Ofra Mayseless

University of Haifa | haifa · Faculty of Education

This chapter delves into the interconnection between spirituality as a character strength and peace in its various forms and manifestations. It offers a comprehensive background on the multifaceted aspects of peace, highlighting their intricate complexities. Furthermore, it underscores the significance of spirituality in individuals’ lives and its...

The aim of the study is to shed light on the perception of spiritual exemplars by those who consider them as such. The authors asked 300 experts in the religious-spiritual field from different traditions to nominate spiritual exemplars they knew and describe them "specifically indicating what it is that makes each of them exemplary." Seventy-seven...

This research is the first to investigate the integration of Jewish spirituality in psychotherapy by certified psychotherapists in Israel, a nation marked by diverse cultural sensitivities regarding Jewish identity (e.g., secular, traditional, religious, Orthodox, ultra-Orthodox). In this qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 15...

The aim of this study is to shed light on the experience of Living Transcendence, a relatively stabilized spiritual state considered in many religious traditions the pinnacle and holy grail of the search for the sacred. It explores how Living Transcendence is experienced by individuals, identified by others as spiritual exemplars having and evincin...

This chapter summarizes the unique perspectives and contributions in this volume, to offer insights regarding search for meaning in life in a post-modern socio-cultural context. We suggest that instead of major overarching cultural schemes, institutions or narratives for meaning in life which were prominent and dominant in the past, such as religio...

To prepare youth for civil society, we need to expand the modern conception of humanism to a form of spiritual, communal, and pluralistic humanism that incorporates spirituality as a core dimension of human nature. Embedding these concepts in education involves three pillars—alignment with the spiritual and authentic self; community, interconnected...

The psychological benefits of human connection to nature have instigated the development of nature-based therapies (NBTs). This article focuses on the distinct therapeutic factors that characterize NBTs, from the perspective of practitioners from various NBTs, shedding light on the therapeutic value of psychotherapy conducted in the natural environ...

This chapter briefly discusses the universal need for meaning in life and its study and the challenges of the post-modern sociocultural context in this regard. The chapter presents the purpose of this edited volume, which is to better understand processes of search for meaning in life as embedded within a cultural context. The Israeli cultural scen...

This book presents a multidisciplinary academic enquiry into contemporary processes of the search for meaning in the Israeli cultural scene. It incorporates a conceptual framework for understanding the sociocultural Israeli context that facilitates and triggers such search processes. The volume includes theories, data-based insights, and illustrati...

Explicit and implicit aspects of the mother-child relationship in middle childhood are thought to contribute to the development of child individuation in the context of close and protective relations. Implicit (nonverbal, procedural and non-conscious) aspects of the mother-child relationship were examined as predictors of children’s adjustment thro...

The experience and posture of surrender has been espoused by religious traditions as key to spiritual life and development for millennia. Within psychology, on the other hand, surrender’s position has been likened to an “unwanted bastard child,” and its research has been neglected. Moreover, when occurring in the context of a relationship with anot...

Silence is now acknowledged by science as a significant construct of healthy human development and well-being, linked to humans’ neurobiology, psychology, physiology, and spirituality. This paper focuses on a particular form of silence experienced through the solo experience in the wilderness. The solo experience, involving varying periods of time...

Background: Nature-based therapeutic approaches have largely centered on the significance of nature, as a unique setting. This article focuses on an additional perspective, that of nature as actively influencing the therapeutic process, providing significant content. Purpose: The main objective of this study was to shed light on how practitioners e...

Spirituality, associated with the human motivation and potential to experience connection with the sacred and divine, is a common aspect of nature experience and has been the subject of many studies. But the profound benevolent effect of experiencing spirituality in nature in therapeutic contexts has yet to be empirically uncovered. This paper focu...

The beneficial effects of nature on man's well-being has led to the rise of therapeutic approaches that harness the significant connection between man and nature, to help people heal, develop, grow and thrive: physically, psychologically and spiritually. Therapeutic approaches that incorporate nature as a major component are referred to as Nature B...

The relationships between parents and children contain implicit aspects, which are non-conscious and non-verbal, in addition to explicit ones. Both explicit and implicit aspects are central to understanding the dyadic dynamics and are implicated in psychotherapy processes and outcomes. Visual symbolization has a unique value as a channel of express...

Attachment theory has inspired a new view on the topic of leadership, enabling a better understanding of leader-follower relations by acknowledging how attachment dynamics and the evolutionary foundations of human relationships apply in organizational contexts. Early research mainly focused on individual differences and demonstrated the association...

We present a phenomenologically based model of spiritual development and growth. The model heuristically suggests three "spatial" facets—(a) deep within, (b) up and beyond, and (c) sideways and interconnected—assuming them to be related and yet distinct realms of spiritual development. The model further underscores the importance of alignment and h...

The beneficial effect nature has on man's well-being has instigated therapeutic approaches that harness the significant connection between man and nature in helping people heal, develop, grow and thrive: physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Therapeutic approaches that incorporate nature as a major component are referred to as Nature Based...

This study focuses on a particular form of positive transformation taking place in the wilderness, defined here as peak transformative experience. A large number of studies have been conducted on the negative transformative effect of a single traumatic event, while very little research has focused on positive transformational events. We addressed t...

The present study employed a qualitative phenomenological method to explore how processes of spiritual change were experienced outside institutional religion. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 Israeli adults (13 men, 14 women; age range 25–66; M = 45.3) who experienced such a change. The findings underscored the pervasiveness of the concep...

The caring motivation is a fundamental, encompassing, and pivotal human motivation (Mayseless, 2016). In this chapter, its centrality and significance in human life and in life meaning and self-fulfillment are highlighted, and it is suggested that it represents a spiritual core in human nature. Both logotherapy (meaning centered psychotherapy) and...

Understanding somatization presents a challenge to clinicians because it is often associated with other syndromes. We addressed somatization's comorbidity with other internalizing syndromes (anxiety, depression, withdrawal) using latent profile analysis. A representative sample of 3496 Israeli middle and high-school youths reported their internaliz...

This brief report describes a preliminary study that examined the association between implicit aspects of parent-child relationships as assessed by the Joint Painting Procedure (JPP) and self-report measures of the quality of mother-child relations and children's adjustment at home and at school as reported by the mothers. Forty mother-child dyads...

Parents' representations include parents' views of their adolescent, of their own parenting and of the parent-adolescent relationship. Two longitudinal studies of parents and their adolescent sons and daughters support the validity of scales coding mothers in the Parenting Representations Interview-Adolescence (PRI-A). The studies, conducted in Isr...

This study explores the essence and meaning of the lived experience of spirituality outside institutional religion among individuals who experienced spiritual change. Based on a phenomenological analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with 25 Israeli adults, 12 men and 13 women between the ages of 25 and 66 years (M = 45.3), the findings indicate...

We know a great deal today about the impact of transformational leaders, their actions, typical behaviors and their ways of influencing others (Bass, 1985, 1999a, b; Bass & Avolio, 1990). However, we know relatively little about the psychological substructure, the internal world of these leaders, namely who they are and how they developed this way....

This study was based on the attachment-security hypothesis (H. Latty-Mann & K. E. Davis, 1996) that predicts that all individuals, regardless of attachment style, should demonstrate a preference for secure partners who are most likely to offer attachment security. It was therefore expected that with the transfer of attachment functions from parents...

Two central life domains, love and work, are described as the focus of identity exploration in emerging adulthood. The present theoretical overview suggests an additional perspective. Current postmodern processes in Western industrialized countries set the stage for the saliency of a new developmental task in emerging adulthood: finding the meaning...

We examined the concurrent associations between early adolescents’ representations of mother-child attachment relationships and how they process social information in their peer relationships. Attachment representations were examined in a normative sample of 97 males and 88 females (mean age = 10.35 years), using an adaptation of the Attachment Dol...

The study examined: (1) the intergenerational concordance between parents and their adolescent sons using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) categories and state-of-mind scales; and (2) the contribution of parents' state of mind with respect to attachment to their sons' adjustment during a stressful separation, as well as the possibility that son...

Attachment theory provides a rich framework for the development of interventions for trauma. This study examined processes underlying treatment outcomes of an attachment-based program (Connect; Moretti, Braber, & Obsuth, 2009) for parents of teens with severe behavior problems. Caregivers completed the Parenting Representations Interview and the Ch...

This chapter examined the interplay of spiritual development and the development of psychological and emotional maturity relying on a transpersonal psychology perspective. A sample group of 215 college students aged 19 to 30 participated by filling out questionnaires related to self-transcendence and emotional and psychological maturity as well as...

In a longitudinal study the contribution of mothers' attachment concerns to the infant negative emotionality was examined. Ninety-three mothers described their child's temperament at 3 and 9 months. The results revealed that increased negative emotionality at 9 months was related not only to high levels of fussiness at 3 months but also to mothers'...

The authors examine the precursors of parenting buds (representations regarding parenting before actual parenting) by following 60 men from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Quality of relationships with parents, and attachment representations (state of mind with respect to attachment and attachment styles) assessed in adolescence, contribute to t...

Adjustment to the transition from high school to military service in Israel was examined in a longitudinal study with a sample of 120 late-adolescent girls. During their senior year in high school (Time 1) the young women were administered the Adult Attachment Interview. Their coping and adjustment to the new environment were assessed (at two furth...

Finding and cultivating a sense of authentic self is an important life goal for emerging adults. In collectivist cultures, youngsters might need to distance themselves to find and discover their authentic selves separate of the expectations of society and significant others. Creating an autonomous time bubble that focuses on the present allows youn...

Second-generation Holocaust survivors might not show direct symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder or attachment disorganization, but are at risk for developing high levels of psychological distress. We present themes of difficult experiences of second-generation Holocaust survivors, arguing that some of these aversive experiences might have dis...

The concurrent association between security of attachment and adaptive functioning at school in middle childhood was examined. A sample of 113 children of 4th and 5th grade filled out a selfreport measure of attachment security (Kerns, Klepac, & Cole, 1996) and were administered the Doll Story Completion task (Bretherton, Ridgeway, & Cassidy, 1990b...

Leader—follower relationships have been thought to involve attachment dynamics, in particular when these relationships have an affective component. In this paper, I consider why and under what circumstances followers form attachment relationships with a leader and how both a follower’s and a leader’s attachment representations can affect the qualit...

The quality of the relationships that mentors forge with their protégés is assumed to significantly affect the success of mentoring interventions. Building on previous research, this study examined the association between relationship qualities and protégé functioning. Multiple reporters (e.g., mentors, protégés and teachers) were used in a prospec...

This longitudinal study examined the ramifications of psychological control-guilt induction, parentification, triangulation, and blurring in parent-adolescent relationships for girls' individuation and adjustment. The study followed 120 girls in their transition from high school to military service. Results from the variable-centered and person-cen...

Elementary school teachers identified characteristics in 4 major socioemotional domains associated with children's social leadership: self-perception, social anxiety, attachment orientation with peers, and interpersonal goals and skills in close friendships. Participants were 260 4th- and 5th-grade students (126 boys, 134 girls) from 10 classes in...

The chapter examines the importance of respect in two developmental contexts: the parent-child relations and the school context. Building upon conceptualizations advanced mainly in philosophical and social psychology literature, we lay out a conceptual framework for the study of respect in developmental contexts. We discuss two types of respect - u...

The distinct role of mothers and fathers in shaping the quality of relationships with romantic partner was explored. One hundred and twenty 17‐year old girls were observed during their senior year in high school with each of their parents during a Revealed differences task [Allen, J. P., Hauser, S. T., Bell, K. L., Boykin, K. A., & Tate, D. C. (199...

Mentoring programs for youth have become increasingly popular interventions and are generally effective in promoting protégés’ wellbeing and functioning. Building on recent efforts to understand the interpersonal mechanisms underlying mentoring relationships, the authors apply central concepts from attachment, social support and social learning the...

A fundamental tenet of much sociological, psychological and educational literature assumes that the creation of a predictable environment is crucial for nurturing a sense of well-being, as well as for generating a sense of trust in the wider social order. Still, the ways in which the environment is structured, and the very importance attached to th...

The authors explored the attachment dynamics of heterosexual couples identified for male partner violence. Based on semistructured interviews, participants were assessed for attachment orientations. Based on a thematic analysis of the interviews, two strategies for regulating distance within these relationships were identified: pursuit and distanci...

The authors explored the attachment dynamics of heterosexual couples identified for male partner violence. Based on semistructured interviews, participants were assessed for attachment orientations. Based on a thematic analysis of the interviews, two strategies for regulating distance within these relationships were identified: pursuit and distanci...

This article presents a four-level developmental description of the extent to which clinicians apply spirituality in therapy. At the first level, clinicians begin to sense dissonance regarding their traditional, positivist worldview while conducting conventional psychotherapy, especially in cases involving life-threatening situations or loss. At th...

Purpose – The paper aims to present a conceptual model that delineates the psychological substructures (“building blocks”) and their impact on the major learning processes required for leader development. Design/methodology/approach – Based on theories in developmental psychology, it is argued that certain variables formed in early childhood are “...

The ramifications of attachment processes in adulthood at the societal level are explored, specifically, why and under what circumstances followers form attachment relationships with a leader, and how the variability in these relationships can reflect the followers' internal working models of attachment. It is argued that in crisis situations, indi...

A secure state of mind with regard to attachment, as assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), as well as attachment styles as assessed by questionnaires (the two most prevalent facets of attachment representations assessed in adolescence and adulthood) were examined as potential contributors to adolescents' capacity for intimacy. Eighty ma...

Intriguing issues pertaining to normative changes in attachment in adolescence are addressed, integrating psychoanalytical thinking, developmental and attachment theory, and research.

This chapter examines the concept of parenting representations as embedded in the conceptualization of attachment theory regarding the caregiving behavioral system. The growing body of research on parenting representations is extensively reviewed, and the notion of “internal working model of caregiving” is presented in relation to the extant litera...

The notion of caregiving representations was applied to assess parenting representations of mothers of adolescent sons. The association between these representations and the mothers' state of mind with respect to attachment was examined. In addition, mothers' parenting representations were examined as predictive of the coping of the sons with the d...

This study examined the association between perceived quality of early parental bonding and loneliness of first-year university students in relation to two central personality-related conceptualizations, attachment and Blatt’s (1990) primary personality predispositions. Participants were 146 undergraduate (69 males and 77 females), who completed th...

The study of parents from their own perspective not just as socializing agents of their children has been long neglected. This book summarizes and presents the new and surging literature on parenting representations namely parents' views, emotions and internal world regarding their parenting. Within this area, several prominent researchers typicall...

The home-leaving transition of male adolescents in Israel, where most 18-year-olds leave home to perform a 3-year mandatory military service, was examined. Transfer of attachment functions from parents to peers across the transition and adjustment to the basic-training period were investigated. Adolescents ( N = 143) filled out questionnaires 3 mon...

The association between attachment representations and adolescents' coping with 3 developmental tasks of emerging adulthood-leaving home, advancing in the capacity for mature intimacy, and developing individuation-was examined. Israeli male adolescents (N = 88) were administered the Adult Attachment Interview during their high-school senior year. A...

Family processes associated with childhood role reversal and related adult outcomes were examined in a community sample (128 adults) using a semistructured interview exploring family, friend, and romantic relationships. Women showed stronger role reversal than men, and role reversal was stronger with mothers than with fathers. Role reversal of wome...

This study examined whether authoritarian or authoritative parenting practices best prepare youth for coping with an authoritarian context (i.e., the mandatory military service of 18-year-old men in Israel) with specific reference to the issue of person–environment fit. A year before their conscription, 85 male adolescents (M age 5 17.5) and their...

This chapter examines the conceptions of adulthood of adolescents, emerging adults, and parents of adolescents in Israel. It shows a general consensus regarding the important markers of adulthood (similar to American middle-class conceptions) while identifying several cultural, age, and gender differences.

Developmental processes lie at the heart of the relationship between transformational leaders and followers. First, three major domains in which developmental outcomes have been mostly discussed, namely motivation, empowerment, and morality, are highlighted, expanded, and discussed. Next the analogy between transformational leaders and “good parent...

This study examined, in a longitudinal design, the contributions of three different relationships, namely marital, parent–child and best friend, to the capacity for intimacy in romantic relationships of Israeli male adolescents, as well as the mediating role of socio-emotional capacities. Eighty-four 17-year-old adolescents and their parents filled...