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Capturing the "mommy and I are one" merger fantasy: The oneness motive
Abstract
In this chapter, we posit the existence of another primary dimension of the human motivational system. This theory on motivation contends that people harbor wishes for oneness or merger with what was termed "the good mother of early childhood" (i.e., mother when she was experienced early in life as comforting, protective, and nurturing). Theorists averred that some form of gratification of these wishes in the patient's experience of the analytical relationship often leads to a better outcome. We conceptualize this motive as a drive to become part of, at one with, or belong to, a larger whole. We call it the
oneness motive (or oneness fantasies). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... Weinberger (1992), in an attempt to explain the results of MIO studies, hypothesized that the unconscious gratification of symbiotic wishes produced an enhanced implicit mood state. Since mood can improve performance on a number of cognitive and behavioral tasks (Siegel & Weinberger, 1998), Weinberger speculated that improvements in implicit mood might account for the relationship between unconsciously gratifying symbiotic wishes and the positive outcomes observed in MIO studies. Weinberger et al. (1997, experiment 2) tested this hypothesis by randomly exposing a group of male college students (N = 54) to either MIO or a control phrase. ...
... Silverman and Weinberger (1985) have previously reviewed the early MIO research and applied it to psychotherapy. Siegel and Weinberger (1998) have also described a specific case example in which the gratification of wishes for oneness in a patient led to the production of new material and enhanced the therapeutic alliance. ...
... For example, the therapist's mirroring of a patient's body position may foster a sense of togetherness improving patient-therapist rapport (e.g., Sharpley et al., 2001). Finally, helping patients elaborate their experiences of oneness outside of therapy can produce a strong sense that the therapist understands the essential nature of the patient's experience (Siegel & Weinberger, 1998). When patients experience a strong sense that the therapist understands the essential nature of an experience, patients can experience a deep sense that the therapist is together with them in the moment. ...
... Starting in the 1960s under the leadership of Lloyd Silverman (see, e.g., Silverman, Lachmann, and Milich 1982), subliminal psychodynamic activation (SPA) has used subliminal methods to prime and manipulate these processes. Later research into what was termed oneness motivation (OM) posited the existence of a chronic personality variable and explored it independently of priming (see, e.g., Siegel and Weinberger 1998). These lines of research have established links between unconscious processes of oneness and a range of clinical and nonclinical outcomes. ...
... They then created a scoring system to capture these differences (Weinberger et al. 1996). Psychometric reliability and validity were later demonstrated for this construct (Siegel and Weinberger 1998;Weinberger, Cotler, and Fishman 2010a). In order to score for oneness, a story must contain one or more of the following themes: an emotionally close interpersonal relationship; a character who joins with another person or entity to form a unity or larger whole; a nonaversive softening of boundaries between a character and the outside world. ...
... In an attempt to explain the results of MIO studies, Weinberger (1992) hypothesized that the unconscious gratification of symbiotic wishes produces an enhanced positive implicit mood state. Since mood can improve performance on a number of cognitive and behavioral tasks (Siegel and Weinberger 1998), Weinberger speculated that improvements in implicit mood might account for some of the relationship between unconsciously gratifying symbiotic wishes and the positive outcomes observed in MIO studies. To put it simply, a positive frame of mind led to greater openness to interventions and hence to more positive outcomes. ...
Two programs of empirical research have endeavored to explicate some of the unconscious processes involved in adult phenomena of merger, symbiosis, or oneness. Starting in the 1960s under the leadership of Lloyd Silverman (see, e.g., Silverman, Lachmann, and Milich 1982), subliminal psychodynamic activation (SPA) has used subliminal methods to prime and manipulate these processes. Later research into what was termed oneness motivation (OM) posited the existence of a chronic personality variable and explored it independently of priming (see, e.g., Siegel and Weinberger 1998). These lines of research have established links between unconscious processes of oneness and a range of clinical and nonclinical outcomes.
... Based on data collected from schizophrenic patients, Silverman asserted that positive effects of MIO require that a sense of separate self can be preserved simultaneously with the hypothesized merger fantasies (Silverman et al., 1982). In Siegel's and Weinberger's (1998) recent formulation, the ''Oneness Motive'' to experience being part of something larger than or beyond the self also requires the preservation of an autonomous (stable, intact) coherent sense of self. Implicit in these formulations is a potential not only for an absence of MIO effects in some participants, but also for negative effects. ...
... Validation data are still too scarce to allow the definitive interpretation of the self-mother similarity measure, but some important data suggest that it can tentatively be seen as a measure of identification with mother (Bergström, Persdotter, & Rabe-Lyttkens, 1994;Sohlberg et al., 1998a;Sohlberg, Stahlheuer, & Tell, 1997). We previously hypothesized, therefore, that for persons who do identify with their mothers, MIO symbolically activates an unconscious affect-laden schema (Siegel & Weinberger, 1998) of two persons in a close and positive affective bond (Sohlberg et al., 1998a). This unconscious affect-laden schema and its associates we now define as an unconscious associative network. ...
Subliminal stimulation with “Mommy and I are One” (MIO) affects behavior, but little is known as to why. We contrasted MIO with a neutral control stimulus in an experiment (N = 40) that used a story task to reflect unconscious associative networks. An increase in “Symbiotic Oneness” was observed among participants high in identification with mother and a decrease among those low in identification. When effects were gauged with scores for “Defensive Autonomy,” scores were decreased in high-in-identification participants but increased in low-in-identification participants. The results suggest that effects of MIO can be explained by the activation of individually different unconscious associative networks and that unconscious defense should receive increased emphasis in the literature. The potential for cross-fertilization with current work in interpersonal theory, social cognition, and attachment is emphasized.
... Weinberger (Siegel & Weinberger, 1998;Weinberger, 1992;Weinberger & Smith, 2011) proposed something he termed the oneness motive (OM). It is assessed through analyses of stories told to standardized images. ...
Hypnosis has been mysterious and controversial for hundreds of years. The legacy of this history is still with us. The philosophy of Ryle and of Dennett argue that the usual emphasis placed on states of conscious- ness and privileged access is misplaced. Cognitive neuroscience sup- ports this by showing that unconscious processes explain much of our functioning and that what we call consciousness and privileged access is illusory. Attribution theory can largely account for the subjective states that have been seen as characteristic of and unique to hypnosis. Current models of hypnosis are reviewed and shown to have maintained classic and outdated views of dissociation and/or disconnected executive systems. Normative unconscious processes can account for much of hypnotic phenomena thereby showing hypnosis to be a normative phenomenon. An unconscious need to be absorbed into or become part of something beyond the self may underlie some of the individual differences in hypnotizability
... In addition, the aspect that in flow, the self and the action are merged, might be described as a feeling of oneness, which seems to be important in nonachievement situations as well, but needs more theoretical and empirical research in order to be better understood (Schmid, 2007;Siegel & Weinberger, 1998;Weinberger, Cotler, & Fishman, 2010). ...
Flow research began with the study of activities, which often occurred in achievement situations. To this day, most flow research still deals with achievement in the areas of sports, academia, and work where the balance of challenge and skill is important to foster flow. This chapter extends traditional flow theory by introducing the concept of implicit and explicit motives as personal needs that explain how individuals can experience flow not only in achievement situations but also in social situations like affiliative or power situations. We propose that flow emerges from the interaction of motive-specific incentives in a situation, such as challenge and skill balance, and a person’s motives. These motives are conducive to structuring situations, which in turn foster flow. In this context, we also present studies dealing with flow in groups. We end this chapter by revealing some perspectives on future research on flow in nonachievement situations.
... In addition, the aspect that in flow, the self and the action are merged, might be described as a feeling of oneness, which seems to be important in non-achievement situations as well, but needs more theoretical and empirical research in order to be better understood (Siegel &Weinberger 1998;Weinberger, Cotler, & Fishman, 2010;Schmid, 2007). ...
Flow research began with the study of activities which often occurred in achievement situations. To this day, most flow research still deals with achievement in the areas of sports, academia, and work where the balance of challenge and skill is important to foster flow. This chapter extends traditional flow theory by introducing the concept of implicit and explicit motives as personal needs that explain how individuals can experience flow not only in achievement situations but also in social situations like affiliative or power situations. We propose that flow emerges from the interaction of motive-specific incentives in a situation, such as challenge and skill balance, and a person’s motives. Those motives are conducive to structuring situations which in turn foster flow. In this context, we also present studies dealing with flow in groups. We end this chapter by revealing some perspectives on future research on flow in nonachievement situations.
... While, as stated above, Murrayan proposals regarding motives have guided and influenced motivation research for the past 70 years, new understanding have periodically emerged (Mayer et al., 2007). For example, Maslow's (1943) self-related motives and Deci and Ryan's (2000) selfdetermination theory have been influential, and new need categories such as the need for dependence, oneness, and food (Atkinson & McClelland, 1948;Kagan & Mussen, 1956;Siegel & Weinberger, 1998) have been proposed. New approaches, such as assessing individuals' activated plans, have also been employed in motivation research. ...
Much research work on motives has been based on the taxonomy of psychogenic needs originally proposed by Murray and his colleagues in 1938. However, many of these needs have received little attention, and some of them may be less relevant now than they were 70 years ago. Two studies were conducted to investigate current motives. In Study 1, we used the Striving Assessment to elicit the personal strivings of 255 undergraduate university students. Murray's taxonomy was unable to account for 50% of the 2,937 strivings. These strivings were thematically groups into 11 new categories and combined with 7 Murrayan needs to form the Comprehensive Motivation Coding System (CMCS). In Study 2, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories produced by 143 undergraduate student participants were coded by these two systems. Murray's system was unable to fully account for 42% of motives identified in the TAT stories, but the CMCS was able to account for 89%. These findings suggest that Murrayan needs may not adequately describe contemporary motivations and that the CMCS has the potential to do so. However, due to the limited demographics of our sample, further investigations are needed.
... In addition, the aspect that in flow, the self and the action are merged, might be described as a feeling of oneness, which seems to be important in nonachievement situations as well, but needs more theoretical and empirical research in order to be better understood (Schmid, 2007;Siegel & Weinberger, 1998;Weinberger, Cotler, & Fishman, 2010). ...
... A number of studies have shown that subliminal psychodynamic activation (SPA, Silverman, 1967 Silverman, , 1976 ), whereby subjects are subliminally exposed to messages containing psychodynamic meaning (e.g., " Mommy and I are one " ), affected behavior in both clinical and nonclinical populations (e.g., see Balay & Shevrin, 1988; Hardaway, 1990; Siegel & Weinberger, 1998). As noted by Wachtel (1984), any effort to assess the validity of the unconscious " is incomplete without coming to terms with this remarkable body of work " (p. ...
The current dispute regarding the existence of repression has mainly focused on whether people remember or forget trauma. Repression, however, is a multidimensional construct, which, in addition to the memory aspect, consists of pathogenic effects on adjustment and the unconscious. Accordingly, in order to arrive at a more accurate decision regarding the existence of repression, studies relevant to all three areas are reviewed. Moreover, since psychoanalysis regards repression as a key factor in accounting for the development and treatment of neurotic disorders, relevant research from these two domains are also taken into account. This comprehensive evaluation reveals little empirical justification for maintaining the psychoanalytic concept of repression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Menschen in allen kulturellen Kontexten haben ein angeborenes Bedürfnis danach, Beziehungen mit anderen Menschen einzugehen und diese aufrechtzuerhalten. Die Befriedigung des Bedürfnisses nach Akzeptanz und Verbundenheit ist mit Gefühlen der Zufriedenheit, soziale Zurückweisung dagegen mit negativen Gefühlen verbunden. Im vorliegenden Kapitel werden einleitend verschiedene theoretische Positionen zur sozialen Anschlussmotivation erörtert. Der anschließende Schwerpunkt liegt auf Ansätzen aus der Persönlichkeits-/Motivationspsychologie, wobei hier sowohl zwischen verschiedenen Motivtypen (implizit versus explizit) als auch zwischen verschiedenen Facetten der Anschlussmotivation (Affiliation und Intimität) unterschieden wird. Beispielhaft werden am Ende des Kapitels neuere Befunde zur Anschlussmotivation sowie offene Fragen für zukünftige Forschung erörtert.
Regardless of their cultural background, people desire to form and maintain relationships with others. Satisfying this need for social acceptance and relatedness makes people happier, whereas social rejection elicits negative feelings. This chapter will first describe several theoretical perspectives on affiliation motivation. Its main focus is directed toward approaches of personality and motivational psychology. For this purpose, different types of motives (implicit vs. explicit) and different facets of affiliation motivation (affiliation and intimacy) will be distinguished. The chapter will close with some recent findings on affiliation motivation and open questions for future research.
We used meta-analysis to test for gender differences in implicit needs for affiliation/intimacy, assessed via story-coding methods. We included thirty-three effect sizes from 26 publications and 2 unpublished studies, covering a total of 5962 research participants (58% female). Across studies, women scored higher than men in measures of implicit affiliation motivation (d∗ = 0.45, 95%CI = [0.37; 0.53]). This finding was not moderated by the coding system used, gender congruence of the picture cues presented, or correction for protocol length. Men and women did not differ in their implicit needs for power (N = 2493, k = 15, d∗ = -0.19, 95%CI = [-0.44; 0.05]) or achievement (N = 2235, k = 13, d∗ = 0.14, 95%CI = [-0.03; 0.30]).
Those who study implicit motives and those who study clinical psychology are often ignorant of one another's work. Yet, they have much to offer one another. Satisfying dominant implicit motives results in a sense of well-being. Frustrating them results in unhappiness and even psychopathology. The interaction of explicit motives and implicit motives is also clinically relevant. When they are in harmony, the outcome is usually positive; when they conflict, negative outcomes ensue. Models by Kuhl and by Freud are reviewed to explain these findings. Kuhl's is shown to have empirical support. Freud's has not yet been adequately tested. The next focus is on psychotherapeutic treatment. The most clearly established variable underlying successful psychotherapy is the therapeutic relationship. The therapeutic relationship may be partly understood through implicit motivation. It is argued that the oneness motive, an implicit motive revolving around a need to belong to or be part of something larger than the self, partly underlies the therapeutic relationship and its ameliorative effects. The oneness motive is defined and supporting data are reviewed. Special attention is paid to data relating to clinical populations. These results are then applied to the therapeutic relationship.
This chapter explores potential links between thematic and chronometric methods of measuring implicit motives. It begins with a brief overview of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in thematic measures of motivational preferences. It then argues that reaction time-based measures (e.g., priming procedures) of implicit social cognitions can provide important insights into how implicit motives work and translate into goaldirected action. To exemplify this position, this chapter summarizes a number of studies examining the predictive validity of an Implicit Association Test designed to assess individual differences in achievement motivation. On this basis, it is argued that the field of implicit motives can benefit from an exchange of ideas with several important lines of social cognitive research on the automatic nature of motivational concerns.
Affiliation motivation, unlike other implicit motives, seems to have a dual nature. There is a bright positive side and a dark negative side to this implicit motive. The former is best captured by Intimacy motivation; the latter by Affiliation motivation. Research and theory supporting this duality is reviewed. These include data on social interaction, hormone profiles and correlates, autobiographical memory, social sensitivity, and leadership. Measurement issues are also reviewed. Basically, affiliation motivation is focused on not being alone and on a fear of rejection. This explains its dark side. Intimacy motivation is focused on close, meaningful, and mutually satisfying interactions. This explains its mostly positive correlates. Work carried out on dependency also shows a positive and negative side to this variable. These results come from a research tradition completely independent of implicit motives and yet parallel the findings concerning affiliation and intimacy very closely. These independent findings therefore provide support for the model. Finally, the results are shown to parallel the phenomenology of affiliation in the real, interpersonal world.
An increase in adaptive behavior following subliminal exposure of “Mommy and I Are One” (MIO) is a well-established but poorly understood finding. Given the known effects of positive mood on behavior, mood change after MIO is a finding that could make the overall result seem less of a mystery. Using a novel, indirect mood measure and tachistoscopic 5-ms exposures of MIO vs “People Are Walking” we observed mood change in four consecutive experiments (N= 157). Inconsistent with the original hypothesis, the direction of change could be systematically moderated to be positive or negative. The data imply that individual differences in “identification with mother” may explain this outcome.
Reviews the book,
Cognitive psychodynamics: From conflict to character by Mardi J. Horowitz (see record
1998-07469-000). It has been said that in forging a common ground between psychoanalysis and cognitive science, Mardi Horowitz has gone where others fear to tread. A masterful integration of all of his previous theoretical work,
Cognitive psychodynamics represents his most ambitious attempt to map this prohibited terrain in which these two often-opposing domains of inquiry are joined. His goal is to build an integrated, cognitive-dynamic model of personal identity, interpersonal relationships, and individual character. His means of accomplishing this integration is to interweave three basic theoretical concepts: (a) states of mind that mark the experience of heightened emotional conflict; (b) unconscious defensive control processes that mediate shifts between states of mind; and, most important, (c) person schemas, which for Horowitz are his role relationship models (RRMs), which organize the states of mind as interactive, self-other configurations. The strength of this book is its clear and coherent presentation of each of these three theoretical concepts. These concepts are brought to life by brief, illustrative clinical examples, and the chapters move back and forth between conceptual exposition and clinical illustration in a manner that is mutually informing. The major criticism to be made of the book is that it fails to consider and speak to matters of fundamental theoretical contention between the psychodynamic and cognitive models of the mind at the moments they arise in the construction of this integrated model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The past decade has seen much research and experimentation on the relationship between cognition and unconscious processes. The unconscious has become not only acceptable in academic and experimental studies, but has spurred much stimulation and excitement. There is a beginning rapprochement between cognitive psychology and psychoanalysis. This article provides a historical perspective to recent efforts and offers a phenomenological view of some of the concepts. It also offers insight into the creative process as it relates to the unconscious and to current findings. It is suggested that change in the course of psychoanalysis, by relating the past to the present and by using free association and dream interpretation, is fostered through restructuring of the ways in which the individual perceives himself or herself in the context of his or her primary family and his or her place in the world. As the individual revises self-percepts, the entire psychological field undergoes revision. The place of affects in fostering restructuring is discussed. Clinical examples are used, followed by a discussion of the relationship between cognitive and psychoanalytic psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Short-term dynamic psychotherapy (STDP) has established itself as an effective treatment for common psychological disorders, but little attention has been given to cases of treatment failure or relapse. In this article, I present a case of relapsing panic disorder. I suggest that STDP has focused mainly on the memories of disturbing past experience, but we have not systematically explored the positive memories of early attachment experiences. The negative memories are explored and processed until they are revised, resulting in less disturbing versions of the original events and new meanings for the patient. In the language of memory research, the patient has now established more than one memory trace of a particular situation, and the therapist hopes that the newer version will have "trace dominance"; that is, it will be the memory that governs the patient's behavior. In a new model called the reunion process, the therapist helps the patient reactivate and strengthen these distress associated with negative memories and experiences. positive memories to revise the internal working models of early attachment figures. The process also involves the use of imagined attachment scenarios that never actually happened to compensate for gaps in historical experience. The result is a sense of reunion with the patient's parents, and the internalization of an affect-regulating process to calm the distress associated with negative memories and experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
Notwithstanding Freud's (1921) early linkage of psychoanalytic group psychology with patriarchal themes (i.e., father-leader), more recent findings suggest that the regression in group behavior in general, and in group psychotherapy in particular, tends to evoke frequent maternal ideations. In this connection, this article points to a phenomenological relationship between the individual's universal need to be at one with the internalized mother, as exemplified in the Japanese concept of amae and that of the Mother-Group. With amae serving as an explanatory construct for the group members' interpersonal relations (i.e., identifications and transferences), the idea of the Mother-Group ties in with the group entity's simultaneous supportive functions (i.e., "we are all in the same boat") coupled with its role as a collective arena for the reactivation of unconscious wishes for the nurturing mother of early childhood. In linking a Japanese psychological concept with another, which was developed in the West, I am disproving Rudyard Kipling's often quoted assertion that "never the East and the West shall meet." I was encouraged in this task by Takeo Doi's written comment to me that the idea of the Mother-Group "certainly can be linked with that of Amae. For instance, when the group functions as the Mother-Group, you can say that the participants are experiencing Amae in one way or another" (T. Doi, Sept. 17, 1993, personal communication). In an extended sense, one hopes this essay might even serve to revive our interest in the interrupted well-known early collaboration of psychoanalysts and of anthropologists, which had begun to forge a way to connect personality formation with its cultural context (LeVine, 1974). The insufficient attention paid to the influence of cultural factors on attachment behavior was recently decried by Bretherton (1997).
Four hundred twenty-eight participants wrote imaginative stories in response to 6 picture cues of a research version of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Morgan & Murray, 1935). Story protocols were coded for n (need) Power, n Achievement, and n Affiliation using Winter's (1991) integrated scoring system that provided detailed information about the motive profiles of individual picture cues. In general, picture cues differed strongly from each other with regard to how many scorable instances of power, achievement, or affiliation imagery they elicited. The n Affiliation, but not n Power, n Achievement, or activity inhibition--a measure of impulse control--was found to be higher in (a) women than in men and (b) individuals tested in a group than in individuals tested individually. TAT motive measures showed no significant overlap with questionnaire measures of motivational orientation (German Personality Research Form; Stumpf, Angleitner, Wieck, Jackson, & Beloch-Till, 1985) or traits (German NEO-Five-Factor Inventory; Borkenau & Ostendorf, 1993).
A poorly understood finding with potentially wide-ranging implications is that subliminal stimulation with "Mommy and I are one" affects behavior. In this study (n= 62), "Mommy and I are one" lowered implicit mood (p= 0.0015) in comparison with a neutral stimulus ("People are walking"). The effect was most pronounced in shame-prone participants with less positive memories of their mother, and low self-mother complementarity (interaction p= 0.0044). Effects of a potentially shame-inducing stimulus ("I am completely isolated") were not significant (ps > 0.11). The results concerning less positive memories of mother replicate previous findings. We suggest that activation of unconscious associative networks explains the data. Though more research is needed, the cognitive content of these networks may involve representations of self-with-mother; for some, the affective content could involve shame.
Twin research has been instrumental in providing essential evidence showing that psychopathology has a genetic underlying cause that coacts and interacts with various environmental factors to yield different types and degrees of psychopathological behaviors. These studies also have demonstrated that family members, who share genes, may show similar but milder behaviors, supporting a spectrum of psychopathological behaviors. This chapter reviews evidence gleaned from twin studies about schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Thanks to twin studies, we have a deeper understanding of the role of both genes and environment as complicated and inter-related influences on psychopathology.
Although the structural model continues to be the major paradigm for psychoanalytic theory, it is flawed by major problems. Among them are the uncertain relationship of the dynamic unconscious to the id, ego, and superego; whether these macrostructures are to be conceptualized as classifications of functions or as objectively existing causally effective entities; and difficulties with how the model accounts for the interaction between external reality, unconscious fantasy, and the psychic apparatus. The remedy offered is a model wedded to the dynamic and genetic points of view that resolves these problems, accommodates such concepts as trauma, repetition, and sublimation, and dispenses with highly abstract concepts.
This article is a republication of a classic paper in which Rosenzweig introduced the concept of common factors in psychotherapy. This seminal idea-which refers to the finding that all forms of psychotherapy seem to share, to some degree, a small number of effective change ingredients-remains highly influential in psychotherapy integration today. Rosenzweig reviewed the data presented by then current forms of psychotherapy and argued that the theories that describe the change principles in each psychotherapy are inadequate to capture those deeper common factors.
This was an investigation of the effects of a drive-related subliminal stimulus on subsequent Rorschach images. 60 male Ss were seen for an experimental and control session in a balanced design. Ss were divided into 5 groups on the basis of their recogniton thresholds for the drive-related stimulus and a neutral stimulus. For each group, different predictions were made as to how the subliminally presented drive stimulus would affect subsequent Rorschach performance. The results indicated: for the total group, there was a clearcut subliminal effect; the nature of this effect varied considerably among Ss with regard to the relative influence of drive-expressive and defensive reactions; the different ways Ss responded to the subliminal activation were systematically related to their threshold behavior. (23 ref.)
Clinical reports and recent investigations indicate that depressed patients report that when they were children their parents were insensitive, unavailable, or overly intrusive and unable to tolerate the child's autonomy and independence. Using both an open-ended description of parents and a more structured rating procedure (Osgood semantic differential), the present study assessed the relation of descriptions of parents to aspects of depression in 121 undergraduates. Ratings of parents on the semantic differential as negative figures correlated significantly with several measures of depression. Intensity of depression and types of depressive experiences were also significantly related to the qualities attributed to the parents and the conceptual level with which the parents were described in the open-end procedure. The data offer support for the contention that the content and the cognitive level of parental representations may be a central dimension in depression. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Divided 64 10.8–19.3 yr old emotionally disturbed residents of a treatment school into an experimental and control group matched for age, IQ, and reading ability. Both groups were seen 5 times/week for 6 wks for tachistoscopic exposures of a subliminal stimulus. The stimulus for the experimental group was the phrase, "Mommy and I are one," conceived of as activating symbiotic fantasies that in a number of previous studies with varying groups of Ss had led to greater adaptive behavior. The control group was exposed to the phrase, "People are walking." Results show that experimental Ss manifested significantly greater improvement on the California Achievement Tests—Reading than did the controls. On 5 of 6 secondary variables—arithmetic achievement, self-concept, the handing in of homework assignments, independent classroom functioning, and self-imposed limits on TV viewing—the experimental Ss showed better adaptive functioning. It is suggested that activation of unconscious symbiotic fantasies can increase the effectiveness of counseling and teaching. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Although the structural model continues to be the major paradigm for psychoanalytic theory, it is flawed by major problems. Among them are the uncertain relationship of the dynamic unconscious to the id, ego, and superego; whether these macrostructures are to be conceptualized as classifications of functions or as objectively existing causally effective entities; and difficulties with how the model accounts for the interaction between external reality, unconscious fantasy, and the psychic apparatus. The remedy offered is a model wedded to the dynamic and genetic points of view that resolves these problems, accommodates such concepts as trauma, repetition, and sublimation, and dispenses with highly abstract concepts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Childhood schizophrenia is seen not as a withdrawal from reality, but as a total inability to experience reality. Contains excellent review of theories of the development of the sense of reality, and presents a new approach to treatment. Harvard Book List (edited) 1964 #508 (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
36 female college students in 3 main groups of 12, with 6 experimental and 6 control Ss in each group, participated in 3 group-counseling sessions. Before each session the experimentals received the subliminal message, "Mommy and I are one," and the controls the neutral message, "People are walking." In the counseling session that followed, Ss in 1 main group (both experimentals and controls) were exposed to 8 counselor self-disclosures (CSDs); another group received 4 CSDs, and the 3rd received zero CSDs. The main hypothesis of the study, that the experimental "Mommy" message would produce more S self-disclosures (SSDs) than the neutral message, was supported, but 2 subsidiary hypotheses were not: (a) that a moderate number (4) of CSDs would elicit more SSDs than either zero or 8 CSDs; and (b) that SSDs would increase over time (between 1st and 3rd group-counseling sessions). These results with the "Mommy" stimulus, together with previous findings, indicate that the subliminal stimulation of symbiotic fantasies can enhance the effectiveness of therapeutic procedures of various kinds. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This book has been conceived and executed as a cross-sectional systematic analysis mainly of two concepts: introjection and identification. These two concepts are frequently used in relation to each other in an uncoordinated, often implicit variety of ways, and also in relation to the concepts of internalization and incorporation, again in an uncoordinated, often implicit variety of ways.
The reader will find extensive discussion of certain aspects of metapsychology of internalization, introjection, identification, and incorporation, and little or no discussions of other aspects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
PRESENTS A "PSYCHOLOGICAL MODEL OF THE MYSTIC EXPERIENCE BASED ON THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT MEDITATION AND RENUNCIATION ARE PRIMARY TECHNIQUES FOR PRODUCING IT, AND THAT THE PROCESS CAN BE CONCEPTUALIZED AS ONE OF DE-AUTOMATIZATION." AUTOMATIZATION IS TAKEN FROM HARTMANN'S CONCEPT OF THE AUTOMATIC FUNCTIONING OF MOTOR BEHAVIOR, I.E., OF THE AUTOMATIZED INTEGRATION OF BOTH SOMATIC SYSTEMS AND MENTAL ACTS. DEAUTOMATIZATION IS THE UNDOING OF THIS PROCESS BY "REINVESTING ACTIONS AND PERCEPTS WITH ATTENTION." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Tested the hypothesis that the subliminal presentation of wish-related stimuli intensifies psychopathology of various kinds. In Exps I and II, 30 male schizophrenics (mean age 36 yrs) and 30 male homosexuals (mean age 31 yrs) were presented with aggression, incest, or neutral-control stimuli. A story recall test and an ink blot test (IB) were used to assess thought disorder in Exp I and a picture rating test and the IB to assess sexual feelings (Exp II). In Exp III, 30 stutterers (mean age 29 yrs) were presented with incest, anality, and neutral control stimuli, and a paraphrase task assessed stuttering. In Exp IV, 30 depressed female psychiatric inpatients (mean age 39 yrs) were exposed to aggression, anality, and neutral control stimuli and were assessed for depression using the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist and the IB. Each S served as his/her own control and was seen individually for 3 sessions. Instances of pathological nonverbal behavior (PNVB) occurring during the IB were also recorded. Results support the hypothesis. When compared with the neutral-control stimulus, thought disorder and PNVB increased significantly in Exp I. In Exp II, homosexual orientation and PNVB increased significantly with the incest stimulus, and in Exp III stuttering increased significantly with the anality stimulus. PNVB increased significantly with the aggression stimulus in Exp IV. The other, "irrelevant" stimulus and the neutral-control stimulus did not differ significantly in their effects on symptomatology. It is concluded that a specificity of relationship exists between symptoms and conflictual wishes. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Conducted 2 experiments to test the psychoanalytic theory that suggests that people with oral characteristics should be dependent on others and should develop skills in predicting the responses of others. Exp I used 32 male and 34 female previously unacquainted students. The Es found that males who reported many oral images were better than low-oral males at predicting male personality test responses. Orality was unrelated to accurate perception by males or females or to accuracy of females' interpersonal perception. To corroborate this finding, 33 male and 14 female undergraduate Peace Corps trainees, previously well acquainted, were studied. Results were identical: Orality was significantly related to accurate interpersonal perception for males predicting males but only in that case. The independent assessment of fitness for Peace Corps work was positively related to both oral imagery and accurate interpersonal perception. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In recent decades an increasing number of psycho-analytic investigators have tried to fathom the nature and origin of schizophrenia from within.
[Dr. Searles' work illuminates schizophrenia] in a way that must preclude for the thoughtful psychiatrist many of the current over-simplified views about it. And because the pathological behaviour of the schizophrenic patient appears to relate to developmental failures at critical early phases of the structuring of the personality as an independent human being, this work has a significance far broader than for the conditions it studies. Its implications for the psychotherapist in a wide range of psychiatric disorders are profound; its contribution to our hopes for treatment and prevention is no less. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The notion of complex psychological processes operating outside of awareness has traditionally been associated with the concept of the unconscious used by psychodynamically oriented clinicians; it has never found an equivalent place in the mainstream of American experimental psychology. However, mounting evidence from several diverse fields of empirical research (e.g., selective attention, cortical evoked potentials, subliminal perception) supports such a concept, and in fact, explanatory constructs of a similar nature have been embodied in several current models of perceptual processing. While an enormous gap remains between the clinically based and the experimentally based conceptions of the nature of these unconscious processes, they nevertheless seem to provide an interface between two seemingly disparate approaches to the understanding of personality. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Recent proposals to discard the concept of infantile narcissism as incompatible with currently available observations of infants pose a dilemma for psychoanalytic psychology because that concept has been of major importance in concurrent clinical investigations of borderline disorders. A reformulation of Freud's theory of infantile narcissism is proposed, based on Piaget's model of child development. It proposes that objectively the child is actively engaged with its environment from the beginning. Subjectively, however, in its own understanding, the infant does not recognize the world as external. Major phenomena of infantile narcissism are entailed by this model. Clinical illustrations are used to show its implications for the observed phenomena of borderline disorder in adults and children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Explored the types of internalization fantasies involving the constructs (or concepts or fantasies) of mother that are ameliorative in schizophrenia, using 120 18–65 yr old male schizophrenics (nonorganic). Four groups of 30 Ss received a subliminal experimental stimulus designed to activate a different fantasy of internalization as well as a subliminal neutral control message. The experimental messages were "Mommy and I are one," "Mommy and I are the same," "Mommy is inside me," and "Mommy and I are alike"; the control message was "People are walking." Assessments of pathological thinking and behavior were made before and after the presentation of each stimulus. Only the stimulus "Mommy and I are one" was effective in reducing pathology. Findings lend strong support to the contention that fantasies of oneness identification with the "good" mother are ameliorative for schizophrenics. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Smith, Glass, and Miller (1980) have reported a meta-analysis of over 500 studies comparing some form of psychological therapy with a control condition. They report that when averaged over all dependent measures of outcome, psychological therapy is. 85 standard deviations better than the control treatment. We examined the subset of studies included in the Smith et al. metaanalysis that contained a psychotherapy and a placebo treatment. The median of the mean effect sizes for these 32 studies was. 15. There was a nonsignificant inverse relationship between mean outcome and the following: sample size, duration of therapy, use of measures of outcome other than undisguised self-report, measurement of outcome at follow-up, and use of real patients rather than subjects solicited for the purposes of participation in a research study. A qualitative analysis of the studies in terms of the type of patient involved indicates that those using psychiatric outpatients had essentially zero effect sizes and that none using psychiatric inpaticnts provide convincing evidence for psychotherapeutic effectiveness. The onty studies clearly demonstrating significant effects of psychotherapy were the ones that did not use real patients. For the most part, these studies involved small samples of subjects and brief treatments, occasionally described in quasibeliavioristic language. It was concluded that for real patients there is no evidence that the benefits of psychotherapy are greater than those of placebo treatment.
This article is a republication of a classic paper in which Rosenzweig introduced the concept of common factors in psychotherapy. This seminal idea-which refers to the finding that all forms of psychotherapy seem to share, to some degree, a small number of effective change ingredients-remains highly influential in psychotherapy integration today. Rosenzweig reviewed the data presented by then current forms of psychotherapy and argued that the theories that describe the change principles in each psychotherapy are inadequate to capture those deeper common factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Affect is considered by most contemporary theories to be postcognitive,
that is, to occur only after considerable cognitive operations have
been accomplished. Yet a number of experimental results on preferences,
attitudes, impression formation, and decision making, as well as
some clinical phenomena, suggest that affective judgments may be
fairly independent of, and precede in time, the sorts of perceptual
and cognitive operations commonly assumed to be the basis of these
affective judgments. Affective reactions to stimuli are often the
very first reactions of the organism, and for lower organisms they
are the dominant reactions. Affective reactions can occur without
extensive perceptual and cognitive encoding, are made with greater
confidence than cognitive judgments, and can be made sooner. Experimental
evidence is presented demonstrating that reliable affective discriminations
(likedislike ratings) can be made in the total absence of recognition
memory (oldnew judgments). Various differences between judgments
based on affect and those based on perceptual and cognitive processes
are examined. It is concluded that affect and cognition are under
the control of separate and partially independent systems that can
influence each other in a variety of ways, and that both constitute
independent sources of effects in information processing. (139 ref)
(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)