Abnormal Psychology

"Psychological abuse is receiving increased attention focusing on its severe effects for the individual and for society as a whole. Despite the considerable amount of research, there is a lack of information on the role that psychopathology may play in the etiology, development and maintenance of the abuse. As can be seen in other papers in this special issue, there is scattered information regarding the potential role of anxiety disorders, and particularly the social anxiety disorder. To fill this gap, this paper reviews the state-of-art including studies examining or including the relationship between social anxiety and topics such as sexual abuse, couple abuse, bullying and mobbing, also covered in this special issue. Overall, findings indicate a strong correlation between social anxiety and vulnerability to psychological abuse, particularly to bullying and mobbing.

El abuso psicológico es una de las problemáticas que se encuentran desafortunadamente en vigencia y cuyas consecuencias negativas son nefastas para el individuo en particular y la sociedad en general. Aunque existe una considerable cantidad de información e investigación sobre este tema, aún se desconocen factores de riesgo a nivel de psicopatología. Como se ha observado en los artículos que preceden a éste, existen algunos indicios acerca del papel que puede estar jugando algunos trastornos de ansiedad y, más concretamente, el trastorno de ansiedad social, en el origen, desarrollo y mantenimiento del abuso. Como resultado, en este trabajo revisaremos aquellos estudios que han mostrado la relación entre presencia de ansiedad social y abuso sexual, abuso en la pareja, abuso escolar (bullying) y acoso laboral (mobbing), siguiendo, asimismo, el orden de los trabajos presentados en este monográfico. En general, los datos señalan que existe un cuerpo de evidencia que señala una fuerte correlación positiva entre ansiedad social y vulnerabilidad frente al abuso psicológico, en concreto con el abuso escolar y el acoso laboral."

The preponderance of social networking sites such as Facebook, Youtube and others, have altered the way in which people interact socially in the real world. In fact, much more can be said about the impact of these modern technologies on the basic structure of human personality: the id, ego, and super-ego. The paper proposes a psychosological theory that modifies Sigmund Freud's (1923) basic relationships and interactions of the id, ego and super-ego in his Psycho-analytic Theory. It is claimed that an individual's engagement with virtual reality (social networking) portends a segregation of the super-ego from the id and ego. In a virtual world, social interactions are not constrained by societal norms and standards (super-ego) so that the tendency is for the id (instincts and drives) to merge with the ego (what is real) and they become indistinguishable. The sociological implications of this theory are also explored in this paper.

Gender differences in anxiety were examined in a large sample of adolescents that included 1,079 who had never met criteria for any disorder, 95 who had recovered from an anxiety disorder, and 47 who had a current anxiety disorder. Participants were examined on a wide array of psychosocial measures. There was a preponderance of females among current and recovered anxiety disorder cases, but not among those who had never experienced an anxiety disorder. The female preponderance emerges early in life, and retrospective data indicate that at age 6, females are already twice as likely to have experienced an anxiety disorder than are males. Psychosocial variables that were correlated with both anxiety and gender were identified. Statistically controlling for these variables did not eliminate the gender differences in prevalence or anxiety symptom means.

Voice hearing (VH) is often regarded as pathognomic for schizophrenia. The purpose of this article is to review and integrate historical, clinical, epidemiological, and phenomenological evidence in order to suggest that VH may be more appropriately understood as a dissociative rather than a psychotic phenomenon. First, we discuss the lifetime prevalence of VH in the general population, which is estimated to range between 1% and 16% for adult nonclinical populations and 2% and 41% in healthy adolescent samples. Second, we demonstrate how the ubiquity of VH phenomenology, including variables like voice location, content, and frequency, limits its diagnostic and prognostic utility for differentiating psychotic from trauma-spectrum and nonclinical populations. Finally, we report on the empirical associations between VH, measures of dissociation, and trauma particularly (though not exclusively) childhood sexual abuse. There are 2 main conclusions from this review. First, we argue that available evidence suggests that VH experiences, including those in the context of psychotic disorders, can be most appropriately understood as dissociated or disowned components of the self (or self–other relationships) that result from trauma, loss, or other interpersonal stressors. Second, we provide a rationale for clinicians to use psychotherapeutic methods for integrating life events as precipitating and/or maintaining factors for distressing voices. Potential mechanisms for the relationship between trauma, dissociation, VH, and clinical diagnosis are described, including the relevance of literature from the field of attachment in providing a diathesis for dissociation. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.

In  what  sense  do  we  speak  of  the planetary university? This  essay  belongs  to  a  more  comprehensive, still  unpublished reflection  that the authors have been developing over  the  past  years  while teaching  and  doing  research in Italy  and  abroad. However,  the essay  delineates  neither  the  situation  of  single  academic institutions, nor  a  general picture obtained by induction starting  from a variety of observational data. Rather,  it  attempts  to clarify,  in  the  specific  situation in which the authors  operate,  the powers  that  act  upon  teaching  and  research  once  they  let  themselves  be  informed  by  the laws  of  the  earth  turned  into  a  planet, that is,  in the words  of  common  language, by the new order of the globalized earth.

Ketika seseorang berada dalam keadaan normal, ia memiliki kemampuan untuk mengendalikan rasa takut. Akan tetapi ada sebagian orang yang tidak dapat mengendalikan rasa takut ketika berhadapan dengan keadaan atau pun obyek tertentu. Rasa takut yang tidak terkendali ini bisa menyebabkan sesorang mengalami fiksasi,

The clinical manifestations of social phobia were studied in a carefully diagnosed sample of 21 social phobics. Social phobia was found to be a chronic and pervasive condition affecting a variety of life areas and producing significant emotional distress. In a second study, individuals with a diagnosis of social phobia or avoidant personality disorder were compared using a subsample of socially phobic subjects and a sample with avoidant personality disorder. Although physiological reactivity and cognitive content were essentially the same for both groups in a number of situational tasks, those individuals with a diagnosis of avoidant personality disorder were found to be more sensitive interpersonally, and exhibited significantly poorer social skill than did the social phobic subjects. The results are discussed in relation to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition, criteria for social phobia, the significance of social phobia as a clinical syndrome, and the research and treatment implications of the difference found between individuals with a diagnosis of social phobia and those with avoidant personality disorders. Social phobia is a new diagnostic entity introduced in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III; American Psychiatric Association, 1980).

It was hypothesized that individual differences in eating behavior based on the distinction between obese and normal subjects could be demonstrated within a population of normal subjects classified as to the extent of restraint chronically exercised with respect to eating. Restrained subjects resembled the obese behaviorally, and unrestrained subjects resembled normals. This demonstration was effected in the context of a test .of the psychosomatic hypothesis of obesity. The results indicated that although some individuals may eat more when anxious, there is little empirical support for the notion that eating serves to reduce anxiety. An explanation for this apparent inconsistency was offered.

The final, common pathway to alcohol use is motivational. A person decides consciously or unconsciously to consume or not to consume any particular drink of alcohol according to whether or not he or she expects that the positive affective consequences of drinking will outweigh those of not drinking. Various factors (e.g., past experiences with drinking, current life situation) help to form expectations of affective change from drinking, these factors always modulated by a person's neurochemical reactivity to alcohol. Such major influences include the person's current nonchemical incentives and the prospect of acquiring new positive incentives and removing current negative incentives. Our motivational counseling technique uses nonchemical goals and incentives to help the alcoholic develop a satisfying life without the necessity of alcohol. The technique first assesses the alcoholic's motivational structure and then seeks to modify it through a multicomponent counseling procedure. The counseling technique is one example of the heuristic value of the motivational model. This article presents a motivational formulation of alcohol use. The formulation is intended to incorporate advances made in understanding the inheritable constitutional factors (e.g.,

Across cultures and throughout history, transcendent states achieved through meditative practices have been reported. The practices to attain transcendent states vary from transcendental meditation to yoga to contemplative prayer, to other various forms of sitting meditation. While these transcendent states are ascribed many different terms, those who experience them describe a similar unitive, ineffable state of consciousness. Despite the common description, few studies have systematically examined transcendent states during meditation.Twenty-five studies with a total of 672 combined participants were included in thisi review.Transcendent states were most consistently associated with slowed breathing, respiratory suspension, reduced muscle activity and EEG alpha blocking with external stimuli, and increased EEG alpha power, EEG coherence, and functional neural connectivity. The transcendent state is described as being in a state of relaxed wakefulness in a phenomenologically different space-time. Heterogeneity between studies precluded any formal meta-analysis and thus, conclusions about outcomes are qualitative and preliminary.

Investigators commonly distinguish between primary and secondary psychopathy D.T. Lykken, 1995), though there is a lack of consensus regarding the best means to achieve this distinction. To address the validity of using R. D. Hare's (2003) Psychopathy Checklist and the G. Welsh (1956) Anxiety Scale for this purpose, the authors used 2 measures of J. A. Gray's (1987) behavioral inhibition system/behavioral activation system (BIS/BAS). Following D. T. Lykken (1995) and D. C. Fowles (1980), the authors hypothesized that primary psychopathy would be associated with a weak BIS and a normal BAS, whereas secondary psychopathy would be associated with a strong BAS and a normal BIS. Results for primary psychopathy were as predicted. Results for secondary psychopathy clearly supported the strong BAS prediction but provided mixed support for the normal BIS prediction.

This paper describes a meta-analysis of 33 studies that examined the relationship between the Five-Factor Model and symptoms of clinical disorders. The typical pattern found associated with clinical disorders or measures of clinical disorders was high Neuroticism, low Conscientiousness, low Agreeableness, and low Extraversion. Comparisons of diagnostic groups and norm groups showed higher levels of Neuroticism and lower levels of Extraversion than did studies of correlations between measures of the level of a disorder and measures of the five factors. Studies of observer ratings of the five factors showed lower levels of Neuroticism and Openness than did studies of self-report ratings. These and other findings relating to type of scale and type of comparison group have possible clinical implications and raise several questions worthy of further research.

Lying is one of the characteristic features of psychopathy, and has been recognized in clinical and diagnostic descriptions of the disorder, yet individuals with psychopathic traits have been found to have reduced neural activity in many of the brain regions that are important for lying. In this study, we examine brain activity in sixteen individuals with varying degrees of psychopathic traits during a task in which they are instructed to falsify information or tell the truth about autobiographical and non-autobiographical facts, some of which was related to criminal behavior. We found that psychopathic traits were primarily associated with increased activity in the anterior cingulate, various regions of the prefrontal cortex, insula, angular gyrus, and the inferior parietal lobe when participants falsified information of any type. Associations tended to be stronger when participants falsified information about criminal behaviors. Although this study was conducted in a small sample of individuals and the task used has limited ecological validity, these findings support a growing body of literature suggesting that in some contexts, individuals with higher levels of psychopathic traits may demonstrate heightened levels of brain activity.

In a prospective study of adolescent depression, adolescents (N = 1,508) were assessed at Time 1 and after 1 year (Time 2) on psychosocial variables hypothesized to be associated with depression. Most psychosocial variables were associated with current (n = 45) depression. Formerly depressed adolescents (n = 217) continued to differ from never depressed controls on many of the psychosocial variables. Many of the depression-related measures also acted as risk factors for future depression (« = 112), especially past depression, current other mental disorders, past suicide attempt, internalizing behavior problems, and physical symptoms. Young women were more likely to be, to become, and to have been depressed. Controlling for the psychosocial variables eliminated the gender difference for current and future but not for past depression.

Judgment as a function of superego can be relentlessly cruel and concrete. This cruelty can be focused on one's self or the self of the other, the "self" of a culture or the "self" of a gender. The focus can be on the very self of one's family or the very self of one's closest companion. The internal drama of deprivation and annihilation are sources of superego judgmentalness and selfdestructiveness. Survival, in its most primitive forms, is the source of much of superego orientation. The superego's relentless pursuit of achievement and functionality destroys children's psyches, relationships, and the sense of whoness in one's self and in others. As the superego arises in ascendency, whoness (which is awareness itself) disappears both in one's self and in the other. Objectivity of cognition pervades, and the sense of righteousness is paramount, so anything and everything can be done to anyone. The gods are truly on one's side. Inflation is the superego's arc, often followed by deflation. The hero-zero show.

I JUST CAN'T RESIST THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONFER HUMILITY TO IDIOTS - BECAUSE WE ALL ARE. AND EXCUSE ME - THE SOONER WE ALL ADMIT IT - THE SOONER THIS WORLD WILL CHANGE AND BECOME WAY MORE JOYOUS. IT'S LIKE THIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE WILL NOT INVADE THE PERSONA OF HUMANS - HOWEVER, BEING AN IDIOT WILL HAVE AN EVEN BETTER RESULT. WE ARE AN ENTERTAINMENT SPECIE, WHICH MEANS - OUR JOB IS TO BE EVER MORE CREATIVE AND TO SURPRISE GOD - IDIOTS CAN DO THAT - LOVING IDIOTS CAN NOT  -  WHICH INCLUDES HAVING MORE ORGASMS, BECAUSE THEY ARE GOOD FOR YOU AND EVERYBODY AROUND YOU.

Kejadian luar biasa dalam kehidupaan dapat dialami oleh seseorang mulai sejak dalam kandungan sampai akhir hayatnya. Peristiwa dalam hidup dapat disebabkan alam dan peristiwa atau permasalahan yang ditimbulkan oleh manusia sendiri. Semakin berat peristiwa yang dialami oleh seseorang, semakin besar peluang orang tersebut mengalami gangguan stres pasca trauma atau sering dikenal sebagai Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). Gangguan stres pasca trauma atau sering dikenal sebagai Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) merupakan hal yang sering terjadi apabila seseorang yang mengalami atau menyaksikan kejadian mengerikan seperti bencana alam, kecelakaan, terorisme, perang, atau kematian seseorang yang dicintai akan mengalami trauma. Beberapa orang ada yang sembuh dan kembali beraktivitas normal, namun ada yang mengalami trauma berkelanjutan hingga mengembangkan gangguan stres pasca trauma atau post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Gangguan Stress Pasca Trauma (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/PTSD) adalah reaksi maladaptif yang berkelanjutan terhadap suatu pengalaman traumatis. Pengalaman traumatis ini merupakan pengalaman luar biasa yang mencekam, mengerikan, dan mengancam jiwa seseorang, seperti peperangan, korban perkosaan, korban kecelakaan hebat dan orang-orang yang telah menjadi saksi dari hancurnya rumah-rumah dan lingkungan hidup mereka oleh bencana alam, atau oleh bencana teknologis seperti tabrakan kereta api atau kecelakaan pesawat, dsb. Gangguan Stress Pasca Trauma ini kemungkinan berlangsung berbulan-bulan, bertahun-tahun atau sampai beberapa dekade dan mungkin baru muncul setelah beberapa bulan atau tahun setelah adanya pemaparan terhadap peristiwa traumatis. Individu akan didiagnosa mengalami PTSD bila setelah periode yang cukup panjang, ia tak mampu kembali ke fungsinya yang semula, dan terus dicekam oleh pengalaman-pengalaman mengganggu. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) atau gangguan stres pasca trauma sangat penting untuk kita ketahui, PTSD dapat menyerang siapapun yang telah mengalami kejadian traumatik, tidak pandang usia dan jenis kelamin.

Klein (2014) argues that the replication crisis in social psychology is due—at least in large part —to the tendency of psychological theories to be ill-specified. We disagree. First, we use both historical and contemporary examples to show that high-quality replication is possible even in the absence of a well-specified theory; and, second, we argue that it is typically auxiliary assumptions, rather than theories themselves, that need to be more clearly specified in order to understand the implications of a given replication effort.

In this study we examined the effects of anxiety and food deprivation on the amount of food consumed ad lib by dieters and nondieters. Eighty female college students served as subjects in an ostensible market research study in which an anxiety manipulation was embedded. Reassignment of the subjects to anxiety condition on the basis of self-reported anxiety produced a significant (p < .02) three-way interaction among level of anxiety, food deprivation, and dieting status. The results suggest that (a) for nondieters, anxiety suppresses hunger but has no effect when subjects are not initially hungry, and (b) for dieters, anxiety increases eating only when the subject is initially hungry. These results are interpreted in terms of Herman and Polivy's (1984) boundary model of eating.

Gestalt Therapy techniques are considered to be powerful tools for the remobilization of human growth and change. I will attempt to show that the power of these techniques lies in the fact that they are effective ways of dealing with our "internalizations". I will first briefly review object relation theory and then discuss gestalt techniques as they pertain to internal objects.

The recent increased productivity of researchers in the area of depression has been accompanied by a greater reliance on student samples A number of these investigations, however, have incidentally reported significant correlations between measures of depression and several other forms of psychopathology The present study was designed to examine explicitly the relationship between self-reported depression and a number of self-report measures of other forms of maladaptive functioning in a subclimcal population. Seven questionnaires completed by 443 undergraduate students yielded 17 different pathology scales. All of the scales were found to be significantly mtercorrelated Furthermore, a factor analysis yielded a two-factor solution with the first factor, composed of all but three scales, accounting for 50% of the total variance Chi-square analyses revealed that only 5%-10% of the subjects were cross classified as high on one measure and low on another These results are discussed with reference to the ability of self-report measures to differentiate discrete forms of psychopathology in both subclimcal and psychiatric populations Finally, the present results underscore the need for caution in extrapolating findings from studies with students scoring high on the Beck Depression Inventory

Dreams about 9/11 -- Paper presented at the 19th Annual International Conference for The International Association for the Study of Dreams, Tufts University, Medford, Boston, Massachusetts; 05/2002
An analysis of trauma dreams collected after 9/11

Personality and psychopathology long have been viewed as related domains, but the precise nature of their relations remains unclear. Through most of the 20th century, they were studied as separate fields; within psychopathology, clinical syndromes were separated from personality disorders in 1980. This division led to the revelation of substantial overlap among disorders both within and across axes and to the joint study of normal and abnormal personality. The author reviews these literatures and proposes an integrative framework to explain personality-psychopathology relations: Three broad, innate temperament dimensions-negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and disinhibition-differentiate through both biologically and environmentally based developmental processes into a hierarchical personality trait structure and, at their extremes, are risk factors (diatheses) for psychopathology, especially given adverse life experiences (stress).

As of 2012 there has been an alarming increase of 20% Filipino recidivists (Bureau of
Corrections, 2012). It continues to increase up until the present time. Thus, this study examined
how Individual Differences, Family, Peers, State Policies for Employment, and Spirituality foster
successful reintegration of ex-offenders and ultimately lessen recidivism among them. Through
delving into the personal lived experiences of the ex-offender during their re-entry, the
researchers intend to know how these factors play out in their successful re-entry experience.
Findings suggest that these factors heavily affect the reintegration of formerly incarcerated
individuals. However, a new factor, politics, emerged in our present study indicating that it also
assists successful reintegration. The six factors are interdependent and found to have
corresponding subthemes. In addition, the researchers have found out that the factors may
overlap with one another and may or may not exist without the other. In general, findings
provide several suggestions for better correctional facilities, better government policies, and
alternative approaches for successful reintegration and lessening recidivism rates.

Indian cinema has always been fascinated by a variety of psychological disorders such as pervasive developmental disorders, mental retardation, anxiety and mood disorders, personality and identity disorders, etc. This paper is a qualitative research; the objective is to explore any disparity between the cinematic representation and the DSM criteria for diagnosis of the disorders, and the effect of these representations (or misrepresentations, if any) on the layman’s perceptions of them. A review and analysis of certain popular Indian films (made between 1990 and 2010) that thematically
explore certain prevalent psychological disorders is attempted here, focusing on four major film industries in India, namely- Hindi from the north, Tamil from the south, Marathi from the west and Bengali from the east. This also includes structured interviews to assess both the knowledge about and attitudes towards the same, as created by such cinema, among general public that is not predisposed to accurate information (in terms of correct clinical picture, causes and treatment). These were conducted on a random sample of 120 subjects in the age range of 15-60, who had no prior or present knowledge of psychology. Results were assessed in percentage and mean values. Observations found disparity between the representation of mental disorders in Indian cinema and their DSM descriptions, which had an influence on its audience. The general perception about mental disorders is that it is curable, maybe controlled with discipline and is largely unacceptable in society. It was concluded that accurate portrayals make for relatively correct impressions on the viewers and leave less scope for misconception.

The term ‘abnormal’ has played a subtle and powerful role in psychological discourse, making use of its capacity for three meanings: different, pathological, or irregular. We use it all the time, often without further thought. Yet some aspects of the history of the term are urgently relevant if we are to understand its usage: an effective definition of the term is, necessarily, an etymology.

What does the saliency of hallucinations among the general, non-clinical population indicate?  Are hallucinations a matter of loose wires or vestigial neurostructures that under the right conditions are reactivated?  To answer these questions, I first define hallucinations, distinguishing them from pseudohallucinations and illusions.  Next I comment on the failure to explain hallucinations and how a root cause is too often confused with accompanying conditions.  I describe hallucinations as produced by “aptic structures” or evolved, innate neurological networks plus the results of experience that afford certain aptitudes (Jaynes 1976).  I integrate what we do know about the basics of the neurology of language, the adaptive advantages of the asymmetrical dual brain, and right-side brain activity and hallucinations.  I conclude by noting how some therapists acknowledge that hallucinations are not inherently pathopsychological, and that “voice-hearers” should be encouraged to confront their voices as aspects of their selves.  I also suggest that to understand hallucinations, a new terminology is required and that mental imagery, though in some respects quite different from hallucinations, is essentially hallucinatory and the successor to what Jaynes termed bicameral mentality.  Taken together, hallucinations and mental imagery (inner quasi-perceptions) constitute “superperceptions.”

This study present a collection of examples of verbatim language in dreams, with analyses of how this is altered relative to waking language. Grammar is well-preserved in these dreams while meaningfulness is distorted relative to waking criteria. Novel nouns receive special emphasis as do extra-vocal cues such as voice tone. Dreams with verbatim language tend to be unusually long, vivid, and emotionally salient, though this may be a byproduct differential dream recall affecting both.  The present findings will be compared to past research data on language in dreams, and discussed in relation to what's known about brain areas involved in dreaming and areas involved in different linguistic processes.