Suchergebnisse

Abstract. In the early 20th century, scholars of the so-called Würzburg School departed from the conventional approach of psychological enquiry and developed a unique type of introspection that uncovered promising findings and paved the road for important developments in experimental psychology. Despite their early success, introspection was subsequently criticized and the Würzburg School disappeared soon after its protagonists had died or separated. The classical explanation for this development is that introspection has ultimately been a subjective and flawed endeavor. In the current paper we argue, by contrast, that the way the Würzburgers conducted introspection was in fact more of an extended type of third-person observation, not a genuine form of first-person research. Hence, their approach did not constitute a strong counterweight to the emerging third-person doctrine of the time and there was thus little need to maintain introspection as an independent paradigm. Such methodological aspects, as well as, biographical and historical factors contributed to the decline of introspection more so than the claim that introspection is a flawed approach per se. We suggest that a more direct form of introspection is needed to explore important phenomena within psychology which so far have been often approached one-sidedly.

Abstract. In psychology, thinking is typically studied in terms of a range of behavioral or physiological parameters, focusing, for instance, on the mental contents or the neuronal correlates of the thinking process proper. In the current article, by contrast, we seek to complement this approach with an exploration into the experiential or inner dimensions of thinking. These are subtle and elusive and hence easily escape a mode of inquiry that focuses on externally measurable outcomes. We illustrate how a sufficiently trained introspective approach can become a radar for facets of thinking that have found hardly any recognition in the literature so far. We consider this an important complement to third-person research because these introspective observations not only allow for new insights into the nature of thinking proper but also cast other psychological phenomena in a new light, for instance, attention and the self. We outline and discuss our findings and also present a roadmap for the reader interested in studying these phenomena in detail.

Abstract. While the trichotomy of body, soul, and spirit has been part of different folk-psychological and contemplative traditions over the millennia, more recently these concepts have ceded to a dualistic approach by which the physical world is distinguished from a more broadly conceptualized mental realm. In the current paper, we propose a renewed trichotomic distinction on the basis of epistemological considerations about the nature of thinking – which we will apply to the question about the "true self" as a paradigmatic case-study. We differentiate between a representational and an immersive type of thinking – a distinction which we argue can help illuminate facets of the (true) self that remain elusive to a dualistic perspective. We sketch a roadmap toward an empirical enquiry of the self on the basis of a trichotomic distinction and discuss implications of this approach for the study of psychological phenomena in more general terms.

Abstract. Memory is typically conceptualized as a mental space where information is stored until it is retrieved for current processing. This archive account has been undermined by a multitude of findings, however, calling for a theoretical and also a methodological reorientation. In particular, we consider it timely to include an introspective mode of research into the study of memory because such introspective enquiry can provide insights into the recall process that go beyond those of third-person research. The limitations often associated with introspection (e.g., its seemingly subjective quality and its post hoc nature) are well justified – but only as long as the more immature impromptu introspections are concerned. A more systematically developed form of introspection can overcome these limitations. Such a systematic approach is outlined and used here to develop a taxonomy of mental processes involved in recall. Our observations lend support to a reconstruction account and allow for a differentiation of mental activities involved in various types of recall.

Abstract. The self has become a prominent field of research in psychology but despite its eminent first-person character, it is typically studied from a third-person perspective. Such a third-person approach is well suited to enquire into the behavioral expression of the sense of selfhood but it does not capture the core experience – the so-called qualia nature – of the self. In the current article we illuminate the challenges that a predominant third-person approach poses to an understanding of the self. We outline two levels of analysis that can complement and enrich a third-person, behavior-focused view, namely the level of experience and the level of conceptual insight. Both these additional levels are accessible via a first-person mode of enquiry and can reveal a degree of richness about the self that reaches beyond a third-person approach. We here provide a methodological justification for such a qualitative mode of enquiry, as well as a synopsis of findings from our own first-person research which involved introspective reports of the authors' experiences during meditation on geometrical shapes, words, and short phrases.

Zusammenfassung
Spiritualität als ein fundamentales Bedürfnis des Menschseins stellt auch in der Psychotherapie einen wichtigen Einflussfaktor dar. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, die Bedeutung der spirituellen Dimension in der gegenwärtigen Psychotherapie zu erforschen. Dazu wurden sieben ganzheitlich orientierte Therapeutinnen und Therapeuten zu ihrer Arbeitsweise befragt. Anhand Problemzentrierter Interviews wurde exploriert, inwiefern die spirituelle Perspektive der befragten Personen ihre therapeutische Arbeit beeinflusst. Dabei wurde insbesondere der Frage nachgegangen, wie die spirituelle Dimension konkret in die therapeutische Praxis einbezogen und der Umgang mit der weltanschaulichen Passung zwischen Therapeut/-in und Patient/-in gehandhabt wird. Darüber hinaus wurde die Relevanz einer Integration der spirituellen Perspektive in die Psychotherapie thematisiert. Die Interviews wurden mittels Qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring ausgewertet.
Zentrales Ergebnis der Studie ist, dass sich die spirituelle Orientierung der befragten Personen vor allem in ihrer inneren Haltung und in ihrem Therapieverständnis ausdrückt, welches sich durch ein ganzheitliches und spirituelles Menschenbild auszeichnet. Spirituelle Interventionen spielen dagegen eine untergeordnete Rolle. Eine weltanschauliche Beeinflussung der Patientinnen und Patienten wird entschieden abgelehnt. Stattdessen wird ein sensibler und bedürfnisorientierter Umgang mit spirituellen Themen betont. Existenziellen Fragestellungen kommt dabei eine besondere Bedeutung zu. Die Integration einer spirituellen Dimension in die Psychotherapie unter Wahrung professioneller und ethischer Grenzen wird als sehr bereichernd erachtet.

Abstract. The placebo effect involves a complex network of psychological variables that are often disregarded by studies enquiring into this effect. It is hence little surprising that these psychological variables confound study outcomes and that experiments investigating the placebo effect often yield radically different results. The current article identifies three categories of psychological and methodological factors that are not systematically considered in placebo research: psychological confounds (Hawthorne effects and demand effects); methodological and data-analysis issues; and clinicians' expectancy effects. These factors are not necessarily to be seen as mere artifacts, however, because they may constitute favorable components of the placebo effect. A set of benchmark criteria is therefore proposed to allow researchers to capitalize on these components during placebo research rather than have their results confounded by them; and to allow for a more reliable interpretation of study outcomes.