Social capital : Social capital and psychological sense of community in the neighborhood - Predicting and preventing

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao ISPA - Instituto Universitário

Sketching the temporal landscape : The case of night nursing

We take for granted that we exist in dimensions of time and space. We accept that time passes and that space extends as a matter of course. Just as our personal space is important to us, so is time of our own. The individual is capable of developing a variety of time perspectives or orientations, each applicable to a different aspect of life, for instance, home, leisure, economic, political and organisational. Our temporal perspective influences a wide range of psychological processes, from motivation, emotions and spontaneity to risk-taking creativity and problem-solving. Our temporal landscapes are made up of recognisable domains, with permeable borders – private time and public time, home time and work time, past, present and future time, cyclical time. Just as a geography of space contains recognisable natural features – rivers, deserts, mountains – and features created by human beings – canals, roads, skyscrapers – so our temporal landscape contains natural features – day and night, the seasons – and features created by us – the ordering of social, economic, legal, and organisational time into, among others, the practices of family life, financial periods, prison sentences and workloads. This paper views the temporal landscapes of night nurses, and is based on longitudinal ethnographic research. It highlights areas such as shift work, workload, and the temporal aspects of caring. The result is the production of a map, albeit a rough one, of the temporal landscape inhabited by night nurses as they go about their working lives.

The efficacy of the old way/new way methodology on the correction of an automated technical error and its impact on the athlete’s psychological skills : Case study in tennis

The aim of this study was to evaluated the efficacy of the Old Way/New Way methodology (Lyndon, 1989/2000) with regard to the permanent correction of a consolidated and automated technical error experienced by a tennis athlete (who is 18 years old and has been engaged in practice mode for about 6 years) in the execution of serves. Additionally, the study assessed the impact of intervention on the athlete’s psychological skills. An individualized intervention was designed using strategies that aimed to produce a) a detailed analysis of the error using video images; b) an increased kinaesthetic awareness; c) a reactivation of memory error; d) the discrimination and generalization of the correct motor action. The athlete’s psychological skills were measured with a Portuguese version of the Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (Cruz & Viana, 1993). After the intervention, the technical error was corrected with great efficacy and an increase in the athlete’s psychological skills was verified. This study demonstrates the methodology’s efficacy, which is consistent with the effects of this type of intervention in different contexts.

Self-transcendence is related to higher female sexual desire

One facet of self-transcendence is creative self-forgetfulness (CSF; tendency to be attentionally absorbed in mindaltering experiences). Proneness to mind-altering attentional absorption and other aspects of self-transcendence were previously related to vaginal intercourse frequency, sexual arousability, and female coital orgasm. Given that sexual responsiveness is enhanced by focused attention, itwas testedwhether CSF correlates with sexual responsiveness, and if maladaptive defenses, openness to experience, and testosterone explain the hypothesized relationships. One hundred thirty-nine Portuguese (98 women) provided saliva samples for testosterone determination by luminescence immunoassays before and after a romantic movie scene and reported how intensely they felt sexual desire and arousal during the movie. CSF was measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory– Revised, maladaptive defenses by the immature defenses subscale of the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40), male and female past month desire by the desire dimensions of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Female desire and arousal during themoviewere independently predicted by CSF, openness to experience and testosterone, but not by immature defenses. Female past month desire was independently predicted by CSF, testosterone, and less immature defenses. Possible psychobiological processes linking self-transcendence and sexual responsiveness are discussed.

Psychological safety, authentic leadership and social networks : A psycho-structural approach to the study of groups

Tese de Doutoramento em Psicologia na área de especialização de Psicologia das Organizações apresentada ao ISPA - Instituto Universitário

O diário de Etty Hillesum (1941-1942) : Uma leitura dos mecanismos de defesa

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentado no Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada para obtenção do grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Clínica