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The impact of past relationships on interpersonal behavior: Behavioral confirmation in the social-cognitive process of transference

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This study extended research on transference in social perception (e.g., S. M. Andersen, I. Reznik, & L. M. Manzella, 1996) into the realm of social behavior by examining behavioral confirmation (e.g., M. Snyder, 1992) in transference. Each perceiver participated in a brief conversation with a naive target participant, who either did or did not appear to resemble the perceiver's own positively or negatively regarded significant other. Trained judges rated positive affect expressed in targets' behavior. As predicted, targets expressed more positive affect in their behavior when they allegedly resembled the perceiver's own positively versus negatively toned significant other, an effect not found in the control condition. This evidence demonstrates behavioral confirmation in transference, suggesting a means by which present relationships may resemble past ones.
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Thesis
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The author describes the evolution of theory and practice at the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. The core concepts at the Institute have included the importance of unconscious fantasy, conflict and compromise theory, transference and countertransference, and defense analysis. In recent years, a variety of contemporary analytic theories have been incorporated into the theory and practice of the Institute. The importance of systematized research to theory development and practice is stressed.
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L’intuition originelle de Freud sur le transfert (à savoir que nous répétons dans le présent certains schémas relationnels clés du passé) est désormais confirmée par des découvertes issues de recherches socio-cognitives récentes, qui montrent que le transfert est un processus omniprésent dans la vie quotidienne, et pas seulement dans le cadre thérapeutique ou dans les relations avec les figures parentales primaires. Comprendre ces manifestations du transfert nous aide à donner du sens aux schémas transactionnels de nos clients, mais aussi à travailler sur les représentations self-autre, conscientes ou inconscientes, qui s’immiscent dans notre travail de psychothérapeute. Le modèle des états du moi de Scilligo offre une méthode pour analyser le transfert en tant que processus socio-cognitif à la fois normal et modifiable.
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