Understanding Of Human Person Research Articles

Time perspective and self-stigma in schizophrenia

Background Time perspective (TP) offers a new understanding of human personality, postulating that there are individual differences in how our mind assigns our experiences to different time categories. This concept may shed new light on the role of personality traits in shaping vulnerability to the internalized stigma. Aim In this paper we propose a novel approach to clarifying the underpinning of self-stigma by empirically exploring its links with TP. Method We conducted a cross-sectional study among 86 patients with ICD-10 diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia to validate the predictive role of TP for self-stigma. We used the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Results We found significant positive correlations of self-stigma with Past-Negative, Future-Negative and Present-Fatalistic TP categories and negative correlation with the Future-Positive category. The hierarchical regression analyses revealed that two TP categories and Deviation from the Balanced Time Perspective (DBTP) are significant predictors of self-stigma over and above sociodemographic and clinical control variables. Conclusion. The results of the study confirm the hypothesis that TP opens new possibilities to understand proneness or resistance to self-stigmatization, and this may provide a basis for novel approaches to anti-self-stigma interventions.

Autohtona islamska psihologija u bosanskom kontekstu / Indigenous Islamic Psychology in Bosnian Context

The idea of Islamic psychology in its different meanings has been present for years in scientific and academic circles of the East and the West. With the increasing presence of postmodern ideas in today science and aspirations of the former colonies for cultural and scientific emancipation from their Western colonizers, this syntagm during last decades has more and more assumed a meaning of indigenous scientific paradigm in contemporary psychology that is rooted in Islamic teaching about man. The main aim of this paper is to determine as to what extent and in which manner Muslim authors in Bosnia and Herzegovina have discussed this theme. Our analysis of relevant literature has shown that the topic of indigenous Islamic perspective in psychology has been present in local Muslim theological and Sufi circles since ever. Focused reconsideration of modern psychological theory and practice in the light of basic premises of Islamic anthropology, however, goes back to 1990ies and has mostly been an expression of independent and uncoordinated efforts on the part of local enthusiasts, Islamic institutions of higher learning and a number of NGOs. Their achievements in this regard could be generally traced in traditional Sufi works, recent spiritual and psychological thought of Muslim theologians, scientific analysis of Muslim psychologists and translations of relevant foreign literature. Altogether, they mostly aim to explicate building blocks of Islamic paradigm in psychology and understanding of human personality, to elaborate possible models of integrating Islamic spiritual and psychological concepts or spiritual exercises in psychotherapeutic practice, and to expose Sufi thought and understanding of spiritual upbringing as well as psychological heritage of early Muslim scholars. A limited number of comparative psychology works bears methodological features of the Islamic Filter, Islamic Psychology and Comparative Approaches (Kaplick and Skinner, 2017) but never ones of Multilevel Interdisciplinary Paradigm (Al-Karam, 2018).

Machine Learning Approach to Personality Assessment and Its Application to Personnel Selection

As we enter the digital age, new methods of personality testing-namely, machine learning-based personality assessment scales-are quickly gaining attraction. Because machine learning-based personality assessments are made based on algorithms that analyze digital footprints of people’s online behaviors, they are supposedly less prone to human biases or cognitive fallacies that are often cited as limitations of traditional personality tests. As a result, machine learning-based assessment tools are becoming increasingly popular in operational settings across the globe with the anticipation that they can effectively overcome the limitations of traditional personality testing. However, the provision of scientific evidence regarding the psychometric soundness and the fairness of machine learning-based assessment tools have lagged behind their use in practice. The current paper provides a brief review of empirical studies that have examined the validity of machine learning-based personality assessment, focusing primarily on social media text mining method. Based on this review, we offer some suggestions about future research directions, particularly regarding the important and immediate need to examine the machine learning-based personality assessment tools’ compliance with the practical and legal standards for use in practice (such as inter-algorithm reliability, test-retest reliability, and differential prediction across demographic groups). Additionally, we emphasize that the goal of machine learning-based personality assessment tools should not be to simply maximize the prediction of personality ratings. Rather, we should explore ways to use this new technology to further develop our fundamental understanding of human personality and to contribute to the development of personality theory.

Imagining Borders, Imagining Relationships

Abstract Conceptualizations of human borders will often refer to narratives of encounters, exchanges, and/or interactions that take place in two different but interrelated settings: one internal, between individuals or groups belonging to the space defined by the border; and one external, between such individuals or collectives and everything that is foreign to them. This integrating/distinguishing role of narratives underscores the imaginative process through which borders emerge, expressed with great poignancy in the fluidity and complexity of border-setting practices in late-modern societies. Paul Ricœur’s take on collective imagination and human action can be a tool to unearth some of the key conceptual features of such integration-distinction tension, by pointing to ways in which social imaginaries shape the liquidity and modality of borders in increasingly diverse communities. Ricœur’s analysis of the development of cultural imaginaries through the opposed yet complementary forces of ideology and utopia, and his exploration of the multi-layered character of mutual recognition, come together in an understanding of human persons – and communities – capable of imagining enlarged spaces of recognition. Richard Kearney complements this analysis with an account of narrative imagination that allows one to articulate the narrative origins of concrete human realities and practices, such as borders and border-setting. In this article, I make use of the contributions of Ricœur and Kearney to argue that a clear understanding social imagination is needed in order to account for the cultural matrix set by human borders, as well as to provide answers to the practical questions raised by concrete historical examples of borders and border-setting.

Personality Assessment of Five Historical Figures

One of the primary goals of psychologists has long been to create a model that could describe human personality and the disorders that may be associated with them. The idea, of course, is to use the model to help treat personality disorders and to improve our understanding of human personality. There are a few models that have been used consistently over time to assist in this task of understanding human personality. The five-factor model of personality, which was established by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae. This method is one of the most well-known by psychologists today (Popkins, 2001). In this paper, I used the factors of the Big Five to assess the personality types of five former presidents (Washington, T. Roosevelt, W. Bush, Grant, and Carter).

Ethics of natural family planning (NFP) vs ethics of contraception

The article analyses the moral difference between Natural Family Planning (NFP) and contraception. Problem Statement: Today one of the most frequently asked questions is the following: if contraception and NFP both have the same purpose of avoiding pregnancy, how can there be any moral difference between them. Moreover, people state that it does not make any difference which method is used, if the end and purpose are the same. In fact, proponents of contraceptives often argue that there is no moral difference between contraception and NFP and even treat NFP as a natural form of contraception. Purpose of the study: To disclose the ethical/moral difference between contraception and NFP. Research methods: Theoretical structural method was used for thorough understanding of human person as a bodily and sexual being. Comparative analysis was used to find the distinction between Christian anthropology and dualistic anthropology. Action assessment criteria were used to evaluate the difference between contraceptive action and contraceptive purpose. Findings: In order to show the moral difference between contraception and NFP, firstly thorough understanding of human person as a bodily and sexual being is given, the difference of the use of NFP and contraception in the aspect of human dignity is revealed, and then a distinction between a contraceptive action and a contraceptive will is drawn. Conclusion. The end or purpose of family planning does not make all of the various practices ethically the same. NFP is not a natural contraception; it is the ethical opposite. Keywords: Christian anthropology, dualistic anthropology; bodility; sexuality; natural family planning; contraceptive action; conjugal act.

A Philosophical Appraisal of the Concept of Common Origin and the Question of Racism

The quest for a definite answer to some certain ageless philosophical questions such as: What is man? What is his origin? What is his destiny? How is he like other beings in the universe, and how does he differ from them? These have up-till date; remain fundamental questions, which are begging for answers in all human societies. In spite of several attempts from the religious, scientific, cultural and sociological theories to explain the issue of common origin, the problem of racism with all its contradictions persists. This paper is to critically evaluate on one hand, the concept of common human origin, using the various theories to analyse the basis for its justification; on the other hand, examine the issues relating to racism, with the aim of arguing that the meaningfulness or meaninglessness of the universe must start from our understanding of human person and his existence. The philosophical method of conceptual clarification and critical analysis are employed to establish the view that man is the key to the understanding of the whole of reality. Thus, whatever disrespect human dignity regardless of colour, race or sex is to be absolutely rejected.

Are Persons with Profound Intellectual Disabilities Sacramental Icons of Heavenly Life? Aquinas on Impairment

Although almost completely ignored, Aquinas’s account of persons with severe intellectual disabilities is key to his understanding of human persons and their salvation. Aquinas extensively addresses questions of human impairment, and for Aquinas physical and mental impairment are not nearly as important as moral or spiritual impairment. Contrary to those who focus on Aquinas’s account of rationality and suppose he thinks that a person must exercise rationality in order to be moral and in the image of God, Aquinas’s view is that persons with severe mental impairments have a distinct spiritual advantage, due to the impeccability of the gift of wisdom given them in their baptism.

The Role of the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Gene in Personality and Related Psychopathological Disorders

This review provides a short overview of the most significant biologically oriented theories of human personality. Personality concepts of Eysenck, Gray and McNaughton, Cloninger and Panksepp will be introduced and the focal evidence for the heritability of personality will be summarized. In this context, a synopsis of a large number of COMT genetic association studies (with a focus on the COMT Val158Met polymorphism) in the framework of the introduced biologically oriented personality theories will be given. In line with the theory of a continuum model between healthy anxious behavior and related psychopathological behavior, the role of the COMT gene in anxiety disorders will be discussed. A final outlook considers new research strategies such as genetic imaging and epigenetics for a better understanding of human personality.

Midbrain Dopamine Receptor Availability Is Inversely Associated with Novelty-Seeking Traits in Humans

Novelty-seeking personality traits are a major risk factor for the development of drug abuse and other unsafe behaviors. Rodent models of temperament indicate that high novelty responding is associated with decreased inhibitory autoreceptor control of midbrain dopamine neurons. It has been speculated that individual differences in dopamine functioning also underlie the personality trait of novelty seeking in humans. However, differences in the dopamine system of rodents and humans, as well as the methods for assessing novelty responding/seeking across species leave unclear to what extent the animal models inform our understanding of human personality. In the present study we examined the correlation between novelty-seeking traits in humans and D(2)-like (D(2)/D(3)) receptor availability in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area. Based on the rodent literature we predicted that novelty seeking would be characterized by lowered levels of D(2)-like (auto)receptor availability in the midbrain. Thirty-four healthy adults (18 men, 16 women) completed the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire-Novelty-Seeking Scale and PET scanning with the D(2)/D(3) ligand [(18)F]fallypride. Novelty-Seeking personality traits were inversely associated with D(2)-like receptor availability in the ventral midbrain, an effect that remained significant after controlling for age. We speculate that the lower midbrain (auto)receptor availability seen in high novelty seekers leads to accentuated dopaminergic responses to novelty and other conditions that induce dopamine release.

Personhood in its protological and eschatological patterns: an Eastern Orthodox view of the ontology of personality

Eastern Orthodox anthropology is structured exclusively between the borders of two major points of reference: (1) a protological point of departure which sets the scene for an epistemological understanding of human personality as a reflection of God’s own existence; (2) an eschatological point of arrival which demonstrates the goal of human personhood according to God’s own plan. Between these two boundaries human personality finds both its epistemological shape and its ontological structure. Eastern anthropologists regard other elements introduced in the epistemological structure of personhood as improper. For them human personality can find its true shape only by ‘mirroring’ itself in God’s own ‘eyes’. This introduces a new perspective in the Christian epistemology of personhood: besides mere historical analysis of simple facts of past and present experiences, an ontological eschatology offers a future history as it was revealed in Christ and continuously actuated through the Holy Spirit in our life.

Reason and Emotion: Modern and Classical Views on Religious Knowing

AbstractThe interdependence of mind and heart forms the basic dynamism in human consciousness. In modernity, however, this vital duality has often been obscured by the infamous dualism between reason and emotion, whereby reason is reduced to an abstract rationalism and emotion is identified with irrational passions—a view that has ancient roots. Given this confused state of affairs, the recovery of an authentic emotional life is not only essential for the preservation of human integrity but also for the possibility of authentic religious knowledge. This essay considers the work of John Macmurray, a rather neglected contemporary philosopher whose reflections on this matter remain worthy of study. Relating his personalist thought to Plato's preeminent myth of the erotic soul will serve to construct on solid footing a philosophy of consciousness that pays due respect to the Pascalian “reasons of the heart.” A wholistic understanding of human personality emerges, one based on an “emotional rationality” that is the condition for authentic human love and the incarnate medium for divine revelation.

Eureka! (and other clichés)

Eureka! (and other cliches) In Search of Meaning: A Psychotherapy of Small Steps. N. Peseschkian. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1985. (201 pp.) In the third chapter of this book there is a section titled "What Is This Book Leading Up To?" The author begins his answer to this question as follows: As we have seen, the answer to the question depends to a great extent on the assumptions under which the question is asked. This is especially true for a book which, with its questions of meaning, does not stand apart from the problem, but rather right in the middle of it. In the world there are a great number of people-I'd like to believe it's a majority-who advocate world peace, and who believe it to be the only way to solve the human question of meaning (p. 22). If this answer strikes you as vague, or leaves you feeling like you must have missed some important piece of information from a previous section of the book that I have neglected to quote for you, then In Search of Meaning is probably not a book for you. It is not a book that follows a direct path, that makes a systematic argument, or even that broadly discusses a general theme. It is a book that shuns analysis, ignores laboratory findings, and avoids the direct expression of ideas. It is a discussion that is built on the bases of rhetoric and an intuitive or "commonsense" appeal to the reader; the claims that are made are substantiated with anecdotes and a journalistic rendering of facts. From the book's title, I had inferred that it would be about the experience of "meaninglessness," about psychotherapy, and about the provision of psychotherapy for people who experience life as meaningless. I was wrong. Yes, the author does refer to the meaning of this and that and has something to say about the psychotherapy of just about everything. But the book is not about these things; rather, it is about the certitude that comes with faith. It is a religious apologetic. According to Peseschkian, "Religion and worldview are what give meaning to life. Faith in them gives individual human beings and societies the reference system within which they learn to comprehend themselves" (p. 192). In identifying religion as the source of meaning, he is not recommending religion to people willy-nilly, not suggesting that therapists escort their clients to the nearest synagogue, cathedral, or shaman's hut. To the contrary, he attempts to provide by means of his "positive psychotherapy" a core of constructs and techniques that will do the job more effectively. Is this to say that the task of positive psychotherapy is to do religion's job for it? Not quite. Psychotherapy is no substitute for religion, the author admits, but if a psychotherapy is grounded in religious principles and a religious understanding of human persons and the world, then psychotherapy will be consistent with religious purposes. Positive psychotherapy is a therapy grounded in religious principles, specifically, the principles of the Baha'i faith. Its therapeutic aims, like its views of the human person, are derived from the Baha'i understanding of what a person should and/or can be. …

The theories of Heinz Kohut and clinical social work practice

Indicated in this paper is the consonance of Heinz Kohut's psychoanalytic psychology of the self with the principles of clinical social work. The traditional values, precepts, and practices of social work were derived from a research of the literature written since 1889. The consistency of these two sets of ideas is further demonstrated in a case example. Unique contributions of social work are pointed up, and ways in which Kohut's theories add to the understanding of human personality and enrich clinical practice are elucidated.

The Fusion of Psychiatry and Social Sciences.

Dr. Sullivan was one of the giants of psychiatry whose profound insights shaped the course of twentieth century psychiatry. His earlier volumes, Conceptions of Modern Psychiatry and The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry , are not only major contributions to the understanding of human personality but are new dimensions in psychiatry. This new volume will join this list of classics. The papers in this volume were originally published in numerous journals and are preceded by a cogent, insightful commentary by Mrs. Helen Perry. The material is drawn from the Depression, the New Deal, World War II, and the postwar era. Even though some papers were published in 1934, they are still refreshing, vital, and like a beacon of light on the psychiatric scene. Perhaps even more intriguing than Sullivan's original contributions in this text are the insights given into the historical and intellectual forces that influenced his work. The book should be