This abstract summarises the thesis entitled Defensive Avoidance in Paranoid Delusions: Experimental and Computational Approaches, submitted by Michael Moutoussis to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, in 2011.The possible aetiological role of defensive avoidance in paranoia was investigated in this work. First the psychological significance of the Conditioned Avoidance Response (CAR) was reappraised. The CAR activates normal threat-processing mechanisms that may be pathologically over-activated in the anticipation of threats in paranoia. This may apply both to external threats and also to threats to the self-esteem.A temporal-difference computational model of the CAR suggested that a dopamine-independent process may signal that a particular state has led to a worse-than-expected outcome. On the contrary, learning about actions is likely to involve dopamine in signalling both worse-than-expected and better-than-expected outcomes. The psychological mode of action of dopamine blocking drugs may involve dampening (1) the vigour of the avoidance response and (2) the prediction-error signals that drive action learning.Excessive anticipation of negative events might lead to inappropriately perceived high costs of delaying decisions. Efforts to avoid such costs might explain the Jumping-to-Conclusions (JTC) bias found in paranoid patients. Two decision-theoretical models were used to analyse data from the ‘beads-in-a-jar’ task. One model employed an ideal-observer Bayesian approach; a control model made decisions by weighing evidence against a fixed threshold of certainty. We found no support for our ‘high cost’ hypothesis. According to both models the JTC bias was better explained by higher levels of ‘cognitive noise’ (relative to motivation) in paranoid patients. This ‘noise’ appears to limit the ability of paranoid patients to be influenced by cognitively distant possibilities.It was further hypothesised that excessive avoidance of negative aspects of the self may fuel paranoia. This was investigated empirically. Important self-attributes were elicited in paranoid patients and controls. Conscious and non-conscious avoidance were assessed while negative thoughts about the self were presented. Both ‘deserved’ and ‘undeserved’ persecutory beliefs were associated with high avoidance/control strategies in general, but not with increased of avoidance of negative thoughts about the self. On the basis of the present studies the former is therefore considerably more likely than the latter to play an aetiological role in paranoia.This work has introduced novel computational methods, especially useful in the study of ‘hidden’ psychological variables. It supported and deepened some key hypotheses about paranoia and provided consistent evidence against other important aetiological hypotheses. These contributions have substantial implications for research and for some aspects of clinical practice.

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This non-experimental, correlational study (N = 513) examined the relationships among self-actualization, well-being, and metacognition. Need-satisfaction and non-defensiveness were also tested as mediators in the relationship between metacognition and self-actualization. A battery of paper-and-pencil self-report measures was administered to a sample of undergraduate and graduate students in a public university in South Florida. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modeling for mediational analysis were used to test the hypotheses. The results largely supported the hypotheses with only a few exceptions. Students who demonstrated higher level of self-actualization experienced higher well-being as well (the result of this hypothesized relationship was equivocal for parent students, n = 61). Moreover, need-satisfaction and non-defensiveness were found to be significantly and positively associated with self-actualization, providing preliminary supporting evidence for Maslow’s (1968) and Rogers’ (1951, 1961) theories of self-actualization. In addition, students with higher levels of general metacognitive competence were more likely to demonstrate higher level of need-satisfaction, non-defensiveness, self-actualization, and well-being (the result of the third hypothesized relationship was equivocal for female immigrant education students, n = 78). Further, metacognition and need-satisfaction, and metacognition and non-defensiveness shared common variance in predicting self-actualization. The relationship between metacognition and self-actualization was mediated by need-satisfaction and non-defensiveness, except for non-education students (n = 201), for whom no mediational effect was detected by non-defensiveness. In sum, the findings imply that general metacognitive competence, which can be taught as a set of skills, theoretically contributes to students’ self-actualization and well-being. This study provides support for a conceptual model of self-actualization, which introduces this phenomenon as a goal-oriented process that is essential to students’ well-being and can be attained by exercising metacognition. The discussion of the findings highlights implications of this study for theory, research, and practice as a guide for scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the field of education and psychology.

This thesis examines the way genocide leaves marks in the writings of targeted people. It posits not only that these marks exist, but also that they indicate a type of psychological resistance. By focusing on the ways Holocaust diarists depicted Nazi perpetrators, and by concentrating on the ways language was used to distance the victim from the perpetrator, it is possible to see how Jewish diarists were engaged in alternate and subtle, but nevertheless important, forms of resistance to genocide. The thesis suggest this resistance on the part of victims is similar in many ways to well-known distancing mechanisms employed by perpetrators and that this evidence points to a “crisis of imagination” – for victims and perpetrators alike – in which the capability to envision negation and death, and to identify with the “Other” is detrimental to self-preservation.

In this thesis we explore the idea presented in the Swedish National Library Strategy (2019) to tie the public libraries closer to the nation’s total defense system. The purpose of the study has been to understand which problem this idea was formulated as a solution to and how the suggestion is problematized by information science professionals, using critical discourse analysis methods developed by Carol Bacchi. Our material consists of the finalized National Library Strategy, its first draft from 2018, and the referral responses by various interested parties, as well as interviews with 15 public librarians, library directors, and scholars of information science. We discuss how the psychological defense relates to the librarian’s statutory duty to facilitate citizen participation in deliberative democracy and to counteract misinformation. We also ask how the library professions might be affected by an active involvement in future civil defense efforts. Our results show that the National Library Strategy construes the idea as a security problem by portraying our society as affected by growing political tensions, rapidly spread misinformation, and chaos, making the total defense suggestion into a meaningful solution. In our interviews with information professionals, some respondents viewed the total defense as an extension of their work to advocate democracy and intellectual freedom, whereas others perceived ethical tensions and incongruity between the two missions, referring to traditional library ideals of political neutrality and independence. All respondents based their reflections of the total defense idea on the importance of deliberative democracy and the library’s prominent place in promoting it, but with differing perspectives of its relationship to the total defense system as either problematic or emblematic. Drawing on these results, we argue that a total defense mission is compatible with librarians’ professional ethics and statutory democracy advocacy, as long as libraries can continue to foster free opinion formation and unbiased information evaluation independent from state interests during wartime and times of crisis. This is a two years master's thesis in library and information science.

Vilken arbetsmiljö möter vi som konstnärer? Vad får våra kroppar hantera? I mitt konstnärliga utforskande har jag intresserat mig för de risker vi utsätter oss för i vår arbetsmiljö på Konstfack. Vardagen i verkstäderna för med sig många exempel på de utmaningar våra kroppar ställs inför.  Vi testar gärna nya tekniker, nya material, plaster och kemikalier med främmande egenskaper att förhålla sig till. Kroppen, materialet och arbetsmiljön har varit centralt närvarande i min process, men kanske framför allt frågan om varför vi så gärna bortser från de risker vi utsätter oss för. Hur hanterar vi vetskapen om hoten på ett psykologiskt plan?  Genom skulptur, hantverkstekniker och materialval har jag undersökt det luftburna hotet, ett ämne som lämnar utrymme för subjektivitet. Det är idén av ett hot, något abstrakt och osynligt, ibland förnimbart, ibland inte. Vad vi väljer att tro på kan i vissa fall ha större effekt än den faktiska materiella inverkan på våra kroppar. Något som länge ansetts vara helande kan plötsligt ses som skadligt – en dualitet som jag gett uttryck för i min gestaltning. Den mångbottnade upplevelsen av dessa hot har en förmåga att påverka varje del av våra liv. För att ge en upplevelse av kontroll och avdramatisera kroppens sårbarhet skapar vi undermedvetet nya beteendemönster, eller förändrar hela vår verklighetsuppfattning. Men vad händer om vi förlikar oss med det som rör sig i det undermedvetna? Kan vi internalisera vetskapen om kroppens sårbarhet? / What work environment do we encounter as artists? What can our bodies handle? In my artistic exploration, I have taken an interest in the risks we expose ourselves to in our work environment at Konstfack. Everyday life in the workshops brings many examples of the challenges our bodies face. We like to test new technologies, new materials, plastics, and chemicals with strange new properties to deal with. The body, the material, and the work environment have been central in my process, but perhaps above all the question of why we are so happy to ignore the risks we expose ourselves to. How do we deal with the knowledge of these threats on a psychological level? Through sculptural techniques and choice of materials, I have explored the airborne threat, a subject that leaves room for subjectivity. It is the idea of a threat, something abstract and invisible, sometimes tangible, sometimes not. What we choose to believe in can in some cases have a more significant effect than the actual material impact on our bodies. Something that has long been considered healing can suddenly be seen as harmful – a duality that I have expressed in my artistic exploration. The multifaceted experience of these threats has the ability to affect every part of our lives. To give an experience of control, and downplay the subconscious presence of the body's vulnerability we create new behavior patterns or change our entire perception of reality. But what happens if we come to terms with what moves in the subconscious? Can we internalize the knowledge of the body's vulnerability?

Магистерская диссертация выполнена на 106 страницах, состоит из введения, двух глав, заключения, списка литературы из 60 наименований, содержит 6 рисунков, 15 таблиц, имеет 8 приложений. Объект исследования: совладающее поведение. Предмет исследования: компоненты совладающего поведения (копинг-стратегии, механизмы психологической защиты, проактивное совладающее поведение, антиципационная состоятельность) у молодежи с депрессивными состояниями и без них. Актуальность изучения проблемы совладающего поведения подтверждается возросшей потребностью в самоопределении, самоактуализации и построении планов на будущее у современного человека. В этом отношении научный интерес представляют те люди, для кого свойственны депрессивные состояния, поскольку при проживании жизненных трудностей они более подвержены их деструктивному влиянию. В работе совладающее поведение рассматривается как психологическое явление, включающее копинг-стратегии, психологические защиты, антиципационную состоятельность личности – рассмотрению этих феноменов посвящен первый раздел. С целью исследования совладающего поведения у молодежи с депрессивными состояниями и без них было привлечено 60 человек (8 мужчин и 52 женщины) в возрасте от 21 до 35 лет (средний возраст – 28 лет). По результатам психологической диагностики проводился описательный и сравнительный анализ полученных результатов. У молодежи с депрессивными состояниями более выражены стратегии дистанцирования, принятия ответственности, бегства-избегания, а также такие психологические защиты, как регрессия, компенсация, проекция. Личностно-ситуативная и общая антиципационная состоятельность более характерна для молодых людей с умеренно выраженными депрессивными симптомами. В целом, исследование показало, что молодежь с депрессивными состояниями чаще, чем молодые люди, у которых данные проявления отсутствуют, использует дезадаптивные стратегии совладающего поведения. / The master’s thesis is made on 106 pages, consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, a list of references from 60 titles, contains 6 figures, 15 tables, has 8 appendices. The object of research: coping behavior. Subject of research: components of coping behavior (coping strategies, psychological defense mechanisms, proactive coping behavior, anticipatory competence) in young people with and without depressive conditions. The relevance of studying the problem of coping behavior is confirmed by the increased need for self-determination, self-actualization and making plans for the future in modern people. In this regard, those who are characterized by depressive states are of scientific interest, since when living through life’s difficulties they are more susceptible to their destructive influence. In the work, coping behavior is considered as a psychological phenomenon, including coping strategies, psychological defenses, and the anticipatory competence of the individual – discussed in the first section. In order to study coping behavior in young people with and without depressive conditions, 60 people (8 men and 52 women) aged from 21 to 35 years (average age – 28 years) were recruited. Based on the results of psychological diagnostics, a descriptive and comparative analysis of the results was carried out. Young people with depressive conditions have more pronounced strategies of distancing, taking responsibility, flight-avoidance, as well as such psychological defenses as regression, compensation, projection. Personal-situational and general anticipatory competence is more typical for young people with moderately severe depressive symptoms. The study showed that young people with depression are more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies.

Цель — исследование стратегий преодолевающего поведения в поздней зрелости у педагогов общеобразовательных школ. Объектом исследования стали педагоги общеобразовательных школ Свердловской области в возрасте поздней зрелости. Предмет исследования — стратегии преодолевающего поведения в поздней зрелости. Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, двух глав, заключения, списка литературы (113 источников) и приложения, включающего в себя бланки применявшихся методик. Объем магистерской диссертации 88 страниц, на которых размещены 3 рисунков и 6 таблиц. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставятся цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, а также этапы проведения исследования, научная новизна, теоретическая и практическая значимость работы, которая должна вылиться в разработку технологии консультирования по выбору стратегий преодолевающего поведения в поздней зрелости. Первая глава представляет собой обзор иностранной и отечественной литературы, содержащие теоретические аспекты исследования преодолевающего поведения в поздней зрелости. Представлены разделы, посвященные исследованию психологических особенностей людей в поздней зрелости и двум типам механизмов – психологической защите и стратегиям преодолевающего поведения. Выводы по первой главе представляют собой итоги по изучению теоретического материала. Подчеркивается важность психологических консультаций для людей в поздней зрелости, важность разговоров с ними о том, что существуют разные стратегии преодоления сложных случаев и проблем. Вторая глава посвящена эмпирической части исследования – опытно-поисковому исследованию стратегий преодолевающего поведения в поздней старости. В ней представлено описание организации и методик проведенного исследования и результатов, полученных по всем использованным методикам. Анализ уровня проявления механизмов психологической защиты проходил при помощи опросника Плутчика — Келлермана — Конте (LifeStyle Index). Для диагностического инструментария и исследования превалирующих стратегий преодолевающего поведения применялся опросник Стивена Хобфолла (Hobfoll) «Стратегии преодоления стрессовых ситуаций» (чаще всего именуется «Опросник SACS»), в основе которого лежит теория многоосевой модели поведения преодоления. В главе представлены результаты исследования. В качестве выводов предлагается практическая модель психологического консультирования в поздней зрелости. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, обоснована практическая значимость исследования. Предложены пути и способы преодоления кризисного этапа в развитии личности в поздней зрелости с опорой на психотехнологии. / The goal is to study the strategies of overcoming behavior in late adulthood among teachers of secondary schools. The object of the study was teachers of secondary schools in the Sverdlovsk region at the age of late maturity. The subject of the research is the strategy of overcoming behavior in late adulthood. The master's thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, a list of references (113 sources) and an appendix, which includes forms of the methods used. The volume of the master's thesis is 88 pages, which contain 3 figures and 6 tables. The introduction reveals the relevance of the research problem, the development of the problematics, sets the goal and objectives of the research, defines the object and subject of the research, as well as the stages of the research, scientific novelty, theoretical and practical significance of the work, which should result in the development of a technology for consulting on the choice of strategies for overcoming behavior in late maturity. The first chapter is a review of foreign and domestic literature, containing theoretical aspects of the study of overcoming behavior in late adulthood. Sections are presented devoted to the study of the psychological characteristics of people in late adulthood and two types of mechanisms - psychological defense and strategies for overcoming behavior. The conclusions on the first chapter are the results of the study of theoretical material. The importance of psychological counseling for people in late adulthood is emphasized, the importance of talking with them about the fact that there are different strategies for overcoming difficult cases and problems. The second chapter is devoted to the empirical part of the study - an experimental and exploratory study of strategies for overcoming behavior in late old age. It presents a description of the organization and methods of the study and the results obtained by all methods used. Analysis of the level of manifestation of psychological defense mechanisms was carried out using the Plutchik-Kellerman-Conte questionnaire (LifeStyle Index). For diagnostic tools and the study of prevailing coping behavior strategies, Stephen Hobfoll's Stress Coping Strategies questionnaire (most commonly referred to as the SACS Questionnaire) was used, which is based on the theory of a multi-axis model of coping behavior. The chapter presents the results of the study. As conclusions, a practical model of psychological counseling in late adulthood is proposed. In conclusion, the results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work are summarized, and the practical significance of the study is substantiated. The ways and means of overcoming the crisis stage in the development of personality in late maturity based on psychotechnologies are proposed.