably indicates the infant's integration of maternal internal working models.     

Can mindfulness modify your thoughts? A study in the context of social phobia

IntroductionSocial phobia is said to be the commonest anxiety disorder (Furmark, 2002). Cognitive Behavior Therapy appears to be the most recommended form of psychological treatment for this condition (Federoff & Taylor, 2001; Willutzki et al., 2012). Dismantling studies have raised doubts regarding the utility of cognitive restructuring in bringing about decrease in symptoms (Barrera et al., 2016; Pompoli et al., 2018). Mindfulness, a ‘third-wave’ concept, seems to contradict the philosophy of ‘restructuring’ with its apparent stress on non-judgmental observation (Hayes, 2004). This approach postulates that acceptance of cognitions and emotions as therapeutic in contrast to traditional cognitive behavior therapy approach, which advocates restructuring and modifications of cognitions.ObjectiveThe current study attempted to study the ‘restructuring’ effects of mindfulness in persons with social phobia.MethodThirty-nine clients with a primary diagnosis of social phobia (ICD – 10) participated in the Mindfulness Integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MICBT) program, which consisted of eight sessions. MINI International Neuropsychiatry Interview Plus, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Meta Cognitions Questionnaire and Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire were administered pre and post of the therapeutic program.ResultsThe results demonstrated that MICBT had a significant effect on reducing the scores on fear of negative evaluation and bringing about changes in metacognitions.ConclusionMindfulness could be sufficient as a therapeutic strategy to bring about changes in the cognitions of clients with social phobia without using cognitive restructuring.     

Making sense of social robots: A structural analysis of the layperson's social representation of robots

IntroductionGiven their novelty, social robots (i.e., robots using natural language, displaying and recognizing emotions) will generate uncertainty among users. Social representations allow making sense of the new, drawing from existing knowledge.ObjectiveA free association questionnaire was administered to 212 Portuguese adults to identify the social representation of robot.MethodData was analysed with EVOC 2000 and SIMI 2000 software.ResultsThe social representation of robot is organized around the ideas of technology, help and future. Differences in the representation according to age, gender and level of education where also identified.ConclusionThe social representation of robot is marked by the conception of it as a tool. This contrasts with the concept of social robots as social agents. Implications for social robot's acceptance are discussed.     

The Course of Representation in Memory During the Comprehension of Paragraphs

The course of the representation built in memory from a text during comprehension of paragraphs was studied by a probe technique (immediate item recognition). Three experiments showed that response times, the main variable, gradually increase as a function of the lag between the probe (a word or an atomic proposition) and its target in the text. In Experiment 3 the same result was also found with a priming technique. The absence of any kick-up over the course of time was confirmed by several additional analyses of individual data. The results were only weakly consistent with models assuming two distinct memory stores, in particular a specific “short-term memory store,” but highly consistent with models involving semantic activation and subsequent gradual deactivation.     

Haut potentiel intellectuel et développement social

The first part of this article presents a theoretical and empirical review on the issue of gifted children's social development. As a whole, data does not allow for straightforward conclusion as to whether gifted children may be socially at risk. Conflicting results may be due in part to heterogeneity across studies in sampling procedures and in assessing social adjustment. Next, we will examine how social skills development could be viewed as a potential domain for the expression of intellectual giftedness, in the light of theories that posit a multi-factorial view of intelligence or creativity. Accordingly, there may be a need to reconsider the notion of giftedness and thus take into account social giftedness, both for identification and education purposes.     

Effet d'attitude dans le processus de structuration d'une représentation sociale

This research aims at clarifying the role of attitude in the structuring process of a social representation. It comes within the scope of Serge Moscovici's genetic approach and Jean-Claude Abric's central core theory. We have studied an object, the Internet, whose social representation is structuring itself in the social group of tradesmen and our hypothesis is that attitude has an influence on the organization of the representational field before the emergence of a stabilized structure. The results suggest the existence of a structuring and accelerating effect due to positive attitude.     

L’effet d’une similarité fortuite entre deux individus sur le comportement d’imitation

A host of studies in social psychology showed that we mimic the verbal and nonverbal behaviors of our counterparts, particularly when we need to interact with them or when we appreciate them. For scientists, mimicry could serve as facilitator in interpersonal relations between strangers or between people who expressed the desire to strengthen their relations. Three experiments were carried out that show that incidental similarity (same birthday date, same first-name, and same finger-prints) between a participant and a target presented on a videotape is associated with an increase in mimicry of nonverbal behavior of the target. The theory of the desire of affiliation is used to explain the link between similarity and mimicry in our social interactions.     

La motivation et son ancrage utilitaire/désirable dans l’évaluation

Motivation has an important place among the personal characteristics that professional assessors take in account. A first study shows that different professionals do not choose the same criteria to assess motivation and also shows that normative factors affect their judgement. Then a series of studies focuses on the valorization of intrinsic motivation and on the anchoring in utility / desirability of this attribution of value. It appears that, compared with extrinsically motivated applicants, intrinsically motivated applicants are rather described by judges with desirable traits than with utility traits. This result is found as well with professionals and non professional respondents. So it seems that the valorization of intrinsic motivation would be more anchored in desirability than in utility, which is a difference with the norm of internality that is clearly anchored in utility.     

Le renversement de préférence… renversé !

Preference reversal (PR) occurs when pairs of lottery gambles are evaluated under two different conditions: to choose the gamble preferred to play and assign minimum selling price to each gamble. The preference order is then reversed from one condition to another: while it receives the lowest selling price, the gamble less risked is preferred in condition of play. Many times replicated, this result is considered as a cognitive bias. Recent research suggests that it could be related only to the procedure used to present the gambles (i.e., the evaluation mode): either by pair (joint evaluation or JE) in condition of play, or one by one (separate evaluation or SE) in the pricing task. Then, by reversing the evaluation mode in each condition, PR should be reversed, as it is shown in this study: although the phenomenon still occurs when subjects evaluate gambles in the classical paradigm, we observe an inversion of PR when they have, on the one hand, to play in SE, and on the other hand, to sell in JE. Furthermore, an analysis not often used in this literature provides new elements, which can attest to the cognitive mechanisms underlying the phenomenon: by recording the online information (self-paced display time paradigm) we show the effect of an anchoring and adjustment process when riskiest gambles are preferred.