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Ritual Worlding. Exploring the Self-and-world-making Efficacy of Rituals
No full textDespite extensive research on the functions and meanings of ritual, the question of ritual efficacy remains a topic of debate. This paper explores how the concept of worlding can contribute to the study of ritual efficacy. Based on theoretical literature and qualitative research into cremation and perinatal loss, it proposes that rituals can be understood as worlding practices characterized by an entanglement of virtuality and actuality. In rituals, individuals frame a subjunctive time-space, playfully speculating with multiple experiential realities (what could be) while being anchored in the present (what is). The paper demonstrates that this intricate entanglement is key to the self-and-world-making quality of rituals and is crucial to understanding their efficacy. Furthermore, it shows that the value of the concept of worlding lies in its emphasis on embodied experiences, the active nature of our being in the world, and the recognition of power dynamics. Ritual worlding enables individuals to navigate the ambiguities that accompany life and death
Worldview Communication by Ritual Counsellors. An Explorative Multiple Case Study on Funeral Rituals
No full textThis contribution explores the question how ritual counsellors shape their hermeneutical-communicative role and how they use worldview communication in the preparation and performance of a funeral. Data were collected from a group of six ritual counsellors with a questionnaire and a group interview. The data were interpreted through the lens of three hermeneutical models. I come to the conclusion that respondents are aware of worldview aspects of their work, while they differ in the role they take. Some are more guides, others more witnesses. The role of priestess which some of the counsellors adopt deviates from the available professional theory. More reflection is needed to develop such a theory about worldview communication outside the church
Anxiously attached: Personality predictors of privacy attitudes, trust, and willingness to share information on the internet
No full textPrivacy concerns surrounding Internet and technology use are higher now than ever, yet, people continue to use the Internet and Internet-connected technologies to share information without coercion and often with recipients they do not have a relationship with. Our research addresses how people’s personality, particularly two personality dimensions (anxiety and avoidance) together known as attachment style, affects their self-reported willingness to share and their actual sharing behavior. We conducted two studies on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (N=984). Study 1 surveyed 500 participants (193 women, 304 men, 3 transgender) aged 20-79 (Mdn = 35, SD = 11.65); and Study 2 surveyed 484 participants (223 women, 260 men, 1 transgender) aged 19-78 (Mdn = 35; SD = 11.69). Multiple regression analyses controlling for demographics and the personality factors neuroticism and extraversion show that anxiously attached individuals are more concerned (ßs = .24 and .33) than less anxiously attached individuals about their private data being disclosed, yet paradoxically, they report more trust in the security of digital communications (ßs = .21 and .34), making them more likely to share personal information on the Internet (ßs = .26 and .22). This research bears theoretical implications (e.g., understanding the psychology of sharing behavior), as well as practical ones (e.g., for tailoring existing privacy and sharing controls to individuals based on their personality characteristics)
Narcissistic personality syndrome in relation to emotional states: Preliminary findings in a Dutch psychiatric outpatient sample
No full textThe aims of the current study was to investigate the relation between the narcissistic personality syndrome (NPS) and schema modes, which refer to the predominant emotional state, schemas, and coping responses that are active for an individual at a particular time. Participants consisted of 25 clients who filled out the Schema Mode Inventory and 25 clinicians who provided assessment of NPS using the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure. This study showed a significant correlation between NPS and a lack of frustration tolerance (i.e., undisciplined child mode). There were no significant relations with self-aggrandizement (i.e., self-aggrandizer mode), feeling intensely angry (i.e., angry child and enraged child modes), and trying to suppress painful emotions by compulsively and excessively committing to distracting and soothing activities, such as abusing drugs (i.e., detached self-soother mode). This preliminary study contributes to our understanding of pathological narcissism in Dutch outpatient clients. We point to the importance of a self-reported lack of frustration tolerance as a potentially valuable diagnostic characteristic of pathological narcissism. We additionally emphasize the importance of diagnostic approaches based on clinical judgement when it comes to pathological narcissism
Borderline personality features predict empathy for animals but not for children
No full textAlthough empathy is not a defining feature of borderline personality disorder, there is a growing body of work suggesting deficits in some components of empathy toward humans. There is no research investigating the link between borderline personality features (BPF) and empathy toward animals, which may be less threatening to individuals that struggle in interpersonal relationships and fear rejection. We examined BPF and self-reported distress and viewing times of photographs depicting dogs and children in twelve adverse circumstances in a college student sample (N = 464) with trait empathy as a mediator in Study 1. BPF predicted distress to dog but not child photos. There were significant indirect effects of BPF on distress to dog and child photos through personal distress. In Study 2 (N = 524), we further examined the processes underlying these associations by modelling a serial mediation of BPF with distress to dog and child photos through anxious and avoidant attachment to trait empathy toward animals and humans. We replicated the finding that BPF predicted distress to dog but not child photos. BPF predicted both anxious and avoidant attachment styles, which negatively predicted empathy for humans and animals. Empathy for humans mediated the associations with distress for child photos whereas empathy for animals mediated the associations with distress for dog photos. Further research is needed to determine the causal pathways between BPF, attachment, and empathy to animals and humans
