Structural Analysis Of Social Behavior Research Articles

The Use of Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) as an Assessment Tool

Structural analysis of social behavior (SASB) is a model that can be used to assess interpersonal and intrapsychic interactions in terms of three underlying dimensions: (a) focus (other, self, introject), (b) affiliation-hostility (love-hate), and (c) interdependence-independence (enmeshment-differentiation). Assessment of individuals or groups in terms of these dimensions can be made by self-ratings on the SASB Intrex questionnaires, ratings by others using the same questionnaires, or by objective observer ratings. Data generated by questionnaires or formal codes yield identical summary parameters, making it possible to compare directly objective observer assessments with self-ratings, if desired. The goal of this chapter is to help the reader understand the structure of SASB, become aware of how it has been used in studying interpersonal and intrapsychic events, assess its validity, assess the substance and relevance of criticisms, and consider future possibilities.

Depressives Schulderleben: Symptomatologie und Diagnostik

Current psychiatric-psychotherapeutic research no longer tends to focus on feelings of guilt. Although feelings of guilt are frequently dismissed, denied or repressed, we nevertheless consider them clinically relevant. Based on the wide-ranking symptomatology of guilt feelings seen in depression, we propose a distinction between consciousness of guilt (rational component) and feelings of guilt (affective component). A compound term may be guilt-experience. Firstly, we differentiate between three categories of guilt: juridical, a guilt of action or inaction in the sense of making a mistake (Latin: culpa), ontological or existential guilt, a kind of debt (Latin: debitum) similar to owing something to somebody or in not fulfilling one's own potentials in life and, lastly, tragic guilt in the sense of being the cause (Latin: causa) of an evil which was neither consciously nor deliberately intended. This tragic guilt accrues innocently. Phenomenologically and syntactically, several types of guilt feelings can also be distinguished. We define a conscious guilt feeling as a punitive, self-administered emotional state following awareness of transgression of others' limits. An unconscious guilt feeling is not experienced as such by the patient but can nevertheless provoke suffering, e.g. somatoform pain disorders. Previously Schneider and Weitbrecht defined a primary guilt feeling as inexplicable and arising endogenously and a secondary guilt feeling developing in reaction to the primary. Other definitions include real versus pathological guilt feeling - depending on the existence and extent of an underlying correlation, psychotic versus neurotic guilt feeling or self-attributed guilt feeling versus the feeling of guilt which is attributed to others. Additionally, we will explore predispositions and the connections between personality traits (e.g. typus melancholicus, education, piety or extent of clinical depression) and cultural identity. Our findings will be based on the works of Hole, Janzarik, von Orelli and Hafner. Aetiology and pathogenesis of guilt feelings in depression may be studied psychiatrically, postulating a link between biochemical (somatic) alterations and the clinical expression of depression, psychodynamically, suggesting a conflict between ego and super-ego, an alteration of regulation of one's self-esteem and an inhibition of aggression towards parents or superiors and compensation via work and behaviouristically supposing dysfunctional thoughts which can cause a negative view of the self, the world around and the future. These thoughts may be generated automatically and they may reinforce depressive symptoms. In response to the multilayered symptomatology of guilt feelings a multidimensional diagnostic procedure should be applied. Several psychopathological rating scales are named as well as the Structural Analysis of Social Behaviour (SASB), the Operationalised Psychodynamic Diagnostics (OPD) and an analysis of types of attribution (IPC). In clinical practice these tests may not be administered in their entirety, but nevertheless, diagnostic proceedings should be as complex as possible in order to provide an effective patient-orientated treatment.

Review ofInterpersonal Reconstructive Therapy

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Letter to the EditorFull AccessReview of Interpersonal Reconstructive TherapyLORNA SMITH BENJAMIN, Ph.D., F.D.H.C., LORNA SMITH BENJAMINSearch for more papers by this author, Ph.D., F.D.H.C., Salt Lake City, UtahPublished Online:1 Jan 2006https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.163.1.161-aAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail To the Editor: The book review of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy: Promoting Change in Nonresponders(1) made the point that both the structural analysis of social behavior and my therapy approach—interpersonal reconstructive therapy—have some substance but are too complex to be understandable or useful. The reviewer is not alone in reaching that conclusion. However, the same sentiment about the structural analysis of social behavior was expressed more positively by Jerry Wiggins (2), who wrote that the structural analysis of social behavior “is the most detailed, clinically rich, ambitious, and conceptually demanding of all contemporary models.” Of course, reviewers are free to express any opinions they wish, but if their conclusions are to be fair and if readers are to be able to determine whether they agree or not, readers deserve an accurate representation of the material.Please consider the following two distortions of fact in the review. The first is the following:Despite Benjamin’s efforts to use the structural analysis of social behavior for research purposes, it has proven too complicated and cumbersome and never gained widespread application. The few research studies using Benjamin’s coding system focused primarily on interactions in psychotherapy. I too have felt that the structural analysis of social behavior is an intriguing foreign language, but not terribly practical; and I never did learn the language.There have been many publications based on the structural analysis of social behavior, and the range of topics is broad. A list of known publications is available from the University of Utah (http://www.psych.utah.edu/benjamin/sasb/index .html) by request. One published review of uses of the structural analysis of social behavior involves a series of articles that appeared in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in December 1996. Another is a review of articles about the structural analysis of social behavior focused on psychotherapy by Constantino (3). In April 2006, the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology will include a chapter that reviews publications on the use of the structural analysis of social behavior as an assessment instrument.A second misrepresentation is the following: “Unfortunately, Benjamin oversells her treatment. She claims it has empirical support, but this is limited to a few case studies and testimonials from former students and supervisees.”When the book was published, the limited nature of supporting data was basically as described by Dr. Wetzler (1), and his summary comes from the book. After reporting pilot data, I added, “This list of results—some of which are based on objective, symptom-oriented data gathered before and after treatment, hardly constitutes a formal clinical trial. But the data are a step above the ‘testimonial’ or isolated ‘case report’ methods of validation.…Clearly, formal clinical trials are needed next” (4, p. 343). I have maintained that interpersonal reconstructive therapy is “empirically informed,” meaning that its theory and methods draw heavily on published research. These claims do not represent “overselling.”

Review of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy: Promoting Change in Nonresponders.

Reviews the book, Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy: Promoting Change in Nonresponders by Lorna Smith Benjamin (see record 2003-02042-000). Lorna Smith Benjamin offers a refreshing and unique treatment approach with this book, for a group of patients who are defined less by a specific diagnosis than by their failure to respond to one or more treatment trials. A master clinician, Benjamin has spent most of her career researching and treating the interpersonal processes of patients with personality disorders and other interpersonal problems. Benjamin is especially impressive when describing the causality of the proposed model and the treatment. Reviews of empirical research are interwoven throughout the middle chapters and are linked smartly to critical treatment issues (e.g., attachment theory, insight, empathy, the therapeutic alliance). Benjamin's own research tool, the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB), is referred to throughout, but mostly discussed in a single chapter. Those knowledgeable in SASB will immediately recognize it in most of the treatment concepts. Yet those who are not familiar with SASB will have no problem mastering this book, even if they entirely skip the SASB chapter and references. It's hard to imagine many clinicians not advancing their own thinking and practices about working with their most difficult patients by reading this book. Benjamin has advanced the understanding of working with difficult patients to a new level. Regardless of whether this book proves to be superior in clinical trials, Benjamin's unique contribution to thinking about therapy is already a classic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations between physical and psychological problems in a group of patients with stress-related behavior and somatoform disorders

The research questions in this study were: How do patients with stress-related behavior and somatoform disorders assess symptoms and self-image compared to healthy individuals, and how are these assessments related to bodily resources, assessed with a physiotherapeutic body examination? The test group (n = 31) consisted of consecutive patients referred to a treatment center specializing in psychosomatic problems. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) were found between the test and comparison group (n = 22) on all but two of the ten subscales of the Resource-Oriented Body Examination (ROBE II). This was also the case for all the subscales of The Symptom Checklist-90(SCL-90; comparison group n = 52), and for all but three of the eight clusters of the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) (comparison group n = 52). For the patient group, the ROBE II subscale Increased respiratory control correlated significantly with the SCL-90 subscales that measures Anger-hostility, Phobic anxiety, Paranoid ideation, with the Personality Severity Index (PSI) and with the SASB clusters Daydreaming and self-neglect, Self-indictment and oppression with r's between 0.38 and 0.50. Body examination with ROBE II might provide a useful assessment tool in patients whose stress-related problems appear to contain associations between psychological and physical problems.

The reliability of self-image change scores in psychotherapy research: An application of generalizability theory.

The aim of this study was to estimate the reliability of the pre- to posttreatment change scores for 3 different self-image aspects, Attack, Love, and Control. To measure self-image, we used the Norwegian version of the introject surface of Benjamin's (1974) structural analysis of social behavior. The article introduces Generalizability (G-) theory, combined with the recent concept of tolerance for error, as a framework for estimating the reliability and precision of change scores in 1- and 2-facet designs. Data were obtained from the Norwegian Multi-Site Study of Process and Outcome in Psychotherapy, including 291 outpatients. The mean number of treatment sessions was 47. The results show that change scores may be highly reliable. Generalizability coefficients resting on the relative and absolute score interpretations, respectively, for both the Love and Attack change scores reached acceptable levels. The reliability of the Control change score was, however, poor. G-theory combined with the error-tolerance concept proved to be a helpful framework for assessing the dependability of change scores in a psychotherapy research setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

The therapeutic relationship as reflected in linguistic interaction: Work on resistance

Although resistance is a concept that, since Freud, has been regarded as central to the course of the therapeutic relationship, it has been the focus of relatively little empirical research. In this case study, the authors attempt to bring to light the resistance in the course of a psychoanalytically oriented short-term therapy in formal-linguistic terms as well as in the interactive behavior between therapist and patient and to examine the connections between them. The interactive behavior is tracked using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior. Resistance as manifested in speech is analyzed using several Formal Psycholinguistic Text Analysis (Overbeck, Müller, Jordan, & Grabhorn, 1996) items: speech activity, style of conversation, pauses, acknowledgment tokens, interrupting, overlapping, various personal pronouns, and use of passive voice. Various parameters in both methodological approaches provide evidence of a pronounced resistance behavior at the beginning of therapy. Diminished resistance and the establishment of a working alliance characterize the middle phase of therapy. In the last therapy segment, there are signs of beginning autonomy development. Because of the convergence of the measurements, the results of this study can largely be considered reliable.

Using Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) Measures of Self- and Social Perception to Give Interpersonal Meaning to Symptoms

Current symptom-based diagnosis, although important, lacks theoretical underpinning that might give meaning to psychiatric symptoms. The structural analysis of social behavior (SASB) fills this void, operationalizing interpersonal theory for investigation of relational aspects of psychopathology. To provide an example of how SASB may be utilized to this end, participants with (n = 40) and without (n = 40) uncontrollable worry and anxiety completed SASB Intrex Questionnaires to explore self-perceptions and perceptions of strangers in a social interaction task. Based on SASB principles and past research on familial factors in childhood anxiety, it was hypothesized that self- and other perceptions would discriminate participant groups along the lines of disrupted and normal attachment. To demonstrate the versatility of SASB, analyses incorporated indexes of varying specificity. Largely, results supported predictions, suggesting the sensitivity of SASB Intrex to assess social perceptions even in a first-meeting context, extending its known possible uses.

Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy: Promoting Change in Nonresponders

Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy: Promoting Change in Nonresponders

The Therapeutic Process As a Predictor of Change in Patients' Important Relationships During Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy.

Components of the therapeutic process have been shown to be moderately strong predictors of change in patients’ global interpersonal functioning during therapy. The authors sought to extend this research by examining how the therapeutic process in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy related to change in patients’ perceptions of a specific relationship as rated by the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior. Results showed that ratings of therapist warmth at Session 3 predicted increased warmth and decreased hostility in patient behavior at posttreatment. Therapist warmth at Session 16 was predictive of a decrease in submissive behavior by patients toward their significant other. The importance of the association between the therapeutic process and patients’ important interpersonal relationships is discussed.

Similarity of Interpersonal Behaviour in Career Counselling

This article explores how similarities in expected and perceived in-session behaviour between clients and career counsellors are related to evaluation of sessions. Interpersonal behaviour was defined by the Structural Analysis of Social Behaviour, SASB (Benjamin, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64(6), 1203–1212, 1996a; Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(2), 248–266, 1996b; Interpersonal diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders. New York, NY, Guilford Press). Fifteen dyads of clients and career counsellors in a Swedish upper secondary school participated. The hypotheses were that if clients and career counsellors had more similar expectations regarding their behaviour and more similar perceptions of in-session behaviour this would lead to more positive evaluations of the session. Only weak support was found for an association between positive evaluation of sessions and interpersonal similarities in expectations and experiences of behaviour.

Relational Measures in Psychotherapy Researchon Process and Outcome: A Commentary on the Studies

Using Benjamin's (2000) Structural Analysis of Social Behavior, we evaluated change in "self-directed" affiliation and autonomy and prediction of treatment response and relapse/recurrence among adult outpatients with recurrent major depressive disorder consenting to acute phase cognitive therapy (A-CT; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; N = 156); A-CT responders randomized (N = 84) to 8 months of continuation phase cognitive therapy (C-CT; Jarrett, 1989; Jarrett et al., 1998; Jarrett & Kraft, 1997) or assessment-only control; and C-CT and control patients entering a 16-month, assessment-only follow-up (N = 74). Self-directed affiliation and autonomy increased after A-CT, and C-CT further increased affiliation and autonomy. Affiliation and autonomy did not predict A-CT response, but lower affiliation and higher autonomy pre-A-CT predicted relapse/recurrence post-A-CT. We discuss potential clinical implications of these results and present case examples to illustrate patterns of change.

Coping and self-image in patients with visual display terminal-related skin symptoms and perceived hypersensitivity to electricity

The aim of the present study was to measure coping resources and self-image in patients with visual display terminal (VDT)-related skin symptoms and hypersensitivity to electricity (HE). From 1980 to 1998, 350 patients with electrical sensitivity were registered. The patients were subdivided into two groups: patients with skin symptoms evoked by VDTs, television screens, and fluorescent-light tubes and patients with so-called hypersensitivity to electricity with multiple symptoms evoked by exposure to different electrical environments. A questionnaire was sent to all patients and contained the coping resources inventory (CRI) and the structural analysis of social behaviour (SASB) in order for us to measure coping resources and self-image, respectively. The CRI and SASB scores were compared with those of control groups. Two hundred and fifty respondents (73%) returned the questionnaire, 200 (78.5% women) in the VDT group and 50 (62% women) in the HE group. The patient group rated high on the CRI spiritual/philosophical scale and high on the SASB spontaneous, positive and negative clusters but low on the controlled cluster. The female patients scored high on the CRI emotional scale. The VDT group rated lower than the controls on the SASB controlled cluster and higher on both the positive and negative cluster. The HE group scored higher than the control group on the SASB spontaneous and positive clusters. The women in the HE group scored higher on the CRI cognitive and CRI total scale than the VDT group and control group and higher on the CRI emotional scale than the controls. The women in the HE group rated higher than both the women in the VDT and control groups on the SASB spontaneous and positive clusters. The deviant self-image found in these patients, especially the female HE patients, support the view that VDT and HE symptoms can be stress related. In the clinic, a trustful alliance should be established with the patient in order for a more realistic view to be achieved of the capacity.

Self‐concept and perception of early mother and father behavior in normal and antisocial adolescents

This study examines the self-concept and perceptions of early parental behavior in a group of 277 normal adolescents with respect to differences in age (12-18 years) and gender. A group of 30 antisocial adolescents of similar age (13-19 years) were included as a comparison group. The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire study and the Swedish translation of the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) introject and mother/father questionnaires were used as measures of self- and parental concepts. Multivariate analyses of variance show that the normal adolescent self-concept and perception of early parental behavior are positive and that there are no age or gender differences. The early behavior of the mother is perceived more positively than that of the father. A positive self-concept is related to a positive perception of the parent's early behavior. The antisocial group of adolescents shows a more autonomous and negative self-concept and more negative perception of early parental behaviors. This was true especially in the group of antisocial girls. The conclusion from the study is that there is no evidence of a chaotic self-concept or tumultuous changes in the perceptions of early parental behavior during normal adolescence, but that an antisocial way of life might be reflected in a more negative and autonomous self-concept and in more negative perceptions of early parental behavior during adolescence.

Memories of parental rearing and perceived self-image in groups of chronic pain patients

Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between perceived parental rearing styles as determining factors of self-image in chronic pain patients, and to test the hypothesis of two different groups inherent to the pain sample. Methods In this study, 152 patients with chronic pain participated. The sample was divided into two groups by means of hierarchical cluster analysis on the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory, version 2. Cluster 1 comprised 116 individuals (44 men and 72 women) with a “conversion V” MMPI-2 profile, and cluster 2 comprised 21 individuals (5 men and 16 women) with a “general elevated” MMPI-2 profile. The patients were investigated by means of the structural analysis of social behavior (SASB), the Giessen test (GT), the locus of control scale (LOC) and the EMBU questionnaire (My memories of parental upbringing). Results The results show significant associations between memories of parental rearing and self-image as adults and are in line with results from previous studies describing two psychologically different groups inherent to chronic pain patients. Conclusions The significant differences between healthy controls, pain patients and between clusters of pain patients on parental rearing scales, and the significant relationship between memories of parental rearing and self-image provide therapists with a special approach to the treatment of chronic pain patients in accordance to social cognitive theories and the psychodynamic theoretical construct of introjection as an early process in the development of self-images.

Associations between psychiatric patients' self-image, staff feelings towards them, and treatment outcome

Interpersonal theory, as well as relational models of psychoanalytic and cognitive therapy, posits the importance for positive treatment outcome of the therapist's becoming emotionally involved in the patient's interpersonal patterns. Using the same data as in this study, we have previously found associations between psychiatric patients' self-image and the staff's feelings towards them, and differential associations between staff feelings and outcome for different diagnostic groups. The purpose of the present study was to analyze potential connections between patients' self-image, staff feelings, and outcome. Twice a year, staff at small psychiatric units reported their feelings towards 63 psychotic and 21 borderline patients who had rated their self-image at the beginning of the treatment using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) introject and parent images. Feelings reported on the two first occasions at the beginning of the treatment were used. Outcome was assessed after 5 years. Correlation analyses found different associations between patient self-image and staff feelings for patients with favorable and less favorable outcome. The results indicated for psychotic patients associations between positive outcome and less distant staff feelings connected with the patient's freedom-giving introject, less unfree staff feelings connected with a negative image of mother and less positive feelings connected with a positive image of father. For the borderline patients, positive outcome was associated with the fact that a negative image of mother did not evoke helpful staff feelings, a positive image of the patient himself or herself did not evoke helpful staff feelings and a controlling image of father-evoked distant feelings.

PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS' SELF-IMAGE AND STAFF FEELINGS TOWARDS THEM RELATED TO GENDER COMBINATIONS

Psychiatric patients' influence on therapists' feelings has received much clinical attention but scant interest among empirical researchers. In this study, the staff at 25 small psychiatric treatment units for mainly psychotic patients reported their feelings towards the patients twice a year over 5 years. At intake, the patients completed the self-rating version of the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) protocol; a circumplex model intended to capture internalized perceptions of self and others. The instrument included ratings of the introject and ratings of how the individual remembered that mother and father had treated him or her in childhood. Correlations between the patients' SASB scores and the staff members' average feelings towards the patients were assessed. The associations varied in the different gender combinations, but some overarching patterns were found. Patients scoring high on both the spontaneous and the controlling introject evoked accepting staff feelings, and patients reporting low scores on both these SASB aspects evoked rejecting feelings. These associations were interpreted as reflecting influence from the patients' engagement in and struggle with themselves on the treatment process. Staff identification with a parent figure was particularly evident in the female staff–male patient combination, where the patient's positive image of mother was associated with positive staff feelings towards the patient.

Therapist affirmation and the process and outcome of psychotherapy: Two sequential analytic studies

Therapist affirmation was examined in two studies, the first with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT, N = 22) and the second with time-limited dynamic psychotherapy (TLDP, N = 20). Affirmation was identified using Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB), and sequential analysis used to gauge its impact on therapy process and outcome. It was hypothesized that affirmation would correspond with patients' continuation of the current topic of conversation, but relate negatively to outcome if generally offered after maladaptive statements. Patients in Study 1 (CBT) were more likely to continue a topic after it was affirmed, and affirmation of maladaptive statements reliably differentiated patients who evidenced clinically significant change from those who did not at termination and at 12-months posttreatment. Affirmation of maladaptive statements in Study 2 (TLDP) corresponded with poorer outcome in relationships with significant others, but unexpectedly with improvements in self-concept.

Patterns of Self-Talk Associated with Different Forms of Competitive Anxiety

Although self-talk and anxiety are both held to influence sport performance, little is known about the relationship between these two psychological phenomena in sport. The introject surface of a circumplex model (Structural Analysis of Social Behavior; SASB) is presented as a tool for integrating popular existing schemes for classifying self-talk in sport. Using a sample of 440 college-age men and women, the present study examined the relationship between SASB-defined patterns of state-specific self-talk (while failing, while succeeding, wished for, and feared) and three forms of situation-specific trait performance anxiety: fear of failure (FF), fear of success (FS), and sport anxiety (SA). Distinct patterns of self-talk were associated with competitive anxieties in sport; the strongest effects were associated with FF and SA, in that order, whereas FS was more weakly associated with systematic patterns of self-talk. These results are consistent with cognitive theories of anxiety and may be used to inform assessments, diagnoses, and treatments of performance anxiety problems in sport.

Self-Directed Affiliation and Autonomy Across Acute and Continuation Phase Cognitive Therapy for Recurrent Depression

Using Benjamin's (2000) Structural Analysis of Social Behavior, we evaluated change in "self-directed" affiliation and autonomy and prediction of treatment response and relapse/recurrence among adult outpatients with recurrent major depressive disorder consenting to acute phase cognitive therapy (A-CT; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; N = 156); A-CT responders randomized (N = 84) to 8 months of continuation phase cognitive therapy (C-CT; Jarrett, 1989; Jarrett et al., 1998; Jarrett & Kraft, 1997) or assessment-only control; and C-CT and control patients entering a 16-month, assessment-only follow-up (N = 74). Self-directed affiliation and autonomy increased after A-CT, and C-CT further increased affiliation and autonomy. Affiliation and autonomy did not predict A-CT response, but lower affiliation and higher autonomy pre-A-CT predicted relapse/recurrence post-A-CT. We discuss potential clinical implications of these results and present case examples to illustrate patterns of change.