A new objectively scored version of the Defence Mechanism Test

Kragh's Defence Mechanism Test has proved its worth in a number of applied settings but has hitherto required skilled time-consuming interpretation. Two studies are reported which validate an "objectively scored" version of the test developed using G-analysis. In the first, it was found that this version of the test could successfully predict the performance of trainee pilots. The second study examined the construct validity of this version of the test. It was found that the predictive factor from Study I re-emerged within a sample of students, where it correlated positively with scores on a test of perceptual defence and the Shrewdness (N) scale of the 16PF, and negatively with two of the identification scales of the Defence Mechanism Test. This factor was tentatively identified as one of general defensiveness. It is concluded that this form of the test deserves consideration when selecting individuals for stressful occupations.     

The self as a system of multilevel interacting mechanisms

This paper proposes an account of the self as a multilevel system consisting of social, individual, neural, and molecular mechanisms. It argues that the functioning of the self depends on causal relations between mechanisms operating at different levels. In place of reductionist and holistic approaches to cognitive science, I advocate a method of multilevel interacting mechanisms. This method is illustrated by showing how self-concepts operate at several different levels.     

企业诚信及其实现机制——以“海尔”为例

诚信是伦理关系范畴,作为企业来说,既要诚信于顾客,也要诚信于内部员工和外部同行。并且,企业诚信品质的形成和企业诚信的实现不是一蹴而就的,它需要企业内外部各种力量和手段的协调和支撑。     

自我欺骗实证研究述评

自我欺骗的施骗者和受骗者都是自我。这个特殊性导致自我欺骗的定义、类型、研究范式和机制等存在着争议。在系统梳理自我欺骗相关实证研究的基础上,比较了自我欺骗不同的定义和不同的研究范式,提出了两种新的自我欺骗分类方法,探析了自我欺骗的心理机制,以期为后续研究提供借鉴和参考。     

军人婚姻关系恢复机制的探讨

随着社会的变化发展,离婚率日渐增长,军人婚姻关系也受到一定影响,离婚人数日益增多。家是社会的基础,是社会的细胞,特别是军人家庭,他们家庭的稳固与否不但对双方家庭影响巨大,同时也对国家、军队建设有比较深刻的影响。对军人婚恋关系恢复机制的探讨,加强对处于危机中的军人家庭的研究,有助于挽救其处于危机中的婚姻关系,建立和谐家庭,使其减少后顾之忧,更好地投入到部队的建设中去。     

视觉空间注意的事件相关电位研究

视觉空间注意是心理学多年来一直探讨的问题,也是近来多学科共同关注的领域。在脑机制研究中,事件相关电位(ERP)的研究方法具有高时间分辨率的特点,近年来高密度记录技术的发展,也提高了ERP在功能定位方面的作用,因此其应用日益广泛。该文概述了近年来有关ERP在视觉空间注意研究中的实验方法、结果和初步结论,并就今后研究方向提出了几点看法。     

Multivariate modelling and personality organization: A comparative study of the Defense Mechanism Test and linguistic expressions

The main aim of the study is to establish an empirical connection between perceptual defences as measured by the Defense Mechanism Test (DMT)–a projective percept-genetic method–and manifest linguistic expressions based on word pattern analyses. The subjects were 25 psychiatric patients with the diagnoses neurotic personality organization (NPO), borderline personality organization (BPO) and psychotic personality organization (PPO) in accordance with Kernberg's theory. A set of 130 DMT variables and 40 linguistic variables were analyzed by means of partial least squares (PLS) discriminant analysis separately and then pooled together. The overall hypothesis was that it would be possible to define the personality organization of the patients in terms of an amalgam of perceptual defences and word patterns, and that these two kinds of data would confirm each other. The result of the combined PLS analysis revealed a very good separation between the diagnostic groups as measured by the pooled variable sets. Among other things, it was shown that NPO patients are principally characterized by linguistic variables, whereas BPO and PPO patients are better defined by perceptual defences as measured by the DMT method.     

Social support after the loss of an infant child: A long-term perspective

The article presents findings from a survey among 251 parents whose infant child had died. For most of the parents, the loss occurred several years ago. The survey assessed the amounts of instrumental, emotional and informational support received by these parents from various sources in connection with the death. The findings revealed that different sources provided different kinds of support. There was only one significant difference between bereaved males and females with regard to amount of support: females received more emotional support from their friends than males did. Furthermore, large amounts of support received by one spouse was associated with a similar level of support received by the other spouse. Social support in connection with the death was to some extent related to long-term psychological adaptation. Particularly support from neighbours and professionals was consistently associated with psychological adaptation. In general, however, the findings with regard to long-term effects of social support were ambiguous.     

Gender differences and the Defense Mechanism Test: A comparative study of adolescents in psychiatric care and healthy controls

The aim of this paper was to study gender differences in the percept-genetic method Defense Mechanism Test (DMT) among a group of 60 adolescent subjects. Three subgroups were used: patients with psychotic disorders (Axis 1); borderline personality disorder (Axis 2) according to the DSM-IV classification system, and a non-patient group. The test protocols were scored with respect to 124 DMT variables and analyzed by means of the multivariate projection method Partial Least Squares (PLS) in latent structures. The overall results showed considerable gender differences in the whole group as well as in the subgroups. The most striking finding was that girls compared to boys were characterized by the perceptual defense identification with the opposite sex, which means that they perceived male gestalts instead of females in the stimulus picture. When both gender and diagnostic group membership were considered simultaneously, the influence of diagnostic group membership seemed to be stronger than gender even if there was an interaction between diagnoses and gender. It was concluded that gender must be considered when the DMT is used on adolescent populations.     

Mechanisms of developmental change in infant categorization

Computational models are tools for testing mechanistic theories of learning and development. Formal models allow us to instantiate theories of cognitive development in computer simulations. Model behavior can then be compared to real performance. Connectionist models, loosely based on neural information processing, have been successful in capturing a range of developmental phenomena, in particular on-line within-task category learning by young infants. Here we describe two new models. One demonstrates how age dependent changes in neural receptive field sizes can explain observed changes in on-line category learning between 3 and 10 months of age. The other aims to reconcile two conflicting views of infant categorization by focusing on the different task requirements of preferential looking and manual exploration studies. A dual-memory hypothesis posits that within-task category learning that drives looking time behaviors is based on a fast-learning memory system, whereas categorization based on background experience and assessed by paradigms requiring complex motor behavior relies on a second, slow-learning system. The models demonstrate how emphasizing the mechanistic causes of behaviors leads to discovery of deeper, more explanatory accounts of learning and development.