Preconscious perceptual processing.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Awareness↗
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Results for “Reality Testing”
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Prodromal symptoms in schizophrenia.
This paper describes a prospective study of the relationship between non-psychotic prodromal symptoms and psychotic symptoms in 55 schizophrenic (DSM-III-R) out-patients. Once a month, a number of non-psychotic symptoms generally regarded as prodromal symptoms in schizophrenia were assessed, as well as psychotic symptoms, with standardised self-administered instruments and rating scales for a minimum of 12 months (range 12-29). The data were analysed for each patient using a longitudinal correlational design with a 1-month lag between the prodromal and psychotic symptoms over the total period. Results showed that in less than one-fifth of subjects did any of the prodromal symptoms, individually or in combination, show a significantly positive correlation with the subsequent level of psychotic symptoms. Such relationships were significant in an even smaller proportion of subjects when the confounding effect of concurrent psychotic symptoms on prodromal symptoms was partialled out. High levels of prodromal symptoms appeared to have adequate specificity but low sensitivity in their power to predict high levels of subsequent psychotic symptoms. There were no differences in age, gender, medication levels, and the number of previous admissions between the subjects who did or did not show a relationship between putative prodromal symptoms and psychotic symptoms.
Adolescent↗
Cognitive behaviour therapy of schizophrenia. The amenability of delusions and hallucinations to reasoning.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗
The illusion of reality or the reality of illusion. Hallucinations and culture.
BACKGROUND: The aim of this review is to integrate research findings on the role of sociocultural factors in hallucinations and to relate these factors to current psychological theory and research. METHOD: The literature was surveyed by manual search, and the more reliable studies selected for the review. RESULTS: One hundred and thirteen publications were scrutinised and 30 of them were included in this review. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-cultural concepts of reality are related to the development and the threshold of hallucinations. Attitudes toward hallucinations tend to affect the emotional reaction to, and the degree of control of, these experiences. Awareness of these attitudes may help the diagnostician to distinguish between pathological and culturally sanctioned hallucinations. It is important that therapists consider the functional significance and meaning of hallucinations as well as the social context and the stimuli associated with them.
Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
The cultural context of hallucinations.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
Relationship between movement planning and psychopathology profiles in schizophrenia.
BACKGROUND: There has been evidence that psychopathology in schizophrenia consists of three separable syndromes: reality distortion, disorganisation, and psychomotor poverty. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between planning and execution of movement and each of the syndromes in schizophrenia. METHOD: Twenty-one right handed DSM-III-R schizophrenic patients performed a total of 80 trials of a motor movement task, varying distance of movement x size of the target x hand. Times taken to plan the movement (RT) and to carry it out (MT) were examined for their relationship with contemporaneous as well as lifetime profiles of the three syndromes in schizophrenia. RESULTS: Significant correlations are reported between RT and current as well as lifetime measures of disorganisation syndrome. Somewhat weaker correlations are reported between RT and psychomotor poverty, but only for the right-handed tasks. Partial correlations suggest that the influence of neuroleptic medication explains all but one of the correlations between psychomotor poverty and RT, but does not account for the relationship between disorganisation and RT. No other relationship emerged between any of the movement and symptom measures. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that dysfunction in movement planning is related primarily to concurrent disorganisation, as well as to the prominence of disorganisation over the patient's history.
Adult↗
Somatic delusions in schizophrenia and the affective psychoses.
BACKGROUND: Delusions relating to the body, a ready source of information about the immediate experiences of psychotic patients, have not been systematically studied. We attempted an account of the phenomena, looking for differences between diagnostic groupings in the type and lateralisation of such phenomena, and for evidence of localisation. METHOD: Somatic delusions elicited at interview with 550 Research Diagnostic Criteria-diagnosed psychotic patients were categorised according to content, and the results were compared across diagnostic groupings. RESULTS: Significant differences were demonstrated, both at the level of individual delusions and in the nature and overall pattern of such delusions. There were also differences between diagnostic groups in the choice of body parts involved. Among male patients there were significant differences in laterality between the groups, with schizophrenic subjects locating abnormal phenomena principally on the left and depressive subjects on the right. A provisional taxonomy of bodily delusions was developed. CONCLUSION: Phenomenological differences between the psychoses were demonstrated and the results offer some support for current hypotheses of localisation of brain dysfunction in the psychotic illnesses.
Adult↗
A psychodynamic approach to MMPI Interpretation.
An interpretive approach to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), based on a psychodynamic conceptual system, is presented. Scale elevations and configurations on the MMPI are viewed as reflecting the following dimensions of personality: (a) characteristic security and defense operations, (b) capacity to manage or tolerate anxiety, c) characteristic ways of dealing with aggression and hostility, d) stability of reality contact, e) quality of object relations, and f) level of psychopathology. Various MMPI profile configurations, and empirical research findings where applicable, are related to variations in personality functioning and psychopathology within each of these six dimensions. The interpretive approach described is consistent with the authors' belief that psychological assessment should go beyond the level of description and attempt to understand the individual in a more comprehensive and integrated manner.
Aggression↗
Toward the clarification of the construct of depersonalization and its association with affective and cognitive dysfunctions.
Little consensus or systematic research exists regarding the symptoms that constitute depersonalization and its association with affective and perceptual dysfunctions. A scale was constructed to measure depersonalization experiences reported in the literature and four items representing psychotic symptoms. Five factors representing different types of depersonalization emerged: Inauthenticity, Self-Negation, Self-Objectification, Derealization, and Body Detachment. Based on the factors, scales were constructed; these scales have internal consistency ranging from .78 to .84. Each of these factor scales was factorially distinguishable from psychosis and correlated between .48 and .58 with the Jackson and Messick (1972) Feelings of Unreality Scale, suggesting divergent and convergent validity. Inauthenticity, the most frequent and pervasive form of depersonalization experience, was best predicted by a cognitive style featuring intense, critical examination of self and others. In contrast, Self-Objectification was best predicted by thought disorganization and perceptual distortion and was experienced somewhat infrequently by relatively few subjects. All forms of depersonalization were associated with depression, except Inauthenticity.
Adult↗
Toward a conceptual understanding of the deviant response in the Comprehensive Rorschach System.
We examined the scoring criteria, subtypes, and interpretative nuances of the deviant response (DR) special score of the Comprehensive Rorschach System. To augment the usual understanding of the DR score, we review the concepts of fabulizing and confabulation in Rorschach literature and discuss the traditional meaning of and the confusion surrounding these terms. By equating a subtype of DR, the excessively embellished DR response, with Rapaport's (Rapaport, Gill, & Schafer, 1968) "affect-laden fantasy" type of confabulation response, we set the stage for an examination of the unique clinical diagnostic implications of this special subtype of DR. We conclude by recommending slight modifications to some of the special scores categories (DR in particular) of the Comprehensive System so that these scores can not only be assigned with more internal consistency and precision but also become more useful in identifying a broader range of unusual Rorschach responses.
Borderline Personality Disorder↗
Refinements in the Rorschach Ego Impairment Index incorporating the human representational variable.
The Ego Impairment Index (EII; Perry & Viglione, 1991) is a composite measure of psychological impairment and thought disturbance developed from the empirical and theoretical literature on the Rorschach. In this article, we summarize reliability and validity data regarding the EII. Our major goal was to present the rationale and empirical basis for recent refinements in the EII. Among the subcomponents of the original EII was the Human Experience variable (HEV), which has recently been revised and replaced with the Human Representational variable (HRV; Viglione, Perry, Jansak, Meyer, & Exner, 2003). In this study, we replaced the HEV with the HRV to create the EII-2. This was accomplished by recalculating the factor coefficients with a sample of 363 Rorschach protocols. We present additional validity data for the new EII-2. Research recommendations and interpretive guidelines are also presented.
Adult↗
Late lessons from early warnings: Toward realism and precaution with endocrine-disrupting substances.
The histories of selected public and environmental hazards, from the first scientifically based early warnings about potential harm to the subsequent precautionary and preventive measures, have been reviewed by the European Environment Agency. This article relates the "late lessons" from these early warnings to the current debates on the application of the precautionary principle to the hazards posed by endocrine-disrupting substances (EDSs). Here, I summarize some of the definitional and interpretative issues that arise. These issues include the contingent nature of knowledge; the definitions of precaution, prevention, risk, uncertainty, and ignorance; the use of differential levels of proof; and the nature and main direction of the methodological and cultural biases within the environmental health sciences. It is argued that scientific methods need to reflect better the realities of multicausality, mixtures, timing of dose, and system dynamics, which characterize the exposures and impacts of EDSs. This improved science could provide a more robust basis for the wider and wise use of the precautionary principle in the assessment and management of the threats posed by EDSs. The evaluation of such scientific evidence requires assessments that also account for multicausal reality. Two of the often used, and sometimes misused, Bradford Hill "criteria," consistency and temporality, are critically reviewed in light of multicausality, thereby illustrating the need to review all of the criteria in light of 40 years of progress in science and policymaking.
Animals↗
Interventions for confusion and dementia. 2: Reality orientation.
This article, the second of a five-part series exploring interventions for confusional states, discusses reality orientation (RO). For many decades, this form of intervention has been widely used and accepted as a way of reducing symptoms of confusion. However, an argument against RO is that it makes the person a passive recipient and reinforces feelings of disempowerment. This article describes the development of RO, exploring its strengths and weaknesses. Literature on the subject is largely anecdotal and dated as RO has been largely superseded by the interventions discussed in later articles, e.g. reminiscence and validation therapy.
Behavior Therapy↗
Of mice and men: an introduction to mouseology or, anal eroticism and Disney.
This essay deals with two important comics, Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse and George Herriman's Krazy Kat, and considers the social, cultural, psychological and symbolic significance of the main characters and their creators. In the discussion of Disney and his work (based, in part on writings about him) it is suggested that he exhibited traits associated with anal eroticism, which raises an interesting question about the popularity of his work with the American public. The two dominant themes found in Krazy Kat are described as "the triumph of illusion over reality" and "anti-authoritarianism." In a comparison of the two characters, it is shown they are polar opposites: Mickey Mouse is sadistic, asexual, and anal while Ignatz Mouse, the hero of Krazy Kat, is playful, sexual, and phallic.
Authoritarianism↗
HPV testing. Visible expectations and hidden realities.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Diagnostic Errors↗
Critical thinking and belief in the paranormal: a re-evaluation.
This paper evaluates the claim that believers in the paranormal exhibit poor critical thinking ability relative to disbelievers, as manifested in their inability to evaluate the competence of experimental abstracts. It is argued that such differences reported elsewhere (Alcock & Otis, 1980; Gray & Mill, 1990) may be accountable for in terms of the action of cognitive dissonance, or as due to experimental artifacts. A study was conducted which attempted to overcome earlier methodological shortcomings, and which assessed the cognitive dissonance account of differential performance. Altogether, 117 participants were characterized as believers, neutrals or disbelievers according to a pre-measure. Subsequently, each participant was asked to evaluate an abbreviated experimental report which was either sympathetic or unsympathetic to parapsychology. No differences in assessment ratings were found, failing to replicate the claimed effect and supporting an account in terms of artifact. There was a significant tendency for those participants who received a paper which was incongruent with their a priori beliefs to rate it as less competently conducted and analysed than those who rated the congruent paper, in keeping with the cognitive dissonance account.
Adult↗
Narratives of development, experiences of risk: adult women's perspectives on relationships and safer sex.
Mid-life women are increasingly at risk for HIV/AIDS, yet relatively few studies have targeted this age group. In this study, we explored views of relationships and safer sex practices among eight well-educated, single, heterosexual adult women through in-depth interviews and supplemental questionnaires. The women viewed themselves as competent, responsible, and mature in terms of their relationship and sexual choices. However, their actual sexual practices, and reasons given for these practices, were similar to those of adolescents and of inner-city women living in high-risk environments. Findings are significant in highlighting the power and importance of relationship factors, especially trust, as these relate to safer sex practices and prevention initiatives.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Reflections on psychic reality.
The author explores the nature and development of psychic reality and draws the following conclusions: (1) psychic reality is equivalent to subjective (conscious) awareness. (2) Psychic reality is open to unconscious influences, both as to content and motivation. Psychic reality thus is not equivalent to unconscious fantasy or transference, but can include effects of both. (3) Psychic reality can also include objective experience. (4) The capacities for internal psychic experience and knowledge of objective reality externally are modes of experiencing that develop early and achieve gradual integration through integrative play. (5) Psychic experience, and therefore psychic reality, cannot be regarded as exclusively subjective or objective, but as inherently both. The ways in which subjectivity does not preclude or exclude objectivity are discussed and related to transitional experience. (6) The inherent subjectivity of psychic experience precludes any form of direct intersubjective communication, that is, unmediated communication from subject to subject. The tensions of subjectivity and objectivity are discussed in relation to the analytic situation, in which perspectives of patient and analyst differ and reflect their respective psychic realities, each with its own validity and uncertainty and openness to unconscious needs, fantasies and motives.
Awareness↗