Union and separation in the therapy of pervasive developmental disorders and ADHD

Abstract :  This paper discusses the characteristics of psychotherapy for pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) in the context of the curative effects of the movement of images. The 'autistic spectrum' is widened here and includes not only PDD, but also ADHD. The main common characteristic in these two sets of disorders seems to be the lack of a subject, which manifests itself as the absence of awareness of otherness and difficulties with boundaries and language.
In these cases a normal psychotherapy is ineffective as it presupposes an established subject. However a psychotherapeutic approach with these patients can contribute to the emergence of a subject. In severe cases the process of union and separation which is enacted either in the therapeutic relationship or in symbolic play leads to the birth of a subject, and of language. In milder cases, such as ADHD, the moments of separation and confrontation with the therapist suffice.
I will discuss a case of my own with Asperger's syndrome in which union and separation in the play therapy occurred simultaneously. This indicates that union and separation are not a consecutive process, but are simultaneous and lead to dialectical movement. However, in neurotic cases with an established subjectivity the symbolic meaning of image plays a central role. This corresponds to Jung's understanding of image in alchemy.     

How Social Dominance Orientation Affects Union Participation: The Role of Union Identification and Perceived Union Instrumentality

Bridging social dominance theory and labour studies, this field study investigated the mechanisms underpinning the relationship between rejection of group‐based domination and participation in union activities. Respondents (N = 135) were members of a public sector union in California, that is, a hierarchy‐attenuating institution. Results revealed that union identification mediated the negative relationship between social dominance orientation and active union participation. Moreover, the mediational effect of union identification was moderated by perceived union instrumentality (i.e. outcome‐ and process‐based benefits afforded by the union), indicating that the relationship between union identification and participation was stronger among those union members who consider that the union affects workplace justice. The findings reveal the importance of both identity‐based and instrumental motivations underlying union participation. The novelty of applying social dominance theory to union behaviour is underscored. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A structural equation model of pre‐service teachers' perceptions of future goals and current course‐related motivation

This study examined relationships between pre‐service teachers' perceptions of future goals and motivation to complete current tasks required in teacher education courses. Using 351 pre‐service teachers' survey responses from two southern universities in the USA, a full‐structural modeling was conducted. Results showed pre‐service teachers' perceived endogenous instrumentality (value of the current course “content” to attain future goals) had a direct effect on their intrinsic motivation, and their perceived exogenous instrumentality (value of the current “grade” to attain future goals) had a direct effect on their extrinsic motivation. This research suggests students' understanding of a relationship between their course content and future goal encourages their motivation to learn for enjoyment. Furthermore, students' understanding of a relationship between the course grade of the current course and their future goal encourages their motivation to get a high course grade, not necessarily because they enjoyed the course content. This study contributes to understanding pre‐service teachers' cognitive/motivational characteristics and to developing appropriate learning environments of teacher education that align with pre‐service teachers' learning characteristics to promote their effective learning.     

Neoliberal ideology in work and organizational psychology

This paper explores the role of neoliberal ideology in workplace practices and in work and organizational psychology (WOP) research. It analyses how neoliberal ideology manifests in these two domains by using a prominent framework from the field of political theory to understand ideology through three different logics: political, social and fantasmatic logics. We explore the main neoliberal assumptions underlying existing practices in the workplace as well as in WOP research, how individuals are gripped by such practices, and how the status quo is maintained. The paper analyses how individuals in the contemporary workplace are henceforth influenced by neoliberalism, and how this is reflected in the practices and dominant paradigms within WOP. In particular, we focus on three ways neoliberalism affects workplaces and individual experiences of the workplace: through instrumentality, individualism and competition. The paper finishes with practical recommendations for researchers and practitioners alike on how to devote more attention to the, often implicit, role of neoliberal ideology in their work and research. The discussion elaborates on how alternative paradigms in the workplace can be developed which address the downsides of neoliberalism.     

Intermingling and confusion

Abstract

An understanding of Descartes’ concept of ‘confusion’ is important both for making sense of his epistemological enterprise and for grasping his doctrine of the union of mind and body. An analysis of Descartes’ notion of confusion is offered which is grounded in the (more or less controversial) theses that confused thoughts are thoughts, that confusion is confusion by a thinker of one thought with another, and that confusion both can and should be avoided or ‘undone’. This analysis takes its rise from his contrast between ‘confused’ and ‘distinct’ : it exhibits confusion as a failure to distinguish between meanings of systematically ambiguous expressions. This failure is sometimes due to ‘bad intellectual habits’ which in his view ought to be broken, sometimes to ‘nature’ (where the confusion is in general beneficial to our welfare). Paradigmatically these are expressions which refer ambiguously to substances (i.e. mind and body) which are ‘really distinct’. Moreover, his ‘disambiguations’ indicate a central but neglected aspect of his aim in philosophizing: he can be seen as engaged in a moral project of ‘philosophical therapy’.     

Vers une nouvelle appréhension des mathématiques par traitement EMDR : actualités et perspectives

ObjectiveEMDR for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing developed since 1989 by F. Shapiro has demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In Science of Education, no study has been previously developed in the application of EMDR protocols. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the relevance and effectiveness of EMDR in supporting cognitive and emotional remediation of students in Master 1, with respect to mathematics, preparing Schools Teacher contest. The first encounters with the students revealed, through their discourse, an aversion to mathematics linked to one or more particularly painful experiences in a learning situation. Mathematics may cause anguish, sometimes tinged beliefs such as “I’ll never be able to… I am very bad at math”. This represents even an insurmountable obstacle in the professional life of some.MethodsNearly 170 students in Master 1 “Professor of the Schools” registered on the ESPE (College of the Teaching profession and Education) were asked about their relation to mathematics, both in their emotions as their self-efficacy. Among those who suggested a traumatic memory in a learning situation in mathematics, forty were selected and divided into two groups. The control group received two hours of information about relaxation techniques that could be used before mathematics. The other group benefited of the EMDR treatment according to the standard protocol in eight phases.ResultsThe results showed that students who received EMDR treatment experienced after treatment and one month later, a significant decline in their negative emotions with mathematics and an increase in the strength of their self-efficacy, unlike the control group.DiscussionEMDR demonstrates its effectiveness in reprocessing beliefs and emotions of students with respect to mathematics and opens ways of research in Educational Sciences. So, it will be necessary, from the principle of alternated bilateral stimulation, to develop specific protocols for the struggling students, to measure the effects in the long term and develop them in a group situation.     

Differences in the neurocognitive profiles of professional and semi-professional male South African rugby union players

This study investigated possible cognitive functioning profile differences between professional and semi-professional rugby players. Seventy-nine male rugby union players (professional = 55, semi-professional = 24; age range = 19–37 years) participated in the study. The players completed a battery of neuropsychological functioning tests covering the following domains: memory tasks, attention and behavioural tasks, sensory-motor tasks, executive functioning tasks, verbal tasks, and emotion identification tasks. Results following Fisher’s exact test comparisons revealed no significant group differences in the cognitive functioning profiles.     

Types of union participators over time: Toward a person-centered and dynamic model of participation

Previous research on union participation has been disjointed, with no clear consensus on the definition and nature of participation. Additionally, few studies have examined how participation changes over time, with those that have finding mixed results regarding its stability. We propose that these mixed and inconsistent findings are due largely to past research focusing on overall levels of participation, ignoring differences in how individuals participate. To remedy this, we adopted a person-centered approach to identify different types of union participators. Using a large sample of union members, we conducted latent transition analysis and found six union participator classes: high participators, leadership participators, formal union promoters, informal union promoters, silent supporters, and non-participators. In addition, we examined how individuals changed membership across two time points (separated by 6 years), antecedents of class membership (role tenure and union commitment), and outcomes (freerider intentions and actual financial contributions to the union's political action fund). The six classes differed uniquely, in terms of the ways people participate, changes in how people participate over time, what predicted class membership, and how class membership impacts two outcomes. The current study demonstrates that person-centered approaches can both clarify previous conflicting findings within the participation literature and predict meaningful outcomes.     

Constructions of Participatory Democracy Institutions and Same-Sex Union Rights in Online Public Deliberation in Greece

This article aims to explore the argumentative lines employed in an online public deliberation concerned with legislation on same-sex civil union in Greece. Drawing on rhetorical and discursive developments in political social psychology and sexual citizenship debates, the article focuses on arguments regarding the relevance and the implications of public deliberation on the construction of LGBTQI+ claims and rights. The analytic corpus consisted of 1,000 comments, analyzed with the concepts and tools of Rhetorical and Critical Discursive Social Psychology. A recurring line of arguing against the legislation questioned the democratic quality of public deliberation, representing it as a means used to legitimize predetermined decisions. Moreover, overtly discriminatory arguments were predicated on the values of participatory democracy. Accounts in favor of the legislation, though, challenged public deliberation on the grounds that it allows room for the dispute of universal human rights. The potential contribution of these findings to the understanding of the dilemmas of participatory democracy, the reproduction of heteronormativity, and the assimilation of LGBTQI+ claims is discussed.