The symbolic and concrete: Psychotic adolescents in psychoanalytic psychotherapy

Unique disturbances in symbolisation are characteristic of the pathology of schizophrenia. Drawing on the case vignette of a psychotic adolescent, the author discusses theoretical problems in the symbolisation process in general and then in psychosis, in particular the relation between 'concretism' as a thought disorder and other psychotic defences. The ability to symbolise on the one hand and to maintain sufficiently stable ego boundaries on the other hand are examined in their relation. The author's clinical experience supports her hypothesis that there is a close relationship between the impairment of the symbolisation process in the adolescent or adult psychotic patient and his/her inability to engage in symbolic play as a child. Special attention is paid to the role of early trauma and consequent pathology of object relations for disturbances of symbolic play in childhood. Regression to concrete thinking is understood as the chance of the psychotic patient to give some meaning to reality in an unreal, delusional world and as his/her last chance to communicate at all. Conclusions are drawn for psychoanalytic techniques in the treatment of patients who are deeply regressed in this respect. Special attention is given to the particular circumstances and challenges of adolescence and to providing psychoanalytic psychotherapy to adolescent psychotic patients.     

Communicative functions of directional verbal probabilities: Speaker’s choice,listener’s inference,and reference points

Verbal probabilities have directional communicative functions, and most can be categorized as positive (e.g., “it is likely”) or negative (e.g., “it is doubtful”). We examined the communicative functions of verbal probabilities based on the reference point hypothesis According to this hypothesis, listeners are sensitive to and can infer a speaker’s reference points based on the speaker’s selected directionality. In four experiments (two of which examined speakers’ choice of directionality and two of which examined listeners’ inferences about a speaker’s reference point), we found that listeners could make inferences about speakers’ reference points based on the stated directionality of verbal probability. Thus, the directionality of verbal probabilities serves the communicative function of conveying information about a speaker’s reference point.     

微生物与行为和精神疾病

病原微生物能够影响宿主的大脑和行为, 甚至诱发精神疾患。肠道细菌可影响小鼠的神经系统发育和行为模式的发展。慢性胃肠病、慢性疲劳综合征等生理疾病中的行为改变与微生物有关; 肝性脑病、多发性硬化等中枢神经系统生理疾病也可能由微生态改变引起; 抑郁症、孤独症等精神疾病与肠道细菌状态和比例有关; 卫生假说支持上述观点。建立良好的共生微生物平衡有利于人类身心健康。可以预期, 共生微生物与身心健康的关系将是今后心理学研究的关注热点。     

The Symbolic Racism 2000 Scale

The concept of symbolic racism was originally proposed 30 years ago. Much research has been done and the society itself has changed, yet many of the original items measuring symbolic racism remain in use. The primary objective of this paper is to present and evaluate an updated scale of symbolic racism. The scale proves to be reliable and internally coherent. It has discriminant validity, being distinctively different from both older forms of racial attitudes and political conservatism, although with a base in both. It has predictive validity, explaining whites' racial policy preferences considerably better than do traditional racial attitudes or political predispositions. Evidence is presented of its usefulness for both college student and general adult population samples, as well as for minority populations. Data using this scale contradict several critiques of the symbolic racism construct (most of which are speculative rather than based on new data) concerning the consistency of its conceptualization and measurement, the coherence of the symbolic racism belief system, possible artifacts in its influence over whites' racial policy preferences (due to content overlap between the measures of independent and dependent variables), and its differentiation from nonracial conservatism and old-fashioned racism.     

An alternative approach to relapse analysis: Using Monte Carlo methods and proportional rates of response

Relapse is the recovery of a previously suppressed response. Animal models have been useful in examining the mechanisms underlying relapse (e.g., reinstatement, renewal, reacquisition, resurgence). However, there are several challenges to analyzing relapse data using traditional approaches. For example, null hypothesis significance testing is commonly used to determine whether relapse has occurred. However, this method requires several a priori assumptions about the data, as well as a large sample size for between‐subjects comparisons or repeated testing for within‐subjects comparisons. Monte Carlo methods may represent an improved analytic technique, because these methods require no prior assumptions, permit smaller sample sizes, and can be tailored to account for all of the data from an experiment instead of some limited set. In the present study, we conducted reanalyses of three studies of relapse (Berry, Sweeney, & Odum, 2014 ; Galizio et al., 2018 ; Odum & Shahan, 2004 ) using Monte Carlo techniques to determine if relapse occurred and if there were differences in rate of response based on relevant independent variables (such as group membership or schedule of reinforcement). These reanalyses supported the previous findings. Finally, we provide general recommendations for using Monte Carlo methods in studies of relapse.     

Replicability and randomization test logic in behavior analysis

Randomization tests are a class of nonparametric statistics that determine the significance of treatment effects. Unlike parametric statistics, randomization tests do not assume a random sample, or make any of the distributional assumptions that often preclude statistical inferences about single‐case data. A feature that randomization tests share with parametric statistics, however, is the derivation of a p‐value. P‐values are notoriously misinterpreted and are partly responsible for the putative “replication crisis.” Behavior analysts might question the utility of adding such a controversial index of statistical significance to their methods, so it is the aim of this paper to describe the randomization test logic and its potentially beneficial consequences. In doing so, this paper will: (1) address the replication crisis as a behavior analyst views it, (2) differentiate the problematic p‐values of parametric statistics from the, arguably, more useful p‐values of randomization tests, and (3) review the logic of randomization tests and their unique fit within the behavior analytic tradition of studying behavioral processes that cut across species.     

Laboratory analogue investigation of defusion and reappraisal strategies in the context of symbolically generalized avoidance

The present study examined and compared the effects of 2 analogues of cognitive treatments—cognitive defusion and cognitive reappraisal—on symbolically generalized avoidance established using a basic behavioral laboratory paradigm. This back‐translation design contributes to the development and validation of principle‐based definitions of the applied constructs of defusion and reappraisal. Eighty‐eight participants first underwent basic laboratory procedures designed to establish symbolically generalized avoidance in response to an arbitrary stimulus (a nonsense word). Participants were then randomized to defusion, reappraisal, or control conditions. The response variables were (a) equivalence responding—indicative of the trained relational network and analogous to the cognitive content responsible for symbolic generalization—and (b) avoidance—the behavioral impact of symbolic generalization. A between‐groups analysis revealed that defusion and reappraisal significantly increased the odds of nonavoidance responding. Discrete‐time survival mediation analyses provided preliminary support for the classification of defusion as a functional context intervention and reappraisal as a relational context intervention.     

颜色范畴知觉效应发生在大脑两半球：来自纳西族和汉族的证据

采用色环搜索单任务和双任务范式, 考察语言中区分蓝、绿的汉族和语言中蓝、绿混用的纳西族对蓝色和绿色的辨别是否存在颜色范畴知觉效应(Categorical perception, 以下简称为CP效应)。结果发现：(1)纳西族对蓝色和绿色的区分比汉族困难, 体现了语言的作用; (2)语言中蓝、绿混用的纳西族与语言中区分蓝、绿的汉族都出现显著的蓝绿CP效应; (3)两个民族被试的左视野的CP效应受到图形记忆次任务的显著干扰, 说明左视野的CP效应与右脑激活有关。整个研究表明, 颜色CP效应既存在普遍的知觉机制, 也存在语言驱动机制, 语言的作用存在直接效应。研究结果支持颜色词与颜色认知的相互作用理论。     

The “analysis of competing hypotheses” in intelligence analysis

The intelligence community uses “structured analytic techniques” to help analysts think critically and avoid cognitive bias. However, little evidence exists of how techniques are applied and whether they are effective. We examined the use of the analysis of competing hypotheses (ACH)—a technique designed to reduce “confirmation bias.” Fifty intelligence analysts were randomly assigned to use ACH or not when completing a hypothesis testing task that had probabilistic ground truth. Data on analysts' judgement processes and conclusions were collected using written protocols that were then coded for statistical analyses. We found that ACH‐trained analysts did not follow all of the steps of ACH. There was mixed evidence for ACH's ability to reduce confirmation bias, and we observed that ACH may increase judgement inconsistency and error. It may be prudent for the intelligence community to consider the conditions under which ACH would prove useful and to explore alternatives.