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Psychopathology 2020Criteria A of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) defines personality pathology in terms of impairments in "self" (identity, self-direction) and... (Review)
Review
Criteria A of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) defines personality pathology in terms of impairments in "self" (identity, self-direction) and "interpersonal" (empathy, intimacy) functioning. Articulated as a set of dynamic regulatory and relational processes that are stratified in the Level of Personality Functioning Scale, these impairments involve how individuals think and feel about themselves and others and how they relate to others. Defining personality pathology in terms of regulatory and relational processes involving self and other, and distinguishing severity of personality pathology from individual differences in its expression (Criteria B), offers the AMPD several advantages. First, it distinguishes the nature and severity of personality pathology from other forms of psychopathology. Second, it allows the AMPD to integrate personality structure and personality processes. Third, it is highly suitable for synthesis with the Contemporary Integrative Interpersonal Theory of personality. Finally, beyond the interpersonal perspective, it facilitates even broader theoretical and treatment integration.
Topics: Ego; Humans; Personality Disorders; Psychopathology
PubMed: 32114579
DOI: 10.1159/000506313 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2022Alexithymia is associated with deficiencies to identify, describe and express emotions, paucity of fantasies and an externally oriented cognitive style. The current...
Alexithymia is associated with deficiencies to identify, describe and express emotions, paucity of fantasies and an externally oriented cognitive style. The current studies provide evidence that alexithymia is also related to self-regulation processes and exacerbates effects of ego-depletion, a state where self-regulation resources are reduced due to previous acts of self-regulation. In Study 1, ego-depletion effects of a handgrip task on pain tolerance were increased by alexithymia. In Study 2, an emotion suppression task showed stronger effects of ego-depletion on a Stroop task in participants high rather than low in alexithymia, but only after suppression of emotions induced by negative and not positive pictures. The results imply that alexithymia increases susceptibility to ego-depletion effects, that consumption of self-regulatory resources has stronger consequences for people high in alexithymia and that they should experience special support in ways to replenish self-regulation resources.
PubMed: 36339834
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.970244 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Oct 2022Many people believe conspiracy theories, even though such beliefs are harmful to themselves and their social environment. What is the appeal of conspiracy theories? In... (Review)
Review
Many people believe conspiracy theories, even though such beliefs are harmful to themselves and their social environment. What is the appeal of conspiracy theories? In this contribution, I propose that conspiracy theories have psychological benefits by imbuing perceiver's worldview with meaning and purpose in a rewarding manner. Conspiracy theories enable an alternative reality in which perceivers (a) can defend a fragile ego by perceiving themselves and their groups as important, (b) can rationalize any of their beliefs and actions as legitimate, and (c) are entertained through the opportunity to uncover a mystery in an exciting tale. These are short-term benefits, however, suggesting that conspiracy theories provide people with a form of instant gratification.
PubMed: 35644093
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101352 -
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience May 2021Increasing evidence suggests that mental health and physical health are linked by neural systems that jointly regulate somatic physiology and high-level cognition. Key... (Review)
Review
Increasing evidence suggests that mental health and physical health are linked by neural systems that jointly regulate somatic physiology and high-level cognition. Key systems include the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the related default-mode network. These systems help to construct models of the 'self-in-context', compressing information across time and sensory modalities into conceptions of the underlying causes of experience. Self-in-context models endow events with personal meaning and allow predictive control over behaviour and peripheral physiology, including autonomic, neuroendocrine and immune function. They guide learning from experience and the formation of narratives about the self and one's world. Disorders of mental and physical health, especially those with high co-occurrence and convergent alterations in the functionality of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the default-mode network, could benefit from interventions focused on understanding and shaping mindsets and beliefs about the self, illness and treatment.
Topics: Brain; Brain Mapping; Ego; Health Status; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mental Health; Nerve Net; Prefrontal Cortex
PubMed: 33790441
DOI: 10.1038/s41583-021-00446-8 -
Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Jul 2023Such is the power of self-relevance, it has been argued that even arbitrary stimuli (e.g., shapes, lines, colors) with no prior personal connection are privileged during...
Such is the power of self-relevance, it has been argued that even arbitrary stimuli (e.g., shapes, lines, colors) with no prior personal connection are privileged during information processing following their association with the self (i.e., self-prioritization). This prioritization effect, moreover, is deemed to be stimulus driven (i.e., automatic), grounded in perception, and supported by specialized processing operations. Here, however, we scrutinize these claims and challenge this viewpoint. Although self-relevance unquestionably influences information processing, we contend that, at least at present, there is limited evidence to suggest that the prioritization of arbitrary self-related stimuli is compulsory, penetrates perception, and is underpinned by activity in a dedicated neural network. Rather, self-prioritization appears to be a task-dependent product of ordinary cognitive processes.
Topics: Humans; Cognition; Ego
PubMed: 36356105
DOI: 10.1177/17456916221131273 -
Frontiers in Neurorobotics 2021Newborns demonstrate innate abilities in coordinating their sensory and motor systems through reflexes. One notable characteristic is circular reactions consisting of...
Newborns demonstrate innate abilities in coordinating their sensory and motor systems through reflexes. One notable characteristic is circular reactions consisting of self-generated motor actions that lead to correlated sensory and motor activities. This paper describes a model for goal-directed reaching based on circular reactions and exocentric reference-frames. The model is built using physiologically plausible visual processing modules and arm-control neural networks. The model incorporates map representations with ego- and exo-centric reference frames for sensory inputs, vector representations for motor systems, as well as local associative learning that result from arm explorations. The integration of these modules is simulated and tested in a three-dimensional spatial environment using Unity3D. The results show that, through self-generated activities, the model self-organizes to generate accurate arm movements that are tolerant with respect to various sources of noise.
PubMed: 34966265
DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2021.658450 -
The Journal of Analytical Psychology Jun 2021In this paper I discuss Jungian psychological work of the trauma and loss experienced in reaction to COVID-19 with a man who represents a clinical composite. The issues...
In this paper I discuss Jungian psychological work of the trauma and loss experienced in reaction to COVID-19 with a man who represents a clinical composite. The issues of precarity, a concept used by the philosopher Judith Butler, are combined with the notions of lack and absence of French psychoanalyst André Green. The psychological and societal situation of precarity aroused the man's childhood issues that were long repressed. The loneliness, isolation and death from COVID-19 mirrored his personal and the collective responses to the disaster from this global pandemic. He felt on the edge of collapse as what he knew of his world crashed and he found himself unable to cope. The subsequent Jungian work taking place through the virtual computer screen was taxing and restorative simultaneously for both analyst and analysand.
Topics: Adult; Adverse Childhood Experiences; COVID-19; Ego; Humans; Jungian Theory; Loneliness; Male; Psychoanalytic Therapy; Psychological Trauma; Telecommunications; Telemedicine
PubMed: 34231886
DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.12673 -
Schizophrenia Bulletin Jan 2021Schizophrenia (SCZ) can be characterized as a basic self-disorder that is featured by abnormal temporal integration on phenomenological (experience) and psychological...
Schizophrenia (SCZ) can be characterized as a basic self-disorder that is featured by abnormal temporal integration on phenomenological (experience) and psychological (information processing) levels. Temporal integration on the neuronal level can be measured by the brain's intrinsic neural timescale using the autocorrelation window (ACW) and power-law exponent (PLE). Our goal was to relate intrinsic neural timescales (ACW, PLE), as a proxy of temporal integration on the neuronal level, to temporal integration related to self-disorder on psychological (Enfacement illusion task in electroencephalography) and phenomenological (Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience [EASE]) levels. SCZ participants exhibited prolonged ACW and higher PLE during the self-referential task (Enfacement illusion), but not during the non-self-referential task (auditory oddball). The degree of ACW/PLE change during task relative to rest was significantly reduced in self-referential task in SCZ. A moderation model showed that low and high ACW/PLE exerted differential impact on the relationship of self-disorder (EASE) and negative symptoms (PANSS). In sum, we demonstrate abnormal prolongation in intrinsic neural timescale during self-reference in SCZ including its relation to basic self-disorder and negative symptoms. Our results point to abnormal relation of self and temporal integration at the core of SCZ constituting a "common currency" of neuronal, psychological, and phenomenological levels.
Topics: Adult; Cerebral Cortex; Cognitive Dysfunction; Ego; Electroencephalography; Facial Recognition; Female; Functional Neuroimaging; Humans; Illusions; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Schizophrenia; Young Adult
PubMed: 32614395
DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa083 -
International Journal of Environmental... Apr 2021The Dark Triad of personality has been associated with aggression against others as a reaction to perceived provocations. However, previous work has also shown that such...
The Dark Triad of personality has been associated with aggression against others as a reaction to perceived provocations. However, previous work has also shown that such responsive aggression even occurs if it means harming oneself. The first of two laboratory studies aimed to investigate whether this relation between the Dark Triad and self-harming behavior also occurs in situations where no others are affected but self-harm is likely. The second laboratory study considered two different settings in a within-participants design in order to analyze the stability of self-harming behavior and to what extent the Dark Triad constructs influence this behavior. The sample for study 1 consisted of 151 students (45.7% female) with a mean age of 21.40 years ( = 2.19); the sample for study 2 consisted of 251 students (76.0% female) with a mean age of 22.21 years ( = 3.90). Aside from the Dark Triad's common core, depending on how self-harm was triggered (ego-threat (mainly narcissism), being alone with one's own thoughts (mainly psychopathy), or reward condition (mainly Machiavellianism)), the Dark Triad traits differed in their responsiveness but were stable over the last two conditions, thereby suggesting a vulnerable side of the Dark Triad.
Topics: Adult; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Female; Humans; Laboratories; Machiavellianism; Male; Narcissism; Personality; Young Adult
PubMed: 33918577
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18083941 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023Philosophers maintain that touch confers a sense of reality or grounding to perceptual experience. In touching oneself, one is simultaneously both subject and object of...
Philosophers maintain that touch confers a sense of reality or grounding to perceptual experience. In touching oneself, one is simultaneously both subject and object of touch, a template for experiencing oneself as subject and object of intentions, feelings, and motivations, or intersubjectivity. Here, I explore a form of self-touch carefully documented by Winnicott in observing how the infant engages the transitional object. I compare the processes of self-loss in transitional states, including absorption in art, empathic immersion, drug-induced ego dissolution, and depersonalization. I use examples drawn from Rodin, Dante, and the Beatles; research correlating neurophysiological findings with aspects of self-representation; predictive processing-based models; Hohwy's concepts of minimal and narrative self; Clark's notion of the extended mind; and phenomenological perspectives on touch, to postulate a role for self-touch in the pre-reflective sense of mine-ness, or grounding, in transitional states.
PubMed: 37533722
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1097402