Raciocínio contrafactual e modelos mentais

A ideia central deste estudo é de que «... raciocinar sobre factos e raciocinar sobre possibilidades e impossibilidades, baseia-se nos mesmos tipos de representações mentais e processos cognitivos» (Byrne, 1997, p. 107). Quer dizer que as pessoas raciocinam através da construção e revisão de modelos mentais (e.g., Johnson-Laird, Byrne, 1991). As condicionais contrafactuais requerem que os raciocinadores tenham em mente não apenas o que é suposto ser verdadeiro, mas também o que é supostamente verdadeiro mas factualmente falso (Byrne, 1997, p. 117; cf. Johnson-Laird, Byrne, 1991, pp. 72- -73). E a hipótese de que a representação inicial de uma condicional contrafactual é mais explícita do que a de uma condicional factual, permite prever que as inferências Modus Tollens e Negação do Antecedente deverão ser feitas com maior frequência a partir das condicionais contrafactuais do que das factuais. Byrne e Tasso (in press) encontraram evidência para esta hipótese. No estudo que apresentamos, também procuramos replicar esses resultados encontrados por Byrne e Tasso, e acrescentamos algumas hipóteses relacionadas com as latências para compreender os dois tipos de condicionais, e para escolher a conclusão. Utilizamos condicionais neutras do tipo «Se houve um círculo, então houve um triângulo», e apresentamos aos participantes os quatro silogismos condicionais no programa SUPERLAB.

Mental illness in modern and contemporary theatre : An analysis of representations of mental illness in a selection of plays, accompanied by a new play about schizophrenia

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Cognitive load and mental rotation : structuring orthographic projection for learning and problem solving

Cognitive load theory was used to generate a series of three experiments to investigate the effects of various worked example formats on learning orthographic projection. Experiments 1 and 2 investigated the benefits of presenting problems, conventional worked examples incorporating the final 2-D and 3-D representations only, and modified worked examples with several intermediate stages of rotation between the 2-D and 3-D representations. Modified worked examples proved superior to conventional worked examples without intermediate stages while conventional worked examples were, in turn, superior to problems. Experiment 3 investigated the consequences of varying the number and location of intermediate stages in the rotation trajectory and found three stages to be superior to one. A single intermediate stage was superior when nearer the 2-D than the 3-D end of the trajectory. It was concluded that (a) orthographic projection is learned best using worked examples with several intermediate stages and that (b) a linear relation between angle of rotation and problem difficulty did not hold for orthographic projection material. Cognitive load theory could be used to suggest the ideal location of the intermediate stages.

They Say You are a Danger But You Are Not: Representations and Construction of the Moral Self in Narratives of 'Dangerous Individuals'

This article is based on an analysis of narratives of 26 offenders with mental health problems living in the United Kingdom. It explores the impact of an ascribed dangerous status and the construction of the self as moral and responsible in response to this label with reference to the literature on denial, deviance disavowal and other “techniques of neutralization” and Goffman's presentation of self. Two dominant strands are identified in relation to the construction of moral self-hood: “Not my fault” and “Good at heart” narratives. “Techniques of neutralization” are widely drawn on, particularly denial of responsibility in the “Not my fault” narratives that seek to explain anti-social behavior with reference to external forces such as a hostile environment inhibiting their ability to control their lives. In contrast, “Good at heart” narratives draw on the essentially good and moral nature of the inner-self. Both are used as evidence of sharing and adhering to moral norms in order to present an acceptable and credible self.

Honey flows through fertile valleys : The cognitive and evolutionary foundations of paradise representations

The aim of the study is to explain how paradise beliefs are born from the viewpoint of mental functions of the human mind. The focus is on the observation that paradise beliefs across the world are mutually more similar than dissimilar. By using recent theories and results from the cognitive and evolutionary study of religion as well as from studies of environmental preferences, I suggest that this is because pan-human unconscious motivations, the architecture of mind, and the way the human mind processes information constrain the possible repertoire of paradise beliefs. The study is divided into two parts, theoretical and empirical. The arguments in the theoretical part are tested with data in the empirical part with two data sets. The first data set was collected using an Internet survey. The second data set was derived from literary sources. The first data test the assumption that intuitive conceptions of an environment of dreams generally follow the outlines set by evolved environmental preferences, but that they can be tweaked by modifying the presence of desirable elements. The second data test the assumption that familiarity is a dominant factor determining the content of paradise beliefs. The results of the study show that in addition to the widely studied belief in supernatural agents, belief in supernatural environments wells from the natural functioning of the human mind attesting the view that religious thinking and ideas are natural for human species and are produced by the same mental mechanisms as other cultural information. The results also help us to understand that the mental structures behind the belief in the supernatural have a wider scope than has been previously acknowledged.

Cuidados em saúde mental pelo programa de saúde da família: análise qualitativa de uma terapia de grupo para mulheres

Em todo o mundo é alta a prevalência dos transtornos depressivos e ansiosos, em especial no nível primário. Uma das estratégias terapêuticas é o atendimento em grupo que propicia bons resultados e cuidado adequado, incluindo melhor aproveitamento do tempo e maior abrangência no atendimento segundo experiências relatadas em diversos países.O objeto deste estudo é o discurso de mulheres com transtornos depressivos e ansiosos atendidas em grupo na atenção primária. O objetivo é conhecer representações e questões sobre o processo de adoecimento de mulheres atendidas na Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF) diagnosticadas com transtornos depressivos e ansiosos. Os grupos terapêuticos ocorreram em Postos de Saúde da Família, no município de Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, realizados pelos profissionais da ESF (médicos e enfermeiros) e supervisionados por especialistas em saúde mental. A pesquisa se deu com base análise de material de observação de dois grupo em comunidades distintas. Foi utilizado o método qualitativo, com analise das falas que foram organizadas em categorias segundo o método análise de conteúdo. Resultados: Transtornos depressivos e ansiosos são retratados no discurso das mulheres nos grupos como um processo solitário, sem apoio, compreensão e ajuda de terceiros. São agravantes: dificuldades financeiras, falta de lazer, sobrecarga de obrigações e cobranças.O álcool é retratado como apaziguador do sofrimento e da solidão. Relatam relacionamentos insatisfatórios e ocupam posições de submissão, sentindo-se desempoderadas, sem ver saída para sua situação, perpetuando pensamentos e ações, retroalimentando o sofrimento emocional. Valorizam o grupo enquanto espaço terapeutico. A possibilidade de verem retratado nas colegas situações similares encoraja a ajuda mútua. Estes são aspectos que auxiliam na autopercepção e no empoderamento. A intervenção se mostrou aplicável na atenção primária, sendo factível a não especialistas de saúde mental.

Sexualidade na saúde mental: revisão da produção científica brasileira (2001-2014).

Com o objetivo de analisar estudos sobre sexualidade e saúde mental, particularmente artigos publicados no Brasil entre 2001 e 2014, esta dissertação apresenta uma revisão de literatura conduzida em duas bases de dados: Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde e Portal de Periódicos CAPES. Nota-se que os estudos sobre sexo, gênero e sexualidade mostram a complexidade do entendimento sobre a vida sexual humana, oscilando entre as perspectivas essencialista e construtivista, concebendo a sexualidade de diversos modos. Já os estudos sobre loucura, saúde mental e atenção psicossocial apontam para as diferentes concepções acerca do processo de adoecimento mental, a saúde mental sendo ao mesmo tempo um campo científico e um valor de bem-estar psíquico a ser alcançado. Pesquisas em instituições asilares mostram que os agentes institucionais representam a sexualidade da pessoa em sofrimento mental (PSM) como anormal ou inexistente. A revisão da produção acadêmica sobre o tema, após a promulgação da Lei 10.126/2001, que dispõe justamente sobre os direitos das pessoas portadoras de transtornos mentais, reuniu 685 publicações (549 na CAPES e 136 na BVS), 43 delas duplicadas, dentre as quais apenas 109 nacionais, estes tendo sido sistematizados pelo título e resumo, apenas 11 foram selecionados e investigados na íntegra. Os resultados mostram que a produção científica analisada é escassa, sendo a temática incipiente na saúde coletiva, predominando abordagens biomédicas com foco no comportamento sexual, com especial atenção à vulnerabilidade às IST/HIV/AIDS, bem como a concentração dos estudos na região sudeste do país, a ausência de educação sexual e lacunas na formação para o trabalho com a sexualidade. Conclui-se que a produção científica brasileira analisada sobre sexualidade no campo da saúde mental não é centrada nos direitos sexuais e reprodutivos das PSM, enquanto as práticas sexuais dos usuários e as representações dos profissionais ganham relevo nas análises.

When Working Memory and Attention Compete: Characterizing the Dynamic Interdependence between our Mental Workspace and External Environment

All of us are taxed with juggling our inner mental lives with immediate external task demands. For many years, the temporary maintenance of internal information was considered to be handled by a dedicated working memory (WM) system. It has recently become increasingly clear, however, that such short-term internal activation interacts with attention focused on external stimuli. It is unclear, however, exactly why these two interact, at what level of processing, and to what degree. Because our internal maintenance and external attention processes co-occur with one another, the manner of their interaction has vast implications for functioning in daily life. The work described here has employed original experimental paradigms combining WM and attention task elements, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to illuminate the associated neural processes, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to clarify the causal substrates of attentional brain function. These studies have examined a mechanism that might explain why (and when) the content of WM can involuntarily capture visual attention. They have, furthermore, tested whether fundamental attentional selection processes operate within WM, and whether they are reciprocal with attention. Finally, they have illuminated the neural consequences of competing attentional demands. The findings indicate that WM shares representations, operating principles, and cognitive resources with externally-oriented attention.

Comparisons, mental models, and the action effect in judgments of regret

People tend to attribute more regret to a character who has decided to take action and experienced a negative outcome than to one who has decided not to act and experienced a negative outcome. For some decisions, however, this finding is not observed in a between-participants design and thus appears to rely on comparisons between people's representations of action and their representations of inaction. In this article, we outline a mental models account that explains findings from studies that have used within- and between-participants designs, and we suggest that, for decisions with uncertain counterfactual outcomes, information about the consequences of a decision to act causes people to flesh out their representation of the counterfactual states of affairs for inaction. In three experiments, we confirm our predictions about participants' fleshing out of representations, demonstrating that an action effect occurs only when information about the consequences of action is available to participants as they rate the nonactor and when this information about action is informative with respect to judgments about inaction. It is important to note that the action effect always occurs when the decision scenario specifies certain counterfactual outcomes. These results suggest that people sometimes base their attributions of regret on comparisons among different sets of mental models.

Is low self-esteem an inevitable consequence of stigma? An example from women with chronic mental health problems

It is often assumed that membership in a stigmatized group has negative consequences for the self-concept. However, this relationship is neither straightforward nor inevitable, and there is evidence suggesting that negative consequences may not necessarily occur (Psychol. Rev. 96(4) (1989) 608). This paper argues that the relationship has not been sufficiently theorized, and that a more detailed analysis is called for in order to understand the relationship between stigma and the self. The paper presents a critical examination of modified labeling theory (Am. Sociol. Rev. 52 (1987) 96), with examples from a study examining perceptions of stigma and their relationship to self-evaluation in women with chronic mental health problems. Open-ended interviews and qualitative analyses were used in preference to global measures of self-esteem. It was found that although the women were aware of society's unfavorable representations of mental illness, and the effects this had on their lives, they did not accept these representations as valid and therefore rejected them as applicable to the self. The participants did not deny their mental health problems, but their acceptance of labels was critical and pragmatic. Labels were rejected when they were perceived as carrying an unrealistic and negative stereotype, or when the women felt that their symptoms did not fit with the diagnostic criteria. The research illustrates the importance of considering people's subjective understandings of stigmatized conditions and societal reactions in order to understand the relation between stigma and the self. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prenatal Representations of Family in Parents and Coparental Interactions as Predictors of Triadic Interactions During Infancy

In this study, we explored the predictive role of family interactions and family representations in mothers and fathers during pregnancy for postnatal motherfatherinfant interactions during the first 2 years after birth. Families (N = 42) were seen at the fifth month of pregnancy and at 3 and 18 months after birth. During pregnancy, parents were asked to play with their baby at the first meeting by using a doll in accordance with the procedure of the prenatal Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP; A. Corboz-Warnery & E. Fivaz-Depeursinge, 2001; E. Fivaz-Depeursinge, F. Frascarolo-Moutinot, & A. Corboz-Warnery, 2010). Family representations were assessed by administering the Family System Test (T. Gehring, 1998). Marital satisfaction and the history of the couple were assessed through self-reported questionnaires. At 3 and 18 months, family interactions were assessed in the postnatal LTP. Infant temperament was assessed through parent reports. Results show that (a) prenatal interactions and child temperament are the most important predictors of family interactions and (b) paternal representations are predictive of family interactions at 3 months. These results show that observational assessment of nascent family interactions is possible during pregnancy, which would allow early screening of family maladjustment. The findings also highlight the necessity of taking into account paternal representations as a significant variable in the development of family interactions.

Effect of levodopa on both verbal and motor representations of action in Parkinson's disease: a fMRI study.

Previous studies have demonstrated that non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have a specific impairment of verb production compared with noun generation. One interpretation of this deficit suggested the influence of striato-frontal dysfunction on action-related verb processing. The aim of our study was to investigate cerebral changes after motor improvement due to dopaminergic medication on the neural circuitry supporting action representation in the brain as mediated by verb generation and motor imagery in PD patients. Functional magnetic resonance imaging on 8 PD patients in "ON" dopaminergic treatment state (DTS) and in "OFF" DTS was used to explore the brain activity during three different tasks: Object Naming (ObjN), Generation of Action Verbs (GenA) in which patients were asked to overtly say an action associated with a picture and mental simulation of action (MSoA) was investigated by asking subjects to mentally simulate an action related to a depicted object. The distribution of brain activities associated with these tasks whatever DTS was very similar to results of previous studies. The results showed that brain activity related to semantics of action is modified by dopaminergic treatment in PD patients. This cerebral reorganisation concerns mainly motor and premotor cortex suggesting an involvement of the putaminal motor loop according to the "motor" theory of verb processing.

Saúde mental no Programa de Saúde da Família: conceitos dos agentes comunitários sobre o transtorno mental

Este estudo objetivou identificar as representações sociais de agentes comunitários de uma unidade de Programa Saúde da Família sobre o transtorno mental. Optamos pela pesquisa qualitativa, utilizando o estudo de caso. Para a coleta de dados, recorremos à entrevista semi-estruturada, enriquecida pelo uso de Técnica Projetiva, e à análise temática para analisar o material obtido. Os resultados evidenciam representações sociais ancoradas no paradigma psiquiátrico tradicional. Esse considera a pessoa acometida pelo transtorno mental passiva, sem condições de protagonizar os próprios caminhos que, por sua vez, são marcados pelo preconceito. Desse modo, denota-se a grande necessidade de investimento na capacitação em saúde mental, junto aos atores do cenário da assistência do Programa de Saúde da Família. de acordo com o estudo, tal investimento contribuirá para a efetivação de práticas e construção de novos saberes, contribuindo para a melhoria da assistência em saúde.

A reabilitação psicossocial no atendimento em saúde mental: Estratégias em construção

This study aims to identify the representations about Psychosocial Rehabilitation by Mental Health professionals working in open services, and also the difficulties they have met in the process of turning the care effective for the population. The study uses a qualitative methodology, collecting data by means of semistructured interviews with 15 subjects. The professionals identify the rehabilitation process as complex, meeting several obstacles and requiring their dedication and a flexible attitude to achieve the expected results.