Mental Representations Of Self Research Articles

Honoring Fred Pine: A Study Evaluating the Role of Identification in Two Sisters Over 60 Years

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of identification processes, how they change and transform over the course of 60 years, to highlight the depth and complexity that has been added to our psychoanalytic endeavor through the far-reaching developmental perspective of Fred Pine. My goal has been to fill in some of the gaps in the evolution of complex, coherent, integrated mental representations of self and other and the evolving quality of intimacy. By tracing the developmental trajectories of two sisters over 60 years, one – the oldest daughter – rejected and neglected for being a girl and, the younger daughter – the child whom the mother “always wanted.” I will show how supercharged affective moments of disrupted merger played out differently in each sister because each identified with a different aspect of mother. Some differences include a focus on transforming and evolving identifications as the subjects faced the challenges of the different developmental periods, not only during earliest childhood but including latency, emerging adulthood, midlife, and late middle age. Also highlighted is the role of different ways of coping with early aggression – those that interfere, causing rigidity. and those that facilitate flexibility in evolving mental representations.

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy and Trust Processing in BPD: Exploring Possible Mechanisms of Change.

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) struggle to identify whom they can safely trust, and this struggle contributes to profound emotional turmoil in their close relationships. Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is an application of object relations theory (ORT) that posits that polarized mental representations of self and other define the personality organization of BPD. TFP aims to utilize a clear treatment frame coupled with an analysis of the therapeutic relationship (i.e., the transference) to help individuals with BPD integrate their polarized mental representations. Improvement in the capacity to trust others is inherent in the mechanisms of change in TFP. In this article, a social cognitive model of trust processing provides a new lens through which we formulate how TFP may enhance trust processing in BPD. Recent evidence from randomized clinical trials supports the argument that TFP may intervene with BPD in a way that is concordant with uniquely improved trust processing.

The relationship between mental representations of self and social evaluation: Examining the validity and usefulness of visual proxies of self-image.

Reverse correlation (RC) method has been recently used to visualize mental representations of self. Previous studies have mainly examined the relationship between psychological aspects measured by self-reports and classification images of self (self-CIs), which are visual proxies of self-image generated through the RC method. In Experiment 1 (N = 118), to extend the validity of self-CIs, we employed social evaluation on top of self-reports as criterion variables and examined the relationship between self-CIs and social evaluation provided by clinical psychologists. Experiment 1 revealed that the valence ratings of self-CIs evaluated by independent raters predicted social evaluation after controlling for the effects of self-reported self-esteem and extraversion. Furthermore, in Experiment 2 (N = 127), we examined whether a computational scoring method - a method to assess self-CIs without employing independent raters - could be applied to evaluate the valence of participants' self-CIs. Experiment 2 found that the computational scores of self-CIs were comparable to independent valence ratings of self-CIs. We provide evidence that self-CIs can add independent information to self-reports in predicting social evaluation. We also suggest that the computational scoring method can complement the independent rating process of self-CIs. Overall, our findings reveal that self-CIs are a valid and useful tool to examine self-image more profoundly.

Gender, Attachment Patterns, and Mental Representations of Parents and Self as Predictors of Young Adolescents’ Trauma Symptoms

ABSTRACT While gender and attachment quality have been related to trauma symptomatology in young adolescents, another factor possibly related to trauma symptoms is quality of mental representations of close relationships. In this study, 109 eighth grade students ages 12–13 (44% female) were recruited from a private middle school for academically advantaged, ethnically diverse students over the course of four years, with each new group of participants providing data in the fall semester of their eighth grade year. Participants reported trauma symptoms and the affective valence of their mental representations of self and parents; school staff reported on participants’ attachment patterns. Significant negative correlations existed between preoccupied attachment and affective valence of parental and self mental representations as well as significant positive correlations between incoherent/disorganized and preoccupied attachment, respectively, and childhood trauma symptoms. Overall, incoherent/disorganized attachment predicted avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms, while preoccupied attachment predicted reexperiencing symptoms. For girls, incoherent/disorganized attachment and negative affective valence of self mental representations were both predictive of childhood trauma symptoms, while preoccupied attachment predicted reexperiencing symptoms. These results indicate that therapists must take into account the quality of both attachment and mental representations for middle schoolers when treating childhood trauma symptoms.

Can the lack of early memories of warmth and safeness explain loneliness and quality of life? A community sample study on young and middle-aged Portuguese adults

Literature highlights the impact of loneliness on mental and physical wellbeing. Nonetheless, the link between loneliness and the distinct domains of quality of life has only been slightly explored. Moreover, the relationship between early affiliative memories and current feelings of loneliness still need to be studied. The main goal of this study was to explore how early memories of warmth and safeness and physical, psychological and social quality of life (QoL) are related through the mediating influences of loneliness, by testing a novel model in a community-based sample of 509 adult participants of both sexes. Path analysis results suggested that the lack of early memories of warmth and safeness is associated with higher levels of loneliness, which in turn, is associated with decreased physical, psychological and social quality of life. This model accounted for 22%, 45% and 41% of the variance of physical, psychological and social quality of life, respectively. This study seems to suggest that loneliness is a defensive response that may have its roots in the absence of early emotional experiences of warmth and safeness, which may become a conditioned mental representation of self and others that greatly influences one’s perceptions of one’s physical, psychological and social quality of life. Findings seem to support the relevance of addressing the abilities of warmth, kindness and compassion to overcome loneliness, and subsequently to promote physical, psychological and social well-being.

Neural basis underlying the trait of attachment anxiety and avoidance revealed by the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting-state functional connectivity

BackgroundAttachment theory demonstrates that early attachment experience shapes internal working models with mental representations of self and close relationships, which affects personality traits and interpersonal relationships in adulthood. Although research has focused on brain structural and functional underpinnings to disentangle attachment styles in healthy individuals, little is known about the spontaneous brain activity associated with self-reported attachment anxiety and avoidance during the resting state.MethodsOne hundred and nineteen individuals participated in the study, completing the Experience in Close Relationship scale immediately after an 8-min fMRI scanning. We used the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) signal of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and resting-state functional connectivity to identify attachment-related regions and networks.ResultsConsequently, attachment anxiety is closely associated with the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the right posterior cingulate cortex, over-estimating emotional intensity and exaggerating outcomes. Moreover, the functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and fusiform gyrus increases detection ability for potential threat or separation information, facilitating behavior motivation. The attachment avoidance is positively correlated with the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the bilateral lingual gyrus and right postcentral and negatively correlated with the bilateral orbital frontal cortex and inferior temporal gyrus. Functional connection with attachment avoidance contains critical nodes in the medial temporal lobe memory system, frontal-parietal network, social cognition, and default mode network necessary to deactivate the attachment system and inhibit attachment-related behavior.Conclusion and implicationsThese findings clarify the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation and resting-state functional connectivity neural signature of attachment style, associated with attachment strategies in attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance individuals. These findings may improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of the attachment-related disorder.

Transmission of parental childhood trauma to child behavior problems: Parental Hostile/Helpless state of mind as a moderator

BackgroundLittle attention has been given to intergenerational transmission of risk, mainly whether caregivers’ history of childhood maltreatment is linked to behavioral symptoms in their children and which protective/risk factors are involved in this transmission process. ObjectiveThis study examined if parental Hostile/Helpless (H/H) state of mind with respect to attachment moderated the association between parental childhood trauma and behavior problems in maltreated children. Participants and settingThe sample included 61 parents and their children victims or at very high risk of maltreatment, aged between 1 and 6 years old. MethodParents retrospectively reported their childhood trauma and completed a measure of their children’s behavior problems. Independent observers assessed H/H attachment representations. ResultsAmong parents with H/H states of mind, more severe traumatic childhood experiences were associated with more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in their children. Among non-H/H parents, associations between parental childhood trauma and child behavior problems were not significant. ConclusionsIn the context of trauma, this study suggests that the absence of a H/H state of mind in parents (i.e., the presence of an organized attachment state of mind) is a protective factor for child adjustment. H/H mental representations of self and attachment experiences as targets of intervention for parents with histories of maltreatment may help reduce the transmission of risk in maltreating families.

Conceptual Analysis: A Social Neuroscience Approach to Interpersonal Interaction in the Context of Disruption and Disorganization of Attachment (NAMDA).

Humans are strongly dependent upon social resources for allostasis and emotion regulation. This applies especially to early childhood because humans—as an altricial species—have a prolonged period of dependency on support and input from caregivers who typically act as sources of co-regulation. Accordingly, attachment theory proposes that the history and quality of early interactions with primary caregivers shape children's internal working models of attachment. In turn, these attachment models guide behavior, initially with the set goal of maintaining proximity to caregivers but eventually paving the way to more generalized mental representations of self and others. Mounting evidence in non-clinical populations suggests that these mental representations coincide with differential patterns of neural structure, function, and connectivity in a range of brain regions previously associated with emotional and cognitive capacities. What is currently lacking, however, is an evidence-based account of how early adverse attachment-related experiences and/or the emergence of attachment disorganization impact the developing brain. While work on early childhood adversities offers important insights, we propose that how these events become biologically embedded crucially hinges on the context of the child–caregiver attachment relationships in which the events take place. Our selective review distinguishes between direct social neuroscience research on disorganized attachment and indirect maltreatment-related research, converging on aberrant functioning in neurobiological systems subserving aversion, approach, emotion regulation, and mental state processing in the wake of severe attachment disruption. To account for heterogeneity of findings, we propose two distinct neurobiological phenotypes characterized by hyper- and hypo-arousal primarily deriving from the caregiver serving either as a threatening or as an insufficient source of co-regulation, respectively.

The Mirror of Mind: Visualizing Mental Representations of Self Through Reverse Correlation

The reverse correlation (RC) method has been widely used, because it allows visualization of mental representations without a priori assumptions about relevant dimensions. We employed the RC method to visualize mental representations of self and examined their relationships with traits related to self-image. For this purpose, 110 participants (70 women) performed a two-image forced choice RC task to generate a classification image of self (self-CI). Participants perceived their self-CIs as bearing a stronger resemblance to themselves than did CIs of others (filler-CIs). Valence ratings of participants who performed the RC task (RC sample) and of 30 independent raters both showed positive correlations with self-esteem, explicit self-evaluation, and extraversion. Moreover, valence ratings of independent raters were negatively correlated with social anxiety symptoms. On the other hand, valence ratings of the RC sample and independent raters were not correlated with depression symptoms, trait anxiety, or social desirability. The results imply that mental representations of self can be properly visualized by using the RC method.

Exploring adopted adolescents’ inner world through the lens of qualitative methodology

Adolescence can be regarded as a transitional phase of profound changes with significant consequences for overall psychosocial adjustment. Adolescence may represent a more challenging period for adopted than non-adopted individuals, as they face greater risks of developing maladaptive problems. Research in this area has largely focused on factors associated with maladaptive rather than adaptive outcomes, mainly investigated through the use of quantitative methods. Given these considerations, the present explorative investigation applies a qualitative methodology to an attachment-based interview (the Friends and Family Interview; Steele & Steele, 2005), with the aim of exploring adopted adolescents’ mental representations of self and significant others by giving voice to their inner worlds. The study constitutes part of a larger research project conducted in Italy, involving 13 adopted adolescents (aged 12–17) who have been placed for international adoption for a length of almost eight years. The thematic analysis conducted on the 13 interviews revealed a total of 20 categories, from which six were considered dominant within the adolescents’ narratives: positive relationship with the adoptive family; relational conflict; recognize significant others’ supportive role; possibility of reparation; fear of rejection/abandonment; and tendency not to recognize the adoptive family. The majority of positively oriented themes indicated positive attitudes toward the adoptive family, which was regarded as a repairing relational space. The findings highlight the value of utilizing a qualitative approach and focusing on individual narratives in order to reveal the varied experiences of the adoption process as well as to provide useful tools for public adoption services and social workers dealing with post-adoption issues.

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder: An Object Relations Approach.

Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is an empirically validated psychodynamic psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder (BPD), based on object relations theory, that has clinical utility for individuals with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Given the effectiveness of TFP for patients with BPD, including a number of patients with comorbid NPD, we have adapted the tactics and techniques of TFP with specific modifications for patients with NPD or narcissistic traits. TFP for NPD (TFP-N) retains core elements of the treatment, including a contracting phase and an interpretive process designed to identify and modify maladaptive mental representations of self and others that underlie the affect and behavioral dysregulation in those with personality disorders including NPD. The major goal of TFP-N is the focus on disturbed interpersonal patterns of relating in the here-and-now of the therapeutic interaction as a vehicle to effect enduring changes in personality organization and real-world changes in the areas of love and work.

Embodied self-other overlap in romantic love: a review and integrative perspective.

Romantic love has long intrigued scientists in various disciplines. Social-cognitive research has provided ample evidence for overlapping mental representations of self and romantic partner. This overlap between self and romantic partner would contribute to the experience of love and has been found to be a predictor of relationship quality. Self-partner overlap has been mainly documented at the level of conceptual or narrative self, with studies showing confusion between one's own and partner's identity aspects, perspectives, and outcomes. But the self is not restricted to abstract, conceptual representations but also involves body-related representations, which, research has revealed, are linked to social-cognitive processes. In this article, we review the emerging evidence that romantic love involves not only a blurring of conceptual selves but also a reduction of the distinction between self and romantic partner at a bodily level. We discuss the potential function(s) of self-other overlap in romantic relationship at the level of body-related representations and consider possible mechanisms. We conclude with possible future directions to further investigate how romantic love engages embodied self-other representations involved in social interactions.

How Can I Help You? Dimensional versus Categorical Distinctions in the Assessment for Child Analysis and Child Psychotherapy

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the process of a psychoanalytically-informed or a psychodynamic diagnostic assessment with children, contrasting it with a DSM-like diagnostic process. The importance of understanding and sensitively addressing the experience of parents when they bring their child to a professional for help is highlighted. The promotion of a psychoanalytic atmosphere, the unique contribution of a child analyst or psychodynamic clinician to the general mental health field, is an approach which promotes the development of a therapeutic alliance. This allows both parents and children to express their underlying issues as openly as possible. In addition to the basic assumptions of psychoanalysis (the ubiquity of unconscious mental activity and the impact of the past on the present/the developmental perspective), several factors are crucial to bear in mind: the importance of understanding the nature of the child’s (and the parent’s) emotions, emotion regulation, development of mental representations of self and other, and their conflicts and defense mechanisms. Potential therapeutic approaches are highlighted, including stressing the need to empirically study how decisions are made by a mental health provider when moving from assessment to treatment recommendation.

Mental representation of self in relationships indirectly affects young Black women’s engagement in risky sexual behaviors through psychosocial HIV/STI risk factors

ABSTRACTBlack females are disproportionately affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs), though individual-level sexual risk factors do not appear to explain racial/ethnic HIV incidence rate disparities. The current study examined the roles of attachment representations, working models of self and others, with psychosocial risk factors related to population-level sexual network features in association with risky sexual behaviors. A total of 560 Black emerging adult females (M age = 20.58, SD = 1.89) enrolling in a behavioral HIV prevention intervention trial completed the baseline assessment used in the current analyses. A series of multiple mediator models examined indirect effects of working models of self and others on sexual risk engagement through the following psychosocial HIV/STI risk factors: (a) partner communication self-efficacy, (b) fear of condom negotiation, (c) peer norms for risky sexual behavior, (d) partner trust and (e) sex-related alcohol expectancies. Results indicated an indirect effect of working model of self on the following: condom use with boyfriend/main partner through peer norms for risky sex (ab = .08, 95% CI [.02, .17]), any alcohol use prior to sex through peer norms for risky sex (ab = −.06, 95% CI [−.12, −.02]) and alcohol use prior to sex through sex-related alcohol expectancies (ab = −.13, 95% CI [−.21, −.05]). Findings provided evidence of a direct association between working model of self and each psychosocial HIV/STI risk factor included in the mediation models. Working model of self may help identify Black females at elevated risk for HIV/STI through these psychosocial risk factors.

The early biopsychosocial development of boys and the origins of violence in males.

We apply a biopsychosocial approach to introduce early-in-life experiences that explain a significant part of the male preponderance in the perpetration of violence. Early caregiver abuse and neglect, father absence, and exposure to family and neighborhood violence exacerbate boys' greater risk for aggressive behavior and increase the probability of carrying out violent acts later in life. We examine the development of the psychological self and explore conditions that encourage physical aggression, focusing on the impact on the infant and toddler's emergent mental representation of self, others, and self-other relationships. Boys' slower developmental timetable in the first years of life may enhance their vulnerability for disorganization in emergent neurobiological networks mediating organization of socioemotional relationships. Emergent attachment and activation relationship systems may differentially affect risk and resilience in boys and girls, particularly in single-parent families. Evidence has suggested that the dramatic increase in single-parent families is especially linked to corresponding increases in behavioral undercontrol, antisocial behavior, and the emergence of violence in boys.

Intimacy Effects on Action Regulation: Retrieval of Observationally Acquired Stimulus-Response Bindings in Romantically Involved Interaction Partners Versus Strangers.

Previous research has shown that stimulus–response (SR) binding and retrieval processes also occur when responses are only observed in another person (Giesen et al., 2014). Importantly, this effect depends on the two individuals interacting interdependently during the task (e.g., competition or cooperation). Interdependence, however, must not necessarily result from task-related demands, but can also reflect an intrinsic feature of a given relationship. The present study examines whether observing responses of one’s romantic partner also produces stimulus-based retrieval of observed responses even if the task itself does not involve interdependence. Participants performed a task pairwise, either with their romantic partner or with a stranger. In a sequential prime-probe design, both participants of a pair gave color responses themselves (actors) or merely observed these (observers) in alternating fashion. As expected, stimulus-based retrieval of observationally acquired SR-bindings occurred only in romantically involved pairs; participants interacting with a stranger showed no retrieval effects. We conclude that mental representations of self and other are more closely intertwined in romantic couples, which produces automatic retrieval of observationally acquired SR binding effects even independently of the task itself.

Psychoanalytic phenomenology of schizophrenia: Synthetic metacognition as a construct for guiding investigation.

A review of psychoanalytic writings reveals a vibrant but overlooked history of descriptions of the phenomenology of schizophrenia. In this paper we suggest that neglect of these important psychoanalytic contributions to the understanding of alterations of self-experience in schizophrenia is at least partially due to an absence of sufficient operational definitions by which to study these constructs. We then detail an emergent line of research from the neurosciences investigating processes, referred to as metacognition, by which persons develop, evolve, and reflect upon mental representations of self and others. The findings from this growing line of research are convergent with psychoanalytic descriptions of self-experience in schizophrenia, and may provide a method to guide investigation of concepts found in psychoanalytic literature. This convergence presents a number of implications for both contemporary understandings of schizophrenia, future research, as well as psychoanalytically and nonpsychoanalytically informed treatments of schizophrenia.

Attachment and social cognition in borderline personality disorder: Specificity in relation to antisocial and avoidant personality disorders.

Theory and research point to the role of attachment difficulties in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Attachment insecurity is believed to lead to chronic problems in social relationships, attributable, in part, to impairments in social cognition, which comprise maladaptive mental representations of self, others, and self in relation to others. However, few studies have attempted to identify social-cognitive mechanisms that link attachment insecurity to BPD and to assess whether such mechanisms are specific to the disorder. For the present study, empirically derived indices of mentalization, self-other boundaries, and identity diffusion were tested as mediators between attachment style and personality disorder symptoms. In a cross-sectional structural equation model, mentalization and self-other boundaries mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and BPD. Mentalization partially mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and antisocial personality disorder (PD) symptoms, and self-other boundaries mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety.

The mediating role of parenting in the associations between household chaos and children’s representations of family dysfunction

Children’s drawings are thought to reflect their mental representations of self and their interpersonal relations within families. Household chaos is believed to disrupt key proximal processes related to optimal development. The present study examines the mediating role of parenting behaviors in the relations between two measures of household chaos, instability and disorganization, and how they may be evidenced in children’s representations of family dysfunction as derived from their drawings. The sample (N = 962) is from a longitudinal study of rural poverty exploring the ways in which child, family, and contextual factors shape development over time. Findings reveal that, after controlling for numerous factors including child and primary caregiver covariates, there were significant indirect effects from cumulative family disorganization, but not cumulative family instability, on children’s representation of family dysfunction through parenting behaviors. Results suggest that the proximal effects of daily disorganization outweigh the effects of periodic instability overtime.

ATTACHMENT STYLE AS A PREDICTOR OF RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN ADOLESCENTS

ABSTRACTThe aim of the current study was to examine attachment style as a predictor of risky sexual behavior in a younger, more vulnerable sample than previously investigated in the literature: High school aged adolescents. The hypothesized associations among the variables were partially supported. Contrary to our predictions, there was no significant association between avoidance and risky sexual behavior. However, higher anxiety was positively associated with risky sexual behavior. Finally, the prediction that the highest levels of risky sexual behavior would be found for those individuals with higher levels of anxiety and higher levels of avoidance (i.e., insecure attachment style) was supported.Keywords: Risky Sexual Behavior, Attachment Style, Adolescents1. INTRODUCTIONDeveloped by Bowlby (1982; 1983), attachment theory asserts that individuals from internal working models, or mental representations of self and other, which impact their feelings about and behavior in, relationships. Models of self can be either positive (i.e., one feels worthy of love and care) or negative (i.e., one feels unworthy of love and care) and models of other can be either positive (i.e., one feels others are available and responsive) or negative (i.e., one feels others are distant or rejecting) (Batholomew, 1990). A secure attachment style is characterized by possessing both positive models of self and of other. In contrast, insecure attachment styles are categorized as anxious or avoidant. An anxious attachment style is characterized by a negative model of self, while an avoidant attachment style is characterized as a negative model of other (Feeney and Noller, 1996). Although attachment was initially studied in the context of parent-child relationships, Bowlby (1982) contended that subsequent interactions with other relationship partners could potentially update one's working models. In subsequent research, attachment was studied in other types of relationships (e.g., with peers and romantic partners) and these studies found that models of self and other can vary across different types of relationships (Collins and Read, 1994; Guardia et al., 2000).One of the primary differences between romantic relationship attachment and other types of attachment relationships (e.g., peers, parents) is that romantic relationships include the integration of sexual behavior (Bowlby, 1982; 1983; Shaver et al, 1988). Indeed, studies have shown that couples report a reciprocal relationship between attachment and their sexual relationships (Feeney, 1999; Sprecher and Cate, 2004). A series of reviews by Feeney (1999) and Feeney and Noller (2004) indicate that attachment styles influence how adults interpret many aspects of their romantic relationships, including their sexual attitudes and beliefs and several studies have focused on the association between romantic relationship attachment and sexual behavior (Bogaert and Sadava, 2002; Gentzler and Kerns, 2004; Strachman and Impett, 2009).In a study of college undergraduates, Strachman and Impett (2009) examined how attachment style (i.e., avoidance or anxiety) was associated with condom use across a period of 14 days. Attachment style was measured using the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (Brennan et al, 1998), which is a 36 item self-report measure of attachment style which yields scores for anxiety and avoidance, with low scores on both indicating a secure attachment style. During the two week period, participants were asked to keep a diary of their sexual contact and indicate if a condom was used during intercourse. The study found that participants with an anxious attachment style were less likely to use condoms. The association between attachment style and condom use remained significant when controlling for other related variables such as gender, alternative birth control use, sex frequency and knowledge of a partner's sexual history.In a similar study, Gentzler and Kerns (2004) examined the association between attachment style and sexual behaviors in college students. …