Psychological Thought (Journal)
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A Neglected Drama for Elders: Discrepancy Between Self-Perception and Objective Performance Regarding Financial Capacity in Patients With Cognitive Deficits
Get PDFThe article aims at investigating whether patients from Greece with different kinds of cognitive deficits (resulting from Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease Dementia, and Mild Cognitive Impairment) can be characterized as financially capable (based on neuropsychological assessment), and if this claimed (in)capacity is in accordance with their personal belief of (in)capacity. Results revealed that the vast majority of the mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer’s disease patients as well as patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Parkinson’s disease, who scored significantly lower than normal on a relevant financial decision-making capacity test, believed that they were capable to handle their finances. This finding is in contrast with their actual financial capacity scores and the beliefs of their family members-caregivers on this issue. Some critical questions concerning incapacity and intellectual insight are raised, and future cross-cultural investigative attempts on this issue are suggested
Rape Crimes Reviewed: The Role of Observer Variables in Female Victim Blaming
Get PDFThis article presents an overview of empirical research on the role of observer variables in rape victim blaming (female attacked by a male perpetrator). The focus is on literature from the last 15 years. The variables observer gender, ambivalent sexism, rape myth acceptance, and rape empathy are discussed in relation to victim blaming. Most research on rape is conducted using diverse methods and approaches that result in a great disparity regarding the role of these variables in predicting blame assignments. Despite the inconsistencies, most studies show that men hold the victim more responsible for her own victimization than women. Findings further indicate that higher scores on sexist ideologies and rape myth acceptance predict higher victim blame, and that higher rape empathy scores predict lower victim blame. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed
Probability of Responding: A Return to the Original Brunswik
Get PDFThis paper traces the conceptual foundations of the Brunswik based Social Judgment Theory. The historical transition from measurement through probability of responding (i.e., a constancy ratio) to measurement via correlations is documented. It is shown that there are substantive limitations with the correlation approach for the idiographic analysis of human perception or decision-making. Instead, the constancy ratio developed originally by Brunswik as well as the measurement of the probability of accuracy in responding are better suited to the analysis of human responding under conditions of uncertainty and complexity. These measures are relevant for the development of psychological laws of individual responding. It was concluded that focusing on the probability of individual responses to situations through analysing the pattern of responding intensively is more consistent with the original approach of Brunswik
Etiology, Composition, Development and Maintenance of Misophonia: A Conditioned Aversive Reflex Disorder
Get PDFMisophonia is a recently identified condition in which an individual has an acute reaction of hatred or disgust to a specific commonly occurring sound. We propose that misophonia is a form of conditioned behavior that develops as a physical reflex through Pavlovian conditioning. Although misophonia is generally considered to be a one-step reaction, in which the sound elicits rage or disgust, as well as typical autonomic responses associated with these emotions, we propose that misophonia is a two-step reaction, in which the sound elicits an aversive conditioned physical reflex, and the aversive conditioned physical reflex elicits hatred or disgust. We also propose that the emotional response to trigger stimuli creates a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm that maintains or strengthens the misophonic physical reflex. Finally, we propose that new misophonic trigger stimuli are developed through the pairing of a neutral stimulus with a misophonic trigger stimulus. We suggest that a better name for misophonia is Conditioned Aversive Reflex Disorder (CARD) since it focuses attention on the reflexive nature of this condition and incorporates multiple stimuli modalities. A counterconditioning treatment for misophonia is presented with brief case descriptions which demonstrate the conditioned reflex nature of this disorder
Specifics of the psyhological defense of those learning the combat sports
Get PDFPsychological defense contributes to avoidance of anxiety and any other negative emotions, blocking the real impact of certain threats. Defense mechanisms are our body’s natural way of overcoming of one’s internal conflicts by changing the way we process information about our surroundings thus allowing us to avoid the loss of self-control when placed in a conflict situation. The use of the defense mechanisms negation, reaction formation and pseudo-altruism by these ones learning combat sports was studied. These defense mechanisms form the self-sacrificing defense style. There are some significant gender and age differences, as well as in the type of combat sport regarding the used defense mechanisms. The women practicing combat sports more often used the defense mechanism pseudo-altruism and the self-sacrificing defense style. The latter was preferred by these ones who practiced judo, and these ones who practiced sambo used more often reaction formation. The sportsmen more advanced in age used more often pseudo-altruism.Language: Bulgaria
Voice-Sensitive Areas in the Brain
Get PDFThis empirical single-participant fMRI case study partially replicates Belin, Zatorre, Lafaille, Ahad, and Pike (2000) research on voice-selective areas in the auditory cortex. It hypothesises that brain areas, sensitive to human vocal sounds, show greater neural activation than non-human ones. A 1X3 ANOVA design was used in this study contrasted by two conditions: sound vs. silence and voice vs. non-voice. The findings supported the hypothesis, noting also possible individual differences to the degree of voice activation in both hemispheres. Suggestions for a future replication could discuss voice/non-voice and speech/non-speech neuronal activation in the brain, auditory and visual neural responsiveness to voice and face modalities, and evolutionary assumptions in regard to sound- and voice-selective reactivity
Tasks of Psychology
Get PDFThe tasks of the contemporary psychology are related to the study of mental energy; health improvement; enhancement of educational attractiveness, including by means of use of electronic devices in the educational process; informing the society regarding the sensitive stages in human development; elaboration of psycho-diagnostic opportunities by means of creation of new instruments and improvement of non-verbal recognition of mental phenomena; enhancing psychological competences regarding the offer of more models that explain mental phenomena, etc.Language: Bulgaria
Between Bandura and Giddens: Structuration Theory in Social Psychological Research?
Get PDFIn any social analysis, one can attribute observed behavioural outcomes to actions and inactions of people (agents) or to the presence or absence of certain structures or systems. The dualism of agent and structure is resolved through the concept of duality as proposed by Anthony Giddens in his structuration theory (ST). Though ST has been applied in other disciplines, it is either less known or applied in psychology. This paper sought to examine ST as a framework for understanding the interdependent relationship between structure and agents in the light of offering explanatory framework in social science research or policy formulation. It concluded with an integrated model comprising elements of both Bandura’s social-cognitive theory and Giddens’ ST
Questionable Use of the Mathematical Concept of Equivalence by Psychologists
Get PDFPsychologists have applied the mathematical concept of an equivalence relation to such topics as concept formation and foundations of language. This line of research is not without controversies, and most researchers have only intuitive understanding of this mathematical concept. In this article, accessible explanations are provided on fundamental issues that have implications for empirical research
Does Depressive Symptomatology Influence Teenage Patients and Their Mothers’ Experience of Doctor-Patient Relationship in Two Balkan Countries?
Get PDFDoctor-patient relationship is considered to be a special relationship and a keystone of medical care. A fundamental factor in this sort of relationship is the communication, which is strictly examined between the two involving parts, without taking into consideration in the case of children and teenagers the possible influence of their parents. The mothers more often accompany their children to the doctor and they become a third part of the doctor-patient relationship. In Greece during February-May 2013, 196 mothers and their teenage children (suffering from acute or chronic illnesses) completed two questionnaires: the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) and a series of questions on a Likert scale from the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) about the experienced satisfaction with the characteristics of this communication. In Bulgaria during July-August 2013, 60 mothers and their children completed the same questionnaires. The results revealed an unexpected finding only for the Greek sample - the quality of relationship between doctor and patient (for both Greek mothers and adolescents) was negatively associated with their scores on CES-D (i.e. low level of depression together with low satisfaction derived from the relationship with the doctor), while no differences were found between the participants’ groups (mothers, children, acute or chronic disease). This surprising finding of high depression-high satisfaction was not found in the Bulgarian sample and therefore needs further investigation