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Hewitt PL, Ge S, Smith MM, Flett GL, Cheli S, Molnar DS, Ko A, Mikail SF, Lang T. Automatic Self Recriminations: Development and Validation of a Measure of Self-Condemnatory Internal Dialogue. J Pers Assess 2024; 106:638-650. [PMID: 38271468 DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2024.2303429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
This article introduces a measure of self-condemnatory internal dialogue as an element of the relationship with the self: The Automatic Self-Recrimination Scale (ASRS). Using the construct validation approach to test construction, we describe the initial development of items and report on findings from a clinical and nonclinical sample showing the ASRS is best understood as a multidimensional measure of self-critical internal dialogue composed of one higher-order factor and four lower-order facets: Not Mattering, Self as Failure, Undeserving Self, and Loathsomeness. The overall scale and four subscales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Moreover, there was evidence of good convergent and incremental validity of the ASRS subscales with measures of perfectionism, self-criticism, and dysfunctional attitudes. Overall, the ASRS appears to be a reliable and valid measure of an automatic self-recriminatory internal dialogue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul L Hewitt
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sabrina Ge
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Martin M Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gordon L Flett
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Simone Cheli
- Department of Psychology, St. John's University, Rome, Italy
| | - Danielle S Molnar
- Department of Child and Youth Studies and the Department of Psychology, Brock University, Catharines, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ariel Ko
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Samuel F Mikail
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Thalia Lang
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Jo HJ, Park C, Lee E, Lee JH, Kim J, Han S, Kim J, Kim EJ, Kim E, Kim JJ. Neural Effects of One's Own Voice on Self-Talk for Emotion Regulation. Brain Sci 2024; 14:637. [PMID: 39061378 PMCID: PMC11274574 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14070637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Revised: 06/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
One's own voice undergoes unique processing that distinguishes it from others' voices, and thus listening to it may have a special neural basis for self-talk as an emotion regulation strategy. This study aimed to elucidate how neural effects of one's own voice differ from those of others' voices on the implementation of emotion regulation strategies. Twenty-one healthy adults were scanned using fMRI while listening to sentences synthesized in their own or others' voices for self-affirmation and cognitive defusion, which were based on mental commitments to strengthen one's positive aspects and imagining metaphoric actions to shake off negative aspects, respectively. The interaction effect between voice identity and strategy was observed in the superior temporal sulcus, middle temporal gyrus, and parahippocampal cortex, and activity in these regions showed that the uniqueness of one's own voice is reflected more strongly for cognitive defusion than for self-affirmation. This interaction was also seen in the precuneus, suggesting intertwining of self-referential processing and episodic memory retrieval in self-affirmation with one's own voice. These results imply that unique effects of one's own voice may be expressed differently due to the degree of engagement of neural sharpening-related regions and self-referential networks depending on the type of emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hye-jeong Jo
- Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (H.-j.J.); (E.K.)
| | - Chanmi Park
- HCI Lab, Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (C.P.); (E.L.); (J.K.)
| | - Eunyoung Lee
- HCI Lab, Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (C.P.); (E.L.); (J.K.)
| | - Jee Hang Lee
- Department of Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Sangmyung University, Seoul 03016, Republic of Korea;
| | - Jinwoo Kim
- HCI Lab, Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (C.P.); (E.L.); (J.K.)
| | - Sujin Han
- Department of Communication, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (S.H.); (J.K.)
| | - Joohan Kim
- Department of Communication, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (S.H.); (J.K.)
| | - Eun Joo Kim
- Graduate School of Education, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea;
| | - Eosu Kim
- Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (H.-j.J.); (E.K.)
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Jin Kim
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
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Abstract
Inner speech is frequently assessed using self-report scales, but their validity is understudied. Uttl et al. (2011) found moderate correlations, perhaps because measures tap into different dimensions of inner speech. We expand on these preliminary results by investigating reliability and concurrent validity of seven inner speech questionnaires in a larger sample. Our results indicate that inner speech questionnaires are reliable but hold moderate concurrent validity, in line with Uttl and colleagues' (2011) results. Specifically, our results suggest that some inner speech scales may capture a general conception of inner speech, while others may assess evaluative components of negative self-talk, self-regulation, and self-reflective processes, but not emotional valence. The results hold implications around further validity investigations of inner speech measures.
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Racy F, Morin A. Relationships between Self-Talk, Inner Speech, Mind Wandering, Mindfulness, Self-Concept Clarity, and Self-Regulation in University Students. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:55. [PMID: 38247707 PMCID: PMC10813701 DOI: 10.3390/bs14010055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, the researchers explored novel relationships between the self-related processes of self-talk, inner speech, self-concept clarity, mindfulness, mind wandering, and self-regulation. Using self-report questionnaires (n = 227), we found a small positive association between inner speech use and mind wandering, as well as a medium positive association of mindfulness with self-regulation, in accordance with claims made in the literature. We found a medium positive relationship between mindfulness awareness and inner speech responses, potentially because mindfulness awareness represents an active state of self-focus, requiring verbal self-directed probes. Conversely, the correlations between reports of inner speech use and mindfulness acceptance were medium and negatively associated, perhaps because self-acceptance is a less active process that does not require as much self-directed speech as acquiring self-awareness, or perhaps self-acceptance consists of silencing the mind. Furthermore, the mindfulness-acceptance responses were negatively associated with mind wandering but positively correlated with self-concept clarity and self-regulation (all significant and of medium strength). Another noteworthy result was that mind wandering was negatively correlated with self-concept clarity and self-regulation, in accordance with the view that mind wandering represents a self-escape mechanism and thus impedes the transparency of one's self-view and efforts at controlling oneself. This study pieces together what has been presented in the literature, examining variables that are typically studied in isolation. Further, these results have implications for the future study of self-regulation in that self-focused attention, self-acceptance, and self-concept clarity may be mediators on the paths between self-talk or inner speech use and self-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Famira Racy
- Independent Researcher, MA Psychology, Calgary, AB T3E 6K6, Canada
| | - Alain Morin
- Department of Psychology, Mount Royal University, 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW, Calgary, AB T3E 6K6, Canada;
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Fernyhough C, Borghi AM. Inner speech as language process and cognitive tool. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:1180-1193. [PMID: 37770286 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Many people report a form of internal language known as inner speech (IS). This review examines recent growth of research interest in the phenomenon, which has broadly supported a theoretical model in which IS is a functional language process that can confer benefits for cognition in a range of domains. A key insight to have emerged in recent years is that IS is an embodied experience characterized by varied subjective qualities, which can be usefully modeled in artificial systems and whose neural signals have the potential to be decoded through advancing brain-computer interface technologies. Challenges for future research include understanding individual differences in IS and mapping form to function across IS subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Fernyhough
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Research into Inner Experience, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
| | - Anna M Borghi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome and Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Italian National Research Council, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Brinthaupt TM, Kittani SR. Exploring Self-Talk in Response to Disruptive and Emotional Events. JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTIVIST PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/10720537.2023.2194691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
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7
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Majolo M, Gomes WB, DeCastro TG. Self-Consciousness and Self-Awareness: Associations between Stable and Transitory Levels of Evidence. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:117. [PMID: 36829345 PMCID: PMC9952303 DOI: 10.3390/bs13020117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The theory of objective self-awareness predicts the assessment of stable or dispositional self-consciousness and transitory or situational self-awareness. The aim of the present research was to investigate potential associations between patterns of experiential self-description to scores on self-report measures of dispositional self-consciousness. A total of 64 Brazilian volunteers (Mage = 29.7, SD = 8.79, 64.1% female) responded to the Revised Self-Consciousness Scale, the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale, and the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire before participating in an experience sampling protocol. The protocol consisted of random daily requests for up to four self-description experiences across seven consecutive days. Participants recorded audio messages on their mobile phones in reply to each request describing their current experience. Reports were analyzed through a reflexive thematic analysis that produced twenty sub-themes accounting for descriptive markers of experience. Based on those descriptive markers, the qualitative data were then transformed into quantitative data for the situational self-awareness indexes. Evidence of association between self-consciousness and self-awareness was stronger for the awareness subscale in a positive correlation with affective situational self-awareness and in a negative correlation with mental representational transitory self-awareness. Although relational evidence has been provided, the data reinforced the theoretical distinction between self-consciousness and self-awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thiago Gomes DeCastro
- Institute of Psychology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Brazil
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Seitz RJ, Angel HF, Paloutzian RF, Taves A. Believing and social interactions: effects on bodily expressions and personal narratives. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:894219. [PMID: 36275855 PMCID: PMC9584167 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.894219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The processes of believing integrate external perceptual information from the environment with internal emotional states and prior experience to generate probabilistic neural representations of events, i.e., beliefs. As these neural representations manifest mostly below the level of a person's conscious awareness, they may inadvertently affect the spontaneous person's bodily expressions and prospective behavior. By yet to be understood mechanisms people can become aware of these representations and reflect upon them. Typically, people can communicate the content of their beliefs as personal statements and can summarize the narratives of others to themselves or to other people. Here, we describe that social interactions may benefit from the consistency between a person's bodily expressions and verbal statements because the person appears authentic and ultimately trustworthy. The transmission of narratives can thus lay the groundwork for social cooperation within and between groups and, ultimately, between communities and nations. Conversely, a discrepancy between bodily expressions and narratives may cause distrust in the addressee(s) and eventually may destroy social bonds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger J. Seitz
- Department of Neurology, Centre of Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, LVR-Klinikum Düsseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Hans-Ferdinand Angel
- Institute of Catechetic and Pedagogic of Religion, Karl Franzens University Graz, Graz, Austria
| | | | - Ann Taves
- Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
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de Rooij A. Speaking to your Inner Muse: How Self-Regulation by Inner Speaking influences Confidence during Idea Evaluation. CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2022.2124356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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10
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Grzybowski J, Brinthaupt TM. Trait Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Self-Talk: A Correlational Analysis of Young Adults. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 12:bs12090300. [PMID: 36135104 PMCID: PMC9495966 DOI: 10.3390/bs12090300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
This research explores the relationships between trait mindfulness, self-compassion, self-talk frequency, and experience with mindful practice. We expected to find that positive self-talk would be positively related to mindfulness and self-compassion, and negative self-talk would be negatively related to these variables. Participants (N = 342) were recruited through a university research pool, as well as via social media posting. The participants completed two measures of trait mindfulness (the 15-item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Trait Toronto Mindfulness Scale), two measures of self-talk (the Self-Talk Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire—Revised), and the Self-Compassion Scale short form. The results showed moderate positive correlations between (1) positive self-talk and trait mindfulness and (2) positive self-talk and self-compassion. A significant negative correlation also emerged between negative self-talk and trait mindfulness. Additional analyses indicated no moderating effects of mindfulness experience on self-talk or self-compassion in predicting trait mindfulness. We discuss implications for the significance of the relationship between self-talk and mindfulness for the effective implementation in future treatment methodologies.
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11
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Skipper JI. A voice without a mouth no more: The neurobiology of language and consciousness. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104772. [PMID: 35835286 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Most research on the neurobiology of language ignores consciousness and vice versa. Here, language, with an emphasis on inner speech, is hypothesised to generate and sustain self-awareness, i.e., higher-order consciousness. Converging evidence supporting this hypothesis is reviewed. To account for these findings, a 'HOLISTIC' model of neurobiology of language, inner speech, and consciousness is proposed. It involves a 'core' set of inner speech production regions that initiate the experience of feeling and hearing words. These take on affective qualities, deriving from activation of associated sensory, motor, and emotional representations, involving a largely unconscious dynamic 'periphery', distributed throughout the whole brain. Responding to those words forms the basis for sustained network activity, involving 'default mode' activation and prefrontal and thalamic/brainstem selection of contextually relevant responses. Evidence for the model is reviewed, supporting neuroimaging meta-analyses conducted, and comparisons with other theories of consciousness made. The HOLISTIC model constitutes a more parsimonious and complete account of the 'neural correlates of consciousness' that has implications for a mechanistic account of mental health and wellbeing.
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Nißen M, Rüegger D, Stieger M, Flückiger C, Allemand M, V Wangenheim F, Kowatsch T. The Effects of Health Care Chatbot Personas With Different Social Roles on the Client-Chatbot Bond and Usage Intentions: Development of a Design Codebook and Web-Based Study. J Med Internet Res 2022; 24:e32630. [PMID: 35475761 PMCID: PMC9096656 DOI: 10.2196/32630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The working alliance refers to an important relationship quality between health professionals and clients that robustly links to treatment success. Recent research shows that clients can develop an affective bond with chatbots. However, few research studies have investigated whether this perceived relationship is affected by the social roles of differing closeness a chatbot can impersonate and by allowing users to choose the social role of a chatbot. OBJECTIVE This study aimed at understanding how the social role of a chatbot can be expressed using a set of interpersonal closeness cues and examining how these social roles affect clients' experiences and the development of an affective bond with the chatbot, depending on clients' characteristics (ie, age and gender) and whether they can freely choose a chatbot's social role. METHODS Informed by the social role theory and the social response theory, we developed a design codebook for chatbots with different social roles along an interpersonal closeness continuum. Based on this codebook, we manipulated a fictitious health care chatbot to impersonate one of four distinct social roles common in health care settings-institution, expert, peer, and dialogical self-and examined effects on perceived affective bond and usage intentions in a web-based lab study. The study included a total of 251 participants, whose mean age was 41.15 (SD 13.87) years; 57.0% (143/251) of the participants were female. Participants were either randomly assigned to one of the chatbot conditions (no choice: n=202, 80.5%) or could freely choose to interact with one of these chatbot personas (free choice: n=49, 19.5%). Separate multivariate analyses of variance were performed to analyze differences (1) between the chatbot personas within the no-choice group and (2) between the no-choice and the free-choice groups. RESULTS While the main effect of the chatbot persona on affective bond and usage intentions was insignificant (P=.87), we found differences based on participants' demographic profiles: main effects for gender (P=.04, ηp2=0.115) and age (P<.001, ηp2=0.192) and a significant interaction effect of persona and age (P=.01, ηp2=0.102). Participants younger than 40 years reported higher scores for affective bond and usage intentions for the interpersonally more distant expert and institution chatbots; participants 40 years or older reported higher outcomes for the closer peer and dialogical-self chatbots. The option to freely choose a persona significantly benefited perceptions of the peer chatbot further (eg, free-choice group affective bond: mean 5.28, SD 0.89; no-choice group affective bond: mean 4.54, SD 1.10; P=.003, ηp2=0.117). CONCLUSIONS Manipulating a chatbot's social role is a possible avenue for health care chatbot designers to tailor clients' chatbot experiences using user-specific demographic factors and to improve clients' perceptions and behavioral intentions toward the chatbot. Our results also emphasize the benefits of letting clients freely choose between chatbots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcia Nißen
- Centre for Digital Health Interventions, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dominik Rüegger
- Centre for Digital Health Interventions, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Pathmate Technologies AG, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mirjam Stieger
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, United States
- Institute of Communication and Marketing, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Mathias Allemand
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- University Research Priority Programs, Dynamics of Healthy Aging, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Florian V Wangenheim
- Centre for Digital Health Interventions, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Kowatsch
- Centre for Digital Health Interventions, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Centre for Digital Health Interventions, Institute of Technology Management, University of St.Gallen, St.Gallen, Switzerland
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Puchalska-Wasyl MM, Zarzycka B. Why Do We Have Internal Dialogues? Development and Validation of the Functions of Dialogues–Revised Questionnaire (FUND-R). JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTIVIST PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/10720537.2021.2010625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Beata Zarzycka
- Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
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14
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Puchalska-Wasyl MM. Internal Dialogues and Authenticity: How Do They Predict Well-Being? JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTIVIST PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/10720537.2021.1983739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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15
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Yager J. Infective Messages: Definitions, Processes, and Implications for Trauma, Identities, Internal Conflicts, Psychotherapy, and Research. J Nerv Ment Dis 2021; 209:474-480. [PMID: 33782250 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000001321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Throughout life, individuals are bombarded by countless emotion-generating messages. Certain of these messages, for example, some insults, admonitions, rejections, challenges, or insightful declarations, can be viewed as "infective." Infective messages shock, puncture, adhere, disturb, and generate discernable host responses that assimilate, accommodate, or repel the intruding messages. Messages originating in one's own mind can stimulate psychological equivalents of autoimmune responses. Sometimes, these messages produce enduring psychological changes. Infective messages may traumatize, organize, or therapize. The aims of this article are to consider how infective messages a) relate to their messengers (vectors), structural characteristics, and recipient (host) factors; b) might contribute to trauma, personal identity formation, psychological conflicts, and emotional self-regulatory and cognitive heuristics; c) might inform the conduct of psychotherapy; and d) suggest future research. METHODS Clinical observations were augmented with selective literature reviews. These sources contributed to perspectives regarding how certain messages might become infective; contribute to trauma, complex aspects of identity formation, and inner conflict; and inform the conduct of psychotherapy. RESULTS Infective messages are commonly characterized by short, cogent communications emanating from credible sources that fall on vulnerable recipients' receptive, dispositional feeling states. These infective stimuli trigger reactive and defensive emotions and associated behaviors reflecting responses to significant threats or benefits relative to the individual's deepest needs, motivations, and values. Defensive overreactions may occur in response to messages to which individuals have been previously sensitized. Infective message contents appear to assimilate into constantly evolving, dynamic autobiographical brain maps consisting of highly specific neuronal networks that range from the brainstem through limbic structures to multiple cortical areas. Autobiographical maps built from message-injected contents may transform, akin to the incorporation of retroviruses or prions, to encode personal identities as aspects of the self. Contrasting maps may exist semi-independently of one another, continuously evolving, interacting, combining, dividing, conflicting, and contending with one another for attention. Achieving attentional awareness, such maps help structure how individuals conceptualize and communicate about their encoded traumas, diverse identities, and the conflicts among them. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS During psychotherapy, aftereffects of traumatizing infective messages might be detoxified by deconstructing, desensitizing, and processing messages' precise words and emotional envelopes in relation to contexts in which they were delivered, and the individual's inner dispositions at moments of impact. Carefully crafted, timely interpretations can be therapeutically infective, generating enduring positive impacts. Future studies using an assortment of approaches can test these perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Yager
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
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Geraci A, D'Amico A, Pipitone A, Seidita V, Chella A. Automation Inner Speech as an Anthropomorphic Feature Affecting Human Trust: Current Issues and Future Directions. Front Robot AI 2021; 8:620026. [PMID: 33969001 PMCID: PMC8102901 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2021.620026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper aims to discuss the possible role of inner speech in influencing trust in human-automation interaction. Inner speech is an everyday covert inner monolog or dialog with oneself, which is essential for human psychological life and functioning as it is linked to self-regulation and self-awareness. Recently, in the field of machine consciousness, computational models using different forms of robot speech have been developed that make it possible to implement inner speech in robots. As is discussed, robot inner speech could be a new feature affecting human trust by increasing robot transparency and anthropomorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Geraci
- Robotics Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonella D'Amico
- Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Arianna Pipitone
- Robotics Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Valeria Seidita
- Robotics Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonio Chella
- Robotics Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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